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| Air and water pollution prevention measures, coupled with water capture and recycling, reinforce a commitment to Conroe Plant sustainability framed in Campbell Concrete’s core corporate core values of People, Safety, Relationships, Community, Financial Stability, and Future. |
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The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association recognized one of the workhorse operations of Houston’s Campbell Concrete & Materials LLC in the 2015 Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards program. The Conroe Plant received Honorable Mention in Category D (100,000–200,000 yd., annual production). Located north of Loop 336, immediately west of a residential neighborhood, it is a prime example of a producer whose management and staff understand how site aesthetics are an integral part of being a good neighbor.
Campbell Concrete has recently painted silos and buildings, erected new signage, and established a program for continuous improvement in good housekeeping, in turn supporting environmental compliance, while promoting workplace safety and employee pride. The program is dubbed 6S for Standardize/Sustain/Safety/Sort/Store/Shine.
Much of the Conroe site is paved to reduce fugitive dust from truck traffic and sediment tracking onto the roadway; non-paved areas are vegetated. Manager and employee teams perform daily housekeeping inspections and adhere to inspection programs and best management practices specified in the plant’s stormwater and fuel pollution prevention plans. All diesel fuel is stored in a double-walled tank, thereby reducing contact between stormwater and primary vessel; all other vehicle fluids are maintained in an enclosed shop.
Campbell Concrete’s area environmental manager visits Conroe at least once per quarter for an audit spanning comprehensive site inspection and a review of documents (permit applications, representations made in the applications, monitoring and inspection records); preparation of a prioritized action plan as needed; and, recording of repeat deficiencies and/or items requiring capital expenditures.
Conroe Plant staff use the Lehigh Hanson EnviroLIS, a central portal for proactively managing all environmental permits, compliance, and site reporting information. EnviroLIS system follows Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle steps to ensure continuous improvement. All permit conditions and associated tasks are part of the EnviroLIS system and have a specific person assigned as the task holder—typically the plant manager for plant level inspections and recordkeeping, and area environmental manager for permit renewals and regulatory submittals.
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| Also known as “Handprints,” the “Why We Work Safe” themed mixer circulates Campbell Concrete’s Conroe and sister plants around Houston. |
In addition, all environmental regulatory inspections and incidents are logged in the system through an event-reporting module and evaluated through a tool per Lehigh Hanson’s “Root Cause Analysis” standard. Historical data is processed by the EnviroLIS system’s “Trend Analysis” tool to proactively look into priority areas.
All employees receive annual environmental training in addition to new hire training and informal Toolbox Talks. Plant managers or supervisors hold the latter weekly to address operations, safety, and environmental protection. Specific areas of training include air pollution control, water conservation, waste management, stormwater pollution, plus spill prevention and mitigation.
With south Texas’ ongoing drought conditions, the goal at Conroe and sister operations is to harvest and store all water on-site for reuse in plant processes and yard-dust suppression. The site is graded so all stormwater from the plant area is maintained in a retention pond or a 40,000-gal. weir pit.