From Shared Learning to Standardized Excellence: An OpExChange Visit to Heidelberg Materials

From Shared Learning to Standardized Excellence:
An OpExChange Visit to Heidelberg Materials

Enrollment opens on Dec. 4 by 8 am
Heidelberg Materials – Buck Fly Ash Plant | Salisbury, NC

How do you build consistent processes, strengthen employee engagement,
and share best practices across multiple manufacturing facilities?

Join us for a behind-the-scenes visit to
Heidelberg Materials’ Buck Fly Ash Plant,
where teams from three facilities have collaborated to develop practical
solutions that improve safety, reliability, communication, and
operational performance.

The Buck facility transforms fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired
power generation, into a valuable material used in concrete production.
But the real focus of this plant visit is
how the organization has turned shared learning
into sustainable, standardized operating practices.

What You’ll Learn and Take Back

Participants will explore four approaches that could be adapted
within their own operations:

• Employee-Driven Continuous Improvement:
  Discover how a bottom-up Change Management System empowers employees
  to identify opportunities, implement improvements, and take
  ownership of change.
• Standardizing Safety Across Facilities:
  Learn how Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and Lock Out/Tag Out/Try Out
  (LOTOTO) procedures are supported by a centralized Microsoft Teams
  library to improve consistency and access to critical information.
• Strengthening Operational Communications:
  Explore a Critical Communications System developed to improve
  information flow, coordination, and alignment across operations.
• Developing Skills Through Shared Resources:
  See a mobile Mechanical Skills Training Trailer that travels
  between three facilities, providing hands-on operator training
  on critical plant equipment.

Collaboration in Action

These solutions were developed through years of collaboration among
teams at Buck, Cape Fear, and H.F. Lee. Participants will gain
insight into how sharing knowledge across sites can help turn local
improvements into common operating standards.

The visit includes a facility presentation, guided plant tour,
and an interactive OpExChange Plus/Delta discussion
where attendees can exchange ideas, ask questions, and identify
practices worth bringing back to their own organizations.

The goal is simple: Leave with practical ideas that can strengthen
your own operation, regardless of your industry.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2027
Time: 1:00 – 3:45 PM
Location: 855 Dukeville Road, Salisbury, NC 28146
Attendance: Limited to 25 participants

PPE Requirements:
Steel-toed/Composit shoes and long sleeves are required.
Hard hats and safety glasses will be provided.
(Dress warmly – tour will be outside)

Parking:
Park in the large lot on the left side of the road.
A guide will meet participants there.

Space is limited. Register early to collaborate, learn,
and bring new ideas back to your operation!