This week, NewsLinks brings you news of an OSHA series of newly published wallet cards available on a number of key industry topics:

OSHA Reporting Requirements for Employers, (PDF) - details the severe injuries employers are now required to report to OSHA. For employers in Federal OSHA states, the new reporting requirements go into effect on January. The card also explains how employers can report by phone, online and in person.

OSHA's Hazard Identification Training Tool, (PDF) - advertises a new training tool designed to educate businesses about the hazard identification process using realistic workplace simulations.

Whistleblowers: Work without Risk, (PDF) - educates workers about their right to raise workplace safety and health concerns, to ask OSHA to inspect their workplaces and to be protected from retaliation for exercising these rights. The card is also available in Spanish.

Publications are available to download at no cost by visiting OSHA's publications page or from OSHA's Office of Communications at 202-693-1999.

NRMCA contractor member Swederski Concrete Construction Inc. (SCCI) has found the Internet video sharing site YouTube an effective way to show prospective customers current and past projects and company workmanship, reports NRMCA Vice President, National Resources, Jon Hansen. SCCI Vice President Joe Swederski drives the project with a video camera mounted on his vehicle, which provides an excellent overview of the entire project.

A search of Swederski video’s on YouTube will result in concrete paving projects for NRMCA National Account clients Walmart and Dollar General, auto dealerships, school and church parking lots, and concrete overlays of existing asphalt lots. The videos also include a brief description of the project, concrete mix and other construction details. One of its most recent posting can be viewed here. 

The Manufacturers, Products & Services (MPS) Division of NRMCA is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Concrete Cares Award. In order to recognize the full scope of ready mixed concrete producers’ community service, the MPS Division will hand out two Concrete Cares Awards in 2015 – one for a producer member company producing fewer than 250,000 cyds annually and a second award for a producer member company producing over 250,000 cyds. The Concrete Cares Awards will be presented during the Annual Award Breakfast at NRMCA’s 2015 Annual Convention in Orlando, March 1-3, 2015. 

With ready mixed concrete plants in almost every community in America, NRMCA member companies are making a real difference. From Earth Day celebrations, to organized volunteering for Boys & Girls Clubs, local schools and recreation departments, to raising awareness for breast cancer screenings, ready mixed producers are at work every day in their communities. The Concrete Cares Award aims to recognize these efforts and shine a national spotlight on the positive impact ready mixed concrete companies have in hometowns across the nation. A donation in the name of the selected honorees will be made to the charity of their choice.

The ACI Fall Convention in Washington, DC, was held during the week of October 26, 2014. Below is an update of some of activities that involved NRMCA representation.

NRMCA’s Karthik Obla presented on the topic "Using the Maturity Method for High Volume Fly Ash Concrete" in a technical session. Obla also presented the NRMCA SCM survey and P2P survey during the Fly Ash Committee and Performance Criteria Committee meetings, respectively.
 

Colin Lobo presented on the precision of strength tests and specimen size effect. He described the variation of strength test results in a Washington, DC-area strength round robin testing program and the impact of applying a penalty to measured strengths in some specifications when tests are performed using 4 x 8 inch cylinders.

130 – Sustainability Committee - Lionel Lemay maintains NRMCA representation on ACI 130. The main focus of the committee is to develop a guide to concrete sustainability. The committee balloted and resolved most negatives for the production and constructions chapters, but continues to struggle with other chapters of the guide to concrete sustainability. NRMCA’s Karthik Obla worked on the materials chapter draft but many special interests, mostly material manufacturers, continue to introduce self serving commentary in the guide. The committee will continue to struggle with finalizing the guide and likely it will be outdated when published due to the quickly changing green building and sustainability movements. Lemay will continue to monitor this committee to ensure ready mixed concrete’s interests are maintained and performance specifications and life cycle assessment, including work at MIT, are properly described and acknowledged.

132 – Responsibilities in Concrete Construction - ACI 132 has completed a document that discusses the responsibilities of all stakeholders on a concrete construction project. The stakeholders include the owner, licensed design professional, general contractor, design builder, subcontractor, specialty engineers and subcontractors (those with some design responsibility), concrete material supplier, testing agency, construction manager and forensic consultant. It discusses associated responsibility with prescriptive and performance specifications. The ACI 132 document should be available from ACI early in 2015. Colin Lobo maintains representation on ACI 132.

201 – Durability - The 201.2R Guide to Durable Concrete is being revised. All chapters have been completed – negatives to the chapter on physical salt attack chapter were resolved. NRMCA has provided input to this document. A task group (TG) is working on a tech note for recommendations for physical salt attack. Recent NRMCA research findings were presented to this TG; a new rapid test for physical salt attack is being developed. Future sessions are planned on the following: 1. Performance Tests are Criteria for Sulfate Attack; 2. Chloride Limits and Thresholds. Karthik Obla maintains representation on ACI 201.

211 – Mixture Proportioning - Changes in response to ACI Technical Activities Committee (TAC) comments were made on two new documents on mixture adjustments and mixture proportioning with ground limestone powder and mineral fillers. NRMCA provided input to both documents. A TG working on assessing aggregate gradings issued a ballot and NRMCA provided input to the document based on past research conducted at the NRMCA Research Laboratory. The main 211 proportioning document is being revised with input from NRMCA. An electronic document (E-doc) on Aggregate Suspension Mixture Proportioning method has been approved and will be published soon. Karthik Obla maintains representation on ACI 211.

214 – Strength Tests - The committee plans to update the report with information on percent within limits concepts that are being used by some DOTs for allocating incentives and penalties. The committee discussed if it was worthwhile to develop a strength factor while testing cubes so that strengths between cylinder and (concrete) cube tests can be compared. Karthik Obla is an associate member.

232 – Fly Ash - The committee has published a new report on high volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete and an ACI Webinar is planned on this topic soon. The committee is working on a new document titled Guide to Specifying Fly Ash for Concrete Performance. The committee has balloted once the revisions to the TAC suggestions on ACI 232.2R, Use of Fly Ash in Concrete. The committee co-sponsored two sessions on Improving Early-Age Properties of Concrete with SCM’s.  Karthik Obla is the Chair of ACI 232.

240 – Natural Pozzolans - This is a new committee created from ACI 232 due to the new focus on natural pozzolans. A joint TG between this committee and the Durability Committee has been formed to study if the existing durability test methods will apply for natural pozzolans and to develop a state of the art document and identify needed research.

301 – Specifications for Structural Concrete - ACI Committee 301 devoted 20 hours of meeting time addressing about 700 comments on the revised specification from TAC. It is anticipated that the revised ACI 301 will be available for public review in the January – March time frame. Following response to public comments, it is anticipated that ACI 301 will be published in Summer 2015. Some of the changes in ACI 318-14 will be included in the next version of ACI 301, time permitting. A new committee will be formed after the completion of this version of the specification. Colin Lobo maintains representation on ACI 301.

318 – Building Code for Structural Concrete - ACI 318-14 was released at the convention. The reorganized code is being touted as being structured for improved ease of use by practicing designers. However, it will take some time before practicing engineers become familiar with the new code. It was noted that copies of the first printing of 318-14 were exhausted. Some changes related to concrete materials – requirements for concrete are addressed in Chapter 19. There are some revisions to the durability requirements. A new Chapter 26 collects all provisions that the designer needs to include in construction documents. This chapter was developed to collect all construction-related code items. The premise is that the contractor should not be responsible for code provisions and these requirements need to be included in a specification for a project. 

With the publishing of ACI 318-14, the previous committee has been disbanded. The new ACI Committee 318 had its initial meetings at this convention. The committee is chaired by Jack Moehle, UC Berkeley. This code cycle will conclude with the publishing of ACI 318 in 2019 to be referenced in the International Building Code of 2020.

Terry Holland will continue to chair ACI 318 Subcommittee A that is responsible for Chapters 19 and 26. Several code change items were identified – these represent unfinished business from the previous cycles and new initiatives. Colin Lobo will continue as a member of ACI 318.

325 – Concrete Pavements - NRMCA’s Brian Killingsworth maintains representation on ACI 325 on concrete pavements. The committee currently has six documents under development or revision. The report ACI 325.9R Guide for Construction of Concrete Pavements has been completely revised and the committee is currently responding to ACI staff editorial comments. The committee is also rewriting ACI 325.12R-02 (Reapproved 2014): Guide for Design of Jointed Concrete Pavements for Streets and Local Roads and is being be lead by Killingsworth. The committee is developing ACI 325.XR Report on Precast Concrete Pavements - State of the Practice which is based upon work completed by Tayabji for SHRP2. The committee is also developing ACI 325.YR Proportioning, Quality Control and Evaluation of Concrete Pavement Strength Relationships. The document is complete and is being prepared for publishing by ACI. A revision is underway of 325.11R Accelerated Techniques for Concrete Paving. Work is nearly complete and will be balloted in the next few months. Work is also underway to update 325.ZR: Design and Construction of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements over the next year. Killingsworth will ensure that considerations for streets and local roads will be included in all documents.

327 – Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements - Killingsworth maintains representation on this committee. Current activities include resolving final TAC comments on the report ACI 327.XR Report on Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements. The committee has also initiated development of an RCC specification for materials and construction to supplement report 327.XR.

329 – Performance Criteria for Ready Mixed Concrete - ACI Committee 329 has completed its guide document on performance requirements for concrete materials. ACI 329R should be available from ACI in early 2015. The committee has created an outline to develop a document on "guide to developing a performance specification" and has assigned members the task of writing different sections. The document is intended to provide some general background and rationale and recommend specification clauses. The committee also decided to follow the sequence used in the MasterSpec format that design engineers are most familiar with. In parallel, there were discussions on developing an ACI Webinar on the new 329 report. Another goal of the committee is to make recommendations to ACI standards committees 301 and 318, suggesting performance based alternatives to current requirements. Colin Lobo (secretary) and Karthik Obla maintain representation on Committee 329.

330 – Parking Lots - The ACI 330 Committee is completing the ACI 330X Guide to Design and Construction of Industrial Pavements. The task group spent considerable time discussing comments received from the Technical Action Committee. The group also spent considerable time discussing harmonizing the ACI 330 and 330X documents. A subcommittee offered recommendations to the committee on the separation criteria between the two documents and the situations in which each document should be used. A discussion was also held about updating the ACI 330.8R document and which portions should be revised. Corey Zollinger also presented on the RMC Research & Education Foundation reports covering erosion analysis and lab testing. NRMCA's Amy Miller maintains representation on Committee 330.

ACI 332 – Residential Concrete - Lionel Lemay represents NRMCA on the residential committee. The current focus of the committee is to revise the guide to residential concrete to more closely match the new 2014 residential building code provisions. Lemay, who chairs the subcommittee on materials, production and delivery, revised the section in the guide and balloted the section to the main committee. The subcommittee resolved negatives and will re-ballot the section in the spring of 2015.

555 – Recycled Materials - The document Removal and Reuse of Hardened Concrete is undergoing revisions and will include discussions on crushed returned concrete aggregates based on research work conducted at the NRMCA Research Laboratory. The committee continues to organize many technical sessions on the use of recycled materials in concrete at each ACI convention; these sessions are very well attended which underscores the importance of this topic. A paper on the use of crushed concrete aggregate for internal curing based on research conducted at the NRMCA Research Laboratory was presented. Karthik Obla maintains representation on ACI 555.

601B – Concrete Quality Technical Manager Certification - ACI has developed a new Concrete Quality Technical Manager (CQTM) certification program. It is intended that to work as a special inspector at any nuclear facilities construction project, individuals will need to be certified as a Concrete Construction Special Inspector (CCSI) and CQTM. The CQTM program measures the technical knowledge of a candidate in regard to mixture proportioning for normal, heavy and lightweight concretes, high strength concrete, durability issues, ingredient materials for concrete, evaluation of strength, CLSM, SCC, pervious concrete and Building Code requirements related to concrete materials. The text for the exam comprises of the reports of over 20 technical committees. A pilot examination was held in Reno on March 26. The pilot exam comprised of a written and performance exam and lasted a total of 6 hours. NRMCA’s Karthik Obla took the pilot examination and passed it.

For more information, contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org, Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org, Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org, Brian Killingsworth at bkillingsworth@nrmca.org or Amy Miller at amiller@nrmca.org.

On October 29, the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a final rule in the Federal Register which changes the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. Specifically, the IRS published "...final regulations that provide guidance on the mandatory electronic filing of Form 2290, ‘‘Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return,’’ for 25 or more vehicles; credits or refunds for sold, destroyed or stolen vehicles; and the tax liability and computation of tax on the use of certain second-hand vehicles. The regulations affect owners and operators of highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. These final regulations also remove the temporary regulations that provide guidance on the filing of Form 2290 and payment of the associated highway use tax for the taxable period beginning July 1, 2011."

Last week, the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) met to discuss a host of issues, including revisions to the current commercial motor vehicle (CMV) insurance minimums and FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. FMCSA is updating the mandatory minimum insurance levels trucking and bus companies are required to obtain each year for each individual vehicle. Larry Minor, FMCSA’s associate administrator for policy, said the current Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that is being vetted by the White House Office of Management and Budget does not include or suggest any amounts over the current minimum of $750,000 for CMVs. He noted that the ANPRM, which will be published soon, will be asking for comment on whether the current minimum needs to change and, if so, to what and why. NRMCA is currently evaluating the impacts any such changes will have on the industry in preparation for a response to FMCSA.

Also announced at the MCSAC meeting by Bill Quade, FMCSA’s associate administrator for enforcement, was a report FMCSA plans to publish sometime after Thanksgiving that examines the possibility of including crash fault data into CSA scores. Currently, all reportable crashes, regardless of fault, are calculated into CSA scores, an issue NRMCA has publicly objected to since CSA’s inception.

This year’s Environmental Certification Course will be held in Phoenix from December 3-5. Course attendees will be educated on industry-specific environmental issues that affect ready mixed concrete production, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Solids Management, Hazardous Materials, Dust Control, Recycling, Spill Prevention Plans, Air Quality Management, Noise Management, Environmental Auditing, and much more.

Those who should attend include plant managers, environmental managers, compliance managers, executives, or anyone with fiscal and/or environmental responsibilities that should know the details concerning your company’s responsibilities when it comes to EPA regulations, the Clean Water Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management and numerous other critical environmental matters.

The annual Greenbuild Conference was held two weeks ago at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Still the largest green building gathering each year, 23,000 people attended along with 750 exhibitors. NRMCA exhibited new initiatives on Transparency, Responsibility and Resiliency with "Resilience" as the noticeable buzzword throughout the conference. Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development Lionel Lemay and Vice President of Sustainability Tien Peng were on hand to educate professionals about NRMCA programs.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) announced last week via a news release that it has extended the date projects may register under the LEED 2009 rating system to October 31, 2016 – an extension of almost a year and a half. It was evident from the education sessions and the USGBC survey from Greenbuild that project teams are "not ready" or "unsure" if they are ready to pursue LEED v4 and require additional time to prepare. While NRMCA has been preparing its members for a number of years, the overhaul of the MR credits has many industries scrambling to develop new programs and metrics. Extending LEED 2009’s availability enables USGBC to work with the broader industry within a longer time frame.

Click here for more information on NRMCA LEEDv4 programs and initiatives or contact Tien Peng at tpeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.

Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry, are updated each week by NRMCA's Government Affairs staff. To access the most recent compilation of articles for October 27 - 31, please click here.

This past April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to drastically expand the jurisdiction of waters covered under the Clean Water Act (CWA). NRMCA has long been concerned about how expansion of the CWA would place an undue burden on ready mixed concrete operations, aggregate operations and new construction starts. This specific expansion of federal authority under the CWA holds unnecessary and overreaching regulatory implications that would adversely affect ready mixed concrete operations, such as washout pits, sedimentation ponds, settling basins and more.

The deadline for submitting comments in opposition to the "Waters of the U.S." proposal is Friday, November 14. NRMCA urges you to submit comments in opposition to the rule in order to protect ready mixed concrete operations from further, unnecessary regulatory burdens. Please click here to obtain template comments for your use. To submit finalized comments, e-mail them to ow-docket@epa.gov and include EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880 in the subject line of the message. For information on submitting comments or to view the entire proposed rule, please click here.

Late last month, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) released its updated matrix of revenue generating options with new easy-to-understand graphics. The updated matrix will help enable legislators to quickly analyze funding options appropriate to achieving desired levels of surface transportation investment. View the updated report here and watch a video explaining the new matrix.

The current Transportation funding/authorization extension expires May 30, 2015. NRMCA is continuing to lobby Congress to fix the Highway Trust Fund shortfall before the end of the year. Click here to urge your legislators to fix the Highway Trust Fund Shortage this year.

NRMCA will use the slower time of the year to conduct two Certified Concrete Sales Professional (CCSP) classes. Use the time wisely to launch 2015!

Concrete 101 (CCSP I) will be offered in partnership with the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (TACA) at its Austin headquarters, December 2-5. This class not only focuses sales reps on the operations and technical aspects that impact their job, it is also provides a solid foundation for all non-technical staff/managers so they have a clear understand of how the day to day technical and operations activities impact revenue.  It should be a professional development must for your financial, accounting, HR, legal, fleet, and dispatch managers.

Understanding Your Concrete Contractor's Business (CCSP II) will be offered in Silver Spring (metro Washington, DC, December 16-18. This is the time for your sales reps to concentrate on mastering how their customers' businesses work. No rock should be left unturned for possible quick orders or to tactically plan for 2015. To help, NRMCA will offer a hands-on, updated workshop, CCSP Module II, Topics tie directly into what a sales rep should know that impacts business, including learning about contactors’ estimating methods, bidding, design, procurement, project planning and scheduling.
 

Those that pass the optional exams receive credit toward STEPS career development recognition. 

 

The NRMCA November Internet Spotlight, which is good through Tuesday, December 2, is NRMCA’s newest best seller, Improving Quality Concrete. This book discusses concrete quality measurement as well as the tangible and intangible benefits due to improved quality. The book will also be of significant value to concrete producers who will come away with readily implementable steps to reduce variability and attain a more consistent product, thereby seeing performance benefits and cost savings.

Order online today and receive 20% off. Regular member price is $75, Internet Special $60, plus shipping. Use Discount Code: ISNOV14.

November 7, Webinar

Designing Concrete Parking Lots the Right Way!

Email: Amy Miller, 904-264-8850

 

November 11, Free Webinar

Roller-Compacted Concrete for Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

November 11, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 11, Free Webinar

How to Use the NRMCA Industry-Wide EPD and Benchmark Report

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

November 11, Indianapolis

Great Lakes Region ConcreteWorks

Email: Nicole Maher, 1-888-846-7622, ext. 1158

 

November 17, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part I)

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 18-20, Silver Spring, MD

The Effective RMC Supervisor - Silver Spring, MD

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 19, Webinar

Sales Performance Assessments and Review for Ready Mix Sales Managers

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 21, Free Webinar

Overlays for Streets & Local Roads

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

November 24, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part II)

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 2-5, Austin, TX

CCSP Module I, "Concrete 101" - Technical/Product Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 2-5, Nashville, TN

CCSP Module I, "Concrete 101" - Technical/Product Knowledge

Email: Darla Sparkman

 

December 3-5, Phoenix

Environmental Professional Certification Course

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 5, Free Webinar

Winning Initial Streets & Roads Projects in Counties & Municipalities

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

December 9, Webinar

Roller Compacted Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 9, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Promotion for DOTs, Counties & Municipalities

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

December 9-12, Phoenix

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 10, Denver

Handling Concrete Specifications

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 12, Free Webinar

SLR Concrete Construction & Repair Basics

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

December 15, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 15, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 16, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part I)

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 16-18, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge 

Understanding the Concrete Contractor's Business

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 23, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part II)

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

 

January 15, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Elected Official Advocacy

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

January 16, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Promotion & Advocacy Overview

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

January 20-23, Des Moines, IA

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

January 22, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Team Building & Situation Analysis

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

February 9-13, Seattle

Regional Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

February 17-19, 2015, Silver Spring, MD

Dispatcher Training Forum

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

February 24-26, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: Business Skills Basics for Profit - General Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 18, Webinar

STEPS - A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 31-April 2, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills Workshop - 24 hours

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

May, Location TBA

Concrete Durability Course

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168