Rebuilding a storied college football program is a challenge anywhere, but especially at campuses such as the University of Texas-Austin. There, Athletic Director Steve Patterson knows hard workers when he sees them. Placing concrete and getting the Longhorns back to the top of the polls are similar, he says.

David Ball says he has invented a new form of 'green' concrete called CemFree, a new form of concrete that could spell the end for highway repairs. "We've basically discovered a way of making concrete without using cement," he said. "The traditional method that has been used since 1850 and is based on lime stone. I thought there must be a way to use industrial by-products. We use the by-product created when iron ore is turned into steel, and what's left is a kind of molten rock called slag."

"I'm a materials engineer myself, and spent about three years figuring out the activator," said David. "It was a project I undertook at night after my wife had gone to bed."

From England we take you across the Channel to France where we find a fellow named Le Corbusier. It seems he had a love affair with concrete, evident in a number of his nearly 75 projects. Having already designed his first house, the Villa Fallet, at the age of just 17, in 1907 the young architect embarked on a series of travels throughout central Europe on a mission of artistic education. In Paris, he apprenticed at the office of Auguste Perret, a structural rationalist and pioneer of reinforced concrete, followed in 1910 by a short stint at Peter Behrens’ practice in Berlin. These formative experiences initiated a life-long exploration of concrete in Le Corbusier’s work.

Hey, you know you're a big deal when you don't need a first name. Like Madonna or Cher, for instance.

Source: A December 4 posting on the Web site Arch Daily. Read more.

The concrete overlay test project placed in 2011 at the John Elway Chevrolet dealership in Denver is being completed this week, reports Jon Hansen, NRMCA vice president, national resources. The parking lot paving of three years ago involved 26,000 square feet of reconstructed parking area and 36,000 square feet of 3" concrete overlay on existing asphalt. The final phase of the project involves more than 80,000 square feet of 3" overlay to complete the project.

NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Phil Kresge recently met with the Richmond, VA, office of Dayton and Thompson Architects to discuss pervious concrete. Kresge presented his Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete program at a lunch and learn hosted by the Virginia Ready-Mixed Concrete Association's (VRMCA) Central Region Advisory Council. The meeting was facilitated by VRMCA Director of Industry Services Ann-Germaine Danz.

There was a great deal of interest in pervious concrete in general and several questions were asked specific to design criteria, Kresge said. The VA Department of Environmental Quality has recently issued new stormwater regulations that significantly change how developers must handle stormwater runoff. Pervious concrete is included in the new regulations as an accepted Best Management Practice (BMP) for stormwater management.

NRMCA is seeking an individual to help the concrete industry promote concrete building systems for low- and mid-rise construction. This senior director, building structures, will generate a comprehensive program for the ready mixed concrete industry that fully understands the economics of building systems for residential, single and multi-family, and low to mid-rise commercial structures. The position will work with prominent architects, developers and engineers on improving their knowledge of cast-in-place building systems. The position will be responsible for developing the program, making recommendations for utilization of industry resources and implementing the program.

Responsibilities include:

• Determine reasons why nationally prominent architects and developers select wood or steel framing over concrete for low- to mid-rise construction;

• Determine which types of structures are best suited for concrete construction;

• Evaluate the residential market, both single and multi-family, to determine the driving forces behind structural framing decisions;

• Determine initial cost per square foot for wood, steel and concrete systems for nationally prominent architects and developers;

• Determine operating costs per square foot for typical low rise commercial and residential structures;

• Develop economical concrete system designs using concrete frame, insulating concrete forms (ICFs) or tilt-up to compete with wood and steel framing for low rise structures with a particular focus on multi-family construction;

• Identify obstacles to concrete construction (cost, construction schedule, labor pool, etc.);

• Identify prominent contractors in specific markets who can build concrete frame, ICFs or tilt-up and their mobility for trans-US construction;

• Determine need and implement contractor training of existing contractors in concrete construction; and

• Determine need and implement training for nationally prominent architects and engineers on the proper design of concrete building systems.

The successful candidate with have economic evaluation and analysis, dynamic presentation and communication skills, and make forecasting of strategic decisions and judgments. He or she will have a bachelor's degree, with advanced degree(s) preferred, a minimum of 10 years experience directly related to commercial and residential development and the economic basis for selection, working knowledge of broad building systems and building codes. The position requires approximately 25% travel. The successful candidate will be required to work from a home office located reasonably close to a major airport in the U.S.

The Winter 2014 edition of NRMCA's quarterly magazine, Concrete InFocus, is now available online. This latest issue includes timely and informative articles available only online, among them a detailed analysis of the results of the 2014 NRMCA Industry Data Survey (based on 2013 data). The survey is a benchmarking tool against which companies can measure their performance across multiple catergories.

Click here to read more. Look for another online-only article in next week's edition of E-NEWS.

NRMCA is pleased to announce that the 2015 Sponsorship Program is now available. With over 6,000 members and partners in the ready mixed concrete industry who rely on NRMCA for training and information, NRMCA is a powerful force in the ready mixed concrete industry around the globe. Click here to examine the numerous opportunities in the NRMCA Sponsorship Kit to reach key buying influences in the industry. Regardless of your budget, you’ll find opportunities that can deliver to a powerful, receptive audience at an affordable cost.

Sponsorship opportunities are limited and sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. So act now to join the growing list of members who support NRMCA through annual sponsorship!

NRMCA is presenting the one-day course, Improving Concrete Quality, intended for concrete producers, ingredient material suppliers, engineers, testing labs and contractors, Wednesday February 25, in Atlanta. Improving Concrete Quality, a new book authored by one of the instructors, and other NRMCA resources provide the basic content for the course. Improved concrete quality can benefit all stakeholders in a concrete construction project. This course will answer some of the following questions:

• How do you know if you have good quality? What should be your quality metric?
• How to become more profitable through better quality?
• What are all the key statistical calculations you need to know in concrete?
• How to control the mixing water content in concrete?
• How to deal with temperature and delivery time variations?
• What is the most effective way to ensure that your materials ingredients are of good quality? 
• How to improve batching accuracy, mixing uniformity?
• How to identify non standard testing and curing? How to improve testing quality?
• Tests a producer should do, internal audits and many more.

Course instructors are Kevin MacDonald, Ph.D., FACI, Beton Consulting Engineers LLC, and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E. at NRMCA. Producers will learn readily implementable steps to manage variability and attain a more consistent product; ingredient suppliers will learn how material variation affects concrete variation; engineers will learn the opportunity for improving quality through specifications; and testing lab professionals will learn to measure and improve testing quality. Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will earn 8 professional development hours, a certificate of completion and credits toward NRMCA’s STEPS program.

Click here for more information, registration links and staff contact.

Registration for next year’s NRMCA Safety Course is now open. The upcoming course will take place March 16-18, 2015 in West Palm Beach, FL. This 2.5 day course teaches participants about OSHA safety compliance. It begins with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, fire fighting and evacuation, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more.

The course will take place at the Embassy Suites West Palm Beach. NRMCA has contracted for a small block of sleeping rooms at the hotel. Attendees should make their own hotel reservations by contacting the hotel directly. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and rooms may sell out before the block’s cut-off date. 

Try it - you’ll like it! Use the dead of winter to keep your drivers and operations staff on their toes. NRMCA’s four online titles are at a one-time only price of 1/3 off  through January 31, 2015. Lockout/Tagout/Tagout/Tryout Parts 1 & 2  now Backing Accident Prevention and Using a Spotter are in NRMCA’s Web-based safety training library. The Online Safety Series training videos are shot at ready mixed concrete plants and onsite pours with actual producers’ employees. Viewers watch their peers perform safety tasks properly so theoretical concepts become immediately applicable. Additionally, all lessons are streamed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and may be viewed an unlimited number of times within the purchased time frame. Finally, every lesson includes outcome-learning measurements, NRMCA proof of training certificates and supervisors’ logs to satisfy insurance carriers and OSHA. The development of these safety lessons were funded by the RMC Research & Education Foundation – safety is always first.

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 December 1 - 5, please click here.

It’s the time of year to show your support for one of NRMCA’s most important programs – CONCRETEPAC. Registration is now open for corporate sponsorship of CONCRETEPAC events being held during the 2015 NRMCA Annual Convention at the Marriott World Center Resort, Orlando, Florida, from March 1-3. These are CONCRETEPAC's  largest events of the year; we hope you will consider supporting the concrete industry’s premier political action committee through corporate sponsorship. This year’s events include a golf tournament and the CONCRETEPAC "Back the Pac" Appreciation Reception & Dinner with live and silent auctions, followed by the most coveted event of the year, a door prize drawing for a 2015 Ford Mustang V6 Convertible or $30,000.

As you know, supporting CONCRETEPAC is an excellent way for your company to advertise in front of the industry’s top executives. More than 400 of the ready mixed concrete and cement industry’s top executives will be in attendance. In addition, registering as a corporate sponsor of CONCRETEPAC helps NRMCA to underwrite the costs associated with hosting fundraisers. Remember, corporate funds may be used to sponsor CONCRETEPAC events.

Click here to become a corporate sponsor and thank you for your consideration of these important  CONCRETEPAC sponsorship offerings -- your continued support is essential in helping to further the ready mixed concrete industry's legislative agenda.

For more information, contact NRMCA’s Kerri Leininger at 1-888-846-7622, ext. 1159 or kleininger@nrmca.org or Heather Houck at 1-888-846-7622, ext. 1153 or hhouck@nrmca.org.

On Tuesday, December 2, NRMCA hosted its first quarterly DC Day. Nine NRMCA members took the day off to meet with key leaders in the 114th Congress, including incoming House Transportation & Infrastructure Ranking Member Pete DeFazio (D-OR-04) and incoming House Highways & Transit Subcommittee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO-06) who will be responsible for writing the next Highway Bill. NRMCA and PCA, along with CRSI, also hosted a successful round table for congressional staff on resilient construction. The event was attended by more than 30 key staffers; NRMCA and PCA both received very positive feedback on the event.

NRMCA will hold its next DC Day on February 10, 2015. This meeting will be a great opportunity to connect with members early in the 114th Congress to help set the agenda and educate them about issues that are important to the industry.

If you have questions or would like information about participating in our Next DC Day, please e-mail Kerri Leininger at kleininger@nrmca.org or Elizabeth Fox at efox@nrmca.org.

On Wednesday, December 3, NRMCA participated in a Highway Materials Group meeting with incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Jim Spaulding, of Irving Materials Inc., Bardstown, KY, represented NRMCA at the meeting and spoke about the importance of long-term certainty for the construction industry in the Highway Program. At the meeting, Incoming Leader McConnell told the group that the Highway Program was a priority for him in the coming year. Other members of the Highway Materials Group include the American Concrete Pavement Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, Portland Cement Association, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Associated Equipment Distributors and the National Sand, Stone, and Gravel Association.

The third class in NRMCA's sales certification series, Fundamentals of RMC Accounting, Finance, and Business Law: CCSP Module III, Business Knowledge, will be held February 24-26, 2015 in Silver Spring, MD. The curriculum stands alone; attendees do NOT have to attend CCSP I or II first. Class content shows how to use break-even analysis, fundamentals, cash flow, fundamentals of contract law, collections and antitrust regulation. Each is critical to a producer to assure sales staff sell every cubic yard profitably. The class only runs once a year.

CCSP III is a required class in the STEPS Sales and Promotion program.

 

Registration is now open for NRMCA's Sales Skills Seminar, CCSP IV, for March 31-April 2, 2015 in Silver Spring, MD. This innovative three-day course provides a sales framework and toolkit that can immediately adapt to your organization’s strategies to drive revenue. Master the most up-to-date, industry-related, sales fundamentals through ready mix-specific simulations, role plays and case study analyses that include the challenges of selling concrete's sustainability attributes as well as applying tools for pervious and parking lot sales.

Get Results Now: This course is recommended for professionals of all levels, so whether you deal with internal or external customers, these skills will make an immediate impact on your work!

• Volume and Value: Sell both for short and long term results;

• Secrets to Good Relationships: Solve problems and win loyalty;

• Who Calls the Shots?: Find and communicate with decision-makers;

• Role-playing is Serious Business: Learn how practice makes perfect; and

• Close Calls: Overcome obstacles and close the sale.

On Wednesday, January 14, from noon to 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, NRMCA will host a free Webinar titled STEPS™  A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry. Because STEPS® (Seminars, Training, & Education, Programs) continues to play an important role in the ready mixed concrete industry as its premier certification program,  this short, FREE Webinar will discuss what the program is and how to enroll. Learn how STEPS®  encourages industry employees to participate in a broad range of technical, operations, sales and sustainability classes through NRMCA, state associations and through their respective companies. The program also builds industry-wide standards for consistent performance that not only enhances business outcomes but also illustrates to employees that they have a device to plan long-term ready mixed concrete careers.

December 12, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads 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 17, Free Webinar

Winning Initial Streets & Roads Projects in Counties & Municipalities

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

December 23, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part II)

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

 

 

January 14, Webinar

STEPS - A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

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 *Sold Out

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

 

January 29, Free Webinar

Roller-Compacted Concrete for Streets & Roads

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

 

February 25, Atlanta

Improving Concrete Quality

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

 

March 18, Webinar

STEPS - A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

March 24-27, Salt Lake City

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

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