In recent years NRMCA has developed an approach for measuring paving promotion effectiveness that focuses on tracking outcomes through an online system that is simple but powerful. This new Webinar is available on request for members and staff of other concrete promotion organizations who are interested in hearing about  benefits of "real-time" promotion tracking and the collaboration gains available when multiple organizations make use of this approach.

Northern Concrete Construction in Denmark, WI, was the site of a Parking Lot Boot Camp held last week, reports Jon Hansen, NRMCA senior vice president, local paving, who conducted the camp with his colleague Phil Kresge, senior director, local paving. "NRMCA’s relationship with Northern Concrete Construction (NCC) is a result of NRMCA’s partnership with the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) of which NCC is a member," Hansen said. "NCC heard about the Parking Lot Boot Camp training at the ASCC conference in Dallas last September during the ASCC-NRMCA Joint Paving Task Group meeting."

Wanting to expand the company business into parking lot paving, Mike Ausloos with NCC left the meeting with a commitment to bring the training to his company, Hansen said. Ausloos then asked Mike Tews with NRMCA Producer member Carew Concrete in Appleton, WI, to partner in the meeting with Tews bringing two other Carew team members to the camp. In addition, NCC invited the owner of a fiber company that NCC and Carew routinely use. In all, 11 people attended from the three companies, Hansen said.

"A great testament to the effectiveness of Parking Lot Boot Camp can best be explained by this example: When we got to the Design Assistance Program section of the Boot Camp, NCC’s chief estimator said they had a potential project they would go after if we could help them with the DAP information," Hansen continued. "During the Boot Camp, the estimator sent the CAD file to Amanda Hult, who then completed the DAP for the project and returned it to the estimator by the next morning."

NRMCA Pavement Engineer Amanda Hult will host a free one-hour Webinar on Tuesday, January 26, at noon Eastern time to discuss the NRMCA's Design Assistance Program (DAP) and the Jointing Plan Assistance Program (JPAP) for Parking Lots and Streets and Local Roads. This Webinar will detail the free services provided to the industry through each program. Hult will discuss in detail the information provided in the deliverables as well as how to use this information as a part of a promotional effort.

The Webinar is ideal for individuals and companies involved in promotion or looking for assistance in gaining market share in concrete parking lots and streets and local roads. Designers and specifiers looking for information on how to submit for pavement design assistance are also invited to participate.

Early bird registration is now open for NRMCA’s 2016 Annual Convention, scheduled for April 10-12 at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego. Sign up early to take advantage of the early bird pricing discount and save more than $100 off the regular registration fees. You can access the fax-back registration form and online registration by clicking here. NRMCA has contracted a block of rooms at the hotel at the discounted rate of $219/night plus taxes. A daily discounted resort fee of $13/night will be added to your room rate. This fee will cover several in room amenities, fitness center access and activity discounts. Hotel reservations can be made by calling the Loews Coronado Bay Resort directly at 800-235-6397 and asking for the NRMCA rate or online.

The hotel reservations cut-off date is Wednesday, March 16. The block of rooms is limited, so we suggest that you make your hotel reservation as soon as possible.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) Program, the only 4-year degree program in the business of concrete. Since its inception at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, it has expanded to three additional schools (New Jersey Institute of Technology, Texas State University and California State University-Chico) and graduated over 1,000 CIM Majors. This auction is the only fundraiser held by the CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) and provides critical funding to each school to ensure the unique industry connection exists with the students from the time they enter the program.

There is a wide variety of items available, from loads of cement, admixtures, concrete plant and truck components and even ready mix trucks (new and antique!), to laser screeds and contractor tools, along with many exciting bucket-list vacation packages, sports tickets, golf outings and electronics, so there truly is something for everyone! This 10th annual CIM NSC Auction will be held in Las Vegas on Wednesday, February 3, but you do NOT have to be present to participate.

Click here to visit the CIM Web site and obtain the instructions for registering for both the silent and live auctions, whether you will be able to attend in person or would like to bid on items electronically. For more information, contact NRMCA’s Nicole Maher at 240-485-1158 or by e-mail at nmaher@nrmca.org.

A new topic in the popular Technology in Practice (TIP) series is now available. TIPs are technical topics directed to the ready mixed producer on issues that impact quality and testing. Obtaining reliable test results from acceptance testing performed by third-party testing agencies is a consistent problem for the industry. This TIP provides some recommendations on monitoring strength test results. 

TIP 16 - Evaluating Strength Test Results provides guidance on evaluating strength test results used for acceptance of concrete to determine whether the testing procedures and test results indicate deficiencies in testing practices. It discusses details of the standards, items to review on testing practice, reported information on test reports and a process to analyze test data to identify potential problems with testing (8 pages).

The 95th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) was held earlier this month in Washington, DC. More than 14,000 transportation professionals, academics and industry were in attendance, an increase of about 10% over the previous year. There were some 5,600 papers presented along with more than 750 lectern and poster sessions. Highlights included:

• The nanotechnology-based concrete materials task force will become a subcommittee of TRB’s Basic Research and Emerging Technologies Related to Concrete Committee.
• A paper was presented showing that the use of 0.05% carbon nanotubes could double the mortar stiffness without increase in strength.
• Another research showed that the use of 0.25% carbon nanofibers can help attain concrete strength in excess of 22,000 psi.
• NCHRP is likely to fund a research project on the durability and service life of cracked concrete.
• There was a paper on the use of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy to identify deleterious materials in aggregate and concrete.
• There will be a TRB Webinar on Minimizing Cracking in Concrete in Spring 2016 to be presented by Hooton, Streeter and Weiss.
• There were many workshops related to the use of sensors in concrete, RCC, recycled materials and long-life concrete pavements.
• There was a presentation that reported good performance of Portland limestone cements in sulfate environments.
• The 2017 TRB is likely to have a session on the case studies of projects using performance-based specifications.
• It appears more DOTs will start specifying the resistivity test method (AASHTO TP95) as an alternate to the ASTM C1202 due to its lower cost, ease, rapid use and non-destructive nature.

The national nanotechnology initiative’s strategic plan can be accessed here. The theme of the 2017 TRB meeting which will be held January 8-12 is Transportation Innovation: Leading the Way Forward in the Era of Rapid Change.

For more information, contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org.

Late last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published its long-awaited and contentious proposal "designed to enhance the Agency’s ability to identify non-compliant motor carriers" labeled the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD). FMCSA says the new program is needed to inspect a greater number of carriers annually. FMCSA estimates the new program will be able to assess the "safety fitness" of 75,000 carriers each month instead of the current 15,000 each year. As well, FMCSA notes this will remove the ability for unsafe carriers to continue to operate. According to FMCSA, "If your company does not have 11 or more inspections with violations in two or more BASICs and/or an investigation with violations cited in the past month, you would not be impacted by this proposed rule."

The criteria used under the proposal to determine an "unfit" carrier would include: 

1. "The carrier’s performance in relation to a fixed failure threshold established in the rule for five of the agency’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs);

2. Investigation results; or

3. A combination of on-road safety data and investigation information."

NRMCA's OES Department is still accepting registrations for three 2016 face-to-face classes. With a clear understanding that operations people multitask, these classes collectively focus on giving participants immediate skills to juggle compliance parameters along with efficiency and competency processes. A registration fee discount is extended to those member companies that send three or more people to one class. The upcoming schedule follows:

• Plant Manager Certification – Honolulu, February 23-25
• Ready Mixed Concrete Safety Course – Des Moines, IA, March 15-17

• Plant Manager Certification – Birmingham, AL, April 5-8

On Friday, January 22, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, NRMCA will host a free Webinar to outline the new changes for federal drivers’ Hours of Service (HOS) regulations in 2016. Over the last decade, the federal drivers’ HOS regulations have been subject to numerous court actions and congressional meddling. Now, once again, there are recent, new revisions to the HOS rules, including the confusing 30-minute break, 24-hour restart provision and when mixer drivers need to use logs.

Do you know how these changes impacts your drivers? Is your company in compliance? Do you know how to be compliant? This 60-minute Webinar will explain what the law is, how the industry is impacted, and what your company and drivers need to do, or don’t do, to be compliant.

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

The 2016 Fleet Benchmarking Survey sponsored by Lytx DriveCam is completed each year by industry fleet managers and/or financial managers based on data gathered from the previous calendar year’s performance. This year’s form includes new questions on mixer drum composition, idle time and types of fuel being used. NRMCA's Fleet Benchmarking Survey is used to establish industry benchmarking norms and procedures. Information gathered from the annual Fleet Benchmarking Survey is published in a full report in Concrete InFocus magazine each autumn. A shorter Executive Summary of the survey is also made available to all.

The deadline for submitting completed entries by e-mail to gmullings@nrmca.org is Friday, April 15, 2016.

NRMCA's Safety Contest & Benchmarking Survey has for years been a safety performance and incentive/award program aimed to foster safe practices at ready mixed concrete plants across the nation. The survey is a per-plant contest open to all facilities operated by NRMCA member companies in good standing in 2015. Companies with more than one division are encouraged to distribute entry blanks to individuals responsible for keeping safety records at each plant location.

Entries must be received by e-mail to Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org no later than April 15, 2016. Click here for more information and to download the Benchmarking Survey entry form or contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

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 January 11 - 15, 2016, 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 2016 NRMCA Annual Convention at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego from April 10-12. These are CONCRETEPAC's  largest events of the year and 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 2016 Cadillac ATS Sedan 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 ready mixed concrete and cement industry 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. CONCRETEPAC thanks our Landmark super sponsors: CEMEX, US Concrete and Concrete Supply Company, and our Red level sponsor Lehigh Hanson Company.

Click here to become a corporate sponsor of CONCRETEPAC. For more information please contact NRMCA’s Cara Gavagan at cgavagan@nrmca.org.

This is your last call to submit entries for NRMCA's 2016 Kids Art Contest, sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The theme for the contest is "Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driving Safety". The contest is open to children up to grade 12 who have a relationship to an NRMCA Member.

• All entrants must be related to or sponsored by an NRMCA member.

• Contestants are limited to one entry each.

• Artwork should be 100% produced by the entrant and be original.

• Entries may be in a medium of the artist's choice (oil, water color, pastels, pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, crayon, etc.). Entries can be a drawing, collage, painting or other two-dimensional work.

• Entries must incorporate a ready mixed concrete truck in some manner, but should not be limited solely to a picture of a ready mixed concrete truck.

• Entries must be on 11" x 14" flat paper. We encourage artwork to be on good quality bond or drawing paper, or illustration board. Entries should not be framed or matted.

• For contact purposes, please include artist’s name, address, phone number, age and grade, and the name of the NRMCA Member and that relationship to the artist on the back of their artwork.

• Entries must be post marked no later than January 31, 2016.

Entries will be divided into the following grade categories: pre-K - K; 1-3, 4-6 and 7-12. First, second and third place winners will be selected from each grade category. Prizes will be awarded in each grade category ($100 first; $50 second and $25 third place). Entries will be judged only against others in their grade category and based on originality, effort, creativity, composition and interpretation of the theme "Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driving Safety".  

Winners in each category will be announced at NRMCA’s Annual Convention, March 13-15, 2016, in San Diego. First place entries will be auctioned off at the CONCRETEPAC Auction. Images of the winning entries will be used later in the year to create a 2017 NRMCA calendar; winners and each sponsoring member will receive a free copy of the calendar. Selected entries will also be displayed at NRMCA’s Annual Convention. NRMCA reserves the right to copy and modify any entry for reproduction. Entries will not be returned and may be used for future promotional opportunities.

Entries must be post marked no later than January 31, 2016, and should be mailed or delivered to:

Jill Landry

NRMCA 

900 Spring Street

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

January 22, Free Webinar

Drivers' Hours of Service - What's New for 2016?

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

 

January 26 - 29, Omaha, NE *Sold Out

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

January 27, Free Webinar

Performance–Based Specifications

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

 

February 8 - 12, Des Moines, IA *Sold Out

Regional Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

February 23 - 25, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

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

 

February 23 - 26, Honolulu

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

February 24, Atlanta

Handling Concrete Specifications

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

 

March 1, Webinar

Sales Management 101... for Ready Mix Sales Managers

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

 

March 15 - 17, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills

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

 

March 15 - 17, Des Moines, IA

NRMCA Safety Course

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

 

April 5 - 8, Birmingham, AL

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

April 10 - 12, San Diego

NRMCA's Annual Convention

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

 

May 10, Webinar

Personal Leadership and Coaching

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

 

May 15 - 18, Washington, DC

International Concrete Sustainability & Self-Compacting Concrete Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

May 30 - June 1, Silver Spring, MD

Concrete Durability Course

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

 

September 15 - 20, Nashville, TN

NRMCA's ConcreteWorks 2016

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

 

October 11, Webinar

Recruiting & Hiring Top Performing Ready Mix Sales Reps

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

December 6, Webinar 

Sales Performance Assessments and Reviews... for Ready Mix Sales Managers

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