 |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Association & Industry News
As part of its coverage of tax reform legislation being discussed in Congress, The New York Times recently profiled NRMCA member CalPortland's views on the issue. The story carries the dateline Oro Grande, CA, where the company operates a large limestone quarry and interviews Senior Vice President, Corporate Services, Steven Regis. Click here to read more. 
Engineering
SEO
In just five short days, the requirement to install and use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) for compliance with Hours of Service (HOS) regulations goes into effect. On Monday, December 18, 2017, eligible commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers will need to install and use ELDs for compliance with HOS regulations; however, specific only to the ready mixed concrete industry, there is a workable solution for not being required to install and use ELDs. Specifically, ELDs are not needed if a mixer driver does not work more than 14 hours, more than 8 days in any 30-day period. To find out exactly how this works and what a company may need to do to avoid ELD use, please review NRMCA’s ELD Guidance materials here and also here. For more information on ELDs, ELD requirements, FMCSA Registered ELDs and more, click here. You may also contact Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced another delay for the compliance date for electronically reporting 2016 workplace injuries and illnesses. No later than this coming, Friday, December 15, 2017, facilities with between 20 and 249 employees will need to electronically report to OSHA, their summary of injuries and illnesses from 2016 reported on their OSHA Form 300A. As background, the injury/illness electronic tracking rule, finalized on May 12, 2016, imposes new requirements on companies filling out and posting their 300A forms at their respective workplaces. The new rule, known as the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” rule, requires companies establish new anti-retaliation programs and applies to company facilities with 20-249 employees to originally submit their OSHA 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017, and their 2017 Form 300A by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information would be submitted electronically by March 2. Click here for more information on and how to complete the electronic submission. Click here to review the delay notice. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. The 2017 Mixer Truck Rollover Survey is designed to collect data on actual rollovers of ready mixed concrete trucks in calendar year 2017. The electronic form uses check and drop down boxes for ease of completion and data compilation. The data collected is for rollovers that occur in calendar year 2017; no personal or company names are required to complete the form. Click here to download the form. When completed, please return the form to NRMCA's Gary Mullings. Questions regarding the program or form should be directed to Gary Mullings at 240-485-1161 or gmullings@nrmca.org. NRMCA's Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year Award acknowledges the significant contribution of ready mixed concrete truck drivers to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry. As a salute to these key members of the concrete production and delivery team, the award recognizes the driver’s career achievement, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service skills in a manner that will enhance the industry and public image of the career ready mixed concrete delivery professional. The 2018 Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driver of the Year Award winner will be honored at an awards presentation ceremony at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in Houston in March 2018. Applications are due no later than Friday, December 29, 2017 via e-mail to NRMCA’s Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. Click here for more information and to access the nomination form from NRMCA's Web site. Fact: people quit because they have serious issues with their immediate supervisor. In an environment where our industry cannot lose one more mixer driver, it is critical that plant, operations, dispatch, fleet and driver managers, and supervisors understand the scope and tasks they are expected to execute. To stress the importance even more, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the most common business lawsuit filed is by employees against their employers - and the employees cite their direct supervisors as the cause. Therefore, the class content includes industry-specific, hands-on exercises to develop solid procedures to increase efficiency and profitability by using better business processes and communication methods with front line employees. The class is held just once a year. Dates are January 23-25 in Orlando, FL. Register now and take the fee as a 2017 expense. Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact. 
Pavement
Last week, NRMCA partnered with the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center and the ACPA CO/WY Chapter to bring ”Key Steps for Building a Successful Concrete Pavement” to Thermopolis and Douglas, WY. Jamie Johnson, PE, pavement engineer, ACPA CO/WY Chapter and NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don Clem, presented the latest innovations in concrete design and construction of concrete pavements, including an overview of the soon to be released Pavementdesigner, concrete overlays, the NRMCA Design Assistance Program and other industry resources. The programs were attended by personal from WYDOT, the cities of Cody, Douglas, Riverton, several engineering firms, and a general contractor. There are several concrete pavement projects in development in this region of Wyoming, Clem reports. For more information, contact Don A. Clem, at dclem@nrmca.org. The Home Builders Association of Springfield, MO, heard about “Concrete Basics” during a breakfast meeting last month, courtesy of Tom Baird IV of NRMCA Producer member Conco Companies in Springfield and NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Jon Hansen. They spoke to a large audience of home builders from the Springfield area on topics that included the roll of cement in the concrete mix, what water to cement ratio is and the importance of understanding it, basic admixtures and what they do, supplementary cementitious material (SMC), jointing basics and, finally, cold weather concreting best practices. During the presentation, Hansen used the NRMCA Concrete in Practice (CIP) as reference material for most topics. “During, and at the end of the presentation, I awarded a complete set of CIP to two attendees that had the best questions. After I gave out the first set early in the meeting, there was a flurry of questions from a number of the attendees, all wanting the CIP’s. The questions were excellent and what I would expect from a home builders group,” said Hansen, himself a former National Association of Home Builders and Life Spike Club member. The presentation proved to be so popular, Hansen was invited to return in Spring 2018 to present an expanded concrete program customized to the home builder audience. For more information on presenting concrete basics to your local chapter of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org. Government Affairs
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 4 - 8, 2017, please click here. If you would like to receive this weekly updated link in a separate e-mail, or if you have questions or comments about the roundup, contact NRMCA’s Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. 2018 January 16 – 19, Minneapolis January 23 – 25, Orlando, FL February 20 – 23, Albuquerque, NM March 27 – 29, Silver Spring, MD December 11 – 14, Austin, TX |
||||||
|
