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Association & Industry News
In today’s competitive marketplace, even a small investment can lead to a big return through NRMCA’s targeted sponsorship program. Whether you want to spend $500 or $5,000, NRMCA’s sponsorship program increases exposure and puts you and your products in front of ready mixed concrete producers. 
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice recently presented the new PavementDesigner.org Web site and demonstrated the software to an audience of over 50 engineers and municipal officials (seen below) at the North Dakota Concrete Council’s Fall Technical Workshop in Bismarck.
In addition to the software presentation, Justice presented on the proper use of ACI specifications. The program was organized by North Dakota Ready Mix and Concrete Products Association Director Dave Sethre; other presenters included Mike Ayers, PhD, Global Pavement Consultants, Inc.; Rob Shogren, LafargeHolcim and Tyler Ley, PhD, Oklahoma State University. Topics presented included limestone cement, use of fibers in concrete, jointing, dowels and documentation needs for successful litigation. For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org.
Engineering
A new topic in the NRMCA Technology in Practice (TIP) series is now available, TIP 18 – Managing Concrete Temperature for Specified Requirements provides guidance to concrete producers on managing temperature of freshly mixed concrete to comply with specification limits or for quality reasons. It provide the typical equations and charts that can be used to estimate concrete temperature or to determine quantity of hot or cold water or ice to use to achieve target temperature. The TIP only focusses on temperature management and not mixture development for hot or cold weather concreting. TIP 2 – Establishing the Required Average Strength of Concrete Mixtures, has been revised. TIPs are developed by the NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee and are intended as an educational resource for ready mixed concrete industry personnel. They can be previewed on the NRMCA Web site. For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org. SEO
Late last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respirable crystalline silica rule; rejecting arguments from a number of organizations challenging the rule. This ruling, unfortunately, now likely means that the silica rule will not be delayed or withdrawn before its implementation date for general industry (under which the ready mixed concrete industry falls) on June 23, 2018. Specifically, the new silica standard, finalized in March 2016, aims to cut in half the permissible expose limit (PEL) of respirable crystalline silica, add a new action level, as well as require new employee area limits, recordkeeping, reporting, medical surveillance, housekeeping, exposure control plans and employee training. NRMCA is creating compliance materials for producers. Click here for more information on the silica rule. You may also contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. Due to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, in August 2016 federal agencies were required to institute upfront “catch up” amounts to bring civil monetary penalties up to present day adjustments since many penalties had been at levels set in 1990. The new law also requires those agencies moving forward to tie the penalty amounts to “inflation each year based on the Consumer Price Index.” Effective January 2, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) maximum civil monetary penalty increases are as follows: • Other-than-Serious: $12,934 • Serious: $12,934 • Repeat: $129,336 • Willful: $129,336 Click here for more information or contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. Registration for NRMCA’s Spring 2018 Safety Course is now open; please note that this course will sell out very soon. It will take place April 10 - 12 in Orlando, 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, firefighting and evacuation, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more. Click here for location details, registration options and staff contacts. 
Buildings
As a leading Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Program Operator for the concrete industry, NRMCA recently verified a system level Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) program for CalPortland Company. NRMCA verified 30 concrete mix designs from 12 plants in the California market. With this new EPD, Producer member CalPortland continues to be a leader when responding to sustainable design market criteria.
Pavement
Building on the recent launch of the Pave Ahead educational campaign and Web site, NRMCA has added several new pieces of collateral to support the local paving promotion effort. Individual flyers focus on conventional concrete parking lots, pervious concrete, roller-compacted concrete and concrete overlays 
March 27 – 29, Silver Spring, MD March 27 – 30, Louisville, KY April 10 – 12, Orlando, FL May 23, Bozeman, MT September 29 – October 1, Metro Washington, DC December 11 – 14, Austin, TX Learning & Development
If you are a ready mix producer in the Gulfport region, you might be interested in setting up a booth at a military-release hiring fair in Mobile, AL, on Friday, January 26. The event is being coordinated by FASTPORT, the U.S. Department of Labor's industry intermediary for the Transportation & Logistics sector. NRMCA’s new Workforce Development Committee partnered with FASTPORT to help producers address their critical job openings, including CDLs, dispatchers and fleet mechanics. U.S. Department of Labor military-release hiring fairs are expected to travel throughout the country, allowing other producers to “hire local.” Click here to find more information and how to participate in this first hiring fair. Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. January 16 – 18, Silver Spring, MD January 16 – 19, Minneapolis *Sold Out January 17, Eagan, MN January 23 – 25, Orlando, FL February 5 – 9, Dallas February 13, Nashville, TN February 20 – 22, Nashville, TN February 20 – 23, Albuquerque, NM March 3 - 5, Houston 
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