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Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in January 2018 is 21.1 million cubic yards, 5.7% higher than that in January 2017. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. NRMCA members can access more information here. 
Engineering
Late last month, NRMCA Engineering Department staff traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the American Concrete Institute's Spring Convention. The following summarizes committee activity involving NRMCA Staff representation The NCC E-News is issued by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center. The following are covered in more details with links to research reports. • The April 2018 MAP Brief, Concrete Overlay Performance on Iowa's Roadways - 2017, provides a summary of the research completed in July 2017 on the performance of concrete overlays in Iowa. Approximately 1,500 miles of concrete overlays constructed over the last 40 years in Iowa were reviewed for performance using Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and International Roughness Index (IRI). • Researchers at Montana State University's Western Transportation Institute completed a study to develop and characterize economical non-proprietary UHPC mixes made with materials readily available in Montana. • The FHWA Office of Infrastructure Research & Development sponsored a field study to evaluate the bond between a UHPC overlay and a substrate concrete bridge deck on a bridge in Brandon, Iowa. • The Virginia Department of Transportation, in cooperation with FHWA, studied the performance of closure pours and concrete overlays on two parallel bridges over Dunlap Creek in Alleghany County, VA. • The Minnesota Department of Transportation published a report recommending innovative mechanistic-based procedures for monitoring concrete early-age development and evaluating the effect of early traffic opening on long-term damage accumulation. Click here to access the newsletter. SEO
The 2018 Fleet Benchmarking Survey is filled out by industry fleet managers and/or financial managers early each year, 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. The survey is used to establish industry benchmarking norms and procedures. Information gathered is published each autumn in a report in NRMCA's Concrete InFocus magazine. A shorter Executive Summary of the survey is also made available to all. Entries must be e-mailed to Gary Mullings by Friday, April 20, 2018. Click here for more information on and to download the 2018 Fleet Benchmarking Survey entry form. The 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 Safety Contest & Benchmarking Survey is a per-plant contest open to all facilities operated by NRMCA member companies in good standing in 2017. 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 e-mailed to NRMCA's Karen Bean by Friday, April 27. Click here for staff contact, more information and to download the entry form. 
Pavement
NRMCA’s Local Paving engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will present the 2-day Design of Concrete Pavements course in Salt Lake City beginning July 19. This course will provide instruction on how to design and detail concrete pavements used in highways, streets and parking lots by considering the traffic loads, soil conditions and resulting pavement stresses. In addition to designing conventional concrete pavements, it will also provide introductions for innovative products such as pervious concrete, concrete overlays and roller compacted concrete. Concrete thickness design will be presented from multiple design methodologies including both empirical and mechanistic-empirical procedures. Discussions of subgrade characterization and improvement as well as pavement jointing will also be provided. Concrete materials will be presented, including discussions on strength, workability and durability. Additional detail will be provided on economic life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of concrete pavements. Typical construction techniques for conventional concrete pavements and overlay as well as the unique techniques used for pervious and roller compacted concrete will be reviewed. Development and application of materials and construction specifications and the related quality control and acceptance tests will be highlighted in terms of meeting the design objectives. Click here to register and, for more information, contact Amanda Hult at ahult@nrmca.org. Government Affairs
There are two upcoming opportunities for you to visit Washington, DC, and lobby Congress for infrastructure. First, the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In will take place May 15-16 at the Grand Hyatt Washington. NRMCA will host a Government Affairs event the morning of the 15th, with the official TCC program beginning that afternoon. In conjunction with the TCC Fly-in, NRMCA will host a DC Days for NRMCA members, so please let us know if you are attending so we can begin to request meetings for you. Make your reservations directly with the Grand Hyatt by calling 888-421-1442. Mention TCC Fly-In for the discounted $329 per night room rate. Cut-off date is Friday, April 20. You can register for the TCC Fly-In here. Second, the Cement and Concrete Fly-In is April 24-25, hosted by the Portland Cement Association and open to members of the North American Concrete Alliance (NACA), which includes NRMCA. This Fly-In is an opportunity for NRMCA members to meet with Congressional offices and top federal officials to discuss policies impacting the industry. Click here for hotel and registration information. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
October 9 – 12, Silver Spring, MD October 17, Las Vegas, NV | Registration Information Forthcoming November 5-9, Silver Spring, MD November 13, Lansing, MI | Registration Information Forthcoming December 4 – 6, Silver Spring, MD December 11 – 14, Austin, TX 2019 January 15 – 17, Silver Spring, MD January 22 – 24, Kissimmee, FL March 19 – 21, Silver Spring, MD Learning & Development
NRMCA cordially invites former Developing Industry Leaders (DIL) program participants to the 2nd annual DIL Alumni one-day leadership workshop on Tuesday, May 15, in Dallas. Its purpose is to provide DILs the introspective time and space to think about their career in the industry and hone personal goals. There is no fee; it’s one of the DIL perks. A networking dinner will be held the night before the workshop, Monday, May 14. The workshop will be conducted by Tim McMahon, an executive coach and consultant who works with both large and small producers in the ready mixed concrete industry. Prior to his consulting practice, Mr. McMahon held executive and sales positions with IBM and D+B/Sales Technologies. He is author of five sales management books as well as being a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and corporate sales meetings. Tim’s articles and commentary have appeared in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other major publications. He has also appeared on CNN and CNBC International. The cutoff is 20 people. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. April 12, Webinar April 18, Silver Spring, MD April 26, Webinar May 10, Webinar May 17, Charlotte, NC May 22 – 24, Dallas May 23, Bozeman, MT Summer/Fall, Cheyenne/Casper, WY | Registration Information Forthcoming September 6, Phoenix, AZ | Registration Information Forthcoming Fall, Uncasville, CT | Registration Information Forthcoming Fall, Kansas City, KS | Registration Information Forthcoming September 29 – October 1, Metro Washington, DC 
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