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Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in June 2019 is 33.4 million cubic yards, 2.4% lower than that in June 2018. The estimated production in the U.S. for 2019 through June is 171 million cubic yards, 1.5% higher than that during the same period in 2018. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the US Geological Survey. More detail, including production by state for the 2nd quarter, is available to NRMCA members here. Registration is continuing for the RMC Research & Education Foundation’s 8th Annual Walk for Wellness, taking place in conjunction with NRMCA’s National Mixer Driver Championship at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2019. This popular event emphasizes the importance of wellness in the concrete industry. Your participation is a great opportunity to support this initiative and the Foundation at the same time. Registration is $25 per walker and is tax deductible as a contribution to the Foundation. Sponsorships are available for this event and is another terrific way to demonstrate your company’s support for the Foundation and the industry. The sponsorship form may be accessed here. Please contact Jennifer LeFevre with questions or visit www.rmc-foundation.org for more information on the work of the RMC Research & Education Foundation. 
Engineering
NRMCA, in conjunction with the Arkansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association, is presenting the one-day course Improving Concrete Quality intended for concrete producers, ingredient material suppliers, engineers, testing labs and contractors on Wednesday, November 20, in Little Rock, AR. Improved concrete quality can benefit all stakeholders in a concrete construction project. This course will answer the following questions:
Course instructors are Kevin MacDonald, Ph.D., FACI, of the Beton Consulting Engineers LLC, and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E. of 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 options and staff contact. SEO
Registration is still open for this year’s Environmental Certification Course to be held in Orlando, FL, November 19-21. Course attendees will be educated on industry-specific environmental issues that affect ready mixed concrete production, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Solids Management, Hazardous Materials, Dust Control, Recycling, Spill Prevention Plans, Air Quality Management, Noise Management, Environmental Auditing and much more. Those who should attend include plant managers, environmental managers, compliance managers, executives or anyone with fiscal and/or environmental responsibilities that should know the details concerning your company’s responsibilities when it comes to EPA regulations, the Clean Water Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management and numerous other critical environmental matters. Click here for more information and registration options. You may also contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. 
Buildings
NRMCA has verified a system level Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) software program for BURNCO Colorado. NRMCA has verified concrete mix designs from each of its Denver, Jeffco and Windsor concrete plants. BURNCO Colorado's market-facing program will provide it with greater competitiveness since Colorado is ranked sixth in the United States for LEED projects, mostly driven by the Denver-metro area. BURNCO can produce EPDs from three plants to meet growing pressures from architects, engineers and other construction stakeholders. The software tool was developed by Climate Earth, and integrates LCA impacts with mix design batch operating system to generate EPDs when desired. The software and underlying life cycle data for the plant was reviewed and verified by Sustainable Solutions Corporation. From this point forward, BURNCO can generate EPDs on-demand from the three Denver-area plants. (BURNCO EPDs can be found here.) Established in 2012, NRMCA’s EPD Program aims to help concrete producers and concrete product suppliers meet new criteria in green building rating systems, such as LEED v4 and, in some cases, growing state legislation. As part of the Build With Strength campaign, NRMCA promotes Strength Through Transparency for member and industry competitiveness in the green building marketplace and the trends toward product and company transparency. For more information, contact James Bogdan at jbogdan@nrmca.org or 412-420-4138.
The annual NRMCA Dispatcher Training Forum will be held January 28-30, 2020, in Orlando, FL. As the new year launches, it is time to make sure experienced as well as neophyte schedulers and dispatchers are primed to make the order flow seamless. Since their work pressure continues to remain intense, they must be terrific at juggling competing demands at a much faster pace. New dispatchers often perform unevenly while under fire and even seasoned veterans can find it difficult to step back and change old habits. Put learning to work: attendees return ready to perform more efficiently in core skill areas: • Putting Orders in Order: Mastering technical, practical and customer-service issues; Click here for more information, registration options and staff contacts. 2020 January 14 – 16, Des Moines, IA January 21 – 24, Cincinnati January 28 – 30, Orlando, FL January 28 – 30, Dallas February 25 – 28, Miami March 7 – 9, Las Vegas March 10 – 14, Las Vegas March 17 – 19, Dallas September 27 – 29, Aurora, CO Learning & Development
If driver recruitment and retention remain challenging in your company, this year’s findings could add insight to your efforts. Are you following the trends in this job classification? Since 2014, the industry hired approximately 115,500 mixer drivers; approximately 102,400 have quit in the same span. Over the same five-year period (2014-2019), the industry has employed about 74,400 dirvers per year. Better pay, inconsistent daily schedules and lack of a steady 12-month income/work remain the top three reasons drivers quit. Facing such a dilemma, last year 43% of responding Producer member companies reported they hired 18-21 year-old drivers and 51% hired newly licensed commercial drivers. Approximately 8% of new hires last year were new CDL drivers. On the other end of the spectrum, 56% reported they rehired former employees, equating to 9% of the new-hire mixer driver pool. Click here to download this year’s comprehensive report. 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. October 3 – 7, Kissimmee, FL October 22 – 24, Irving, TX October 22 – 25, Dallas October 24, Gambrills, MD November 7, Antioch, TN November 11 – 15, Baltimore November 19 – 21, Orlando, FL November 20, Little Rock, AR December 10 – 13, Orlando, FL December 17 – 19, Dallas 
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