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Association & Industry News
This year’s survey represents 34% of the mixer driver job population. Briefly:
NRMCA members may click here to obtain the survey's report and Executive Summary. For more informaiton, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. The Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) has begun its third annual Concrete in Life global photography competition that focuses on the sustainability, beauty and versatility of concrete. Professional and amateur photographers around the world are invited to capture images of concrete to compete for a $10,000 prize. Judges include Isabel Allen, editor at Architecture Today; Gian Luca Barone from Zaha Hadid Architects and experts from GCCA. They will be looking for entries showing concrete contributing to their individual lives and wider society, and notably sustainable buildings and infrastructure, to inspire the public in the run up to COP26, as the GCCA prepares to announce its detailed roadmap to zero carbon concrete. Contestants are invited to capture imagery in the following categories, which include a brand new Sustainable Concrete category:
The competition will crown one winner for the professional and amateur brackets of each category as well as one overall winner for the Best Concrete in Life photo of the year from the eight finalists. Each category winner will receive $2,500 in prize money, while the overall winner will receive $10,000. To enter the competition, participants should post a picture that they’ve taken on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #ConcreteInLife2021, #UrbanConcrete, #ConcreteInfrastructure, #ConcreteInDailyLife, and #SustainableConcrete. They should also tag the GCCA – @the.gcca on Instagram or @theGCCA on Twitter. Winners will also be invited to speak about their images with the GCCA, with their images shared on GCCA’s website and social media channels. The competition will run until October 22, 2021, with the winners announced in January 2022. Click here for more information or contact Matt Peacock at BCWGCCA@BCW-global.com. 
Engineering
NRMCA has updated its Guide to Improving Specifications for Ready Mixed Concrete. This publication has been developed through the Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee and has evolved based on comments developed when reviewing project specifications used in the concrete construction industry. This publication is intended as a guide for ready mixed concrete or contractor personnel who are responsible for compliance with project specifications or for design professionals who develop project specifications. This document proposes specification clauses and includes accompanying commentary as guidance. The commentary essentially emphasizes the fundamental concepts of specifications for ready mixed concrete addressed in industry standards published by ACI or ASTM International. Provisions of ACI 318-19, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, as it relates to concrete ingredient materials and mixtures, production and delivery are incorporated in this document. Requirements in this document are consistent with those addressed in ACI 301-20, Specification for Concrete Construction. This publication uses the most recent version of the AIA MasterSpec format, Section 033000 for cast-in-place concrete, to provide context to the typical sections seen in project specifications of private design firms or owners. The document only covers those sections pertinent to concrete materials and mixtures. The intent of writing this publication in this format is to provide advisory information to designers, contractors, concrete producers and other stakeholders on a project to discuss the intent or for the designers to incorporate these suggestions. Click here to download the publication. For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org. The NRMCA Concrete Durability Course is scheduled for online delivery between September 10 - 20. The course will use presentation recordings from a previous offering of the course for attendees to access as their schedule permits. There will be quizzes and live sessions for review and Q&A during this period. Course handouts will be provided on the NRMCA online education portal. The exam for this course that provides the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification will be on September 20. Details on the schedule are tentative at this time. The course is taught by Michael Thomas, University of New Brunswick, Kevin Folliard, University of Texas at Austin, and NRMCA Engineering Staff. The course provides a fundamental understanding of the nature of cement and concrete as they relate to durability of concrete. Topics will cover cracking, alkali aggregate reactions, sulfate attack, corrosion of reinforcing steel, freeze-thaw durability and other aspects. A group exercise will be facilitated to familiarize attendees with the ConcreteWorks software used for mass concrete and service life prediction. The course also discusses the durability provisions in the Building Code - ACI 318-19 and how specifications can be structured to address durability. Comprehensive reference material is provided as course notes that is an excellent resource to concrete producers and associated technical personnel. Those with the NRMCA Level 3 Certification obtain the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification when passing the exam offered with the course. It is not essential to have attended the NRMCA Technical Short Course to attend the Durability Course. The course provides required learning units toward the technical track of the NRMCA STEPS certification program. Persons interested in attending this course are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Click here to register. For more information contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org. SEO
Click here to view this month’s and all previous issues. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
Buildings
NRMCA Producer member Lehigh Hanson recently achieved Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) certification for its Cadman ready mixed concrete (RMC) plants in Seattle and Bellevue, WA, and for its Hanson Aggregates River Ranch and 67th Avenue RMC plants, both located in metropolitan Phoenix. Lehigh Hanson is the first ready mix producer in the U.S. to achieve CSC certification at the Silver level. The CSC is the only industry-specific system that certifies the sustainability performance of concrete plants and their supply chains. The responsible sourcing of construction materials is an increasing priority in high-profile construction projects and in public procurement. By creating a certification system for responsible sourcing, the CSC aims to improve transparency of the concrete sector, highlighting the essential role of concrete as a sustainable construction material and be recognized in green building standards. Recently, the USGBC launched the LEED Pilot Credit: Social Equity within the Supply Chain and acknowledged the CSC as an approved program. As the Regional System Operator (RSO) for the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) framework in the U.S., NRMCA will build knowledge and facilitate verification for aggregate, cement and concrete companies that wish to pursue a responsible supply chain and CSC certification. 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. RMI's Embodied Carbon Initiative has published the Concrete Solutions Guide which expands on the need to optimize concrete mixes to reduce overall embodied carbon in buildings and construction. The guide highlights six proven and scalable solutions to meet the accelerating demand for low-embodied-carbon concrete without compromising financial or material performance. NRMCA provided input to the report. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. Earlier this year, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) approved a series of procurement principles to drive federal action toward low embodied carbon building materials and approaches. The GSA’s vast procurement power gives it a unique ability to influence markets; over the past decade 253 million square feet of buildings were constructed for GSA, representing more than $11 billion in value.
In 2001, the GSA adopted the LEED building rating system to meet its performance requirements for new construction. These low embodied carbon procurement principals are anticipated to follow a similar market adoption trajectory. Click here to view the full document. For more information on how Build With Strength can help leverage low embodied carbon performance requirements to help place more concrete, contact Tien Peng at tpeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.
Government Affairs
The NRMCA Government Affairs Committee will hold its Fall meeting on Tuesday, September 7, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. This meeting, typically held in conjunction with NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks, will provide an update on the government affairs and advocacy efforts of NRMCA’s Government Affairs team, as well as provide a look ahead to the end of the year and into 2022. Click here to RSVP. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
October 13, Free Virtual Conference October 18 - 20, Orlando October 19 - 22, Dallas November 9 - 11, Dallas November 17, Free Virtual Conference November 30 - December 2, Orlando December 7 - 10, Orlando December 7 - 9, Dallas December 15, Free Virtual Conference Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. September 10-17, Online Course September 15, Free Virtual Conference September 29 - October 3, Kissimmee, FL 
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NRMCA’s Think First Monthly Safety Initiatives feature different industry-specific safety items relevant to seasons, current topics and/or industry concerns. The initiatives are meant to be shared, used as a training tool, printed, posted and/or distributed; all of which are encouraged. This month’s issue (shown here) is titled Confined Spaces… Think First-Required. 
