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NRMCA Executive Vice President, Structures and Sustainability, Lionel Lemay was recently featured on a panel discussion at the Structures Congress in Atlanta to discuss Scale Building Decarbonization Through Digital EPDs & Project Benchmarking. The conference, held annually by the Structural Engineering Institute, features presentations and technical sessions ranging from resilience to embodied carbon in structures. Lemay presented along with industry representatives from the wood and steel industries and two key representatives from the design community. Lemay discussed how NRMCA was one of the first industries to adopt the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products in 2012 and publish benchmarks for carbon footprint in 2014. Subsequently, the concrete industry has shown a 21% decrease in carbon footprint in seven years and concrete producers have published over 35,000 product specific EPDs. Conversely, the wood and steel industry have yet to develop benchmarks and have very few product-specific EPDs. The structural engineering community has adopted the SE2050 which is an initiative to reduce carbon footprint of structures to zero by 2050. NRMCA participates on the committee to help develop tools and guidance to help meet this goal. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Foundation has kicked off what it calls the Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI), a multi-year effort to address globally challening issues. By collaborating research and education efforts with a host of expert networks, including NRMCA, the foundation will identify how fire safety science and engineering can engage across four topics: Energy & Infrastructure, Resilience & Sustainability, Climate Change and Digitization, and Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity. NRMCA is a Platinum Level Founding Partner of this initiative. During the CGI Virtual Summit being held this week, NRMCA Vice President, Fire Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar served as the moderator for the Resilience & Sustainability session, which included a roundtable discussion with Evan Reis, executive director at the U.S. Resiliency Council and other expert panelists. Following the conference, GCI aims to continue its efforts with additional events, workshops, working group development and white paper production developing strategies for implementation. More information about the Grand Challenges Initiative can be found here.
Engineering
The next NRMCA Concrete Durability Course will be offered at the Holcim Northeast Regional Corporate Office in Middleton, MA (Boston area) from May 24 to 26. The course is taught by Michael Thomas of the 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 NRMCA ConcreteWorks software used for mass concrete and service life prediction.
SEO
Get ready for National Mixer Driver Appreciation Week taking place August 1 - 5. To help celebrate our industry’s drivers please mark your calendars and visit the Appreciation Week store opening beginning Monday, May 2. The store will include polos, t-shirts, hats, beverage tumblers, koozies, key chains and multitools. The store is scheduled to remain open through early June. Orders will then be shipped by July 15 and arrive by August 1, just in time for Appreciation Week. More details will be released next week when the store opens. For more information, contact either Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. In early February the education requirements changed for anyone who wants to obtain or upgrade a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Before taking the CDL test, future drivers must successfully complete a specific program of theory and behind-the-wheel instruction provided by a school or other entity on FMCSA's new Training Provider Registry (TPR). That means the requirements have changed if your company will train future, or current, employees to get their CDLs. Looking for more information? FMCSA just released a video to help. Staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. 
The Concrete Council of St. Louis and NRMCA recently partnered with two local school districts to share their first ever insulating concrete form (ICF) school projects currently being built in Missouri. Over 85 local architects, engineers, contractors, school administrators and concrete industry personnel, were given tours of the schools: Zitzman Elementary School in Pacific and Hancock Elementary School in St. Louis, to learn firsthand how these innovative insulated concrete systems have been integrated into each project.
Buildings
Build With Strength, the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council and AIA Connecticut recently hosted a tour of a 12,000 square foot Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) home being built north of New York City in Pound Ridge, NY. The purpose of the tour was to educate some 35 designers, developers and builders seen here on the numerous benefits of ICFs and concrete construction in general. Throughout the tour, the homeowner, Sam Fertik of Carbon Custom Builders, was able to tackle questions and concerns regarding concrete’s sustainability along with its resiliency. Ken Lynch and Bob Redmond of Nudura ICFs and Tremco also helped to answer and educate the attendees. Representing NRMCA/Build With Strength was Derek Torres who provided insight and opportunities on how his team can help convert the attendees’ current projects into a more cost-effective and sustainable building using ICFs/concrete. And a big thank you to Dominic Di Cenzo of the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council and Jenna Hensley of AIA Connecticut for organizing this event. "This wouldn’t have been possible without their commitment to excellence for the concrete industry," said Torres. As part of the Build With Strength campaign, NRMCA promotes sustainable concrete solutions for buildings. For more information, contact Doug O’Neill at doneill@nrmca.org or 716-801-6546, or Derek Torres at dtorres@nrmca.org, 973-876-0938. The registration deadline nears for Learning Session 2 of Concrete Innovations, sponsored by NRMCA, Build With Strength and Pave Ahead: Concrete Innovations Learning Session 2 - Wednesday, May 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Drive Towards Zero Carbon Concrete This panel discussion will explore the key considerations and strategies in designing and constructing a building with net zero lifecycle carbon emissions and concrete's role in getting to net zero.
This Product Spotlight session will examine how the newest range of GCP’s superplasticizers, CONCERA®, enables concrete producers to increase productivity, reduce costs, enhance workability and help achieve sustainability goals.
Click here to register. Visit www.concreteinnovations.com for past and future sessions. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995.
Pavement
NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently joined Ohio Concrete Association’s (OCA) Northwest Promotion Director Wayne Moening in meeting with two large, design-build contractors in the Toledo area. They introduced the contractors to the OCA and NRMCA; identified the benefits of concrete pavement and encouraged them to include concrete paving designs in their projects. Moening and Kresge then fielded questions regarding sustainability, constructability and proper design. While in the area, Moening and Kresge also met with representatives from contractor Rudolph Libbe, Inc. and from NRMCA Producer member Kuhlman Group as follow up to their 2020 Concrete Parking Lots Boot Camp. They discussed several projects as well as some obstacles that had been met since their training and provided guidance on how to overcome them. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Learning & Development
The annual working Workforce Development Committee Meeting will take place May 24 - 25 in Chicago. HR professionals as well as those interested in working on industry workforce challenges are encouraged to attend. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, followed by a networking dinner. On Wednesday, May 25, we will start with a working breakfast and adjourn at noon. Click here to RSVP; you will also find information about meeting place, agenda times and discounted-price hotel information. The hotel is adjacent to O'Hare airport, an easy walk from the terminal. Staff contact is 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. May 3 - 6, Milwaukee *Sold Out May 10, Free Online Webinar May 24, Free Online Webinar May 24 - 26, Middleton, MA September 29 - October 3, Aurora, CO November 8 - 10, Louisville, KY November 15 -17, Phoenix December 13 - 16, Kansas City, MO 
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