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Association & Industry News
The Spring 2023 edition of NRMCA's quarterly magazine, Concrete InFocus, is now available online. This issue is filled with timely and incisive information across the broad spectrum of the ready mixed concrete industry. NRMCA President Mike Philipps offers his take on how and why NRMCA is ready to take on whatever economic and political challenges the rest of the year holds. Regular columnist Doug Ruhlin discusses how environmental justice is transforming the ready mix industry while his colleague Phil Kresge tells you why the NRMCA's Pave Ahead program is thriving. Full length features include deep dives into the industrial paving market, overcoming an overdesigned concrete parking lot pavement and introducing harvested coal ash to ASTM C618. There's also the latest update from the Build With Strength corner along with Portland Cement Association President Mike Ireland's thoughts on the cement industry's roadmap to carbon neutrality. If you're not on the hard copy or electronic mailing list and would like to be, contact Amanda Muller at amuller@nrmca.org. General comments about the magazine can be addressed to Frank Cavaliere at fcavaliere@nrmca.org. 
ConcreteWorks
The meeting of the Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee held earlier this month in Las Vegas as part of NRMCA's Annual Convention was chaired by Alberto Romanach with Cemex and attended by about 60 people. The committee discussed various technical issues, including quality benchmarks and a concept of a quality dashboard; factors of portland limestone cement that can impact concrete properties; developments in industry standards at ACI and ASTM, including ACI 318, 301 and ASTM C94; demonstration of a spreadsheet tool for selecting durability exposure classes and requirements for concrete; proposed revisions to section 033000 of MasterSpec for cast in place concrete; NRMCA research on natural pozzolans and developing concrete mixtures with lower embodied carbon; plant certification; technical publications with revisions to four CIP topics and a draft of a new topic on EPDs, and developing new TIP topics; NRMCA technical education and certification programs; and other technical issues.
SEO
This year, the week of August 7 - 13 is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Safe + Sound Week, a program that encourages the creation and use of workplace safety and health programs. As an official supporter of the Safe + Sound Program, NRMCA joins OSHA in highlighting the importance of workplace safety through NRMCA’s Think First safety program. Both programs aim to increase the level of participation among all levels of workplace management and employees to improve workplace safety. Safe + Sound also provides resources to help employers create and bolster their own safety programs, and connect with other likeminded organizations. Click here for more information on OSHA’s Safe + Sound Program. NRMCA staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach. 
NRMCA’s Member2Member (M2M) program provides better service and more value to all members - a growing list of Associate members are offering Producer members a vast array of savings through rebates and discounts on everything from truck purchases, software, maintenance and technical services to business solutions for your company. Here are the current Associate members waiting to save you money: AlignMark, Allen-Villere Partners, Basys Processing, Cemen Tech, Coast2Coast Chipping, Crown Source, DELL Technologies, EBiz Charge, Fritz Pak Admixtures, Holcombe Mixers, Industrial Pump & Equipment, Insight Financial, Link2Pump, Llumin, Mapistry, Morris Solutions Group, National Auditing Services Consulting, National Credit Card Processing Group, Outpak Washout, Polarmatic, Rocket Start, Sandler, Sysdyne, VehiCom Signs and Western Star. This year will see more companies added to this list, providing more services at discounted rates. Visit all NRMCA dedicated services through the updated M2M webpage where you can explore the offerings. Neither membership in NRMCA nor participation in the M2M Benefits Program can in any way be construed as an endorsement, explicit or implicit, of any company, product or service by the Association. NRMCA accepts no responsibility in any dispute between supplier and customer. The M2M Benefits Program is intended solely as an informational service. Participating companies are responsible for insuring all M2M benefit information is correct and up to date. For more information, contact either Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org or Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org. 
Buildings
NRMCA Senior Vice President, Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar presented Resiliency: Considerations Beyond Code Compliance to attendees at the New York Build Conference and Expo held earlier this month in New York City. The presentation described the impact of natural disasters, defined resilience and steps to disaster resilience; quantified the benefits of resilient construction and presented case studies for review. The presentation also highlighted the performance of insulated concrete form (ICF) construction for resilience in commercial and residential construction. Build With Strength is a coalition formed by NRMCA that offers webinars and courses to architects, engineers, and building and fire code officials as part of its education efforts to promote safety and resiliency and help place more concrete. Click here for more information on Build With Strength education programs. Shamim Rashid-Sumar can be reached at ssumar@nrmca.org. By far the most feasible option to reduce CO2 from cements is to partially replace the clinker component with substitutes. Calcined clay is an excellent alternative to traditional supplementary cementitious material. Concrete Innovations Session 10: Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) will discuss the opportunities, challenges and progress of LC3 in the United States and other parts of the world. It is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time and will feature the following speakers:
Click here to register and here to view upcoming sessions. The NRMCA and Build With Strength staff contact is Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. Build With Strength (BWS) was the Title Sponsor for the Multifamily Executive Leadership Conference held earlier this month in Vail, CO, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche. The conference is an invitation-only event that draws C-Level executives from the multifamily development community. Leaders from around the U.S. heard from their peers who have conquered new avenues, influencing design build and operating decisions.
Build With Strength Ohio in collaboration with Ohio Concrete, the Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association (ICFMA), Allied Construction, Fox Blocks and NRMCA will host an insulated concrete forms (ICF) installation training event and case study tour on Tuesday, April 4, in Cincinnati. The event will educate contractors and architects on the benefits and opportunities of ICF construction. ICFs are quickly becoming the method of choice for all forms of construction due to attributes such as speed and safe construction, operation maintenance and energy savings, resilience, sound control and building insurance discounts. These benefits are creating ICF project demand and this training will deliver a knowledgeable contractor workforce that can augment its portfolio of construction services. Build With Strength has recently partnered with ICFMA to launch ICF contractor training; the training is driven locally by NRMCA state affiliates and targets concrete contractors, framers, masons and other trades who will learn the techniques to expand their construction services portfolio and be more competitive in today’s construction environment. Click here to register for this event. As part of the Build With Strength campaign, NRMCA promotes sustainable concrete solutions for buildings. For more information, contact Derek Torres at dtorres@nrmca.org or 973-876-0938. 
Learning & Development
NRMCA is offering its information-packed course, Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems, and Mixture Submittals, intended for concrete producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs online between May 16 and 18. The course will feature a group discussion session on May 18 and examine the latest changes to the code and specification requirements (ACI 318, 301, ASTM C94) governing ready mixed concrete. It will address many topics, including:
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. March 28 - 30, Dallas April 4 - 6, Orlando, FL April 11 - 13, Carmel, IN April 18 - 20, Nashville, TN April 18 - 20, Oklahoma City April 18 - 20, Los Angeles April 24 - 25, Antioch, TN April 25 - 27, Manchester, NH May 9 - 11, Orlando, FL May 16 - 19, Albany, OR May 16 - 18, Online Course May 16 - 18, Antioch, TN May 23 - 25, Manchester, NH June 6 - 8, Orlando, FL June 20 - 22, Manchester, NH September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN October 11 - 13, Centennial, CO November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC November 28 - 30, Orlando, FL December 12 - 15, Orlando, FL 
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