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Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in March 2023 is 32.1 million cubic yards, 6% lower than that in March 2022. The estimated production in the U.S. through March is 81.2 million cubic yards, approximately 2.7% lower than that during the same period in 2022. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S Geological Survey. More detail, including production by state for the first quarter of 2023, is available here for NRMCA members under Production Statistics. 
Buildings
The benefits of ready mixed concrete for first responder facilities were recently featured at the Station Design Conference held in St. Louis, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Donn Thompson. The Build With Strength team, in partnership with the Concrete Council of St. Louis, participated in the event which connected architects with fire district and police administrators.
Last week, NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk, FAIA, attended the American Institute of Architects 2023 Conference on Architecture in San Francisco, a key networking hub for the AEC industry with more than 500 brands, thousands of experts, the newest products and materials, and pioneering project solutions not found elsewhere. Mruk said the NRMCA/Build With Strength booth was well visited. More than 14,000 architects attended the conference. NRMCA participated in numerous events at the conference, including the Boston Architectural College reception (shown here, from left to right) with Jonathan Taylor, AIA Strategic Council; Catherine Clark, RIBA-USA president; Mruk and Dr. Mahesh Daas, Boston Architectural College president. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting architects and educators at the cutting edge of practice. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org. Build With Strength Senior Vice President, Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar and Director, Building Innovations, Justin McCain recently discussed insulated concrete form (ICF) construction to fire marshals and inspectors in Orlando, FL. The Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association (FFMIA) hosted the joint conference of the 35th Annual Florida Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators and the 78th Annual Florida Arson Seminar; FFMIA represents more than 1,400 fire marshals, inspectors, investigators, public educators and affiliated individuals interested in protecting the citizens of Florida from fire. The association provides training and promotes the development of codes, standards and laws that further the protection of life and property throughout the state. FFMIA was very receptive to NRMCA’s message of building with concrete and will use the information to advocate for building codes that specify resilient materials that will further protect life and safety in Florida, said Rashid-Sumar and McCain. For more information on this event or other education events for building and fire code officials, contact Justin McCain at jmccain@nrcma.org or Shamim Rashid-Sumar at ssumar@nrmca.org. 
The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub will host a webinar on Thursday, June 29, at 11 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the initial findings of the research project titled Transforming the Role of the Concrete Delivery Professional. This research was funded by the Concrete Advancement Foundation and a final research report will be issued later this year. According to the 2022 NRMCA Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey, 70% of producers stated that they lost business because they did not have enough CDPs to deliver concrete. The MIT CSHub, in collaboration with MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, has explored how innovations in technology and operations could change driver recruitment, retention and productivity. The webinar will cover issues like driver scheduling, management-to-driver engagement and reducing the physical challenges of the job. Novel solutions will be discussed, including using digital systems and gamification to increase driver engagement, equipment automation and augmented reality. Analytical results suggest that increases in hiring costs, including implementing new solutions, are far outweighed by reductions in lost sales (due to lack of drivers). The research has also shown that only 12 minutes of lost time per load could eliminate the driver shortage for many firms. Click here to register. SEO
NRMCA’s Annual Safety Award acknowledges the significant contribution that safe work practices gives to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry as a whole. The award is presented to an individual or company whose actions represent the very highest in the advancement of safety in the ready mixed concrete industry. The award program is generously sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, June 23.
Does your facility need to report to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program? Have you run the calculations to determine if your facility does? Do you know what the requirements are and/or how to report if necessary? Now’s the time to obtain answers to all these questions. Remember, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) TRI Program “tracks the management of more than 650 toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment.“ Specifically, “U.S. facilities in certain industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment.” This information is then submitted annually to EPA and compiled in the TRI. Facilities that handle toxic chemicals, including ready mixed concrete plants, are required to calculate the quantities that were handled and if any quantity is over an allowable threshold, that chemical and amount need to be reported under the program. The reporting deadline is July 1. For more on the program, listed chemicals, potential for reporting and when/how to report please visit EPA’s TRI Program website. The NRMCA staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach. NRMCA’s Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practices in their operations. The program salutes companies that have not only met, but surpassed governmental compliance measures and demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through plant and staff investment. NRMCA member companies producing ready mixed concrete from a fixed plant location in the U.S., its territories or Canada are eligible to enter. Awards will be determined upon individual plant merits. Winning entrants will be honored at the awards ceremony at NRMCA‘s ConcreteWorks this October in Nashville, TN. Winners will also be featured in a 2023 edition of NRMCA’s Concrete InFocus magazine and industry trade publication Concrete Products. Entries and photos must be e-mailed to gmullings@nrmca.org by Friday, July 21. Click here for more information and to download the entry form. The staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach.
Build With Strength’s Director, Building Innovations, Brandon Wray in partnership with NRMCA Producer member Holliday Rock’s Sustainability Manager Ignacio Valdivia recently presented Reducing Concrete's Carbon Impact to the Los Angeles office of ARUP, one of the world's largest engineering firms. The event was also attended virtually by ARUP's Bay Area and Seattle offices. The presentation demonstrated the concrete industry's commitment to implementing climate-conscious solutions on all types of projects while also being a trusted resource through all phases of design. The strong partnership between NRMCA and member companies sends forth a message of expertise and willingness to unite in improving the built environment. For more information regarding the event, contact Brandon Wray at bwray@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don Clem, PE, provided a presentation titled Top Ten Ways to Reduce Carbon in Concrete before the Central/Northern Market Committee of the Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) last week. Clem also updated the committee on national agencies that are considering adding or have added low carbon concrete requirements, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Services Administration and the Federal Highway Administration, among others. The Central/Northern Market Committee is chaired by Ken Hall, BURNCO, with CRMCA staff support provided by Emma Dolan. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. Members of the NRMCA Pave Ahead team recently attended the National Association for Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) Commercial Real Estate Development Association’s I.CON East Industrial Conference in Jersey City, NJ. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge and Senior Director, Local Paving, Luke McHugh participated in the two-day event where Pave Ahead was an exhibitor and a Silver Sponsor. The conference was sold out with 1,200 registrants, surpassing last year’s largest ever NAIOP event. McHugh and Kresge connected with several key developers and engineering firms, providing opportunities for follow up meetings, future lunch and learn programs and, in some cases, more immediate project assistance. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Registration is still open for NRMCA’s Fall Safety Course taking place October 11 - 13 in Denver. This 2.5-day course teaches participants about OSHA safety compliance, beginning with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about the new silica rule, electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, emergency action plans, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspections and much, much more. Click here for location details and registration information. For more information, contact Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. Engineering
Registration is open for this year’s Environmental Certification Course being held in Orlando, FL, November 28 - 30. 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 a 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 to register. For more information, contact Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. June 20 - 22, Manchester, NH September 11 - 15, Maryland September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN October 11 - 13, Centennial, CO October 17 - 20, Denver November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC *Low Capacity November 14 - 16, Dallas November 28 - 30, Orlando, FL December 12 - 15, Orlando, FL December 12 - 14, Denver 
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