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Association & Industry News
The 2024 Concrete Industry Management (CIM) Program fundraising auction will be held next week, Wednesday, January 24, in Las Vegas, NV. You can support the program while buying great items whether you are at the event or at home. Once again, there are items for everyone – many of which are ready mix specific (Mack/Revolution mixer truck, Peterbilt/Con-Tech mixer truck, loads of cement from nearly all manufacturers nationwide, fly ash, aggregates, plant and truck equipment and more).
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in October is 37.0 million cubic yards, 3.6% lower than that in October 2022. The estimated production in the U.S. through October is 334 million cubic yards, approximately 2.9% 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 is available here for NRMCA members under Production Statistics. Engineering
The 103rd annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) was held between January 7 - 11 in Washington, DC. More than 12,000 transportation professionals, academics and industry attended the event, about 2,000 below the pre-Covid peak of 14,000 attendees. There were more than 6,400 presentations at over 530 sessions and workshops.
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Due to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, in August 2016 federal agencies were required to institute upfront “catch up” amounts to bring civil monetary penalties up to present day adjustments, since many penalties had been at levels set in 1990. The law also requires those agencies moving forward to tie the penalty amounts to “inflation each year based on the Consumer Price Index.” Effective January 15, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) civil monetary penalty increases are as follows:
Click here for OSHA’s penalties website and here for the Federal Register notice. The NRMCA staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new independent contractor rule, aiming to “return to a totality-of-the-circumstances” analysis, instead of the previous, looser, Trump-era definition differentiating independent contractors versus direct employees, which had relied more on an employer’s direct control over a worker, and the worker’s individual ability to control his or her own work. The new standard will reclassify a large portion of current independent contractors as direct employees. NRMCA engaged with like-minded stakeholders and advocated for beneficial industry outcomes while also submitting joint comments with industry partners in opposition to the rule. The new standard becomes effective March 11, 2024. Click here to review DOL press release on the rule and here to review the final rule. The NRMCA contact is Kevin Walgenbach. The Safety Contest & Benchmarking Survey has for years been a safety performance and incentive/award program aimed to foster safe practices at ready mixed concrete plants across the nation. The Safety Contest & Benchmarking Survey is a per-plant contest open to facilities operated by NRMCA member companies in good standing in 2023. Companies with more than one division are encouraged to distribute entry blanks to individuals responsible for keeping safety records at each plant location. Entries must be e-mailed to safetycontest@nrmca.org by Friday, April 5. Click here for more information and to download the entry form. The staff contact is Gary Mullings. The 2024 Fleet Benchmarking Survey is filled out by industry fleet managers and/or financial managers early each year, based on data gathered from the previous calendar year’s performance. This year’s form includes new questions on mixer drum composition, idle time and types of fuel being used. The survey is used to establish industry benchmarking norms and procedures. Information gathered from the survey is published in a full report in Concrete InFocus magazine each autumn. A shorter Executive Summary is also made available to all. The deadline for submitting completed entries, by e-mail to fleetbenchmark@nrmca.org, is Friday, April 19. Click here for more information and to download the survey entry form. The staff contact is Gary Mullings. 
NRMCA Member News
Longtime Maryland Ready Mix Concrete Association (MRMCA) Executive Director Tom Evans has retired, effective January 11. In a statement by the MRMCA Board of Directors, Mr. Evans was praised for "fostering a culture of continuous learning and concrete promotion that has left an indelible mark on countless professionals young and old and has elevated the overall caliber of our industry in Maryland." As a result of Mr. Evans retirement, the Board has named Dee Dee Kennedy as executive director. She has been on the staff for the past few years and has worked directly with Mr. Evans. The Board also announced the promotion of Mindy Green to administrative & member services manager. In a op-ed article in The Hill, MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) Director Randolph Kirchain and Deputy Director Hessam AzariJafari explain why road improvements enhancing pavement stiffness and smoothness are essential to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of all vehicles. The majority of vehicles on the road are projected to be powered by traditional engines through 2050, making it essential for states and municipalities to use this lever to cut emissions. The authors propose that the Federal Highway Administration should expand its current carbon performance measure to include emissions associated with road performance. The Concrete Advancement Foundation is proud to sponsor the MIT CSHub. For more information, contact Julie Garbini at jgarbini@concreteadvancement.org.
NRMCA Laboratory Manager Stu Sherman was recently recognized by the Maryland Ready Mix Concrete Association (MRMCA) at its annual award luncheon. In honoring Sherman, MRMCA stated, "One of the industry’s worst kept secrets is where to find information on some obscure test method…when in need, the chances are great that Stu Sherman has run the test and can provide all the information needed, what the test means, and how to design your mix to meet all the required limits… Stu does this with a complete lack of ego, with a friendly willingness to help and with an incredible work ethic." Sherman (seen here at left being congratulated by past MRMCA Executive Director Tom Evans and, at right, MCMCA Executive Director Dee Dee Kennedy) has worked at the NRMCA Research Laboratory for more than 15 years and manages the contract testing and industry research performed at the lab. 
Buildings
NRMCA has submitted an application for a grant from EPA for nearly $10 million over 5 years to support the development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs); improve the EPD verification process; and enhance Product Category Rule (PCR) for concrete and constituent materials. The goal of the EPD Assistance Program, as outlined in Inflation Reduction Act Section 60112(a), is “…to support the development, enhanced standardization and transparency, and reporting criteria for Environmental Product Declarations that include measurements of the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of the material or product associated with all relevant stages of production, use, and disposal, and conform with international standards, for construction materials and products…”
Pavement
NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don Clem, PE, recently made two presentations at the 60th Annual Samuel P. Maggard Quality Concrete School held in Las Cruces, NM: NRMCA Educational Programs and Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots. Clem used the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots, second edition, prepared by the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, as the basis for the concrete overlay presentation. The second edition was funded by the Concrete Advancement Foundation. Both breakout sessions were well attended, each attracting about 50 attendees. Clem also provided an overview of the NRMCA Small Producer Council at the New Mexico Ready Mixed Concrete Annual Meeting and participated with the planning committee to develop the program for the 2025 concrete school. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently presented at a lunch and learn at the Chantilly, VA, offices of Gordon Engineering. His presentation, Design, Construction and Testing of Pervious Concrete, was requested by Gordon staff as a result of questions regarding design details on a project that the firm had previously submitted to the Pave Ahead Design Assistance Program (DAP). Several questions were raised during the Q &A following the presentation, not only regarding the DAP project, but also several other projects in the Gordon pipeline. Kresge was joined by Virginia Ready Mixed Concrete Association (VRMCA) Promotion Director Hessam Nabavi. Individuals from Gordon’s Washington, DC, office also attended via Microsoft Teams. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. February 5 - 9, Oklahoma City *Sold Out February 13 - 15, Denver *Sold Out February 20 - 22, Nashville, TN February 20 - 23, Philadelphia *Limited Seating February 20 - 21, Alexandria, VA February 27 - 29, Orlando, FL *Sold Out March 5 - 7, Nashville, TN March 18 - 21, Tampa, FL March 26 - 28, Denver *Limited Seating April 16 - 18, Nashville, TN April 30 - May 2, Mendota Heights, MN October 10 - 14, Aurora, CO 
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