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ConcreteWorks
Several engaging sessions are planned for the 2024 ConcreteWorks Tech Track. For example, former Michigan Tech Professor Larry Sutter who has been deeply involved with standardizing innovative low-carbon cement and supplementary cementitious materials will speak on Setting Standards for Innovative Cementitious Materials. Former ACI President Dr. Charles Nmai with Master Builders Solutions will discuss how performance-based specifications can help us achieve our goals for sustainable concrete construction. NRMCA’s Colin Lobo and Brandon Wray will provide an overview of recent developments in ACI codes for low-carbon construction. They will discuss how designers and producers can use the NRMCA carbon calculator to set carbon budgets and show compliance in projects. Finally, there will be a panel discussion on an item of topical interest, Type IL cements. A cement supplier, concrete producer and contractor involved in the construction of the Ferguson International Center in Bloomington, IN, will discuss pre-construction best practices for success. Attendees are encouraged to attend to learn from the experts and contribute to the discussions. For more information, contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org. 
NRMCA's Business Advancement Committee and IT Task Group are pleased to present a lineup of valuable, informative educational offerings at ConcreteWorks 2024. The goal of the Business Advancement Committee and its IT Task Group is to support the business performance and economic success of the ready mixed concrete industry. Make plans now to attend these BAC education sessions:
For more information on the Business Advancement Committee or the IT Task Group, please contact Andrew Tyrrell.
Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in May is 34.3 million cubic yards, 13.2% lower than in May 2023. The estimated production in the U.S. through May is 182 million cubic yards, approximately 5.5% lower than that during the same period in 2023. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. More detail, including production by state for the second quarter, is available here for NRMCA members under Production Statistics. Buildings
NRMCA’s Lionel Lemay and Brian Killingsworth are presenting at the American Center for Life Cycle (ACLCA) Conference being held September 23 - 26 in Snowbird, UT. The annual ACLCA conference is designed to inspire Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) professionals to explore the latest innovations, technologies and practices driving the transformation of environmental sustainability. Lemay will present Sustainable Concrete: Using NRMCA Carbon Calculator to Reduce, Quantify and Specify Carbon as part of a technical session while Killingsworth will participate on a panel discussion titled EPD Benchmarks for the Asphalt and Concrete Industries in Support of the Low Carbon Transportation Materials Program. ACLCA develops guidelines for Product Category Rules, Environmental Product Declarations and other critical standards using LCA methodologies. NRMCA is a member of ACLCA and Lemay sits on its Board of Directors. NRMCA is exhibiting at the conference to attract new talent to NRMCA’s EPD program, including experienced independent verifiers and to hire a new senior director, life cycle assessment, to help implement its EPA Grant program. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org.
NRMCA Senior Directors, Building Innovations, Brandon Wray and Patrick Matsche recently represented Build With Strength (BWS) at the Structural Engineers Association (SEA) of California’s annual conference held in Portland, OR. The event was co-hosted with delegates from Northwest SEA’s, including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, resulting in a robust and diverse set of designers spanning the bulk of the West. The BWS team was also joined by NRMCA member and NRMCA Promotion Committee Sustainability chairwoman Melissa Verwest of Knife River (seen here, left to right, are Wray, Verwest and Matsche). Over the course of two days, the team connected with structural engineers on the topics of performance specifications, sustainability, resilience and innovative concrete technologies. “The design community has a hardy appetite for knowledge pertaining to the efficient use of concrete as a material,” said Wray after presenting on Resilient and Sustainable Concrete Design Considerations. Designers are routinely held to a standard that requires them to be on the record as experts in the materials they design with. Such pressure makes NRMCA resources paramount to their own success, which becomes even more apparent as the BWS team is routinely pulled into projects as material experts to help concrete reach its full potential. For questions regarding the event, contact Brandon Wray at bwray@nrmca.org or Patrick Matsche at pmatsche@nrmca.org. 
On September 17, NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk and a Nudura/Tremco team met with SMMA Architects to explore the benefits of Integrated Concrete Formwork and Low Carbon Concrete at the firm's Cambridge, MA, office. The meeting then focused on details for several potential upcoming SMMA projects. SMMA is a multidisciplinary firm founded in 1955; from its two locations, the second is in Providence, RI, it focuses on approaching design as a deeply collaborative process. SMMA is considered pioneers of the integrated design methodology. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting architects and specifiers in the specification of high-performance, energy-efficient concrete buildings. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org. 
SEO
Earlier this week, NRMCA Safety, Environment and Operations (SEO) Department staff was on hand for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) announcement of the preliminary Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Violations for FY 2024 across both Construction and General Industry. The rollout of the latest data took place at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress & Expo in Orlando, FL. OSHA annually releases the new information at the NSC event.
The SEO Committee is still soliciting nominations from NRMCA members for the Carpenter-Mullings Award. Recipients are singled out for their outstanding lifetime contributions to the ready mixed concrete industry in the field of operations, safety or environmental. Nominees may be ready mixed concrete company employees, manufacturers or suppliers to the industry, or association staff members. They can be active, retired or deceased. Nominations are tendered and reviewed annually; however, awards are only given when deemed appropriate by the SEO Committee. Nominations for the Carpenter-Mullings Award are solicited annually from the members of the Safety, Environmental and Operations Committee. A task group of active past winners will review the submissions and present its nominee for approval to the full committee at the fall SEO Committee meeting. Results will be announced immediately. The award will be presented at the 2025 NRMCA Annual Convention. The nominations deadline is this Friday, September 20. Click here more information and to access the nomination form. The staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach.
NRMCA's Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year Award, now in its 29th year and sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB), acknowledges the significant contribution of ready mixed concrete truck drivers to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry. As a salute to these key members of the concrete production and delivery team, the award recognizes the driver’s career achievement, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service skills in a manner that will enhance the industry and public image of the career of the Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional. The award winner will be honored at the NRMCA 2025 Annual Convention in Tucson, AZ, in March. Nominations must be e-mailed to DOY@nrmca.org by November 30. Click here for more information and to access the entry form. The staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach. Earlier this month, NRMCA participated in the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Fall Generation Sector Advisory and Council Meeting in Philadelphia. As part of the Coal Combustion Product Program focus meeting, NRMCA Director, Codes and Standards, Dr. Julian Mills-Beale addressed the audience on Concrete Producer’s Perspective: Specifying Sustainable Concrete, highlighting performance specifications for concrete; advocating for increased supplementary cementitious material (SCM) use and assisting stakeholders in developing low-carbon concrete. EPRI conducts research, development and demonstration projects to work toward reliable, affordable and resilient energy. NRMCA’s codes and standards team partners with research organizations to support its advocacy and education efforts. For more information regarding EPRI and NRMCA’s codes and standards advocacy, contact Dr. Julian Mills-Beale at jmills-beale@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
Luke McHugh, NRMCA senior director, local paving, and John Becker, president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association, co-exhibited at the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) held in Pittsburgh from September 7 - 11. McHugh and Becker (seen here, with McHugh at left) met with state officials representing over 40 aviation departments, regional Federal Aviation Administration staff and aviation engineering consultants to highlight the constructability, feasibility and longterm, low maintenance performance benefits of traditional concrete pavements and concrete overlay alternatives for both airside and landside airport opportunities. For more information, contact Luke McHugh at lmchugh@nrmca.org. 
Calendar
Please note that links for more information and registration for each entry can be accessed here. September 25, Metro Kansas City October 10 - 14, Denver October 15 - 17, Denver October 21, McMinnville, OR November 20 - 22, Oklahoma City December 3 - 5, Orlando, FL *Sold Out December 10 - 12, Denver 2025 January 28 - 31, Albuquerque, NM February 11 - 13, Antioch, TN *Sold Out March 4 - 7, Tucson, AZ March 18 - 20, Denver March 18 - 21, Oklahoma City April 8 - 11, Orlando, FL October 10 - 14, Orlando, FL
NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Amanda Hult recently partnered with Andrew Lester of NRMCA Producer member MMC Materials and American Field Service Corp’s Bert Vandevere to discuss concrete overlays and inlays at intersections with Mississippi DOT officials. Attendees in the Newton and McComb MDOT districts were presented with design procedures for concrete overlays and inlays using the PavementDesigner.org software. The concrete overlay video produced by the Mississippi Concrete Association was also highlighted before the classroom design presentation. Vandevere (seen here at front of classroom) closed the presentation with a discussion on construction and maintenance of traffic for the inlay project constructed last year in Canton. “District 5 has been a leader for overlays and inlays in the state. It’s a story that we need to share with the other DOTs throughout the state and beyond,” Hult stated. Hurricane Francine’s arrival postponed the third meeting but it has been rescheduled for December. For more information, contact Amanda Hult at ahult@nrmca.org. 
Learning & Development
NRMCA’s Plant Manager Certification Course is a comprehensive training program for professionals occupying one of the most important roles in the ready mixed concrete industry. The curriculum covers topics in plant safety, operations, product knowledge, environmental issues and business principles over three days, with certification exams administered on the fourth day. This class provides plant managers and other concrete industry professionals with an excellent opportunity to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence in all these subjects which are essential to the management and operation of ready mixed concrete plants. Additionally, earning a certification allows a professional to display his or her competence and experience as a plant manager, making this program a good option for managers looking to demonstrate their proficiency at any point in their careers. Seats in the December session of the Plant Manager Certification Course are sold out, but there are still spots available for sessions offered in 2025. NRMCA is offering the course January 28 - 31 in Albuquerque, NM; March 18 - 21 in Oklahoma City and April 8 - 11 in Orlando, FL. Click here for more details related to the course and registration links for for each session. 
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