NRMCA Senior Vice President of Operations and Compliance Gary Mullings traveled to Chicago earlier this month to meet with members of the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau, concrete producers and members of the OES Committee as part of a committee that is recommending design practices for building and operating mixer trucks. The working definition of the committee’s scope focuses on the construction, reconstruction, modification, care, maintenance and operation of these vehicles. If a document is approved, interested parties can adopt the standard for their own use. The standards would likely only affect units manufactured a year after the final document is approved.

Sure, it's the land of freeways, but metro Los Angeles is also home to a growing subway system, a future part of which was the location of a sizable ready mix pour. Some 2,100 cubic yards of concrete were recently placed inside the wood forms on the site of the Gold Line. The wood forms will stay in place while the concrete cures and hardens and the rail-deck portion of the $18.6-million bridge will be poured overnight in July.

Home builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. The increase suggests the housing market is slowly recovering even as other areas of the economy have weakened. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on 3.2% more single-family homes in May, a third straight monthly increase.

One of Walmart's consultants, Kimley Horn (KH), recently submitted a parking lot project in Georgia to NRMCA for the Design Assistance Program, reports Southeast Senior National Resource Director Amy Miller. The work done with KH through Walmart and its pilot program has brought the benefit of using concrete in parking lots to this consultant as well as many other consultants. KH then asked NRMCA to design a pavement section for it along with providing a coordinating jointing  plan. This project is the first of many similar projects KH will be designing in Georgia.  

"Prior to the pilot project, this parking lot would have most certainly been designed in asphalt and would have never been given a second thought," Miller said. "Creating options for owners that drive value further enhances the relationship between a designer and an owner. The Walmart pilot program has allowed us exposure to many national consultants and integration into those accounts. They are beginning to see the value they can bring owners through inclusion of concrete."

NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Phil Kresge recently participated in the 5th Annual Building Green with Concrete Workshop, hosted by the Northern Virginia Concrete Advisory Council (NVCAC). This year’s workshop focused on sustainable concrete paving and discussed "solutions for paving roads and parking surfaces to last a lifetime."

Guest speaker Congressman Rob Wittman (R, VA-1) kicked off the workshop, welcoming the attendees and encouraging them to embrace the ideas of sustainability when designing infrastructure. He stressed the importance of maintaining and improving our transportation system while delicately balancing that with the preservation and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Kresge’s first presentation, "Life Cycle Assessment and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis," set the stage for the rest of the program. Citing research results from the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH) at MIT, he demonstrated the importance of looking at pavement design from a life cycle perspective.

Other presentations included "Long Term Benefits of Alternative Pavement Bidding in Missouri" and "Missouri’s Experience with Various Concrete Overlay Types," both presented by John Donahue, P.E., Construction Engineer for Missouri Department of Transportation and "Pervious Concrete as Your Stormwater Management System," presented by Matt Cockerham, North Star Foundations, Inc., and a certified NRMCA Pervious Concrete Craftsman. Kresge closed the workshop with his "Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots" presentation. 

Approximately 80 individuals from the design community, including state and county transportation engineers, attended the workshop which was once again held at Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI). Following the workshop, attendees were invited to tour the WSSI campus, which is Virginia's first LEED Gold-certified facility and includes pervious concrete in a large portion of the parking lot.

NRMCA's national resource directors have a number of upcoming Webinars scheduled through Friday, July 6. Click on the links below to learn more or contact NRMCA's Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

• Thursday, June 28 - Streets and Local Roads
• Tuesday, July 3 - Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Software
• Tuesday, July 3 (Part 2 on July 10) - Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

NRMCA’s Developing Industry Leaders program is now accepting nominations for a limited number of middle managers from various companies to come together and challenge themselves to strategically address issues facing our industry. This program differs from other association programs in that individuals participating in this program will form teams, with each choosing a separate industry issue, to work via conference calls, e-mails and Webinars over several months, with a culminating presentation at NRMCA’s 2013 Annual Convention next March. This experience will broaden participants’ understanding of their industry while giving them the opportunity to work on a team with other developing leaders across the country. There is no fee for participation other than the cost to send your employee to the Convention for his/her presentation.

NRMCA will offer the Concrete Durability Course on September 5-7 at the RMC Research &  Education Foundation Center in Silver Spring, MD. The course is taught by Michael Thomas, 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 walk attendees through ConcreteWorks software that can be used to develop concrete mixtures for durability. The course also discusses the new provisions for durability in ACI 318-11 and how specifications can be structured to address durability.

Attendees at previous courses have given this program rave reviews. This course also offers those with the NRMCA Level 3 certification the opportunity to obtain the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 certification. It also provides required learning units toward the technical track of the NRMCA STEPS certification program. Please register early if you wish to attend.

ASTM has just published a new pervious concrete test method, ASTM C1754-12 Density and Void Content of Hardened Pervious Concrete. This makes a total of four pervious concrete methods. The other three are:

1. ASTM C1747-11 Determining Potential Resistance to Degradation of Pervious Concrete by Impact and Abrasion

2. ASTM C1688-12 Density and Void Content of Freshly Mixed Pervious Concrete (note the 2012 revision)

3. ASTM C1701-09 Infiltration Rate of In Place Pervious Concrete

The compressive strength task group has completed five sets of round robin and there is a good chance for a compressive strength test method next year. NRMCA Vice President Karthik Obla is the chairman of the ASTM C09.49 pervious concrete test method.

NRMCA's Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practice 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.

Any NRMCA member company producing ready mixed concrete from a fixed plant location in the U.S., its territories or Canada is eligible to enter. Awards will be determined upon individual plant merits; companies may choose to enter plants from any or all of the five production volume categories. In an effort to go "paperless," entries must be submitted via e-mail or mailed on a CD. Awards will be presented to plants that have best demonstrated environmental excellence and innovative management. Winning entrants will be honored at the Awards luncheon at NRMCA‘s ConcreteWorks in National Harbor, MD, in September.

  

Entries will be reviewed by a panel consisting of regulatory officials and industry and environmental consultants and judged based on an electronic narrative covering 11 criteria. Judges depend heavily on electronic images of submitted plants to complete their evaluations. Participants are required to submit electronic images that clearly demonstrate environmental systems and processes and at least one image that offers a broad view of the plant site. Entries must be received no later than Tuesday, July 31. 

The Senate returns this week to begin debate on passage of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which is in danger of lapsing coverage due to the program’s looming expiration at the end of July. NRMCA advocated for lawmakers to include a building code study which may be found in both the House-passed NFIP reauthorization (H.R. 1309), as well as the initial Senate version (S. 1940). The NRMCA-drafted language calls upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to study whether more robust building codes can be integrated into the NFIP as criteria for participation in the program. NRMCA believes this provision goes to the core of the program by ensuring that buildings in flood zones are built to standards suitable to survive the next flood or hurricane,  including the high winds found in many storms.

Holding up passage is Sen. Mark Pryor’s (D-AR) efforts to attach an amendment to limit some of FEMA’s insurance premiums as well as Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) efforts to attach a pro-life amendment. Regardless, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated he will not be deterred by the amendment process and tactics slowing the process.

Please call your Senator today and tell him or her to vote for the NFIP bill which contains NRMCA’s draft building code study.

To read government affairs-related stories that relate to the ready mixed concrete industry for the week of June 18 - 22, please click here.

NRMCA's Certified Concrete Sales Professional (CCSP) series will be held in Silver Spring, MD (metro Washington, DC). A registration fee discount is extended for a person who registers for all four classes or for companies who send three or more people to one class. The schedule is as follows:

 

• Module 1: Concrete 101: October 2-5

• Module 2: Understand the Contractor's Business: December 4-6

• Module 3: RMC Business Knowledge: February 19-21, 2013

• Module 4: Professional Sales Skills and Promotion: March 19-21, 2013

       

Each class stands alone so they do NOT have to be taken consecutively or collectively. The well- respected, updated content, is a valid way to refresh sales skills that emphasize the industry’s aggressive stance toward winning Spring 2013 business. Additionally, these are the required courses in the STEPS® Sales and Promotion certification program, where those in the field earn the industry's most prestigious capstone certification, the CCPf.

 

NRMCA's June Internet Spotlight, good through Friday, June 29, is the Hot Weather Package. Now that the hot weather is here, help front line staff brush up on tips to help make the job go easier and get better results, with CIP information sheets and a short, valuable driver training video. This package includes the driver training DVD "How to Keep It Cool," tips for placing concrete during hot weather and CIP-12 "Hot Weather Concreting" (Pkg. of 50). 

June 28, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 3, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Software

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 3, Webinar (Part 2 on July 10)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 10, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 10, Webinar (Part 2)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 16-19, Online Course

Building Green with Concrete

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

July 23, Sacramento, CA

Concrete Safety Course

Email: Karen Bean, 888-84-NRMCA, x1168

 

July 26, Webinar

ACI 330 R-08 – The Gold Standard of Concrete Parking Lot Design

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

July 26, Acme, MI

Slabs: We've Got You Covered

Contact: Concrete Foundations Association's Ed Sauter, esauter@cfawalls.org

 

August 6-9, Online Course

Pervious Concrete—A Stormwater Solution

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

August 9, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

August 14, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Software

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

August 14, Webinar (Part 2 on August 21)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

August 14-17, Silver Spring, MD

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

August 21, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

August 21, Webinar (Part 2)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

August 27-30, Online Course

Design of Concrete Pavements

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

September 4, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Software

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 4, Webinar (Part 2 on September 11)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 11, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 11, Webinar (Part 2)

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 16-19, Metro Washington, DC

2012 NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks & Board of Directors Meeting

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

September 20, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

October 2-5, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

October 23-25, Silver Spring, MD

Effective RMC Supervisor Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 1, Webinar

Streets and Local Roads

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

November 5-9, Silver Spring, MD

Technical Short Course

Email: Karen Bean, 888-84-NRMCA, x1168

 

December 4-6, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 4-6, Orlando, FL

Environmental Professional Certification Course for the Ready Mixed Concrete Industry

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

December 11-14, Denver

Plant Manager Certification Course

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

December 12-13, Doha, Qatar

International Concrete Technology Forum

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

2013

 

February 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 3-5, San Antonio, TX

NRMCA Annual Convention

Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152

 

March 19-21, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Sales Fundamentals

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

May 6-8, San Francisco

International Concrete Sustainability Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

May 12-15, Chicago

Fifth North American Conference on Design and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete