To support its membership, NRMCA recently completed a landmark, large scale project aimed at meeting the ready mixed concrete industry’s challenges in hiring and retaining mixer truck drivers. The result, the release of the first annual NRMCA Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey, identifies key industry trends as well as provides insight for possible areas of change to facilitate a high quality, stable mixer driver workforce.

The survey examined the state of the mixer driver employment pool from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014. It is the first comprehensive study of this commercially licensed driver segment. The resulting data reflects 27% of the mixer driver pool or 19,024 of NRMCA’s estimated 2014 total of 70,000. NRMCA also estimates the total industry population at approximately 125,000 employees; mixer drivers are estimated to be 56% of that total. The 21-question survey’s response rate was 97%.

The survey’s Executive Summary and NRMCA members’ unabridged report can be accessed from NRMCA’s Web site. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at 240-485-1164 or edickson@nrmca.org.

Fresno County officials believe work on a very large industrial project shows the economy is moving in the right direction. Construction workers get into a certain rhythm when it's time to tilt up a 90,000 pound wall. The "tilt-up" process of moving concrete walls into place happens at a brisk pace which is why the work on industrial warehouses are getting done in relatively quick fashion. "What's so nice is we can lift 30-40 panels a day. So what happens is you drive by one day and don't see anything. You drive by a couple of days later and all of a sudden there's an instant building there," said Ray Nitti a Nitti Graycor general manager.

There's still much work to be done but for years engineers and historians have marvelled at how Roman concrete works have stood the test of time for nearly two millennia, especially those poured during the imperial reign of Augustus Caesar (63 BC to AD 14). Dr. Marie Jackson of the University of California, Berkeley, civil and environmental engineering department, is part of a team working to understand what makes Roman concrete so resilient both in terms of structures, building seawalls and other waterfront structures.

The Iowa Ready Mix Concrete Association reported last week on its recently completed Annual Iowa Parking Lot Construction Summary. In 2014, 84% of the parking lots constructed in 21 Iowa cities were built with portland cement concrete, up from 80% in 2013.

The Annual Iowa Parking Lot Construction Survey (see above E-NEWS item) is a proven process for easily obtaining parking lot paving material type, square footage of parking lot paving, market segments and construction trends in 21 select markets throughout Iowa. The information gives a year-to-year snapshot of concrete market share and will help anyone measure their success....or failure in the advancement of concrete parking lots.

A Friday, November 6, Webinar titled Parking Lots - Are You Getting Your Share?, will teach you how you can do the same survey in your market. No matter how large your survey market or how small, the process is the same. The best part is that most of the information is available in online public records so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your office to gather it. Find the key element in starting your search that will begin the step-by-step process toward gathering undisputed market share information. And the process is so easy it only takes a 30-minute Webinar to explain it.

The Webinar will be repeated on Friday November 13. Both Webinars will be from noon -12:30 p.m. Eastern time and be presented by by NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Jon Hansen who was part of the team that developed the survey during his time with the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete /Iowa Concrete Paving Associations.

Would you like to know how to increase your ready mix production without adding another truck or driver? Do you want to sell more concrete than you can deliver? Then you should register for "Increase Your Profits with Roller-Compacted Concrete," a Webinar targeted at helping ready mix producers  enter the RCC market. The Webinar will be held Tuesday, November 10, at 2 p.m. Eastern time and is free to NRMCA members.

NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Phil Kresge will host the program and will be joined by Steven Tripp, marketing manager for NRMCA Producer member Chaney Enterprises, Gambrills, MD. Mr. Tripp will share Chaney’s experiences with RCC and how it has helped its production and bottom line. "From our experience, producing RCC is like printing money from your ready mix plant. It’s a game changer for our industry," Tripp has stated.

NRMCA Producer member GCC, a very active promoter of concrete overlays for asphalt parking lots, has recently completed a video that is an engaging and comprehensive overview of this application. NRMCA's Jon Hansen and Amanda Hult along with other concrete industry experts provide the commentary for this video. Thanks to GCC for making a version of the video available that can be used by the entire concrete paving industry and those looking for long-lasting, economical solutions for renovating existing asphalt parking lots.

The video is available for viewing here. For more information, contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org or GCC’s Dave Gray at dgray@gcc.com.

NRMCA has completed a research project titled Optimizing Concrete Mixtures for Performance and Sustainability. The work leading to the report’s publication was conducted at NRMCA’s research laboratory. The primary findings of the study are:

• At a fixed water-to-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm), increasing cementitious materials (CM) content and thereby the volume of paste causes an increase in permeability and drying shrinkage of concrete mixtures. At a fixed w/cm, changing the quantity of cementitious materials did not impact compressive strength unless the quantity was reduced to a low level. p/a>1 (check Tab 5, 7) but still low strengths. Table 7 suggests fly ash helps lower CM content w/o strength loss.

• For the combination of materials used in this study, a lower-bound paste volume was established for concrete mixtures to achieve optimum performance. The lower-bound paste volume is expressed as a ratio of the combined aggregate void content. The use of high-range water reducing admixtures was effective in reducing the lower-bound paste-to-void ratio.

• A mixture proportioning methodology based on the paste-to-void ratio is proposed to achieve concrete with required strength, improved durability and lower shrinkage with optimized use of cementitious materials.

The results of this research study indicate that the inclusion of minimum cementitious materials content in specifications is questionable and even counterproductive to the performance of concrete. The suggested mixture proportioning methodology can be used to produce concrete with specified performance, improved sustainability and lower cost when not constrained by a requirement for content of cementitious materials. This research work was funded by the RMC Research & Education Foundation.

The report can be downloaded here. For more information, contact NRMCA's Karthik Obla at 1-888-846-7622 or by e-mail, kobla@nrmca.org.

Dr. Kenneth C. Hover, professor at Cornell University, was selected as a recipient of the 2016 Richard D. Gaynor Award by the NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee. The award will be presented at the NRMCA Annual Convention in March 2016. The award is named for Mr. Gaynor who retired from NRMCA in 1996 and recognizes individuals who have made lifetime contributions that have supported and benefited the ready mixed concrete industry in technical areas. Dr. Hover’s research on concrete has covered many topics on concrete design, materials and construction and have always had practical impact and relevance. He is a past president of ACI and has served on various committees, including the Specification (ACI 301) and Building Code (ACI 318) committees.

The recently held NRMCA Concrete Durability Course in Upland, CA, was attended by 23 industry personnel. The course was hosted by Holliday Rock at its headquarters. The course covered a broad range of concrete durability topics, including permeability, corrosion, sulfate resistance, alkali aggregate reactions, cracking and other factors. The coverage discussed basic mechanisms, test methods, methods to address durability when developing concrete mixtures and requirements in codes and specifications. This course offered the NRMCA Concrete Technologist Level 4 Certification. The course was taught by Michael Thomas, Kevin Folliard, and Colin Lobo. Holliday Rock is sincerely thanked for hosting the course.

The next course offering will be in the May/June 2016 time frame; when the location is selected it will be posted on the NRMCA Web site. For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org.

NRMCA Senior Vice President of Engineering Colin Lobo was invited to present at the convention of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) in Dallas. The topic covered implications to the contractor in ASTM C94 and ACI standards. Lobo covered the contractor (purchaser) responsibilities in the Specification for Ready Mixed Concrete, ASTM C94, and some aspects that impact the contractor in ACI 301, Specification for Structural Concrete and ACI 318, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. A mock ACI Committee meeting was also held at one session, facilitated by Professor Ken Hover (see above E-NEWS item), to provide a flavor to the types of deliberations and indicate the importance of contractor participation on standards committees.

For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org.

Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center at Iowa State University has released a guide specification for concrete overlays. The abstract is as follows:

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for the development of project specifications that are tailored for concrete overlay projects. The guidance in this document is based on the agency’s standard specifications for concrete pavement. If the standard specifications are outdated or rarely used, modifications other than those provided in this document may be necessary to produce a high quality, long lasting concrete pavement.

Download here.

The driver championship competition was one of the highlights of NRMCA’s recent ConcreteWorks event in San Antonio. As has become traditional, a music video slideshow was shown on large screens to about 600 attendees at the Awards Dinner just prior to the drivers being called to the front of the hall for the presentation of awards. The video highlights the drivers and their families during the competition—the "best of the best" from around the country.

Click here to view the video.

Last Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for allowable ground-level ozone (O3). The threshold was lowered from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. EPA was originally considering a threshold as low as 65 ppb. EPA stated the change was an update of the standard necessary for "...[reducing] Americans’ exposure to ozone, improving public health protection, particularly for at risk groups including children, older adults, and people of all ages who have lung diseases such as asthma." EPA also suggests the change will, in part, protect against "crop yield loss and visible foliar injury."

EPA estimates suggest the final rule will cost roughly $1.4 billion, an amount NRMCA believes is on the conservative side of the rule’s true impacts. NRMCA originally commented on the proposal back in March 2015, stating that the proposal has a"...strong probability to cause undue economic hardship to ready mixed concrete producers, their customers and material and equipment suppliers." NRMCA’s comments continued to note that, "Ozone standards at the levels considered in EPA’s proposal could push virtually the entire country into "nonattainment" – where local communities face burdens to commercial and industrial activity not only vital to creating jobs, but also to providing tax revenue that support important local services like public safety and education. This proposal’s hardship to the American worker is real and immediate, while the benefits are unverified and uncertain."

Last Wednesday, NRMCA filed comments opposing certain provisions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) joint proposal, known as Phase 2. The Phase 2 proposal is intended to mandate increased fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, such as ready mixed concrete trucks. The new standard aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 24 percent with a similar fuel efficiency increase for covered vehicles, model years 2021-2027.

NRMCA is concerned with the proposal regarding costs, technology reliance and impacts on truck weights and glider kit usage. NRMCA summarized its comments by noting, "NRMCA believes the Phase 2 proposal needs to better take into account cost and technology implications on downstream purchasers of heavy-duty trucks. As well, any new mandates for glider kits should not cover low-mileage, vocational trucks such as concrete mixer trucks." The comments continued, "The consequence of adding more weight to mixer trucks for Phase 2 compliance results in achieving the opposite goal of Phase 2. Simply put, if the industry is forced to reduce payload in order to meet low weight tolerances, the industry will then be forced to use more trucks, making more trips to deliver the same amount of ready mixed concrete. More trips means increased emissions, increased fuel consumption, more trucks sitting in traffic, and longer hours for industry drivers."

Last week NRMCA participated in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) B30.27 Subcommittee meeting in Incline Village, NV, to discuss potential revisions to the 2014 B30.27 standard covering safety while working around concrete pumps. In early 2014, ASME finalized and published a new concrete pumping safety standard aimed at increasing safety at job sites and reassigning responsibility/liability for different concrete pumping operations. The standard however, went into effect in March 2015. Of concern to the ready mixed concrete industry are four provisions that place inconsistent, new responsibilities on concrete mixer truck drivers. These objections to the new standard were addressed at the subcommittee meeting.

The specific provisions in question, B30.27-3.1.3.4.2(a) through (d), relate to air and foreign material entering a concrete pump’s hopper, emergency stop control and the rate of concrete being delivered into the hopper. Unfortunately, the revision schedule for the B30.27 standard is every five years. Any potential changes will not be made until 2019 at the earliest. However, NRMCA has officially joined the B30.27 Subcommittee and has committed to attending all meetings. NRMCA is committed to establishing and continuing a working relationship with ASME to help advance safety around concrete pumps. The next meetings are tentatively scheduled for late January 2016 and April 2016.

Click here to obtain a copy of the standard. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

NRMCA's OES Department is accepting registrations for five face-to-face classes beginning in November. With a clear understanding that operations people multitask, these classes collectively focus on giving participants immediate skills to juggle compliance parameters along with efficiency and competency processes. A registration fee discount is extended to those member companies that send three or more people to one class. The upcoming schedule follows:

• Effective RMC Supervisor Certification – Silver Spring, MD, November 17-19.

• NRMCA Safety Course – Charlotte, NC, November 17-19. *Sold Out 

• Environmental Professional Certification – Orlando, FL, December 3-5.

• Plant Manager Certification Course – Orlando, FL, December 8-11; Omaha, NE, January 26-29, 2016 and Birmingham, AL, April 5-8, 2016.

•Dispatcher Training Forum – Orlando, FL, January 13-15.

Specific links to each of these classes, along with registration options and staff contacts are available from NRMCA's main calendar page.

NRMCA member, GCC, has certified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for 30 products it manufactures at its concrete production facilities in Tulsa, OK. Developing and certifying (verifying) EPDs requires a rigorous process of conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) of plant operations and product formulation followed by an extensive review by independent LCA professionals. GCC chose the NRMCA EPD Program to certify its EPDs. It followed the Product Category Rule for Concrete developed by the Carbon Leadership Forum and relevant international standards. Athena Sustainable Materials Institute conducted the LCA and developed the EPDs for GCC and NSF International verified the EPDs. 

Architects and engineers are requesting EPDs for building products as a way to demonstrate that they are reducing the environmental footprint of the buildings they design. They compare the environmental impacts of the products they specify against an industry benchmark, or average, and EPDs help them identify products with lower impacts and actually quantify the impact reductions for their buildings. NRMCA was one of the first industry groups to publish insutry benchmarks. The major driver is LEED v4 that has credits now for LCA (3 points) and EPDs (2 points). However, even projects not pursuing LEED points are beginning to specify EPDs, with similar objectives: quantify and lower environmental impacts of projects. Some examples include the new Atlanta Falcons football stadium and the massive California High Speed Rail project.

"We’re proud to be the first concrete producer in Tulsa with EPDs and look forward to working with architects and engineers to help lower the environmental footprint of concrete through continuous product and process improvement," says Fawn Kibria, environmental engineer with GCC. Lionel Lemay, who manages NRMCA’s EPD Program, adds. "The concrete industry leads the way with the number of building products with EPDs with over 2,000 products certified under the NRMCA EPD program."

Media articles on Congress, transportation infrastructure, regulation, taxes and other subjects, each of which relate to the ready mixed concrete industry, are updated each week by NRMCA's Government Affairs staff. To access the most recent compilation of articles for September 28 - October 2, 2015, please click here.

Late last week, House Way and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced that he would not be able to finalize his plan to combine an international tax reform package with revenues to support passage of a highway bill. Chairman Ryan had been in negotiations with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) on the tax package, but those discussions hit a roadblock last week. Aides to both members cited differences in the amount of funding that would be allocated for highways. The announcement by Ryan comes on the heels of the next highway bill extension deadline on Thursday, October 29.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) responded to Ryan's announcement by stating that his committee would move forward with introducing a bill as quickly as possible without a dedicated funding source. With the looming deadline approaching, it is still feasible that the House could take up the Senate highway bill and go to conference. However, time is running out and Congress must act quickly or pass an extension to fund the program beyond the late deadline. NRMCA is joining the Highway Materials Group in sending a letter this week to all members on the Ways and Means Committee to urge action on funding a highway bill. Group members are also meeting with members of Congress during today’s NRMCA Quarterly DC Days to encourage swift action on passing a surface transportation bill in order to avoid another extension.

The NRMCA October Internet Spotlight, which will be good through Tuesday, November 3, is the User's Guide to ASTM Specification C 94 - 2nd edition. This second edition includes 22 comprehensive chapters that explain every section of ASTM C 94/C94M, including background, scope, referenced documents, ordering information, materials, requirements for production, acceptance of concrete and much more. Authors: D. Gene Daniel and Colin L. Lobo. 160 Pages | Pub# 2PMNL49-14.

Order online today and receive 20% off the regular member of $75, plus shipping. Use Discount Code ISOCT15.

October 13 - 16, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

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

 

October 20, Free Webinar

How to Become a Green-Star Auditor

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

 

November 2 - 6, Silver Spring, MD *Sold Out

Annual Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

November 4, Free Webinar

STEPS A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

November 17 - 19, Silver Spring, MD

Effective RMC Supervisor Course

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

 

November 17 - 19, Charlotte, NC

NRMCA Safety Course

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

 

December 1 - 3, Orlando, FL

Environmental Course

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

 

December 1 - 3, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module II: Customer Business Knowledge

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

 

December 8 - 11, Orlando, FL

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

December 15, Milwaukee

Improving Concrete Quality

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

 

December 15, Webinar

Sales Management: Sales Performance Assessments and Reviews

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

 

 

January 13 - 15, Orlando, FL

Dispatcher Training Forum

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

 

January 26 - 29, Omaha, NE

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

February 8 - 12, Des Moines, IA

Regional Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

February 23 - 25, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: General Business Knowledge

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

 

March 13 - 15, San Diego

NRMCA's Annual Convention

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

March 22 - 24, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills

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

 

April 5 - 8, Birmingham, AL

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

May 15 - 18, Washington, DC

International Concrete Sustainability & Self-Compacting Concrete Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101