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NRMCA's weekly E-NEWS is redesigned with you in mind! Easily find your favorite sections with our new, more streamlined layout. E-NEWS is now built in a responsive design for effortless reading on your mobile device or desktop. Additionally, showcasing your company to key decision-makers has never been so simple with larger ad sizes and NEW in-stream ads that place your message within the editorial content.
The popular NRMCA Parking Lot Boot Camp series was back in Wisconsin last week, wrapping up the first four months of 2016 with a record start. "Many times we have gone back to an area of the U.S. as the word of mouth awareness of Boot Camp is spread by producers, equipment suppliers and cement sales people," said Jon Hansen, NRMCA senior vice president, local paving. "Last week was the third time we conducted a Parking Lot Boot Camp in Wisconsin since January. The contractors in Wisconsin are growing their business and realize parking lot paving is a big opportunity." Hansen conducted the Boot Camp along with Phil Kresge, senior director of local paving.
Now is the time to book a Parking Lot Boot Camp for the fall months of 2016. Spring dates were booked shortly after ConcreteWorks in September of 2015, so it is not too early to get on the schedule for the summer months or later this year. The next scheduled Parking Lot Boot Camp will be an 8-hour session at the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) annual conference in September.
For more information on hosting a Parking Lot Boot Camp, contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org, Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org or any member of the local paving team.
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 April 18 - 22, 2016, please click here.
If you would like to receive this weekly updated link in a separate e-mail, or if you have questions or comments about the roundup, contact NRMCA’s Jill Landry at jlandry@nrmca.org.
NRMCA encourages you to join our industry allies for its second quarter DC Day for 2016 on Wednesday, May 11. Working from the victories NRMCA scored in the FAST Act and year-end spending package for the ready mixed concrete industry, we will advocate for the inclusion of appropriations language dedicated to advancing industry initiatives for resilient construction and to further clarify the FMCSA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Carrier Safety Fitness Determination. Additionally, we will advocate for a legislative fix to the Hours of Service language for the 34-hour restart which was omitted by error in last year’s bill. Face-to-face advocacy clearly pays off and is the best way to help lawmakers understand our industry and the impact their decisions have on your operations in their state. You are the best advocate for your business. Taking the time to educate decision makers can help ensure that fixes to issues result in positive outcomes for the entire ready mixed concrete industry. The legislative successes NRMCA and our association volunteers scored in the FAST Act on behalf of the industry were proof of that!
Please also join NRMCA for the Transportation Construction Coalition’s (TCC) 2016 Legislative Fly-in on Capitol Hill May 10 - 11 and make the case to fix the Highway Trust Fund. Join hundreds of other industry leaders in delivering our message to Members of Congress to thank them for passage of the five-year "Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, but most importantly to tell them that the job is not done yet. Congress passed the FAST Act last year which included several funding patches for the bill; however, it did not address the revenue shortfall that the Highway Trust Fund continues to face.
The registration fee of $175 includes conference materials, legislative briefings, continental breakfast and a Capitol Hill reception. Any cancellation fees after April 28 will be non-refundable. This year’s meeting will again be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington at 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. However, the hotel’s room block is currently full so to make your hotel arrangements please consider booking a room at one of the following hotels: The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel at 1-202-638-1616; Washington Court Hotel at 1-202-628-2100; Hotel George at 1-202-347-4200; Washington DC Marriott Marquis at 1-202-824-9200; Renaissance Washington Hotel at 1-202-898-9000; Grand Hyatt Washington at 1-202-582-1234 or Washington Marriott Metro Center at 1-202-737-2200. Some hotels above within a 2-block walk of the Hyatt Regency Washington (the Marriott Metro Center, Renaissance Washington Hotel, Washington Marriott Marquis and the Grand Hyatt Washington are about 1.5 miles from Hyatt Regency Washington).
Click here to register for the TCC Fly-In. For more information contact Jill Landry at jlandry@nrmca.org.
A disturbing trend: Opponents of timely building code adoptions have tried to convince lawmakers that there is no harm in switching from a three-year to a longer, six-year (or more) update cycle. They argue that it provides a cost savings with no offsetting harm to the overall construction in those states. Some states and jurisdictions, like Minnesota and North Carolina, have elongated code adoption from three to six, or even nine years. These extended code cycles not only leave citizens without the benefit of current model building codes, but also impede the disaster safety movement’s goal of rapidly incorporating beneficial, post-disaster findings into model codes.
Recently, NRMCA’s state and local Government Affairs team sat in a hearing in Maryland's capital, Annapolis, and heard testimony on a bill that would have allowed Washington County to move from the state mandated three-year code adoption cycle to a six-year cycle. The argument was, simply put, that it was expensive and a hassle to update building codes triennially. Code officials from the county in question and homebuilders testified in support. Many national groups, including the International Code Council, were in opposition. The bill died in committee for what NRMCA sees as obvious reasons.
Equally troubling was a recent amendment made by the Florida Homebuilders Association that convinced a few state legislators that it would be a good idea to extend the update cycle for the entire state’s building code from a three-year to a six-year cycle. This was done quietly as the bill headed into its last hearing and then on to the House floor for a vote. Senate Bill 704 was set to follow the same route. It’s important to note that when legislation is made quietly and at the last minute, it’s often because the action cannot hold up under public scrutiny. Luckily, the bill amendment in Florida was defeated by advocates at the last minute. But if any legislator can be convinced that we don’t need to maintain current building codes, shockingly even in the most high-risk hurricane state, then we are not only forgetting history, but we are dooming ourselves to repeat it.
It is incumbent for our state affiliates to remain vigilant to all pieces of legislation that might affect our members. To that end, NRMCA has developed a new advocacy program for buildings. Please visit www.buildwithstrength.com to see our new public affairs resources for low to mid-rise construction. NRMCA also has resources to help members and state affiliates advocate for resilient and safe construction including developing legislation, talking points, public relations and other key strategies.
To learn more about how NRMCA can assist in state advocacy, contact Senior Director of State and Local Government Affairs John Loyer at 703-675-7603 or jloyer@nrmca.org.
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.
April 28, Webinar
Seven Things You Can Do To Place More Concrete in Buildings
Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101
May 3, Free Webinar
The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
May 4, Manchester, NH
Improving Concrete Quality
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
May 9, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete Part 1 (Part 2 is May 16)
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
May 10, Webinar
Personal Leadership and Coaching
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
May 10, Webinar
Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst
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
May 17, Free Webinar
Pervious Concrete Maintenance Guidelines
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
May 26, Webinar
Seven Things You Can Do To Place More Concrete in Buildings
Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101
June 6 - 8, Silver Spring, MD
Concrete Durability Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
June 28 - July 1, Centennial, CO
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
June 23, Webinar
Seven Things You Can Do To Place More Concrete in Buildings
Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101
September 18 - 20, Nashville, TN
NRMCA's ConcreteWorks 2016
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
October 4 - 7, Silver Spring, MD
CCSP Module I: Concrete 101
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
October 11, Webinar
Recruiting & Hiring Top Performing Ready Mix Sales Reps
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
November 7-11, Silver Spring, MD
Annual "Short Course"
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
December 6, Webinar
Sales Performance Assessments and Reviews... for Ready Mix Sales Managers
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
December 13-16, Anaheim, CA
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
As the leading Environmental Product Declaration (EPD program operator for the concrete industry, NRMCA recently published an EPD for Producer member CalPortland Company. The EPD covers 90 products (30 concrete mixes from three plants) owned and operated by CalPortland in Washington State. The life-cycle assessment (LCA) report and EPD was developed by Athena Sustainable Materials Institute and verified by Climate Earth. To date, NRMCA has verified nine company EPDs with a total of 2,111 products from 39 different plants, by far the largest total of any building product category.
Established in 2012, NRMCA’s EPD Program aims to help concrete producers and concrete product suppliers, including cement manufacturers, meet new requirements in green building rating systems such as LEED v4 and other standards, including the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products. NRMCA was one of the first industry groups to publish an industry wide EPD and industry benchmarks.
For more information, click here or contact James Bogdan at jbogdan@nrmca.org or 412-420-4138.
The NRMCA April Internet Spotlight, which will be good through Tuesday, May 3, is the Mixer Truck Driver's Manual. This manual educates truck mixer drivers about concrete and customer relations. It also highlights driver duties, safety precautions, equipment inspection and maintenance procedures, and what the driver should do in case of an accident. This 74-page manual is easy to understand and contains common sense information every driver should know.
Order online today and receive 20% off the regular member single set price of $16 (making this Internet Special offer $12.80, plus shipping). Please use discount code: ISAP16.
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