NRMCA e-news

As reported last July, Ash Grove Cement Sustainable Products and Promotion Manager Matt Wood, working with NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Jon Hansen are conducting a parking lot market share survey from 2010 through 2015. Utilizing online public records of building permits and Google Earth Pro, Hansen worked with Wood and Ash Grove people in Salt Lake City to define the geographical survey region of commercial building permits that included new parking lot construction as part of their project.

"The survey is 95% complete, with the remaining 5% data to be collected when Google Earth sky is up to date, or in making drive-by site visits using range finder measuring," reports Hansen. "The total concrete market share in Salt Lake City is better than the national average and yet the survey data gathering uncovered targeted potential markets for concrete parking lot paving growth."

This past week, another survey was started in the Green Bay, WI, market spearheaded by the marketing manager of a concrete contractor who hosted a Parking Lot Boot Camp last year. "We want to learn about our market, and we think the parking lot market share survey is the best way to understand where we are and where we need to go in our pursuit of expanding the market," Hansen was told as by the manager as they started work on the Green Bay survey.

On Thursday, March 16, in partnership with the Minnesota Concrete Council and the Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota, Build with Strength will be holding a Concrete Value and Innovations Seminar at the Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville. This seminar will take place from 7a.m. to noon in metropolitan Minneapolis. The Build with Strength Concrete Value and Innovations seminar is a workshop that, through design solutions, focuses on strength rather than disaster response, resulting in investments that are secure and generate long-term value to the owner.

A prime ingredient of sustainable architecture is longevity. If a building doesn’t last, it wastes of a lot of energy, from both a human and a resource perspective, not to mention the economic value. Durability is the ultimate profitability. Builders are realizing that the promise of low first-cost is insufficient for portfolio value generation. From energy efficiency, lower insurance costs and moisture resistance, barriers to a concrete structure steadily collapse when industry professionals are equipped with the right design tools and knowledge.

 

Building materials also play a big role in deciding the safety and resiliency of our structures. From Edgewater, NJ, to Houston to Los Angeles, the increased incidences of apartment fire conflagrations have provided a glimpse of what it looks like when the predicted effects of inferior building materials and code trade-offs work in tandem.

 

Build with Strength is a first-of-its-kind program for the concrete industry, designed not only to support our members, their businesses and the hard-working men and women of the concrete industry, but also to change the way people think about concrete construction versus direct competitors like soft-wood lumber. NRMCA has resources to help members and state affiliates advocate for resilient and safer construction, including model legislation, talking points, public relations and other key strategies.

Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to review the "Waters of the US rule" or "WOTUS" as it’s known. The WOTUS rule aims to determine what can be considered under the Clean Water Act a "water of the US" and thus under the jurisdiction of the federal government; which amounts to a very large jurisdictional expansion. Currently, the WOTUS rule is stayed nationwide while multiple legal challenges to the rule work their way through the court system.

Specifically, the order requires both EPA and the Corps to review the rule to determine if "navigable waters are kept free from pollution, while at the same time promoting economic growth, minimizing regulatory uncertainty, and showing due regard for the roles of the Congress and the States under the Constitution." After the agencies’ reviews are completed, the agencies are directed to "publish for notice and comment a proposed rule rescinding or revising the rule." As well, the agencies are directed to inform the U.S. Attorney General (AG) of their actions so the AG can inform the various courts about the developments that may impact current litigation on the rule.

While this latest development is welcome news to industry and NRMCA specifically, the order does not immediately vacate the rule or ensure the rule is rescinded. The order merely starts that process for both the regulatory and legal pieces to move toward repeal or significant change, all of which could likely be a lengthy process. NRMCA looks forward to working with both agencies toward the rule’s ultimate repeal.

 

March 20 - 22, Atlanta

NRMCA Safety Course

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

March 21 - 23, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills

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

 

April 25 - 28, Seattle

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

The 2017 Fleet Benchmarking Survey "sponsored by Lytx DriveCam" 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 question on mixer drum composition, idle time and types of fuel being used. The Fleet Benchmarking Survey is used to establish industry benchmarking norms and procedures. Information gathered from the annual Fleet Benchmarking Survey is published in a full report in Concrete InFocus magazine each fall. A shorter Executive Summary of the survey is also made available to all. The deadline for submitting completed entries (via email to gmullings@nrmca.org) is Friday, April 14, 2017. 

 

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 all facilities operated by NRMCA member companies in good standing. Companies with more than one division are encouraged to distribute entry blanks to individuals responsible for keeping safety records at each plant location.