NRMCA e-news

Pavement

NRMCA Local Paving Director Teams with Nebraska Promoters on Podcast

NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice recently visited Nebraska to spend time with Jereme Montgomery, director of the Nebraska Concrete and Aggregates Association, and Bill Cook of the Nebraska Concrete Paving Association. Justice visited NRMCA Producer members NEBCO and Arps Red-E-Mix, Inc., as well as visited several overlay projects that were completed recently. Justice and Cook also visit the Nebraska Department of Roads (soon to be the Nebraska Department of Transportation on July 1) and met with many staff decision makers for roads. Jereme Montgomery also hosted Mr. Justice on Montgomery's hour-long podcast "Concrete Garb" to discuss pervious concrete, overlays and the role of the NRMCA in promotion.

For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org.

Architectural/Engineering Firm Learns About Concrete Specification, P2P

NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently presented at a Lunch-and-Learn for the Harrisburg, PA, offices of BL Companies, a large architectural/engineering firm with offices throughout parts of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states along with Texas. The presentation, Concrete Specifications for the Real World, was a primer on ready mixed concrete, including an overview of the basics of concrete with a special focus on P2P: Prescriptive to Performance Specification. Kresge was invited to speak as a result of previous contacts with the civil engineering division of the firm.

"Sometimes we’re not as successful as we hope in our initial contacts," Kresge noted. "But we soften the blow by thinking, you never know, they might call us one day. This was one of those ‘you never know’ moments." According to Kresge, in 2014, NRMCA had provided a Design Assistance Program (DAP) pavement recommendation to BL Companies for a large project in the Lehigh Valley. Though unsuccessful in converting the project, the relationship led to this meeting. As a result of this meeting, Kresge reports there is considerable interest within BL Companies to learn more about proper design of concrete, as well as its many benefits, for both pavements and structures.

Historically listed in the Top 500 Design Firms in the country by Engineering News-Record, BL Companies has offices in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. It has provided architectural and civil engineering services for such national clients as FedEx, Home Depot and Costco.

For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org.

Buildings

Oklahoma Lawmakers Pass Law on Resilient, More Durable Construction

Oklahoma lawmakers recently passed a law to make their communities safer by enacting House Bill 1720, legislation that provides a discount on homeowners’ insurance for those who build their homes to the Fortified building standard using tornado-resistant construction materials, like concrete. The legislation joins the efforts of other extreme weather-prone states, including Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina, which encourage resilient construction with a tax credit and/or an insurance rebate.

After U.S. property insurers were stuck with the most expensive first quarter in 20 years due to exceptionally harsh and costly weather events, passage of this incentive will save lives and reduce property damage for one of the most disaster-prone states in the U.S. On May 31, Governor Mary Fallin signed the bill into law at the behest of NRMCA, the Oklahoma Ready Mixed Concrete Association and Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, who called for the passage of the legislation. This presents a major win for NRMCA members and Oklahoma citizens, who can now access lower insurance rates if they build to a higher construction standard in order to mitigate the damage from natural disasters.

Through the Build with Strength initiative, 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.

To learn more about how NRMCA can assist in state advocacy, please contact Vice President, State and Local Government Affairs, John Loyer at 703-675-7603 or jloyer@nrmca.org.

OES

FMCSA Withdraws Truck Insurance Proposal

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced it is withdrawing its proposal to expand the scope of which types of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) warrant a minimum amount of insurance per truck annually and then increase that current amount. Currently, these limits are generally set on the state level for ready mixed concrete trucks, not on the federal level. The now abandoned regulatory direction from FMCSA, in addition to the minimum increase, also aimed to put private carriers, such as ready mixed concrete companies, under the federal requirements. These requirements were generally limited to high risk carriers such as hazardous materials carriers. FMCSA announced the withdrawal because, according to FMCSA, it "has determined that it has insufficient data or information to support moving forward with a rulemaking proposal, at this time."

In an effort to oppose FMCSA’s onerous proposal, NRMCA surveyed its membership about truck insurance in the industry. The results of the survey determined that "most companies in the ready mixed concrete industry hold coverage amounts in excess of the minimum requirements and/or umbrella policies to cover rare [higher] claims." The information was stated as such in comments NRMCA submitted to FMCSA back in February 2015. NRMCA maintained then, and still holds now, that "the ready mixed concrete industry survey data directly calls into question the necessity for proposing to make any changes to the current financial responsibility regulatory scheme. " NRMCA welcomes this latest development from FMCSA.

Click here to review the withdrawal notice. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Free Webinar Scheduled on Drivers’ Hours of Service: What’s New for 2017?

NRMCA will offer a free Webinar on Friday, June 23, at 11 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the changes for drivers’ Hours of Service (HOS) federal regulations in 2017. Over the last decade the federal HOS regulations have been subject to numerous court actions, executive branch and congressional meddling. Now, once again there are recent, new revisions to the HOS rules, including the confusing 30-minute break, 34-hour restart provision, and when mixer drivers do and don’t need to use logs. Do you know how these changes impacts your drivers? Is your company in compliance? Do you know how to be compliant? This Webinar will explain what the law is, how the industry is impacted, and what your company and drivers need to do, or not do, to be compliant. The Webinar will also cover the new ready mixed concrete driver compliance scenario for Electronic Logging Devices or ELDs.

Click here for more information, staff contacts and to register.

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Deadline Is July 1

Does your facility need to report to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program? Have you run the calculations to determine if your facility does? Do you know what the requirements are and/or how to report if necessary? Now’s the time to obtain answers to all of these questions. Remember, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) TRI Program "tracks the management of more than 650 toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment." Specifically, "U.S. facilities in certain industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment." This information is then submitted annually to EPA and compiled in the TRI.

Facilities that handle toxic chemicals, including ready mixed concrete plants, are required to calculate the quantities that were handled and if any quantity is over an allowable threshold, that chemical and amount need to be reported under the program. Should a facility need to report, the deadline is July 1, 2017.

Click here for more information on the program, listed chemicals, potential for reporting and when/how to report. NRMCA staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach.

Nominations Sought for First Annual NRMCA Safety Award

NRMCA’s Annual Safety Award acknowledges the significant contribution that safe work practices gives to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry as a whole. The NRMCA Annual Safety Award is presented to an individual or company whose actions represent the very highest in the advancement of safety in the ready mixed concrete industry. The award program is generously sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB). The award may be presented to an individual whose single action or long-time commitment to safety and health in the ready mixed concrete industry exemplifies superior performance in the field of safety. Examples of the award winner could be a ready mixed concrete truck driver whose actions were life saving. Other examples could include plant managers, safety managers and company officials who have outstanding long-time dedication to safety and health in the ready mixed concrete industry. Other examples would be an individual’s involvement in community safety activities.

This award may also recognize a corporation, coalition or organization that was unrelenting in its pursuit of safety for the industry. Nominees may have created and implemented a life-saving and or injury-preventing safety solution. Examples of the award winner could be a ready mixed concrete producer company, a ready mixed concrete state association or an industry related equipment or material supplier.

Criteria for selection of the individual or company may include evidence of the following:

Reduction of accidents/incidents;
Demonstration of leadership in safety;
Identification, evaluation and control of hazards;
Development of safety-conscious policies & procedures;
Active promotion of safety in the workplace;
Innovation and enthusiasm in marketing safety;
Collaborative and proactive work toward improving safety;
Placing a high personal value on safety; and
Mentoring of others in safety.

Entries should include a detailed explanation for why the individual or company should be considered for the award. The explanation should focus on highlighting the criteria listed above. Submissions should include necessary supporting documents, a high-resolution electronic image of the nominee (if an individual or a high resolution company logo) and any other relevant images.

Entries must be e-mailed to Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org by Friday, June 30. Click here for more information on the award and the specific requirements for the nominating process. Staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Registration Continues for Fall Safety Course

Registration for NRMCA’s Fall 2017 Safety Course is now open; please note that this course has a limited number of seats and will sell out very soon. The course will take place October 17-19 in Denver. This 2.5-day course teaches participants about OSHA safety compliance, beginning with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, fire fighting and evacuation, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more.

Click here for location details, registration options and staff contacts.

Engineering

Concrete Specification Class Offered in Salt Lake City in November 2017

NRMCA is offering its information-packed, one-day course, Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals, intended for concrete producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs. The course will be offered on Thursday, November 2 in Salt Lake City in association with the ACI Intermountain Chapter. It will discuss the latest changes to the code and specification requirements (ACI 318, 301, ASTM C94) governing ready mixed concrete and will also address many topics, including answering the following questions:

What are the durability exposure classes in ACI 318?
What are the changes in the new ACI 318, ACI 301, ASTM C94 that are related to ready mixed concrete?
What are some specification revisions that can provide all around benefits in performance and cost?
What are the causes for low strength problems and who is responsible?
What should be on a concrete test report?
How does one improve the quality of acceptance testing?
Non-destructive testing, Coring – when and how?
How to do a proper mixture submittal?

Course instructors are Luke Snell, P.E., FACI, FASCE, Western Technologies and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E., vice president, technical services, at NRMCA. Producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs will find the discussions on investigating low strength problems and specifications very helpful to address issues that impact partnering, project cost and schedule. Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will earn 8 professional development hours, a certificate of completion and credits toward NRMCA’s STEPS program.

Click here for more information, registration options and staff contacts.

NRMCA Now Accepting Entries for Excellence in Quality Awards

NRMCA is now accepting applications for its popular Excellence in Quality Award contest. This year we have a new section which will help establish industry quality benchmarks. A company must be a NRMCA producer member in good standing to participate. Companies can enter as a company or a division. Applicants are asked to respond to a multiple-choice type application form that generates their scores. Companies or divisions that achieve a score of 75% or greater will be recognized at NRMCA's ConcreteWorks, scheduled from October 1-3 in Dallas. The deadline for receiving completed award applications is June 30.

There are several advantages to participating in this award program:

1. It provides recognition to the companies that maintain high quality standards.

2. The award criteria can serve as an excellent quality improvement tool for companies.

3. Companies have used the award criteria for conducting internal quality audits.

4. Companies who apply will be provided with industry average quality benchmark data

Click here to access the Excel spreadsheet award form from NRMCA's Web site and for more information, including past quality award winners. Completed award forms should be e-mailed by June 30 in the original Excel format along with required supporting documentation to Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org.

Calendar

A Look Ahead

*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.

June 13 – 16, Bismarck, ND

Plant Manager Certification Course