NRMCA e-news

Pavement

Massachusetts Promotes Concrete Intersections with State Transportation Officials

Craig Dauphinais, executive director of the Massachusetts Concrete & Aggregate Association (MACAPA), has been promoting concrete intersections with state transportation officials, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice. Utilizing help from NRMCA’s Design Assistance Program, Dauphinais submitted the first concrete intersection design to MassDOT for approval. In addition, MassDOT has identified several more candidate intersections for concrete, said Justice. Bill Cuerdon, New York's executive director of the American Concrete Pavement Association, also assisted with the design report and specification recommendations. MACAPA is looking forward to kick starting a successful concrete intersection program in the upcoming years based on this early success.

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

Government Affairs

Plan Now to Participate in CONCRETEPAC Trivia Night

Don’t miss the CONCRETEPAC Trivia Night at ConcreteWorks! This event will be a fun-filled evening of delicious Tex-Mex food and mind-tingling trivia! You and your table will compete for the Concrete Crown by correctly answering more trivia questions than your rival tables. Trivia will consist of unique categories like "Concrete Connoisseur," "Political Animals" and "NRMCA Names and Numbers," as well as standard trivia favorites such as pop culture, sports, cinema and music. In addition, each table will have the opportunity to bid on special guest teammates to join your table for a round.

OES

NRMCA Announces Winners of 2017 Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards

NRMCA has announced the winners of its 2017 Environmental Excellence Awards. Now in its 22nd year, the program offers NRMCA Producer members national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound environmental management practices in their operations. The program salutes companies that have not only met, but surpassed governmental compliance requirements and demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through plant and staff investment. Entries were reviewed by a panel of judges based on electronic images with a written narrative covering 10 evaluation criteria, including site aesthetics, environmental documentation, training, water management, air quality management, returned concrete plan, community relations, concrete delivery and plant sustainability practices.

This year’s program provided awards in three categories based on geographical region in which the plant is located (Eastern, Central and Western U.S). The Environmental Excellence Awards program was co-sponsored by Concrete Products magazine. First Place winners were:

Eastern Region - Aggregate Industries, Northeast Region, Inc. Waltham Plant, Waltham, MA
Central Region - Cemstone Products Company Umore Plant, Rosemont, MN
Western - CalPortland Duwamish Plant, Seattle

Click here for a complete list of winners along with other background information. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org.

Is Your Representative a Member of the Ready Mixed Concrete Caucus?

There is a lot going on in Washington – tax reform, infrastructure, regulatory reform – and it is imperative that the ready mixed concrete industry has a voice on Capitol Hill. That’s why NRMCA has formed the Congressional Ready Mixed Concrete Caucus. The caucus is a bipartisan group of House members that promotes and enhances public awareness of the nation’s production of ready mixed concrete. When the ready mixed concrete industry needs to speak with one voice on Capitol Hill, the Ready Mixed Concrete Caucus is a great way to do it.

The Caucus provides NRMCA and the ready mixed concrete industry a better way to educate Congress about how the laws and regulations coming from Washington impact the production and delivery of ready mixed concrete. It also helps to develop a "home team" of champions in Congress and quickly connects NRMCA with Members of Congress and their staff when issues arise. NRMCA will work with the caucus to advance legislation supporting the production and delivery of ready mixed concrete, and educating elected officials and staff about the economic value of a healthy and robust industry to build our nation’s transportation and infrastructure systems as well as residential housing and commercial building and construction markets to create and sustain job growth.

Click here to ask your representative to join the caucus; members of Congress respond best when they are approached by constituents. For more information, please contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org or 240-485-1156.

EPA To Reconsider Provisions in Controversial "Phase 2" Heavy-Truck Emissions Rules

Late last week, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency intends to reconsider certain portions of the controversial "Phase 2" rule which aims to limit emissions from heavy trucks while increasing their miles per gallon. Since its inception, NRMCA has remained ardently opposed to the new regulation. During and after the public comment period, NRMCA has continued to communicate to EPA that not only are the costs greater than the benefits, but that any regulation that holds the potential to add weight to ready mixed concrete trucks, such as Phase 2, is a non-starter. As well, the Phase 2 regulation would virtually end the common practice of ready mixed concrete producers revamping their old trucks to work like new, a practice known as using "glider kits." The Phase 2 rule, if allowed to go into effect in full, would add weight to ready mixed concrete trucks in order to be compliant with the new rule; increase the cost of ready mixed concrete trucks and eliminate the use of "glider kits" as a sound, adhered-to business practice.

Administrator Pruitt’s comments, while light on details, noted that EPA would be reconsidering the applicability of Phase 2 for trailers and glider kits. While NRMCA welcomes this development and applauds EPA for moving in the right direction, NRMCA plans to support these efforts while calling for the suspension of the entire rule as EPA conducts its review. The timing for the Phase 2 rule provisions’ review is unknown, however Administrator Pruitt noted that the EPA would be initiating a rulemaking process to review the rule.

Click here to review Administrator Pruitt’s statement. Click here for more information on the Phase 2 rule. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Registration Continues for October Safety Course in Denver

Registration continues for NRMCA’s Fall 2017 Safety Course; please note that this course has a limited number of seats and will sell out very soon. It 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, firefighting and evacuation, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more.

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

Education & Training

NRMCA Offers New Leadership Workshop for Operations Executives

Registration is now open for a new one-day interactive workshop for senior and middle operations and production managers. It will be held Tuesday, November 14, 2017, in Dallas. The workshop also includes a networking dinner with peers on Monday night. The workshop’s goal is to give attendees the head start to develop 2018 strategic, organizational and personal skills that help them more effectively manage, coach, motivate and assess their teams as well as their direct report supervisors. The class will be facilitated by a former executive coach for IBM who also understands our industry's business model. The curriculum offers insight into peak performance and critical motivation factors that can lead to your team’s success.

Click here for more information and registration options.

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.

September 18 - 20, Salt Lake City

Concrete Durability Course