Beginning early this year, regular E-NEWS readers will notice changes in a couple of department headings. The first, implemented a couple of weeks ago, was to change the Education & Training heading to Workforce Development. The second, which begins this week, alters the longtime Operations, Enviromental and Safety group of articles into what will now be known as Safety, Environmental and Operational Excellence. In short, OES is now SEO. These heading changes filter down from decisions made by NRMCA members, committee members, Board of Directors and NRMCA staff in an effort to more accurately reflect current issues facing the ready mix industry.
Click here for a list of NRMCA standing committees. For more information, contact Nicole Maher at nmaher@nrmca.org.
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in November 2017 is 30.2 million cubic yards, 4.2% higher than that in November 2016. The estimated production through November 2017 is 328 million cubic yards, 2.3% higher than that during the same period in 2016.
Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. NRMCA members can view additional details here.
The United Nations predicts that nearly 70 percent of the global population will live in urban environments by the year 2050. This rapid urbanization is changing the surface of the planet, which has an impact on climate regionally and globally. Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) researchers are studying the effects of albedo, which is the measure of the fraction of solar energy reflected by the Earth’s surface, on climate and the urban heat island effect (defined as a temperature difference between urban areas and their rural surroundings where the city temperature is higher). Lighter color surfaces have a high albedo and reflect light, while darker surfaces have low albedo and absorb light. CSHub researchers have developed an approach to quantify the impacts of changing pavement albedo on the climate and building energy demand and then translate both of those into global warming potential. This Webinar will describe the approach and results from recent studies.
The Webinar will be held on Thursday, February 15, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Click here for registration and more information.
The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub has released its next edition of its newsletter which contains a research brief on climate change mitigation of pavement albedo, a video on durable, sustainable infrastructure and more.
Click here for more headlines, a complete upcoming Webinar list and more.
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The Richard D. Gaynor award is given to an individual for lifetime commitment and excellence in the technical field and has made significant contributions to the ready mixed concrete industry. The award is named for Mr. Gaynor who was a longtime staff member of NRMCA, last as executive vice president. The NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee has selected D. Gene Daniel as the recipient of the award in 2018; this will be presented at the awards session during the NRMCA Annual Convention in Houston in March.
Gene Daniel has been active in the industry for more than 60 years. He is a consultant to the industry and resides in Claremore, OK. He worked at Beaver Lake Concrete in Northwest Arkansas and was active on the NRMCA RES Committee during that time. He also served on the NRMCA Board of Directors. Gene is famous for advocating for the small concrete producer. He has been active in ASTM for 55 years and in ACI for 58 years. He has held leadership roles on several committees. He is a co-author of ASTM Manual 49 – User’s Guide to ASTM Specification C94 on Ready-Mixed Concrete. He has authored the NRMCA Plant Inspector’s Guide that is used to qualify inspectors for the NRMCA Plant Certification program and has been a strong supporter of proper testing and quality initiatives. Gene has an MS in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas and is a registered professional engineer in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Click here for more information on current and past recipients of the Gaynor award.
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new applicability date for the controversial 2015 Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS). The new applicability date will take effect two years after the action is published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks, making the new applicability date sometime in early 2020. This latest EPA action follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling from January that settled a question about the rule’s jurisdiction and lifted the stay on the rule that had been in place since late 2017.
Currently, the Trump Administration is working on a rewrite of the 2015 WOTUS rule. The extended applicability date will allow the EPA ample time to finalize a new WOTUS rule more suitable to ready mixed concrete operations, while avoiding implementation of the contentious 2015 rule. NRMCA has submitted comments in support of both the announced applicability date and a new WOTUS rule.
Click here for more information on EPA’s 2015 WOTUS Rule. Click here and here to review EPA’s announcement and pre-publication Federal Register notice. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
Registration continues for NRMCA’s Safety Course from April 10 -12 in Orlando, FL; please note that this course will sell out very soon. 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.
The annual dispatcher class was held in January. Of the 37 attendees, six scored 90% or better on the exam. First in the class was Gideon Brown from Irving Materials. The others scoring 90% or better are, in alphabetical order: Tess August, Irving Materials; Shaun Carroll, III, Carroll Concrete; Jaime During, Aggregate Industries, Fred Fuelling, Irving Materials; and Cody Gray, MMC Materials.
The next Dispatcher Certification class will be held in January 2019 in Orlando, FL. Details will be posted on NRMCA’s Web site in the near future.
For comments or questions, please contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org.
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We have passed legislation that favors concrete. We have defeated many other bills that would have increased barriers to concrete construction. We’ve converted many projects from wood and steel to concrete. We are working with some of the largest developers in the country to change the way they build. We’ve educated thousands of architects, engineers and developers on the benefits of concrete construction. And we’re changing attitudes and perceptions of decision makers through a comprehensive media relations program.
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrc-nwl/articles/index-v5.asp?aid=486129&issueID=56681 to view the full article online.
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In honor of the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl, there are two E-NEWS related stories. First, NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice, was invited to speak at the North Dakota Ready Mix and Concrete Products Association conference in Bismarck on ACI specifications, specifically by introducing the new PavementDesigner.org concrete pavement design software. Since the members knew that Justice was an avid Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder, and since the Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz went to college in Bismarck, Justice was asked to do a lunchtime presentation about “What is it Like to be a Philadelphia Eagles Fan.” Justice used his connections with the Eagles to procure an authentic Eagles’ jersey signed by Carson Wentz, which he donated to the raffle for the NDRM&CPA scholarship fund. Several thousand dollars were raised with the raffle – and the jersey was won by Cathy Olin (pictured), wife of Scot Olin of NRMCA Producer member Dickinson Ready Mix.
The following week, Justice then traveled to South Dakota to speak (also seen here) at the South Dakota Ready Mixed Concrete Association annual convention, where he spoke about ACI 330 design and introduced PaveAhead. The following day, Justice taught a 3-hour ACI 330 Parking Lot design class for over 30 engineers – while wearing his Eagles jersey. Look for Ken on TV at the parade this Thursday!
For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org.
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 January 29 - February 2, 2018, 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 Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
Please join NRMCA and the North American Concrete Alliance (NACA) for a Webinar entitled Cement and Concrete Industry: Infrastructure State of the Union on Tuesday, February 13, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. NRMCA and other NACA members will present an overview of the current status of infrastructure proposals in Washington and the politics behind getting them passed.
NACA is a coalition of 12 concrete-related associations formed in 2004 for the purpose of addressing industry-wide concerns & initiatives in the areas of research, safety, education and government affairs. NACA is working to advance an infrastructure package that supports priorities of the cement and concrete industry.
Click here to register.
CONCRETEPAC is NRMCA's bipartisan, multi-candidate federal political action committee that gives a strong voice to the ready mixed concrete industry on Capitol Hill through supporting pro-business, pro-ready mixed concrete federal office candidates. NRMCA’s strategic plan calls for CONCRETEPAC to be robust, effective and sustainable. CONCRETEPAC’s Gray to Green Program encourages all involved with the ready mixed concrete industry to actively support CONCRETEPAC through three giving programs: Major Donor Program, Producer Member Challenge Program and Associate Member Challenge Program.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) requires CONCRETEPAC to obtain written approval prior to any communications regarding CONCRETEPAC activities. In no way does signing a prior approval form require you to make a contribution – ever. You may grant NRMCA prior approval for up to five consecutive years and can designate individuals with whom CONCRETEPAC may communicate.
Click here to sign a prior approval form for your company today. For more information, contact Taylor Drzewicki at tdrzewicki@nrmca.org.
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March 27 – 29, Silver Spring, MD
CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
March 27 – 30, Louisville, KY
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
April 10 – 12, Orlando, FL
NRMCA Safety Course
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
May 23, Bozeman, MT
Handling Concrete Specifications
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
September 29 – October 1, Metro Washington, DC
NRMCA's ConcreteWorks
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
December 11 – 14, Austin, TX
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site.
February 5 – 9, Dallas *Sold Out
Regional Technical Short Course
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
February 13, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete Part 1
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
February 13, Nashville, TN
Pervious Concrete Contractor Certification Program
Email: Darla Sparkman, 615-360-6670
February 20, Webinar
Designing and Specifying Pervious Concrete Part 2
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
February 20 – 22, Nashville, TN
CCSP Module I: Concrete 101
Email: Darla Sparkman, 615-360-6670
February 20 – 23, Albuquerque, NM
Plant Manager Certification Course
Email: Meghan Callahan, 240-485-1135
March 3 - 5, Houston
NRMCA's Annual Convention
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
March 15, Atlanta
Improving Concrete Quality
Email: Jessica Walgenbach, 888-84-NRMCA, x1152
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