NRMCA e-news

The unemployment rate in the construction section was 11.4% at the end of last year, but construction spending increased only 0.1% in December compared with an increase of 0.8% in November, which helps highlight how uneven the recovery is. "Given the variability of weather, especially in winter, the downturn in December is not cause for alarm," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America. "The data does show how uneven the recovery remains with residential construction doing very well, but the public sector remains weak, and private nonresidential construction is mixed." 

Green-building startup bioMason has developed concrete that uses bacterial colonies to "grow" bricks. It was one of the award-winning entries in the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Challenge last November. Meanwhile, researchers in the Netherlands are at work on concrete with a "self-healing propensity" that could reduce "the need for expensive and time-consuming repair work," and could eventually lead to buildings needing less steel reinforcement, according to this article

NRMCA Vice President, Pavement Structures, Brian Killingsworth will present two educational sessions on concrete pavements at this year’s CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show in Las Vegas, March 4-8. The first session is on Tuesday, March 4, from 3 - 4 p.m. and is titled Concrete Pavement: How to Get the Biggest Bang for the Buck in Street/Local Road Applications. In this session, attendees will learn about the mistakes designers make when designing and specifying concrete pavement in street and local road applications. Killingsworth will also discuss construction and testing pitfalls, and review various pavement design programs and their applicability on different projects/situations.

 

The second session is on Thursday, March 6, also from 3 - 4 p.m. and is titled Recent Advances in the Design and Construction of Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements. The session will be presented with Wayne Adaska of  the Portland Cement Association and Corey Zollinger of NRMCA Producer member company CEMEX. In this session, attendees will hear why roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavements are used when strength, speed of construction and economy are the main criteria. This presentation covers the fundamentals of mixing and placing RCC, specification requirements and will include case studies that will help explain the key factors in constructing high quality RCC.

The registration deadline nears for the 2-day online course Designing Jointed Concrete Pavement for Streets and Local Roads. The course begins Tuesday, February 11, at noon Eastern time. This course provides detailed instruction on how to design and build concrete streets and parking lots. It provides details of pavement design, including traffic loads and pavement stresses. Concrete properties and thickness design are presented in detail. Recommendations for subgrade support and pavement jointing are provided. Concrete materials are presented, including discussions on strength, workability and durability. Recommended specifications are provided. Construction techniques, inspection, testing, maintenance and repair are discussed. Additional detail will be provided on cost estimating, cost -benefit analysis and life cycle cost.

 

This course is intended for civil engineers, geotechnical engineers, public works officials, architects involved in the design and layout of concrete streets and parking areas. Concrete contractors and concrete producers will also benefit from this seminar.

The Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association held its annual Short Course recently in Peoria, IL. The theme of this year’s course was concrete promotion of markets that can increase business for producers immediately, all of which involve paving, reports NRMCA Vice President, National Resources, Jon Hansen. Theron Tobolski with NRMCA Producer member Prairie Materials spoke on RCC for industrial parking lots; Randy Riley with the IL ACPA spoke on concrete overlays for SLR and Hansen discussed concrete overlays for existing parking lots. The slate of speakers was followed by the director of the IL DOT who spoke on the challenges of repairing and maintaining Illinois roadways. Of the 82 attendees, many commented it was the one of the best, most timely and beneficial presentations of information sessions they had ever attended.

The event also provided an opportunity to honor retiring Executive Director Bruce Grohne for his years of service to the association and the introduction of the new executive director, Bill Marcordes.

Each year NRMCA Associate member St. Mary’s Cement holds its Concrete School at its Detroit plant, an intensive 4-day concrete training school where customers learn about cement and concrete technology. From cementitious materials to mix designs, to understanding testing methods, the course is extensive and well run, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill. This is the 51st year St. Mary's Cement has been offering this course to its customers and due to the higher than normal interest this year, it is holding the school in January and February. St. Mary's Technical Services Manager Bruce Moroz  and his colleagues invite experts from around the industry each year to present on the different topics covered at the school. They continue to see a very high approval rating among the attendees.

O’Neill has been a presenter at the school for the last three years, speaking on the environmental aspects of concrete. "The story of concrete’s sustainability is an exciting story of a material that offers durability and resilience. The attributes of concrete meet or exceed the criteria for what constitutes a green material, but the fact is, many in our industry and certainly outside our industry don’t realize the significant benefits associated with constructing with concrete," O’Neill said. "This seminar puts things into perspective and highlights our industry’s biggest strengths."

For more information, contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.

At the end of NRMCA’s Annual Convention next month in Las Vegas, the Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation will hold an Appreciation Reception for supporters of its Bridge the Gap fundraising campaign. Scheduled for Monday, March 3, at The Cosmopolitan, the reception will celebrate all the companies and individuals who are so generously helping the Foundation to Bridge the Gap to help continue funding important programs, such as the Concrete Sustainability Hub at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the development of high-impact resources such as the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots without having to use principal funds to do so.

The appreciation reception will provide ready mix producers and suppliers to the industry who share the same goal – ensuring that the Foundation will continue to be a lasting resource for the industry for years to come – the opportunity to mix and mingle ahead of the start of what is sure to be a magnificent show in CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

The new NRMCA Producer Quality Certification raises the bar and establishes credibility in the marketplace; and it is well established that improved quality reduces costs. The quality certification focuses on management commitment to quality, qualified personnel, properly maintained production facilities (the main focus of the NRMCA plant certification process), monitoring quality of concrete materials, and the produced product and measurement systems. This free webinar will go into these details and answer questions such as what a producer needs to do to get certified: How much does it cost? What are my benefits? and so on. Please come armed with your questions.

Click here to access the online registration link, more information and staff contact.

The NRMCA 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 in 2013. Companies with more than one division are encouraged to distribute entry blanks to individuals responsible for keeping safety records at each plant location. Entries must be received at NRMCA via e-mail no later than Tuesday, April 15. 

The NRMCA Fleet Benchmarking Survey is completed early each year by industry fleet managers and/or financial managers, based on data gathered from the previous calendar year’s performance. The survey  is used to establish industry benchmarking norms and procedures. Information gathered from the survey is published each autumn in a full report in NRMCA's quarterly magazine, Concrete InFocus. A shorter Executive Summary of the survey is also made available to all.

Complete entries must be e-mailed to NRMCA's Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org by Tuesday, April 1. Click here for more information, staff contact and to download the entry form.

NRMCA’s Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions in protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practice in their operations. The program salutes companies that have not only met, but surpassed, governmental compliance measures and demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through plant and staff investment. Any NRMCA member company producing ready mixed concrete from a fixed plant location in the U.S., its territories or Canada is eligible to enter. Awards will be determined upon individual plant merits; companies may choose to enter plants from any or all of the five production volume categories.

Entries and photos must be received by e-mail to Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org by Thursday, July 31. Click here for more information, staff contact and to download the entry form.

NRMCA Associate member The SEFA Group, Inc., is building a $40 million facility to recycle high-carbon fly ash using new proprietary recycling technology. The facility, to be located in Georgetown, SC, will consume 100% of the coal fly ash produced at Santee Cooper’s Winyah Electric Power Generating Station. The facility will also recycle fly ash previously located in ash ponds located at Winyah Station. The new facility can recycle up to 400,000 tons of fly ash per year. The SEFA Group will use the fly ash located at Winyah Station as a primary ingredient in its proprietary STAR® (Staged Turbulent Air Reactor) process to produce a pure mineral product, free of organic contaminants. The SEFA Group operates two other STAR® Plants, which are located in Columbia, SC, and Newburg, MD. However, the Georgetown plant will be the first to also recycle fly ash from settling basins.

The SEFA Group’s Hank Keiper will present a paper titled The Future of Fly Ash is Under Our Feet at the International Concrete Sustainability Conference, May 12-15 in Boston. He will discuss the dwindling availability of coal fly ash suitable for use as supplementary cementitious material in the U.S. due to environmental regulations and market factors. To ensure a future supply of high-quality, Class F fly ash, The SEFA Group has modified its proprietary thermal beneficiation process to accept fly ash reclaimed from disposal sites, including both landfills and settling ponds. This new adaptation of a proven technology will create a consistent supply of premium fly ash, prevent future disposal of fly ash and at the same time remediate existing fly ash disposal sites.

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly being used to evaluate structures and building products for environmental performance. Take this opportunity to host your specifiers who are demanding more efficient and environmentally friendly products for the NRMCA online Webinar series "Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Structures Online Course" from February 24 - 27, noon - 1:30 p.m. Eastern time each day.

This course provides detailed instruction on how LCA can be used to assess the environmental performance of concrete structures, including buildings and pavements. A review of new and existing research comparing the environmental life cycle performance of concrete and competing building materials will be presented. The course will also cover how the concrete industry is beginning to use LCA to evaluate and improve the concrete production process.

This seminar will provide attendees with state-of-the-art strategies, technologies and methodologies for utilizing LCA to maximize the environmental performance of their project or manufacturing process. At the end of this course attendees will be able to:

• Recognize the benefits and limitations of LCA;

• Understand the definitions and terms used in performing LCA
;
• Utilize LCA in the building codes and LEED
;

• Understand the role of LCA in designing sustainable concrete buildings and pavements
;

• Use the NRMCA carbon and energy calculator
;
• Select which LCA model is best for a given application
; and
• Understand the research results from the Concrete Sustainability Hub at MIT.

 

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 the Week of January 27 - 31, 2014, please click here.

Late last month, EPA submitted to the District Court for the District of Columbia a consent order that requires EPA shall, by December 19, 2014, sign for publication in the Federal Register a notice taking final action on the Agency’s proposal to federally regulate coal ash disposal under the "non-hazardous" Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The order makes clear that it is not dictating the results of that action, but only that EPA must make a final decision regarding whether to pursue the Subtitle D option by a certain date (December 19, 2014). The consent decree leaves open the option for EPA to decide not to adopt the Subtitle D proposal and to instead pursue other options, including the "hazardous" Subtitle C option. EPA has indicated in a related rulemaking on Effluent Limitation Guidelines that the Agency’s "current thinking" is that a Subtitle D regulation will be appropriate.

NRMCA continues to support efforts to enact coal ash legislation that would establish a federal non-hazardous waste regulatory program, implemented by the states, for coal combustion residuals management. H.R. 2218, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which would establish minimum state disposal requirements, passed the House on July 25, 2013, by a vote of 265 to 155. 

A report by the American Action Forum, which started tracking every proposed and final regulation that appeared in the Federal Register in 2011, published "A Regulatory Flurry: The Year in Regulation, 2013." The report looks at both the current and proposed regulations and their costs. This year, the White House released 25 percent more "economically significant" rules than it did in the election year. The net cost of regulations added $112 billion in regulatory costs and 157 million paperwork hours. Additionally a survey of 30 companies revealed at least $30.2 billion in regulatory burdens.

Read the report here. For more information, contact Elizabeth Fox at efox@nrmca.org or 240-485-1156.

Educational Activities Committee (EAC) Chairwoman Vicki Tyminski extends a warm invitation to all attendees at NRMCA's 2014 Annual Convention to join the Spring EAC Meeting, Saturday, March 1, from noon to 2 p.m. at The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas. A buffet lunch will be served. As the industry recovers, more producers are evaluating what industry-based training would best serve their staff and companies. Hear about new mixer driver training materials, industry career planning support and NRMCA-sponsored CONEXPO-CON/AGG seminars.

Please join us for a frank discussion about what your company could use to keep employees performing at a national standard. That includes foreseeable publications, classes, Webinars and out-of-box ideas: creative input is most welcome.

 

NRMCA's Sales Skills, CCSP IV, is scheduled March 18-20, in Silver Spring, MD. This innovative three-day course provides a sales framework and toolkit that can immediately adapt to your organization’s strategies to drive revenue. Master the most up-to-date, industry-related, sales fundamentals through ready mix-specific simulations, role plays and case study analyses that include the challenges of selling concrete's sustainability attributes as well as applying tools for pervious and parking lot sales.

Get Results Now: This course is recommended for professionals of all levels, so whether you deal with internal or external customers, these skills will make an immediate impact on your work!

• Volume and Value: Sell both for short and long term results.

• Secrets to Good Relationships: Solve problems and win loyalty.

• Who Calls the Shots?: Find and communicate with decision-makers.

• Role-playing is Serious Business: Learn how practice makes perfect.

• Close Calls: Overcome obstacles and close the sale.

Due to the overwhelming demand, NRMCA is extending the Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots Bundle special as our February Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, February 25. Save $100 by purchasing a 25-pack set of the "Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots" and receive a FREE copy of the Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots Flip Book. Normally a $179 value, now only $79 for a limited time.

• Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots - This 64-page book provides information for decision makers and practitioners about selecting, designing and constructing successful concrete overlays on existing asphalt parking lot pavements.

• Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots Flip Book – This flip book provides a primer to an industry promoter, concrete sales person and concrete contractor on the proven technology of using concrete to overlay and renew existing asphalt parking lots. Packed in 20 pages in a popular flip book format, including presenter notes, this flip book touches on: "How and Why" concrete overlays work; "Rules of Thumb" for evaluating and exiting parking lot and determining concrete thickness; "Best Practices" for placing concrete overlays and "Quick Case Studies" of successful projects. 

February 6–7, Medellin, Colombia

International Concrete Sustainability Conference, Latin America

E-mail: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

February 10, Webinar 

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part 2 is February 17)

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

February 11, Free Webinar

Concrete Buildings Redefined

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

 

February 11, Free Webinar

New Radical Material and Resources Reporting Criteria in LEEDv4

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

February 11–12, Online Course

Designing Jointed Concrete Pavement for Streets and Parking Areas

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

February 11–13, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP III: General Business Knowledge

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

February 17, Free Webinar

Design Assistance Program and Joint Plan Assistance Program

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

February 18, Webinar

Understanding Asphalt

Email: Brian Killingsworth, 830-438-2690

 

February 18–20, Silver Spring, MD

Dispatcher Training Forum

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

February 19, Webinar

Sales Management 101 for Ready Mix Sales Managers

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

February 24–27, Webinar

LCA of Concrete Structures

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

February 25, Free Webinar

Design Assistance Program and Joint Plan Assistance Program

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

February 25, Nashville, TN

Pervious Concrete Contractor Certification Program

Email: Darla Sparkman, dsparkman@tnconcrete.org

 

March 1–3, Las Vegas 

NRMCA Annual Convention

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

 

March 3, Webinar

The Quantifiable Advantages of Concrete Parking Lots

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

 

March 3, Webinar

Introduction to Concrete Pavement Analyst Program

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

March 4–8, Las Vegas

CONEXPO-CON/AGG

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

 

March 11, Free Webinar

New Radical Material and Resources Reporting Criteria in LEEDv4

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

March 12, Free Webinar

STEPS™ A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 17, Webinar

Roller Compacted Concrete: Another Choice for Pavement

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 18, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

March 18–20, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP IV: Professional Sales Skills Workshop

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

March 25, Webinar

Concrete Overlays for Streets and Local Roads and Parking Lots

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

March 25–28, Oklahoma City

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

April 7, Webinar 

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part 2 is April 14)

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

April 15, Free Webinar

New Radical Material and Resources Reporting Criteria in LEEDv4

Email: Tien Peng, 206-913-8535

 

April 16, Webinar

Building the Customer Relationship... in the Post-Recession Economy

Email: Eileen Dickson, 240-485-1164

 

May 6, Webinar

Soils 101

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

May 12–15, Boston

International Concrete Sustainability Conference

E-mail: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

May 21, Webinar

Personal Leadership and Coaching

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

June 17, Webinar

Concrete Pavement Jointing Plans

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

July 8, Webinar

Understanding Asphalt

Email: Brian Killingsworth, 830-438-2690

 

August 19, Webinar

Controlling Moisture in Concrete Slabs

Email: Amanda Hult, 303-953-2382

 

August 20, Webinar

Recruiting & Hiring Top Performing Ready Mix Sales Reps

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

September 10, Webinar

Re-Entrepreneuring: 7 Strategies for Rebuilding Your Business in the New Economy

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154

 

November 19, Webinar

Sales Performance Assessments and Review for Ready Mix Sales Managers

Email: Shawnita Dickens, 888-84-NRMCA, x1154