NRMCA e-news

The Portland Cement Association's (PCA) North Central Cement Council and the Minnesota Concrete Council recently co-sponsored the Minnesota Concrete Forum at Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park, MN. Twenty-five engineers and specifiers attended the event, reports NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Phil Kresge. The event was hosted by Doug Burns, executive director of PCA North Central Region and by April Stier, PCA North Central’s pavement engineer.

Kresge began the morning session with his presentation, Roller-Compacted Concrete: Another Choice for Pavement. Following Kresge’s presentation, Jacob Gave from NRMCA Producer member Cemstone, and Justin Pomerleau from ACI Asphalt Contractors gave an overview of recently completed RCC projects. Following lunch, the forum’s focus changed to Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) as a rehabilitation method. David Rettner, P.E., senior principle engineer at American Engineering Testing, provided information about FDR, including application determination, testing and placement. Tim Johnson from Mid-State Reclamation shared his experiences with FDR, having utilized the procedure in the construction of hundreds of miles of pavement.

The number of registrants for the Streets and Local Roads (SLR) Promotion Webinars have increased consistently through the fall months, reaching some of their largest numbers now in early winter as 2014 draws to a close, reports Jon Hansen, NRMCA vice president, national resources. Many of the Webinars have 18-20 people registered, with a number of registrants signed up for the consecutive series of Webinars. The Webinars in the SLR series provide a track for developing a proven SLR promotion effort.

"By all accounts, 2015 will be a busy year for everyone in the construction industry," Hansen noted. "Knowledge will be power for those informed to take full advantage of the coming year opportunities. The SLR Promotion Webinars are the best place to start in preparing for 2015."

Nominations are now open for the NRMCA Promoter of the Year Award, State Affiliate Promoter of the Year and  the Lifetime Achievement Award for Promotion. These awards will be presented at the association’s Annual Convention in Orlando, FL, March 1-3, 2014. Nominees for Promoter of the Year must be current employees of NRMCA Producer members, nominees for the Lifetime Achievement Award must be former employees of NRMCA member companies who are retired or deceased and nominees for the State Affiliate Promoter of the Year must be a current employee of the Affiliate and have worked in the industry for at least five years. You can help industry promotion champions get deserved recognition by nominating them for these  prestigious awards.

The most recent award winners are Steven Tripp, Chaney Enterprises (Promoter of the Year), Finley Messick, Kentucky Ready-Mixed Concrete Association (State Affiliate Promoter of the Year) and Peter Deem, retired from Holcim (Lifetime Achievement). The deadline for submitting nominations is Wednesday, December 31.

The Manufacturers, Products & Services (MPS) Division of NRMCA is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Concrete Cares Award. In order to recognize the full scope of ready mixed concrete producers’ community service, the MPS Division will hand out two Concrete Cares Awards in 2015 – one for a producer member company producing fewer than 250,000 cyds annually and a second award for a producer member company producing over 250,000 cyds. The Concrete Cares Awards will be presented during the Annual Award Breakfast at NRMCA’s 2015 Annual Convention in Orlando, March 1-3, 2015. 

With ready mixed concrete plants in almost every community in America, NRMCA member companies are making a real difference. From Earth Day celebrations, to organized volunteering for Boys & Girls Clubs, local schools and recreation departments, to raising awareness for breast cancer screenings, ready mixed producers are at work every day in their communities. The Concrete Cares Award aims to recognize these efforts and shine a national spotlight on the positive impact ready mixed concrete companies have in hometowns across the nation. A donation in the name of the selected honorees will be made to the charity of their choice.

NRMCA Producer member Ozinga Bros., Inc., was recently named one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces for 2014. The survey covered aspects of the workplace ranging from daily activities to impressions of management and direction of the company. On average, Ozinga scored over 25% ‘strongly positive’ impressions, and over 50% ‘positive’ impressions across the board. Over 75% of responses agreed or strongly agreed that Ozinga operates by strong values and ethics.

The following is a summary of activity at the ASTM meeting of Committees C09 on Concrete attended earlier this month by NRMCA staff in New Orleans.

C09.20 Concrete Aggregates - Revisions were approved to the methods to determine relative density (specific gravity) and absorption of aggregates, C127 and C128. The density of aggregate particles, calculated from the relative density was removed from the standards. Revisions were approved to C1777 – to determine the methylene blue index of fine aggregate samples - primarily clarification to procedures. A revision to ASTM C123 was approved to permit alternative less hazardous inorganic heavy liquids for determining lightweight particles in aggregates. The subcommittee is considering removing reference to the currently used organic liquids due to their hazardous nature. A specification for mineral fillers for use in concrete continues to progress through the ASTM balloting process. The balloted version received several negatives but the document is getting closer to being finalized. This specification will support the use of mineral fillers in concrete, which may be used in self-consolidating concrete or for other purposes. The subcommittee has balloted a definition of "recycled aggregate" in Specification ASTM C33 for concrete aggregates, with the intent to indicate that these materials can be used if they meet the requirements of C33. No changes to the existing requirements in C33 to accommodate the use of recycled aggregates are being proposed. 

C09.24 Supplementary Cementitious Materials - The subcommittee has successfully balloted a change to ASTM C618 that would allow process additions in the boiler that facilitate fly ash manufacture. Process additions could include co-combustion of non-coal fuels such petcoke, biomass, etc., as well as non-organic additions such as lime, activated carbon, etc., all of which may impact concrete performance. A subcommittee ballot to eliminate the composition-based differentiation between Class C and Class F fly ashes failed. A ballot will be issued to establish differentiation between these classes of fly ash based on CaO limits, instead of the current sum of oxide limits.

C09.26 Chemical Reactions - Two sources of borosilicate glass for conducting the ASTM C441 test are available with the subcommittee chair and this information will be included in the meeting minutes. A ballot item will propose including the use of C595 blended cements in the concrete prism test, C1293. The precision and bias statements of C1260, C1567 and C1293 will be reevaluated to include guidance on range between the three expansion determinations that constitute a test as well as between test variations. A new dilatometer based ASR test that measures the ASR reactivity of the aggregates within a period of five days was evaluated and a task group formed to look at the feasibility of developing a standard. There was discussion to remove ASTM C227 and C289 from the standards due to their unreliability.

C09.40 Ready Mixed Concrete - Some significant revisions to ASTM C94 were approved, including:

• Clarifies that purchaser’s requirements stated in the order that differ from C94 govern and places a responsibility on the purchaser to communicate all requirements for concrete from a project specification.

• Air content requirements are set at two levels for moderate and severe exposure. The purchaser should either state the required air content or indicate the type of exposure so the producer can establish the required air content.

• Include a requirement that the purchaser should state the required density when ordering heavyweight concrete.

• Revisions to the appendix that advises on strength overdesign concepts.

• Separately states the time limitations for delivery to remove it from the section that deals with water addition at the job site or in transit.

Other revisions to C94 being considered include the use of electronic delivery tickets, stating the responsibility of the purchaser to ensure access and resources at the job site to obtain samples perform tests on concrete, and revisions to the section on batching concrete. The subcommittee will revisit the issue of eliminating time limits to delivery.

A new specification for reuse of returned concrete received several negatives but continues to make progress toward acceptance. 

C09.48 Performance of Cementitious Materials and Admixture Combinations - This subcommittee is working on several new standards that fit within its scope - to evaluate the adsorption characteristics of fly ash to iodine that can be used to evaluate its impact on air entrainment; standardize the foam index test for fly ash to evaluate the change in air entraining admixture dosage based on unburned carbon; a practice to evaluate the relative performance of various concrete materials and optimization using mortar mixtures; evaluating the early hydration of cementitious mixtures using thermal measurements; and estimation of the optimum sulfate content of hydraulic cement using isothermal calorimetry.

C09.50 Risk Management for Alkali Aggregate Reactions (AAR) - The subcommittee has finalized a new document "Determining Reactivity of Concrete Aggregates and Minimizing Risk of Deleterious Expansion" as ASTM C1778. The document is similar to the AASHTO provisional standard PP65. The subcommittee decided to work with various other subcommittees that currently refer to ASR tests such as ASTM C441. It was suggested that information referring to ASTM C1778 can be added as appropriate. ASTM C1778 tables provide guidance to ASR requirements based on anticipated service lives of structures. The service life is not based on specific modeling so there was discussion to reevaluate the tables that classify the structures. It was indicated that there was only one performance criterion for various conditions while there was multiple levels of prescriptive criteria.

C09.60 Fresh Concrete Tests - A revision to C172 on sampling to clarify the location of the sample from volumetric mixers was approved. Revisions were being considered to C173 (rollameter) regarding the alcohol correction to measured air and the precision statement. A comprehensive inter-laboratory study has been completed to develop a precision statement for the pressure air method, C231 and this will be proposed in a future ballot.

A presentation was delivered from BASF on the use of microspheres for freeze thaw durability of concrete; the quantity of microspheres was in the range of 1% by volume of concrete. By request of several users, a test method that verifies and measure the quantity of microspheres incorporated in fresh concrete will be proposed. 

A request to reinstate ASTM C1362 (recently withdrawn) on the "K-slump tester" was rejected by the subcommittee. 

C09.61 Strength - A revision to ASTM C39 was approved regarding the calculation of compressive strength test result. The average strength should be calculated from the "unrounded" calculated strength value of each specimen. It was indicated that even though the difference was small, it could be of significance with core test results that are close to the acceptance criteria. Minor revisions are in progress for ASTM C39 for strength testing and to C617 for capping specimens with sulfur. The subcommittee was requested to include reporting requirements of C31 in the reporting section of C39 so that details of making and curing cylinders are included in the strength test reports.

C09.66 Fluid Penetration - The subcommittee continues to work on finalizing the surface resistivity test using Wenner probe which can be used for concrete quality assurance. The mass loss vs. time for one-dimensional drying of saturated concrete which can be used in service life prediction models was recently standardized as ASTM C1792-14. Changes to the ASTM C1760 test to calculate formation factor after removing the effect of pore solution conductivity was balloted and discussed. The new bulk resistivity test was discussed; before it can be standardized a calibration device independent of the apparatus needed to be developed. 

C09.98 Evaluation of Laboratories - Revisions to C1077 are addressing certification requirements for technicians and supervisors and the required test evaluations for personnel involved in field tests and laboratory tests. A revision is also addressing the qualification requirements of the professional engineer in responsible charge of a testing agency. 

Sponsored by Subcommittee C09.48 titled Methods for Investigation of Unexpected Performance and Properties of Cementitious Materials:

• Sutter discussed new methods to assess air entraining admixture adsorption by fly ash by a direct adsorption isotherm and the iodine number test that are evaluate whether remnant carbon in fly ash can impact air entrainment. The foam index test was also discussed.

• Bentz discussed rheological, thermal and electrical methods to monitor the phase change from a liquid suspension to solid phase of cementitious materials. Setting behavior, strength development and material compatibility could be evaluated by these methods.

• Jeknavorian discussed use of mortar mixtures for evaluating the relative performance of concrete materials to model and predict concrete performance. Mortar mixtures presented a more efficient means to evaluate several variables compared to making concrete batches.

• Cost discussed thermal methods – isothermal and semi-adiabatic calorimetry – on paste mixtures for rapid performance evaluation of cementitious combinations. The methods could be used to evaluate problematic interactions and to simulate effects in field temperature environments. A practice to perform these evaluations is being finalized.

• Knight presented a spreadsheet based tool for predicting the performance of cementitious materials relative to strength potential. The method can be used to effectively evaluate the strength component contributed by supplementary cementitious materials and to evaluate the performance and economics of fly ash and slag cement.

• Winters presented methods of predicting cement performance and establishing composition parameters by mortar calorimetry, workability and strength testing. Troubleshooting case studies using these methods was presented.

Memorials were read for recently deceased members Richard D. Gaynor (NRMCA) and Craig Cain who was active on the fly ash subcommittee.

For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org or Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org.

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced changes to the pre-trip and post-trip inspections drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are required to perform. Effective December 18, 2014, drivers of property-carrying CMVs, such as ready mixed concrete mixer truck drivers will no longer need to file pre-trip or post-trip inspection reports if those inspections do not turn up any "equipment issues or safety concerns".

The change comes as part of a 2011 Executive Order from President Obama directing federal regulatory agencies to "reduce out-of-date, ineffective or overly-burdensome rules on the private sector." According to U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, the change is estimated to save "the trucking industry an estimated $1.7 billion annually without compromising safety."

In mid-September, OSHA published a final rule updating the injury and illness recordkeeping requirements to expand the list of severe injuries and illnesses that employers must report to OSHA. According to OSHA, "The final rule will allow OSHA to focus its efforts more effectively to prevent fatalities and severe work-related injuries and illnesses."

Starting January 1, 2015, all employers (facilities) with 11 or more employees must report:

• All work-related fatalities within 8 hours; and

• Within 24 hours, all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses of an eye.

 

You can report to OSHA by:

• Calling OSHA’s free and confidential number: 1-800-321-6742;

• Calling your closest OSHA area office during normal business hours; and

• Using the new online form that will soon be available.

 

Notes:

*Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported to OSHA. For an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, these incidents must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

**Establishments located in states under Federal OSHA jurisdiction must begin to comply with the new requirements on January 1, 2015. Establishments located in states that operate their own safety and health programs should check with their state plan for the implementation date of the new requirements.

NRMCA's Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year Award acknowledges the significant contribution of ready mixed concrete truck drivers to the growth and success of individual companies and the ready mixed concrete industry. As a salute to these key members of the concrete production and delivery team, the award recognizes the driver’s career achievement, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service skills in a manner that will enhance the industry and public image of the career Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional. The 2015 Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driver of the Year Award winner will be honored at an awards presentation ceremony at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in Orlando, FL, in March 2015. All nomination applications are due no later than Wednesday, December 31.

The annual Dispatcher Training Forum will be held February 17-19, 2015, in Silver Spring, MD. With the recovery happening, it's time to make sure experienced as well as neophyte schedulers and dispatchers are primed to make the order flow seamless. Since their work pressure is building again, they must be terrific at juggling competing demands at a much faster pace. New dispatchers often perform unevenly while under fire, and even seasoned veterans can find it difficult to step back and change old habits. Put learning to work: attendees return ready to perform more efficiently in core skill areas:

• Putting Orders in Order: Mastering technical, practical and customer-service issues;

• Scheduling Success: Juggling priority customers, advance notices, callbacks, plant managers and sales reps, and a possible cement shortage;

• Technically Speaking: Knowing ASTM-C94 is vital to success;

• People Professionalism: Managing stress, phone skills and peers. Customers aren’t always right yet they must be served for their- and a producer’s benefit; and

• Details, details, details: Dealing with clean-ups, small load charges... the list goes on.

This class is highly interactive so your staff can try out new things in a safe environment then "bring home the bacon" to your company.

Last week, NRMCA Vice President, Sustainability, Tien Peng joined local partner Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA) and testified before the Oregon House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on how local ready mixed concrete producers are thriving local businesses that support sustainability. In its testimony, NRMCA clarified the importance of life cycle perspective in buildings while supporting LEED as a credible rating system that focuses on all phases of a structure’s life while addressing other environmental impacts. The message delivered also addressed the growing interest in community resilience for the State of Oregon, a seismic, fire and tsunami risk region. Brad Moyes of KPFF Consulting Engineers and Dave Frentress of CalPortland also joined OCAPA President Rich Angstrom in the hearing, which was informational only and, as a result, without formal action taken.

"Wood First", which establishes a preference for wood as the material of choice for state building construction, has many supporters among Oregon legislators, Peng notes. As a result, NRMCA has directed its efforts at all levels to educate and inform decision-makers the true nature of material selection in buildings.

Background on the WoodFirst movement can be found on NRMCA Web site. If you see strong support for Wood First legislation in your area, please contact Tien Peng at tpeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.

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 December 8 - 12, please click here.

The House and Senate have passed a $1.1 trillion spending measure that funds most of the government through September 30, 2015. The bill consists of 11 full fiscal year funding bills (omnibus) with one continuing resolution (CR) until February for the Department of Homeland Security. The House passed the bill the night of December 11 by a vote of  219-206. Voting two days later, the Senate passed the package by 56-40. The full text can be found here.

A policy rider included in the bill eliminates, temporarily, the two new restrictions on the use of the 34-hour restart: the 1-5 a.m. provision and the 168-hour rule. All other HOS provisions of the July 2013 rule remain in effect, including the 30-minute break provision. The suspension of the restart provisions will be in effect until September 30, 2015. A policy rider allows Mississippi, Wisconsin and Kentucky to keep the higher weight limits allowed on segments of roads that are being changed to Federal Interstates.

Also included is comprehensive multi-employer pension reform by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-02-MN) and Ranking Member George Miller (D-11-CA). The compromise, based on recommendations from a coalition of unions and businesses called "Solutions Not Bailouts," includes the following:

• Makes permanent the multi-employer provisions under the Pension Protection Act of 2006;
• Gives the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) the authority to promote and facilitate plan mergers;
• Allows plan sponsors to apply to the PBGC to partition a plan;
• Increases the PBGC premium from multi-employer plans from $13/person to $26/person and bases future increases on the wage index; and
• Allows for benefit suspensions in certain plans in critical status.

The plan is estimated to save nearly 10 million workers from losing their multi-employer pension plans, including many in the ready mixed concrete industry. Last week, NRMCA joined a group of construction industry organizations on a letter to Congress supporting the measure.   

Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published its long-anticipated Final Rule on "quickie elections." The Final Rule, which goes into effect on April 14, 2015, significantly tilts the NLRB's election procedures in favor of unions. Under the Final Rule, it will be easier for unions to organize unrepresented employees because a shorter period of time between a union's filing of a representation petition and the holding of an election makes it harder for employers to present their arguments against union representation. The NLRB’s Fact Sheet is here, Littler’s Fact Sheet is here.

Last week, the NLRB released its decision in Purple Communications in which it decided that Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act requires employers, except in very limited circumstances, to open their corporate e-mail systems to union organizing by employees and to group discussions among employees about the terms and conditions of employment during non-work time. Because Section 7 applies to all employers, not just unionized ones, the Board's decision affects almost every U.S. employer that provides a corporate e-mail system (Littler’s Fact Sheet on this issue is here).

There are just two weeks left to submit entries for NRMCA’s 2015 Kids Art Contest, sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. The theme for the contest is "Sustainability: The Future of Ready Mixed Concrete." The contest is open to kids up to grade 12 who have a relationship to an NRMCA member.

We have great prizes - $100 for first place; $50, second and $25 for third place – in four different grade categories. Winning artwork will be auctioned at the CONCRETEPAC Auction at NRMCA’s Annual Convention, March 1-3, 2015 in Orlando and used later in the year to create a 2016 NRMCA calendar. Winners and the sponsoring members will receive a free copy of the calendar.

With the new year, your sales reps, dispatchers, administrative/home office and mid-level staff, as well as those in an executive function whose jobs do not relate to concrete per se, should have working knowledge of the industry. As a result, NRMCA will partner with the Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) to hold  "Concrete 101" February 10-13 in Centennial (metro-Denver). This class is NOT appropriate for technical ready mixed concrete personnel.

For those working toward their NRMCA STEPS® CCPf certification in Sales and Marketing Track, this is a required class. For others working toward CCPf certification in other STEPS tracks, the class is the qualifying prerequisite or an elective.

December 23, Webinar

Designing & Specifying Pervious Concrete (Part II)

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

 

January 14, Webinar

STEPS - A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

January 15, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Elected Official Advocacy

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

 

January 16, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Promotion & Advocacy Overview

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

January 20-23, Des Moines, IA Sold Out

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

January 22, Free Webinar

Streets & Roads Team Building & Situation Analysis

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

January 29, Free Webinar

Roller-Compacted Concrete for Streets & Roads

Email: Jacques Jenkins, 240-485-1165

 

February 9-13, Seattle

Regional Concrete Technologist Training and Certification Course "Short Course"

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168

 

February 10-13, Centennial, CO (metropolitan Denver)

CCSP Module I: Introduction to Concrete Fundamentals (Concrete 101)

Email: Stacy Ehrlick, (303) 290-0303

 

February 17-19, 2015, Silver Spring, MD

Dispatcher Training Forum

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

 

February 24-26, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module III: Business Skills Basics for Profit - General Business Knowledge

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

 

February 25, Atlanta

Improving Concrete Quality

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

 

March 1-3, Orlando, FL

NRMCA Annual Convention

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

 

March 16-18, West Palm Beach, FL

Safety Course

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

 

March 18, Webinar

STEPS - A Long Term Career Tool for the RMC Industry

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

 

March 24-27, Salt Lake City

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

March 31-April 2, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills Workshop - 24 hours

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

 

May, Location TBA

Concrete Durability Course

Email: Karen Bean, 240-485-1168