NRMCA e-news

The early bird registration deadline for the NRMCA 2016 Annual Convention has been extended to Friday, March 11: register by close of business to save over $100 on your registration fee. Due to fantastic response from our membership, the NRMCA room block has already sold out at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort. We have also been informed the entire hotel is currently sold out on several nights as well. While it might be possible to get a reservation at Lowes due to other travelers cancelling their reservations, we are working quickly to obtain an overflow room block at a nearby hotel; more information will be available shortly.

Click here for updated convention information or contact the NRMCA Meetings Department at meetings@nrmca.org or 888-846-7622 ext. 1152.

Click here to read an Engineering-News Record article on how states are putting MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub pavement-vehicle interaction (PVI) tests to use and here to read a news release on the same topic issued by MIT.

Hey, he wasn't just about light bulbs, you know. Ahead of time in so many ways, Thomas Edison also saw the advantages of concrete homes, saying they would revolutionize American life. Some 100 years later, let the revolution continue...

On the heels of the release of the first Pervious In Practice technical brief, NRMCA’s Pervious Concrete Promotion Subcommittee has begun developing three new publications in the series. One of the new documents will focus on repair techniques for pervious concrete and the subcommittee is asking for assistance from the industry.

"Besides diamond grinding and full-depth replacement of damaged pervious concrete, we know that there are numerous pervious concrete craftsmen and installers who have implemented their own methods of repair with success," says NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Phil Kresge. "We are hoping that those individuals will be willing to share their experiences with us so that we can provide a comprehensive guide of all repair procedures."

Kresge will be developing the first draft of the document with assistance from Pervious Concrete Craftsman Jim Miller of C2 Products, Inc. Contractors or ready mix suppliers who would like to contribute information should forward a brief summary of the repair technique to either Kresge or Miller at pkresge@nrmca.org or c2products@aol.com by Thursday, March 31. Any available photos would also be greatly appreciated.

NRMCA’s popular Parking Lot Boot Camp was in Salt Lake City in late February with a team consisting of a NRMCA Producer member and a local concrete contractor, reports Jon Hansen, senior vice president, local paving, who conducted the Boot Camp with Phil Kresge, senior director, local paving.

"This was one of our largest Parking Lot Boot Camps to date, with 21 attendees from a large NRMCA producer in Salt Lake City, its selected concrete contractor and hosted by the Ash Grove Cement team lead by Jeff Guy, Doug Johnson and Matt Wood," Hansen said. "Each Boot Camp includes a segment at the end where attendees share what they learned from camp and their action plans after camp. A number of those attending said they had a list of 5-10 business owner prospects they were going to contact to talk about new or concrete overlay options for their property."

Developers across the country are finding out the many benefits of building with ICFs. As they do so, ready mix suppliers are winning big because concrete is not only ICF’s middle name, it is also central to the product’s success. The NRMCA Building Promotion program is working with developers and the Council of ICF Industries (CICFI) to showcase ICF projects around the country. As the ICF industry grows, NRMCA members will be a prime beneficiary. 

Started in 2005, the annual project-of-the-year competition showcases the innovation, quality and craftsmanship possible with this construction method. This year’s contest attracted top-notch entries, including mid-rise hotels, municipal buildings, schools, offices, churches, and residential projects of every shape, size and style. Winners were chosen in six categories, including Light Commercial, Heavy Commercial and Multi-family construction. Projects were judged on their performance in six areas, including architecture, complexity, craftsmanship, size, significance and sustainability. The winning projects are featured in the March/April 2016 issue of ICF Builder magazine and on the award program’s Web site.

NRMCA members can play a pivotal role in the growth of the ICF industry and immediately enjoy the fruits of their labor. Members can identify a project or developer where ICFs will add value and help convert a project from wood or steel to concrete.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, has published Technical Note 1906, Minimizing Paste Content in Concrete Using Limestone Powders – Demonstration Mixtures. The authors have demonstrated adequate concrete performance with concrete mixtures with up to 28% lower cement content using a binary blend of portland cement and limestone powder. The mixtures also contained a lower mixing water content and adequate workability was provided through the use of HRWRA admixtures. Paste, mortar and concrete performance has been documented.

Download the report here. For more information, contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org.

NRMCA Senior Vice President of Engineering Colin Lobo delivered a presentation on performance specifications to the Indiana Structural Engineers Association at its Spring Conference on March 3 in Indianapolis. Lobo’s invitation was facilitated by the Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association. The general goal of evolving to performance-based specification was outlined to the group of 75 practicing structural engineers. The primary message was to consider reviewing their specifications and eliminating some prescriptive requirements that are typically not in industry standards with suggested alternatives. Many attendees indicated that these requirements existed in their specifications but were unsure why. Some indicated that they would consider revising. Attendees were pointed to the resources on improving specification found on the NRMCA's Web site.

 

Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) finally proposed setting minimum entry-level driver training (ELDT) requirements for those individuals seeking to obtain a commercial drivers license (CDL) to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). The proposal aims to establish, for the first time, a universal and comprehensive training standard requiring both minimum hours of behind-the-wheel (BTW) instruction and specific topics to be covered during classroom instruction. The new requirements would apply to "individuals applying for their initial CDL; an upgrade of their CDL or a hazardous materials, passenger, or school bus endorsement for their license." The training would also have to be conducted by a certified entity listed on the newly proposed "Training Provider Registry". The requirements for obtaining a Class B CDL to operate a ready mixed concrete truck would include "a minimum of 15 hours of behind-the-wheel training, including a minimum of seven hours of practice range training." While there is not a minimum number of classroom instruction hours, there is a required comprehensive curriculum that would need to be covered.

This new proposed rule was required by the 2012 transportation bill known as "MAP-21," which stated that FMCSA must develop regulations "concerning ELDT for drivers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate or intrastate commerce." In complying with the MAP-21 requirement, FMCSA implemented a process for a "negotiated rulemaking," whereby "25 key FMCSA stakeholders... [consisting of] motor carrier transportation, highway safety, driver training, state licensing, law enforcement, labor union, and insurance organizations... convened for six two-day negotiating sessions to reach a consensus on minimum training standards for entry-level drivers."

The proposed compliance date for any final rule would be three years after publication of the final rule. Comments on the proposal are due no later than April 6, 2016.

Click here to view FMCSA’s ELDT Web page or to review the proposal. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.

Earlier this week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it had restored certain data for public availability that it had previously removed from its Web site in December 2015. Following the passage of the December 2015 transportation bill known as the FAST Act, FMCSA was required to remove from the public view scores contained in FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program of property carrying commercial motor vehicle companies, such are ready mixed concrete manufacturing companies. However, in order to comply with the FAST Act immediately FMCSA pulled down more CSA information than was necessary. After having made certain changes to the CSA program, FMCSA has now re-published the allowed CSA data known as "absolute measures".

Another provision of the FAST Act required FMCSA to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the CSA program before it could place the removed data back into the public domain. FMCSA then announced earlier this week that it is has commissioned the National Academy of Sciences to examine the effectiveness with the part of the CSA program identifies as "high risk" trucking companies.

Resilience and durability are receiving greater focus by governments and building codes in recent years. The 2016 International Concrete Sustainability Conference, scheduled for May 16-18 in Washington, DC, will feature several papers and presentations on the topic. Examples include:

• Nash Hasan, AECOM, U.S. - Sustainability and Durability of Concrete Placed in Cold Weather. Nash Hassan.

• R. Doug Hooton, University of Toronto - Improving Concrete Sustainability through Design for Durability. R. Douglas Hooton and Majella Anson-Cartwright

• Gonzalo Barluenga, University of Alcala, Spain - Assessment of Resilience and Sustainability of Cement Based Facades for Mid-rise Commercial Buildings Exposed to Coastal and Seismic Hazards. Gonzalo Barluenga, Oluwateniola Ladipo, Georg Reichard and Roberto T. Leon.

• Antonio Nanni, University of Miami, U.S. SEACON - A New Research Project Towards the Sustainability of Concrete, Antonio Nanni.

• Reed Miller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S. - Context-dependence of Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Building Case Studies Around the U.S. Reed Miller, Jeremy Gregory and Randolph Kirchain.

2016 ICSC will feature nearly 80 researchers and practitioners from 30 countries to present the latest advances, technical knowledge, continuing research, tools and solutions for sustainable concrete manufacturing, design and construction. Other topics include low impact development, life cycle assessment, material science and social responsibility.

SCC 2016 will feature nearly 120 expert researchers and practitioners from nearly 50 countries presenting on topics ranging from SCC materials and design methodology to production and quality control. Performance measurement, economics and sustainability of SCC, and many case studies involving the use of SCC in iconic structures will also be presented.

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 February 29 - March 4, 2016, please click here.

The March 2016 issue of Concrete Capitol Connection is now available online. The issue includes updates on legislation, regulation and case law on issues affecting the ready mixed concrete industry. Click here to read more.

NRMCA in association with the Northern New England Concrete Promotion Association is offering the one-day course Improving Concrete Quality, intended for concrete producers, ingredient material suppliers, engineers, testing labs and contractors. The course will take place Wednesday, May 4, in Manchester, NH.Improving Concrete Quality, a new book authored by one of the instructors, and other NRMCA resources provide the basic content for the course.

Improved concrete quality can benefit all stakeholders in a concrete construction project. This course will answer some of the following questions:

• How do you know if you have good quality? What should be your quality metric?
• How to become more profitable through better quality?
• What are all the key statistical calculations you need to know in concrete?
• How to control the mixing water content in concrete?
• How to deal with temperature and delivery time variations?
• What is the most effective way to ensure that your materials ingredients are of good quality? 
• How to improve batching accuracy, mixing uniformity?
• How to identify non standard testing and curing? How to improve testing quality?
• Tests a producer should do, internal audits and many more.

Course instructors are Kevin MacDonald, Ph.D., FACI, Beton Consulting Engineers LLC, and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E. at NRMCA. Producers will learn readily implementable steps to manage variability and attain a more consistent product; ingredient suppliers will learn how material variation affects concrete variation; engineers will learn the opportunity for improving quality through specifications and testing lab professionals will learn to measure and improve testing quality. 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 staff contacts, more information and registration options.

The NRMCA March Internet Spotlight, good through Tuesday, April 5, is a single set of the Technology In Practice (TIP) series 1-16. Technology in Practice is a series of short information pieces on important topics written in an easy understandable "What, Why and How?" format, similar to the Concrete In Practice (CIP) topics. It can be used by ready mixed concrete industry personnel to support internal as well as customer education.

Click here to view each topic. Order online today and receive 15% off the regular member single set price of $20 (Internet Special $17, plus shipping). Please use discount code ISMAR16.

March 15 - 17, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module IV: Professional Sales Skills

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

 

March 15 - 17, Des Moines, IA *Sold Out

NRMCA Safety Course

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

 

March 21, Free Webinar

Pervious Concrete Maintenance Guidelines

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

 

April 5 - 8, Birmingham, AL *Sold Out

Plant Manager Certification Course

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

 

April 10 - 12, San Diego

NRMCA's Annual Convention

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

 

May 4, Manchester, NH

Improving Concrete Quality

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

 

May 10, Webinar

Personal Leadership and Coaching

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

 

May 15 - 18, Washington, DC

International Concrete Sustainability & Self-Compacting Concrete Conference

Email: Lionel Lemay, 847-918-7101

 

June 6 - 8, Silver Spring, MD

Concrete Durability Course

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

 

September 18 - 20, Nashville, TN

NRMCA's ConcreteWorks 2016

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

 

October 4 - 7, Silver Spring, MD

CCSP Module I: Concrete 101

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

 

October 11, Webinar

Recruiting & Hiring Top Performing Ready Mix Sales Reps

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

 

November 7-11, Silver Spring, MD

Annual "Short Course"

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

December 6, Webinar 

Sales Performance Assessments and Reviews... for Ready Mix Sales Managers

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

 

December 13-16, Anaheim, CA

Plant Manager Certification Course

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