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Association & Industry News
Based in New York, Ms. Rashid-Sumar works with national model building codes and standards organizations to advocate for non-combustible construction and provides technical support regarding codes, standards, regulations and legislation at the national, state and local levels. A strong believer in maintaining fire safety in the built environment, she regularly presents and moderates at conferences and technical events. She has been active in the Middle East and India for the past decade as an industry expert, speaking on technical topics such as façade risk assessments, fire alarm system fundamentals and nuisance alarms, recent updates to the UAE and Saudi building codes and delivery of code compliant projects. Ms. Rashid-Sumar is a registered professional engineer in Delaware. She holds previous registrations as a house of expertise engineer in the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and is a former member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Code Committee. Ms. Rashid-Sumar holds a bachelor of science degree in fire protection engineering and a minor citation in French language and cultures from the University of Maryland College Park. 
Buildings
“We met several members of the Board at the Multi-Family Executive Conference in Las Vegas and were mutually impressed with each other’s organizations. So much so that when the offer was extended to host a dinner at its annual convention, we felt it was an effective way to communicate with leadership and promote the value that the BWS program would bring to AAREA,” said O’Neill, senior director, building innovations, of NRMCA (seen here addressing meeting attendees). “Its willingness to provide us a forum to connect with its leadership and then members across the country was the driving force behind our participation.” Work has begun on developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our two organizations which will include Build With Strength 2.0’s four main areas of focus: Communicate, Advocate, Promote and Connect. Founded in 2003, the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) is a nonprofit professional trade organization dedicated to promoting sustainable homeownership opportunities in Asian American communities by creating a powerful national voice for housing and real estate professionals that serve this dynamic market. AREAA’s membership represents an array of cultural, ethnic and professional backgrounds. AREAA is open to those who work with or seeks to work with the AAPI (Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) community. With over 17,000 members in 41 chapters across the U.S. and Canada, AREAA is the largest Asian organization in North America. For more information on AREAA and how you could participate in a local chapter, contact Doug O’Neill or Donn Thompson.
Government Affairs
Earlier this week, NRMCA joined two sets of comments supporting proposed Hours of Service (HOS) rules changes by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA). One set of comments submitted on behalf of the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) and led by the National Stone Sand and Gravel Association represented the interests of the broader construction industry while the other set of comments, submitted on behalf of North American Concrete Alliance and led by NRMCA, represented the concrete industry in particular. In general, both sets of comments supported the relevant portions of FMCSA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if adopted, will provide NRMCA members and the ready mixed concrete industry additional flexibility in managing their drivers’ time. In preparing these comments, NRMCA’s Government Affairs team worked closely with NRMCA’s Safety, Environmental and Operations regulatory staff in ensuring that the message of our association and the industry at large was aligned. You can read the TCC comments here and the NACA comments here. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Key congressional offices last week approved revisions to NRMCA’s longstanding priority legislation, the Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act, which provides federal tax credits to property owners who rebuild after a natural disaster with resilient construction. At the beginning of the 116th Congress, NRMCA, in consultation with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), began updating the standards referred to in the legislation. Previous sponsors of the bill, including House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, worked with NRMCA on additional changes, and NRMCA’s codes and standards team reviewed and made additional recommendations. The result is an improved and expanded bill that now makes available tax credits for rebuilding to resilient standards after wildfires and earthquakes. NRMCA is now awaiting word from sponsors on when the bill will be introducted and is preparing to push for cosponsors before the end of the year. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
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 of Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional. The 2020 Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driver of the Year Award winner will be honored at an awards presentation ceremony at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas in March 2020. Please e-mail applications by Tuesday, December 31, to Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. Click here to download the nomination form and for more information, including staff contact. 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. October 24, Gambrills, MD November 6 – 7, Springfield, MA November 7, Antioch, TN November 11 – 15, Baltimore November 19 – 21, Orlando, FL November 20, Little Rock, AR December 3, Denver December 10, Hagerstown, MD December 10 – 13, Orlando, FL *Sold Out December 17 – 19, Dallas 
Pavement
On a beautiful fall Colorado day, around 80 attendees from local cities, counties, the Denver transit authority, private parking lot owners, as well as concrete industry representatives observed the concrete overlay placement at the Pikes Peak Pay Lot, located southwest of Denver. The open house was co-sponsored by the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) Colorado/Wyoming Chapter, Concrete Works of Colorado (CWC) and NRMCA. Guests were treated to ringside seats to view the paving operation while enjoying a hosted lunch. CWC's Marc Lenart and Dick Brasher, Angela Folkestad and Jamie Johnson of the local ACPA chapter, and NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don Clem mingled among attendees, answering questions regarding the DEN project and the concrete overlay process. Phase 1 (35 acres) of the project is nearing completion. Phase 2 will be completed next spring.
Above at left and from left, Denver airport authority Chief Operating Officer Chris McLaughlin and Acting Senior Director of Development Michelle Martin and Concrete Works of Colorado Vice President Dick Brasher discuss the overlay project. At right, attendees enjoy a close-up view of the paving operation. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. 
Business Advancement
Fact: people quit because they have serious issues with their immediate supervisor. In an environment where our industry cannot afford to lose one more mixer driver, it is critical that plant, operations, dispatch, fleet and driver managers, and supervisors understand the scope and tasks they are expected to execute as they relate to managing their direct reports. To stress the importance even more, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the most common business lawsuit filed is by employees against their employers - and the employees cite their direct supervisors as the cause. Therefore, the class content includes industry-specific, hands-on exercises to develop solid procedures to increase efficiency and profitability by using better business processes and communication methods with front line employees. This class is held just once a year; for 2020 it will be January 14-16 in Des Moines, IA. The class is already half full. Do not delay. Click here for registration options and staff contact. The annual NRMCA Dispatcher Training Forum will be held January 28-30 in Orlando, FL. As the new year launches, it is time to make sure experienced as well as neophyte schedulers and dispatchers are primed to make the order flow seamlessly. 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:
Click here for more information, registration options and staff contacts. In late September, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay. Are you ready to comply? To help, the DOL will conduct two webinars. Throughout the webinar, participants can submit questions. Wage and Hour Division hosts will answer as many questions as possible following the presentation. The second will be held on Tuesday, November 19, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here to register. The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative and professional employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses/commissions toward meeting the salary level. The new thresholds account for growth in employee earnings since the thresholds were last updated in 2004. Detailed information about new materials and resources available on the overtime final rule can be found on DOL's website. 2020 January 14 – 16, Des Moines, IA January 14 – 16, Nashville, TN January 21 – 24, Cincinnati January 28 – 30, Orlando, FL January 28 – 30, Dallas February 25 – 28, Miami March 7 – 9, Las Vegas March 10 – 14, Las Vegas March 17 – 19, Dallas September 27 – 29, Aurora, CO 
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NRMCA Vice President, Fire Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar has been named a Fellow of The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the professional society that represents those practicing in the field of fire protection engineering. SFPE Fellows represent a distinguished group of members who have attained significant stature and accomplishment in engineering. Fellows must be members of the Society for at least 10 years and have been nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to the advancement of fire protection engineering and valuable service to SFPE. Of a total SFPE membership of more than 4,600 there are only 313 fellows.
