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Association & Industry News
NRMCA and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) have announced Joe Roche as chief financial officer for the associations. He will report to NRMCA President Mike Philipps and Mike Ireland, president and CEO of PCA. Mr. Roche will begin on May 26. He will be responsible for leading the ongoing evaluation, development, and implementation of financial processes and systems of the associations, including leading the Finance Shared Services agreement that exists between NRMCA and PCA. Mr. Roche will work closely with external finance partners to implement process improvements, maximize system capabilities, focus on staff development and be a member of both Associations' leadership teams. He will be primarily located in the Alexandria, VA, office. Mr. Roche previously served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at the National 4-H Council, a $51 million non-profit organization based in Chevy Chase, MD, where he served from 2009-2020. He has extensive experience supporting more than 30 non-profit and trade organizations acting as a consultant and senior adviser to CEOs, senior management and Board of Directors' members. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Roche earned his Bachelor of Arts in accounting from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He lives with his family in Potomac, MD. 
Buildings
NRMCA, through its Build With Strength initiative, has launched its 11th online course through Hanley Wood University. This latest installment, Strength Through Transparency: How Concrete EPDs are Driving Down Carbon Footprint, will be available in the May issue of Architect magazine or can be accesses through Hanley Wood University here. NRMCA has been offering courses over four years with Hanley Wood, including topics such as Concrete Innovations, Specifying Sustainable Concrete and Zero Energy Schools. The courses are free and offer AIA Learning Units for architects and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for engineers. Other online courses are available at www.buildwithstrength.com/education, including webinars and other on-demand continuing education for design professionals. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at LLemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. This week’s project is the first on the www.ConcreteTracker.org map from Canada (NRMCA only started accepting projects from Canada last week). It comes to us from Concrete BC, NRMCA’s British Columbia affiliate and is a multiple award winner with Concrete BC and the Tilt-up Concrete Association. The primary structure of the Sunset Community Center is composed of tilt-up concrete walls. The intent was to take a technology typically used for big-box construction and push it toward something more meaningful. Comprised of 46 uniquely shaped panels, the exterior panels are insulated, composed of a structural wythe, insulation and an exterior veneer wythe. For more details about the project visit www.ConcreteTracker.org and search on Building > Amusement/Social/Recreation > Tilt-up > BC and click on Submit. Click on the pin to explore this outstanding example of ready mixed concrete at work (and play). To search for projects in your state or province, click on HOME [MAP] and select from the “choose state” dropdown. Click on the pins to explore. If you have a project you would like to include on the map, click ABOUT US and click on the “Case Study Upload” link. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at LLemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. The Build With Strength Webinar (BWS) series continues today, Wednesday, May 13, at 2 p.m. Eastern time with The Balanced Design Approach to Fire Safety: How Concrete Buildings Can Help Reduce Risk led by Shamim Rashid-Sumar. This presentation investigates structure fire losses and provide balanced design recommendations. The next presentation in the series is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, also at 2 p.m. Eastern time: The Environmental Impacts of Building Materials: A Primer for Comparing Concrete, Steel, Wood and Asphalt will be presented by James Bogdan. Registration is also available for additional BWS webinars through June, focusing on the design and construction of high-performance concrete buildings. They provide American Institute of Architects (AIA) Elective Learning Units and/or Professional Development Hours (PDH) for continuing education requirements: • New - May 27, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time - A New Generation of Tilt-up Buildings • New - June 3, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time - Achieving Resilience with ICF Construction • Popular - June 10, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time - Concrete Innovations • New - June 17, 2-3 p.m. Eastern time - Economical Design of Insulating Concrete Forms • Popular - June 24, 2-3 pm Eastern time - Specifying Sustainable Concrete Build With Strength BWS is a coalition led by NRMCA that promotes standards advocacy to leverage policies promoting safety and resiliency and help place more concrete. For more information on the BWS webinar series, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org. The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Large Firm Round Table (LFRT) has published new guidelines titled, Countdown on Carbon, calling for a significant commitment by members to respond to climate change in the built environment. First presented at the CarbonPositive’20 conference in March, the policy document calls on members to become signatories of the AIA 2030 Commitment; to report firm benchmarks, advocate for building reuse, include embodied carbon as a key factor when selecting materials and propose best practices to consider such as reducing cement use, avoiding foam insulation and designing with mass timber. Build With Strength, a coalition of NRMCA, promotes concrete construction through communications, project promotion, education and advocacy, can help leverage policies to help place more concrete. For more information contact Tien Peng at tpeng@nrmca.org or 206-913-8535.
Government Affairs
As Congress prepares to consider a potential Phase Four COVID-19 relief legislation, NRMCA continues to advocate for infrastructure as part of the response, stimulus and recovery packages. In speaking with Members of Congress, NRMCA continues to make the case for infrastructure as an economic driver. In the immediate term, NRMCA and our allied associations have worked with the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to urge Congress to provide $50 billion to state Departments of Transportation (DOT), allowing them to continue to invest in transportation and infrastructure projects. Reps. Connor Lamb (D-PA) and Bob Gibbs (R-PA) sent a letter to House leadership requesting that the next round of COVID relief include the $50 billion in aid to state DOTs to backstop the precipitous fall in revenue being collected as a result of the coronavirus and state shutdowns. NRMCA, NSSGA and PCA pushed out joint grassroots alert, with each association urging their respective members to send a letter to their representatives asking that they support Reps. Lamb and Gibbs’ request. In total, nearly 140 Members of Congress supported the request. You can see the final letter here. The Phase Four package unveiled by House Democrats on Tuesday included $15 billion for state DOTs. NRMCA joined the Highway Materials Group (letter here) and the Transportation Construction Coalition (letter here) in urging Congress and the President to quickly move to infrastructure as a recovery and will continue to advocate for Congress to include infrastructure as part of the recovery and stimulus as well as support surface transportation and water resources reauthorizations. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. The Senate returned to Washington last week and the House is expected to return late this week for a vote on House Democrats’ Phase Four proposal. On Tuesday, House Democrats released the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. You can find text here, a summary here, and an overview of state and local relief funding provisions here. The 1,815 page, $3 trillion legislation includes a cornucopia of spending, including $1 trillion in assistance to state and local governments and another round of $1,200 payments to individuals. Relevant highlights include:
The legislation did not include liability protections for business as states reopen their economies.The House Rules Committee will meet Thursday to pass a rule for consideration of the HEROES Act as well as a measure to allow for proxy voting. You can see the Rules Committee’s proceedings here. The House is expected to pass the HEROES Act as early as Friday. The legislation is expected to receive a cool reception in the Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is in no rush to consider additional multi-trillion dollar bills. The legislation should be seen as an opening negotiation from the House. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
Last week, NRMCA members and staff along with members and staff from the Portland Cement Association held a very productive discussion with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler. Administrator Wheeler gave an update to the group on the EPA Smart Sectors Program, EPA activities on COVID-19 and its regulatory agenda. NRMCA members and staff detailed concerns the industry holds with potentially new stormwater regulations and new proposed restrictions on beneficial use of coal combustion residuals (CCRs), known as fly ash, as well as enforcement coordination between EPA and state regulating agencies. NRMCA also commended EPA for its COVID-19 compliance guidance. NRMCA continues to advocate with EPA and through the EPA Smart Sectors Program on issues of concern to the ready mixed concrete industry. Click here for more information on EPA’s Smart Sectors Program. You may also contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. 
Products & Services
NRMCA’s popular Technology in Practice series (TIPs) is now available in pdf format. All 20 topics can be used by ready mixed concrete industry personnel to support internal as well as customer education. TIPs are developed by the NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee and are intended as an educational resource for ready mixed concrete industry personnel. Newly updated, TIP 13 – Chloride Limits in Concrete, addresses the limits on internal chlorides in concrete as addressed in the Building Code, ACI 318. It discusses reasons for the limits, sources of internal chlorides, testing for chlorides and discusses the calculation of chloride content in concrete from the mixture ingredients. Click here to view TIPs and purchase. For more information contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org. 
Pavement
 The sixth installment of NRMCA’s Concrete Pavement Education Series was another huge success with a capacity crowd attending the Concrete Street and Parking Lot Maintenance and Repair webinar with Ken Justice and Brian Killingsworth. These weekly webinars focus on topics related to design, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of concrete pavements. The next program in the series is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, at 2 p.m. Eastern time; Concrete Overlays of Existing Asphalt Streets and Parking Lots promises to be another packed session. It will be led by Pave Ahead team members Jon Hansen and Phil Kresge. Register now to secure your place for this next informative webinar from NRMCA Pave Ahead. The webinars provide American Institute of Architects (AIA) Elective Learning Units and/or Professional Development Hours (PDH) for continuing education requirements. Register now for the May 21 webinar: Concrete Trail Design. And starting May 28, the NRMCA Pave Ahead Team is beginning a new series of webinars focused on pervious concrete:
Each webinar begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time and is free to attend. Click here for a listing, description and to register for any of the Pave Ahead webinars. For more information, contact Jon Hansen at jhansen@nrmca.org. 
Business Advancement
To help your sales staff to thoughtfully plan longer-term sales strategies, NRMCA will conduct a free webinar titled Learn How & When to Influence a Design Team or Owner to Make Concrete the Material of Choice on Monday, May 18, from 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern time. The intended audience is not limited to sales reps, but also those driving strategic revenue goals and tactics to hit the numbers. Alan Sparkman, who has taught at MTSU’s CIM Graduate School of Business and is the Tennessee Concrete Association’s executive director, teaches industry-specific sales courses for NRMCA and will share his expertise. The webinar starts with an introduction to the phases every construction project goes through and moves on to include insight about how to use those phases to influence a buyer’s decision to select concrete as the material of choice for that project. Increase your impact over construction projects in your market by registering here. For more information, contact Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org. NRMCA encourages today’s rising stars to apply for a unique opportunity that supports their growth in the ready mixed concrete industry. NRMCA’s Developing Industry’s Leaders (DIL) program is a distinctive, career-long plan of action where tomorrow’s leaders interact, both professionally and socially, with established executives, thereby gaining a national perspective about the ready mixed concrete industry. Candidates must be employed by an NRMCA Producer or Associate member, Bureau member or state affiliate association. The application period closes Friday, June 12. Please note that the DIL program is NOT a short-term perk. After the two-year formal program ends, DIL alumni are expected to make long-term commitments to move their team’s initiative(s) forward by joining, and attending, the appropriate NRMCA committee meetings twice each year as well as participate in annual DIL alumni events. They are also asked to mentor new DIL. Finally, they may attend NRMCA’s semi-annual Board meetings to observe senior-level executives deliberate and make both short- and long-term strategic decisions that impact the industry. If your company has a rising star who is ready to work on a national level and will be given the time to participate in the required activities over the length of his/her career, please submit his/her application no later than Friday, June 12. Click here and scan to the bottom of the webpage to learn more and download the application form. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. Engineering
Pyrrhotite is an unstable form of iron sulfide mineral in geologic formations. Its presence in aggregate from one quarry in Connecticut has been attributed to extensive cracking in several residential foundations in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In connection with these developments, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) issued this press release. The USGS has released its first-ever map of where the mineral pyrrhotite may occur in the contiguous United States. This research was mandated by Congress in the FY2019 appropriations bill for the USGS and was supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program. Pyrrhotite, a mineral of concern for the construction industry, consists of iron and sulfur. When exposed to water and air, it can break down to form secondary minerals that expand and crack concrete, causing concrete structures, like home foundations, to fail. “This project was a bit unusual for us, because typically we’re trying to help people find mineral deposits that they want, not minerals that they don’t want,” said USGS scientist Jeff Mauk, who led the project. “Pyrrhotite in concrete has caused enormous problems for homeowners in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts.” The map identifies locations where the mineral may potentially occur, but has not been confirmed. However, the map could be interpreted as a location of potential problem areas for aggregate sources. The location of this mineral has been identified in the quarry in Connecticut and to two in the Quebec province of Canada. The Concrete Foundations Association published an information sheet in 2016 with input from knowledgeable researchers. ACI Committee 201 is completing a tech note on pyrrhotite and mechanism of deterioration it causes in concrete. The USGS fact sheet and other documents are available here. NRMCA is now accepting applications for the Excellence in Quality Award contest. A company must be a NRMCA Producer member in good standing to participate; companies can enter as a company or a division. Applicants are asked to respond to a multiple-choice type application form that generates their scores. Companies or divisions that achieve a score of 75% or greater will be recognized at NRMCA's ConcreteWorks, scheduled from September 25-29 in Denver. The deadline for receiving completed award applications is Tuesday, June 30. There are several advantages to participating in this award program: Click here to access the link for the Excel file. Before starting the survey, please download the file to your computer and save it using a different file name (company/division name). Then e-mail the completed Excel file and required attachments to Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org. For more information, contact NRMCA Vice President, Technical Services, Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org. 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. May 14, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series May 18, Free Webinar May 19, Concrete Paving Promotion Webinar Series May 20, Build With Strength Webinar May 21, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series May 26, Concrete Paving Promotion Webinar Series May 27, Build With Strength Webinar May 28, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 2, Free Promotion Webinars June 3, Build With Strength Webinar June 4, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 10, Build With Strength Webinar June 11, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 16 – 18, Nashville, TN – Sponsored by Tennessee Concrete Association June 17, Build With Strength Webinar June 18, Concrete Pavement Webinar Series June 24, Build With Strength Webinar July 14 – 16, Nashville, TN – Sponsored by TCA September 25 – 29, Denver October 8, Nashville, TN October 20 – 22, Mendota Heights, MN November 10 - 12, New Orleans November 17 – 19, Glendora, CA December 15, Charlotte, NC December 15 – 18, Phoenix *If you wish to be added to the wait list for sold out courses, please send your request to meetings@nrmca.org. |
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