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Association & Industry News
NRMCA notes with sadness the death of former Board of Directors member Thomas Baird IV. He died October 1 at the age of 48 from leukemia. Mr. Baird had a long affiliation with the Association through his family business, Producer member Concrete Company of Springfield (MO). At various times, he served on the Promotion, Membership and Business Administration committees. He was also alongtime supporter of NRMCA's Political Action Committee, CONCRETEPAC, and the RMC Research & Education Foundation. Mr. Baird's service on the Board of Directors spanned 2008 through 2019 and he was also a member of the Executive Committee for 2015-2016. A Springfield native, Mr. Baird was a graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA. He is survived by his wife, Brooke; his daughter, Kaitlyn; two sons, Thomas and Tanner; his parents Mary Alice and Hal Grissum, and Jamie and Tom Baird III; his sister Allison Holiman and nieces and nephews. Click here for more biographical, funeral and memorial donation information. 
Buildings
Ed Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, will be the opening keynote speaker for the Global Concrete Summit scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time on November 30. Ed is an internationally recognized architect, author, researcher and educator. Over the past decade, his seminal research into the sustainability, resilience, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the built environment has redefined the role of architecture, planning, design and building in reshaping our world. He is the founder of Architecture 2030, a think tank developing real-world solutions for 21st century problems. Ed’s presentation provides a roadmap for stakeholders in the design/build community to help meet the 1.5ºC Paris Agreement target. NRMCA, Grey Matters and 70 other partners and sponsors from around the world have combined to create this first Global Concrete Summit. From November 30 to December 10, the virtual conference will bring practitioners, researchers and policy makers together to exchange the latest ideas, knowledge and tools to build the future of concrete construction. Click here to learn more and to register; use Discount Code NRMCA40 at checkout to receive the discount. Click here for sponsorship opportunities or contact Lionel Lemay at LLemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995. This Build With Strength (BWS) advocacy report provides detailed information on the efforts to stop wood through model code advocacy along with the latest actions in state legislatures on a wide range of BWS-related topics. Click here to access the advocacy report. For more information, contact John Loyer at jloyer@nrmca.org.
NRMCA and PCA will host a joint government affairs meeting on Tuesday, October 13, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Make plans to register so you'll receive an update on what’s going on in Washington along with NRMCA and PCA’s advocacy efforts on industry priorities. This year’s ConcreteWorks will have a strong focus on government affairs: the opening general session will be an election and political update with Charlie Cook, and the second general session will be a presentation on how the election could impact the cement and ready mixed concrete industries. We strongly encourage every member of the NRMCA Government Affairs Committee to attend this important industry event. Click here to register for the joint meeting. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Government Affairs
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) represents hundreds of organizations, including NRMCA, sharing a mutual concern over the actions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that could threaten employees, employers and economic growth. CDW has provided two updates on behalf of the coalition, shared here: DOL Issues Proposed Rule on Labor Union Accountability - Late last month, the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards issued a proposed rulemaking meant to “increase and enhance financial transparency for unions regulated by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.” The rule revises the annual financial disclosure form, Form LM-2, through which labor organizations report their financial conditions and operations. The rule also introduces a new Form LM-2LF for the largest labor organizations. The Department explains the purpose of the rulemaking is to “allow members to stay better informed of their union’s financial conditions and operations” and to provide a deterrent to (and means of detection of) fraud and embezzlement. CDW plans to file comments on the proposal. CDW Files Comments on NLRB Election Privacy Proposal - Also in late September, CDW filed comments supporting the NLRB’s election privacy proposed rule. As our comments explain, the coalition supports the Board’s decision to rescind provisions of its 2014 rule requiring disclosure of employee addresses and phone numbers - provisions that threatened to infringe on employees’ privacy rights and needlessly exposed them to coercion and intimidation. Additionally, CDW’s comments support the Board's proposal to allow employees engaged in military service to vote via absentee ballots but suggests necessary alterations to provide protections for employers. NRMCA remains a partner with CDW both in supporting its letters and comments as well as taking part in their lobbying activities. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
This week is Mixer Driver Appreciation Week, highlighting the ready mixed concrete industry’s front-line workers – its ready mixed concrete truck drivers. NRMCA encourages Producer members to honor and celebrate their mixer drivers. Without the hard work, dedication and professionalism from the industry’s mixer drivers, providing ready mixed concrete to the point of placement wouldn’t be possible. Please join us in recognizing and thanking these individuals for their exceptional ability to deliver the world’s most versatile building product. Please visit NRMCA’s Mixer Driver Appreciation Week Website to view:
NRMCA would like to thank the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB) for sponsoring National Mixer Driver Appreciation Week. Without its support, this program and many others wouldn’t be possible. Click here for more information or contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. NRMCA's Ready Mixed Concrete Delivery Professional Driver of the Year Award, now in its 25th year and sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB), 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's public image. The 2021 Ready Mixed Concrete Truck Driver of the Year Award winner will be honored at an awards presentation ceremony at NRMCA’s Annual Convention in San Antonio, TX, in March 2021. Applications must be e-mailed by December 31 to DOY@nrmca.org. Click here to download the nomination form and for more information. You may also contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org. 
Products & Services
NRMCA has improved its M2M program to provide better service and more value to its members and they are seeing a true return on their membership investments. NRMCA is very pleased to announce that two more Associate members have joined the revised program. Qmora’s cloud-based software simplifies dispatching and empowers dispatchers to proactively make smart scheduling decisions using predictive intelligence and alerts to help the dispatcher be more proactive and make smart decisions. It is offering NRMCA members 20% off their first year. Sysdyne offers advanced cloud-based software solutions that streamline all aspects of the ready mixed concrete business, including central dispatch, GPS and paperless ticketing, batch controls, engine diagnostics, and ELD and ERP integration. It is offering NRMCA members a free one-month subscription. Visit both Qmora’s and Sysdyne’s NRMCA dedicated services on the updated M2M webpage. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org. Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. October 19 - 23, Online Course October 21-23, 28-30, Online Course November 2-3, 5-6, 9-10, 13, Online Course November 16 – 20, Online Course November 16 – 17, Online Course November 30 - December 10, Online Conference and Expo December 11 – 18, Online Course December 14 – 18, Online Course 2021 January 26 – 29, 2021 Charlotte, NC February 10 – 12, Dallas March 23 – 26, Boston 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NRMCA's Safety Enviromental and Operations Department will move its three Fall 2020 courses online. With a clear understanding that operations people now multitask, these classes focus on giving participants immediate skills to help juggle all their balls within compliance parameters as well as learn efficiency processes and organizational methods. Ready Mixed Concrete Safety Course - October 19-23. This course teaches participants about OSHA SAFETY compliance. It begins with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, firefighting and evacuation, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more. Finally, it details a company’s responsibilities when it comes to OSHA regulations and filing OSHA forms. Click here to register. Environmental Professional Certification - November 16-20. This course presents the first real alternative for concrete producers hungry for real “hands-on” information on the rules and regulations that they need to follow. The course, geared for everyone within the concrete industry from upper management to environmental specialists to plant personnel, has been held all over the country for the past decade. Click here to register. Plant Manager Certification Course - December 11-18. This course is the only one that exists specifically for ready mixed concrete plant managers. Its content establishes the basic industry standard, measured through certification. Course instruction covers and tests on five individual modules: Plant Safety, Operations, Production Knowledge, Environmental and Business Concepts. To help plant managers get through the material amidst other work pressures, sessions will be prerecorded and available for viewing 24/7, December 12-16. There will be a launch introduction on December 11 and the exams will be online December 18. This is the certification class required for Army Corps of Engineer projects. Click here to register. These classes earn NRMCA STEPS® "Operations and Production" Track certification, CCPf. STEPS® is the ready mixed concrete’s industry most prestigious employee professional development program, supporting career development and job retention/succession planning. For more information, contact Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org or 703-706-4852. 
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Business Advancement
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Understanding the Concrete Contractor’s Business Model (CCSP II), will be taught virtually this year from December 14-18. The end-of-year timing allows your sales staff to gear up for 2021. The content provides an overview of how contractors plan, bid and implement homebuilding, commercial and government construction projects. It includes the tools ready mixed concrete sales reps need to bid an order, including a window into contractors’ project management systems and scheduling; how to use construction documents and blueprints; and estimating, as well as other construction math equations and formulas exercises. 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. Click here to register. For more information, contact Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org or 703-706-4852. Engineering
NRMCA is presenting the course, Improving Concrete Quality, intended for concrete producers, ingredient material suppliers, engineers and testing labs, online on November 16-17 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time each day. Improved concrete quality can benefit all stakeholders in a concrete construction project. This course will answer some of the following questions:
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 more information. You may also contact Karthik Obla at kobla@nrmca.org. 
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