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Association & Industry News
This year, NRMCA received more than 150 entries to its eighth NRMCA Kids Art Contest, sponsored by the Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau. Entries were judged only against others in their grade category on originality, effort, creativity, composition and interpretation of the theme, Captain Concrete: My Essential Superhero! We are pleased to announce the following winners: Pre-K - K Winners: 1-3 Grade Winners: 4-6 Grade Winners: 7-12 Grade Winners: For more information, contact Taylor Drzewicki at tdrzewicki@nrmca.org. 
Buildings
The Global Resiliency Dialogue recently published a report on the use of climate data in building codes worldwide, discussing how various companies consider climate change in their codes and how often the codes are updated to reflect changes in information such as flood maps and temperature. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Structures and Codes, Scott Campbell notes that the Association participates in multiple codes and standards that make use of climate data, including ICC 600 for residential wind design, ASHRAE 90.1 for building energy use and the Wildland Urban Interface Code along with other ICC codes. Staff participation in these efforts is to ensure that changes are scientifically justified by the data and do not discriminatorily affect the concrete industry. Build With Strength is a coalition led by NRMCA that promotes concrete building systems through communications, project promotion, education and advocacy. To learn more about these programs, please contact Scott Campbell at scampbell@nrmca.org or 502-552-5034. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced its annual list of the Top 10 states for LEED buildings, recognizing those states leading the way for sustainable building design, construction and transformation. The are, in order: Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, New York, Maryland, California, Virginia, Texas and Nevada. Together, these states certified 1,171 projects with 281 million gross square feet of space and are at the forefront of the green building movement. The building types that accounted for over 60% of these certifications included office, healthcare and education (K-12 and Higher Ed.) projects. The USGBC also tracked an increase in warehouses, distribution centers, multifamily and retail projects. Why is this important? Although this top 10 list is a look backward to 2020, it informs concrete producers of the likelihood for LEED criteria when bidding on building projects. Also, it provides opportunities to engage local USGBC chapters to network and identify upcoming projects (find your local green building member here). With the advent of product transparency in green building rating systems, the demand for third-party reports such as environmental product declarations (EPD), raw material sourcing reports and health product declarations (HPD) are increasing. To assist, NRMCA has developed a series of tools and guides to help members meet these new requirements. Click here for more detail. As part of the Build With Strength campaign, NRMCA promotes Strength Through Transparency for member and industry competitiveness in the green building marketplace and the trends toward product and company transparency. For more information, contact James Bogdan at jbogdan@nrmca.org or 412-420-4138.
The Global Cement and Concete Association (GCCA) has released the winning pictures from its recently-completed global photography competition, Concrete in Life 2020. There were more than 10,000 worldwide entries to the contest which focused on concrete’s role in our daily lives. There were three categories: Concrete Infrastructure, Urban Concrete and Concrete in Daily Life, with the entries demonstrating the widespread, diverse and sustainable use of concrete across the globe. The competition ran from October to December 2020. The overall winner earned a top prize of $10,000, with each of the category winners receiving $2,500. Click here to read more about the contest and view the winning entries along with a film about the competition. 
Government Affairs
The NRMCA Government Affairs Committee will meet on Thursday, March 11, at 2 p.m. Eastern time in conjunction with NRMCA’s Annual Convention. It will include an overview of what’s going on in Washington and an update on NRMCA’s legislative agenda, with additional updates from NRMCA’s government affairs partners at the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association and the Portland Cement Association. Click here to register. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. This Spring, NRMCA will join our allies in the North American Concrete Alliance (NACA) for a virtual fly-in to take place April 20-22, each day from noon to 4 p.m. Eastern time. It will include briefings on legislative issues, opportunities to hear from administration officials and committee leaders, and meetings with Members of Congress and congressional staff. The registration deadline is Friday, March 5. During the registration process, please indicate which Member(s) of Congress you would like to meet with or which Member(s) of Congress represent your industry’s footprint. If you are unsure, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
Last Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the top 10 violations for fiscal year 2020, across both Construction and General Industry categories. While generally announced in person each year at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Congress and Expo, this year’s rollout of the latest data took place virtually through a NSC-hosted webinar. OSHA’s 2020 Top 10 Violations include: 2) Hazard Communication (General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.1200) 3) Respiratory Protection (General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.134) 4) Scaffolding (Construction: 29 CFR 1926.451) 5) Ladders (Construction: 29 CFR 1926.1053) 6) Lockout/Tagout (General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.147) 7) Powered Industrial Trucks (General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.178) 8) Fall Protection – Training Requirements (Construction: 29 CFR 1926.503) 9) Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (Construction: 29 CFR 1926.102) 10) Machine Guarding (General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.212) OSHA’s 2020 top 10 contains the same violations as in 2019, but in different order. The vast majority of these common violations are also from previous years. OSHA advises that all employers use the top 10 list as a guide to identify and mitigate workplace hazards. Click here for more information or contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
Click here to view this month’s and all previous Think First topics. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
As the realities of COVID-19 have become clear, vaccines continue to be administrated and the impending reopening of the country draws nearer, there remains continued use of and new, worthy safety, environmental and operations-related best management practices (BMPs) for the industry to address the pandemic. NRMCA will be discussing this in a free webinar on Friday, March 12, at 11 a.m. Eastern time that will outline current industry BMPs, compliance requirements, the COVID-19 vaccines outlook and beyond. Please click here to register. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org. The Financial Performance Improvement Group will host its Spring Meeting on Tuesday, March 9, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. The group will discuss ongoing activities and projects relating to the Performance Benchmarking Survey, the Think Like an Owner educational course, and education breakout sessions for ConcreteWorks. An agenda and meeting minutes from the Fall Meeting will be circulated ahead of the meeting. Please RSVP by clicking here. 
Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. March 11 – 19, Online Course March 12, Free Online Webinar March 19 – 26, Online Course *Sold Out March 22 – 26, Online Course May 4 – 7 , Smyrna, TN June 15 – 17, Smyrna, TN November 9 – 11, Dallas 
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Business Advancement
The Workforce Development Committee will meet via webinar for its Spring Meeting on Thursday, March 11, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern time to discuss ongoing activities and projects. The Partnerships, Practices and Strategies task groups will give their 6-month activity update; there will be a discussion on the impact of Biden Administration labor and employment policies and and how industry virtual training events faired over the winter months. All are welcome; our industry's workforce is inextricably linked to the vitality of the ready mixed concrete business. You and your colleagues' input and thoughts are appreciated. Click here to register for this go-to-meeting gathering. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. 
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NRMCA’s Think First Monthly Safety Initiatives feature different industry-specific safety items relevant to seasons, current topics and/or industry concerns. The initiatives are meant to be shared, used as a training tool, printed, posted and/or distributed; all of which are encouraged. This month’s issue (pictured here) is titled Now Hear This.