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Association & Industry News
The estimated ready mixed concrete produced in August 2021 is 37 million cubic yards, 5% higher than that in August 2020. The estimated production in the U.S. through August is 258 million cubic yards, approximately 4.1% higher than that during the same period in 2020. Ready mixed concrete production is estimated from cement shipments reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. More detail is available here for NRMCA members under “Production Statistics.” NRMCA's Member2Member (M2M) Benefit Program is benefiting both Producer and Associate members at the same time. NRMCA Producer members have the opportunity to receive rebate checks, discounts, financial consulting, technology solutions and more. The National Credit Card Processing Group is helping member companies avoid high credit card fees while Amalgamated Life Insurance offers member companies discounted rates on benefit options. These are just two of the M2M offerings members can take full advantage of and start saving money. For more information, visit NRMCA's dedicated services through the updated M2M webpage. Neither membership in NRMCA nor participation in the M2M Benefits Program can in any way be construed as an endorsement, explicit or implicit, of any company, product or service by the Association. NRMCA accepts no responsibility in any dispute between supplier and customer. The M2M Benefits Program is intended solely as an informational service. Participating companies are responsible for insuring all M2M Benefit information is correct and up-to-date. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org. NRMCA’s Concrete Cares award celebrates our Producer members’ dedication to supporting their local communities. NRMCA Producer members: if you give back to your community via service work, please let us know. Winning companies will receive a donation to the nonprofit organization of their choice and all nominated companies will be invited to a "PR Boot Camp” dedicated to raising awareness of their service projects. Click here for more information, including a link to submit a nomination and staff contact. 
Buildings
The Build With Strength team in conjunction with the Massachusetts Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (MaCAPA) recently hosted an Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) site tour in Newburyport, MA, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Doug O'Neill. The venue (seen here, along with a photo of the group discussion) is a 3-story multifamily project located at the heart of the city's business district. The tour included a group of legislators in the morning and another group of design professionals in the afternoon. Both groups learned from the developer, Steven Lewis with Newburyport Properties, and the general contractor, Groen Construction, on why ICF construction was considered for this project and how the project came to fruition. NRMCA's Gregg Lewis acted as master of ceremonies; he and his colleague O'Neill provided a national perspective while state association directors Craig Dauphinais of MaCAPA, Jon Kuell of Northern New England and Dom DiCenzo of Connecticut offered regional insight on the benefits of ICF construction. For more information on hosting an ICF site tour, contact Doug O’Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.
Government Affairs
While last week began with optimism that a deal on infrastructure and a reconciliation framework was close, negotiations broke down and Congress left for the week without a vote on either the infrastructure bill or the reconciliation package. Supporters of a deal were heartened when President Biden delayed his international trip for a few hours to make a special appearance at a Democratic Caucus meeting to presumably pitch his legislative agenda and take a win to the upcoming climate conference in Scotland. The failure to pass the broadly bipartisan infrastructure package is becoming a significant political issue. Last week, Democratic Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC) suggested that the inability to move President Biden’s legislative agenda may threaten Democrats’ 2022 midterm hopes. The Virginia governor’s race is viewed as a referendum on Democrats ability to govern as well as a key preview of the upcoming midterms and major Democratic donors are threatening to withhold support in the upcoming midterms without passage of the key legislation. On Monday evening, however, it appeared that this week the House may once again attempt to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the House Progressive Caucus, indicated that progressives were prepared to support both the bipartisan infrastructure bill as well as the reconciliation package without specific policy assurances from Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema (D-AZ), who are key to the package’s success in the Senate. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. Last week, amid House Democrats’ negotiations over the bipartisan infrastructure framework and the reconciliation package, the White House released a scaled-back version of the $3.5 trillion package Democrats have been negotiating for months (a fact sheet is here and a framework is here). The package represents more than $1.75 trillion in spending on social, health and climate policy. House leadership was hopeful to get an agreement on the framework for reconciliation and thus secure the votes of House progressives for the infrastructure bill. In a sign that negotiations were getting close, the House Rules Committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday to consider legislative text for the scaled-back framework. However, Congress adjourned for the week without considering the package. Previous iterations of the domestic spending package have met resistance from moderates in both the House and Senate, in particular Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema (D-AZ). With a 50-50 party split in the Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking any ties, Senate Democrats need every member of their party to support the final package. On Monday afternoon, Manchin announced that he was not prepared to support a $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, potentially upending Democrats’ chances of moving forward on the Build Back Better proposal. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. The Financial Performance Improvement (FPI) Group will hold its Fall Meeting on November 14 - 15 in Orlando, FL. The meeting will focus on planning the group’s agenda for 2022, the proposed transition from task group to full committee, and the planning and implementation of RMC 2030. The FPI Group is a task group of the Safety, Environment and Operations Committee that advocates for the profitability of the industry and has participation from across the spectrum of industry roles, including finance, technology, strategy, operations and consulting. If you would like to learn more about the FPI Group or attend the Fall Meeting, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. On Monday, November 8, at 3 p.m. Eastern time, NRMCA’s Government Affairs team will host Stu Sandler, political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, for a political briefing on the 2022 Senate midterm elections. Tight races in battleground states like Georgia, Arizona, New Hampshire and Nevada will decide control of the Senate and contentious primaries in states like Missouri may put more seats in play. The briefing will include an overview of these critical races and give NRMCA members an early look at the 2022 Senate midterm election landscape. Click here to register. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
SEO
Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings”. The proposal aims to “protect indoor and outdoor workers from hazardous heat and… [obtain] additional information about the extent and nature of hazardous heat in the workplace and the nature and effectiveness of interventions and controls used to prevent heat-related injury and illness.” The proposal comes on the heels of last month's Department of Labor (DOL) announcement that it would be launching “…enhanced, expanded measures to protect workers from hazards of extreme heat, indoors and out.” In addition to this proposal, those measures included a target enforcement initiative and development of a national emphasis program. OSHA will be accepting comments on the proposal through December 27, 2021. NRMCA will continue to monitor OSHA’s actions on heat-related workplace hazards and advocate for beneficial industry outcomes both individually and in coordination with other industry stakeholders. Click here to review last month’s DOL announcement; here to review President Biden’s remarks on extreme heat and here to review OSHA’s proposal. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
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 is titled, Gloves… Get A Grip!, pictured here. Click here to view this month’s and all previous issues. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org or Kevin Walgenbach, kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
Registration is still open for this year’s in-person Environmental Certification Course being held in Orlando, FL, from November 30 to December 2. Course attendees will be educated on industry-specific environmental issues that affect ready mixed concrete production, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Solids Management, Hazardous Materials, Dust Control, Recycling, Spill Prevention Plans, Air Quality Management, Noise Management, Environmental Auditing and much more. 
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. November 5 - 16, Online Course November 9 - 11, Dallas *Sold Out November 10, Mesa, AZ November 17, Free Virtual Conference November 30 - December 2, Orlando, FL December 6 - 9, Online Course December 7 - 10, Orlando, FL December 15, Free Virtual Conference 
Pavement
The booth was staffed by Clem, Angela Folkestad, PE, ACPA executive director, and Sarah Sanders, PE, paving engineer, ACPA CO/ WY Chapter (shown here, from left to right, are Sanders, Folkestad and Clem during the conference). A copy of the Guide to Concrete Trails (authored by the National CP Technology Center with funding provided by the RMC Research & Education Foundation) was provided to many booth visitors, with several indicating upcoming concrete trail projects. For more information, contact Don Clem at dclem@nrmca.org. NRMCA Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge recently presented Life Cycle Cost Analysis: Concrete vs. Asphalt to the offices of Strand Associates Engineering. Organized by Ohio Concrete Association (OCA) Southwest Ohio Promotion Director Ryan McAleer, the Lunch and Learn program was sponsored by NRMCA member Lehigh Heidelberg Cement Group. The webinar was attended by representatives from Strand’s Cincinnati and Columbus, OH, and Louisville and Lexington, KY, offices. The presentation highlighted the cost-saving benefits of concrete’s long life and low maintenance. NRMCA’s Concrete Pavement Analyst (CPA) program was also featured. Following the presentation, Kresge provided Strand with a complimentary copy of the CPA software. For more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Business Advancement
NRMCA will conduct Understanding the Concrete Contractor’s Business Model (CCSP II) virtually from Monday, December 6, through Thursday, December 9; the exam will be conducted online on Friday, December 10. 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, blueprints and estimating as well as other construction math equations and formulas exercises. For those working toward their NRMCA STEPS® CCPf certification in the 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. CCSP III and CCSP IV will be conducted in Winter 2022. These classes will be held in-person in Dallas. Click here for more information, registration options and staff contact. 2022 February 8 - 11, Phoenix February 15 - 17, Dallas February 15 - 17, Online Course February 22 - 24, Smyrna, TN March 22 - 24, Smyrna, TN April 5 - 7, Dallas April 19 - 21, Smyrna, TN September 29 - October 3, Aurora, CO Engineering
NRMCA is offering its information-packed, one-day course, Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals, intended for concrete producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs online from February 15 - 17 with a new group discussion session on February 17. This one-day course will discuss the latest changes to the code and specification requirements (ACI 318, 301, ASTM C94) governing ready mixed concrete and many other topics, including the following:
Course instructors are Luke Snell, P.E., FACI, FASCE and Karthik Obla, Ph.D., P.E., NRMCA vice president, technical services. Producers, contractors, engineers and testing labs will find the discussions on investigating low strength problems and specifications very helpful in addressing issues that impact partnering, project cost and scheduling. 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; the staff contact is Karthik Obla, kobla@nrmca.org. The Structural Engineers Association (SEA) of North Carolina requested a presentation on how specifications impact the ability to achieve low carbon concrete and how these should evolve. Adam Neuwald with NRMCA Producer member Concrete Supply Co. partnered with Colin Lobo of NRMCA to present the specification requirements, typically prescriptive, that do not support achieving sustainable concrete mixtures. They discussed factors that impact the embodied carbon of the structural system as impacted by the design; concrete mixtures that had different requirements depending on where used in a structure; performance alternatives for mixtures; availability of product-specific environmental product declarations (EPD) in NC; consideration of establishing a carbon budget for all products used on a project and for concrete so that higher impact mixtures could be traded off with others to meet the target goal; and to communicate early with contractors and concrete suppliers to discuss challenges and opportunities. The webinar was attended by about 60 designers with the NC SEA. For more information, contact Colin Lobo at clobo@nrmca.org. 
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NRMCA once again joined forces this year with the American Concrete Pavement Association's (ACPA) Colorado/Wyoming Chapter in sponsoring a booth at the 7th Annual American Public Works Association Colorado Chapter Conference held last week in Arvada, CO, reports NRMCA Vice President, Local Paving, Don A. Clem, PE. The conference, titled Expanding the Possibilities, drew more than 150 public works professionals from throughout Colorado despite a relatively high metro area COVID19 hospitalization rate. The program featured high-level presentations from public works leaders, including the APWA Colorado Chapter President Mike Martin and APWA National President-Elect Dan J. Hartman.