After celebrating its 50th anniversary last year, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is now focusing on internal and external outreach and education. “This is the first year of our next 50,” notes Tom D'Arcy, founder and principal of The Consulting Engineers Group Inc. in San Antonio, Texas, and 2005 PCI chairman. Succeeding Fred Heldenfels of San Marcos, Texas-based Heldenfels Enterprises, Inc., D'Arcy took office Jan. 1, declaring 2005 “the year to set our course and our progress for the next 50 years.”

In addition to being a registered professional civil and structural engineer, D'Arcy is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, PCI, and American Concrete Institute. During his tenure, D'Arcy intends to focus on five main areas of activity:

• Improve communications, internally among staff and members as well as externally to reach clients and users nationwide.

• Bolster educational programs, in particular, establishing a true, ongoing educational program for designers. “In the past, we've had programs that would go for a year or two and then disappear,” D'Arcy tells Concrete Products. “We want to develop a continuing program beneficial to designers, who can pick up education credits required for registrations.”

  A “Fast Team” structure of volunteers was formed by the Institute to develop new courses that can be offered to designers and engineers. While PCI stresses technical education, its agenda will not overlook the basics. For the first time, a ‘Prestress 101’ course may be offered to provide basic knowledge of prestressed concrete.

  Educational outreach was reinforced in 2004 through establishment of the PCI Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the ongoing health and continued growth of the precast, prestressed concrete industry. The foundation will invest in and provide financial seeding for education, programs and development activities.

• Increase membership involvement

• Review PCI's certification program to ensure it delivers what clients expect.

BUILDINGS, BRIDGES FOR LIFE

Despite the superior quality of PCI's external publications — the more technical PCI Journal and Ascent, an attractive promotional vehicle for specifiers, designers and end users — D'Arcy feels more can be done to educate members and clients. “We may not improve on those publications specifically, but we will focus on Buildings for Life,” D'Arcy asserts. “Bridges for Life has been a successful agenda in the highway industry; now, we will focus our promotional activities and advertising on Buildings for Life. A precast structure will provide the owner a beneficial, long-lasting service life, and our ads will reflect that. So will Ascent and, to some degree, the Journal.”

Yet, Bridges for Life will not be neglected, he affirms. A PCI effort is underway to promote what the association calls the “total bridge,” that is, one in which columns, piers, footings, pilasters, girders or box beams, abutments and decks are all constructed of precast, prestressed concrete. The March 2005 issue of Ascent magazine profiles one such structure in New Hampshire, a precast bridge built in only eight days (photos, opposite page).

“To be sure, the public doesn't appreciate any delays in routing around structures,” D'Arcy contends. “The sooner we can get a complete structure in place, the sooner we will benefit the public, the state DOTs, and our industry. In Texas, the use of precast piers is increasing considerably, so the whole concept is definitely taking off.” Also driving use of precast in bridges are new aesthetic considerations, including columns and pier caps with architectural features.

Publicity is a multifaceted effort, D'Arcy says. “Local and regional associations work closely with local DOTs to make sure the engineers are aware of these applications,” he reports. “They show them examples of how it can be done. In Texas, we worked very closely with the DOT in this regard. And, we have collaborated at conventions with the Federal Highway Administration, so the governments and T-10 group of AASHTO [American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials] are reviewing and discussing specifications together. So, it works two ways: locally with the DOTs and nationally at our convention.”

PRECAST PAVEMENT SLABS

PCI is extending its promotional and developmental skills to precast pavement slabs. Still in the developmental stage, precast pavements have the potential to minimize lane closures to nearly that of asphalt pavements, while providing the greater rigidity and life spans that road agencies expect from portland cement concrete.

“We worked closely with a particular precast pavement application in Texas, which led to a job in the Los Angeles area, where 10- to 12-ft.-wide and 30- to 40-ft.-long slabs were cast transversely across the pavement and pretensioned,” D'Arcy tells Concrete Products. “Then, they were connected with post-tensioning that runs parallel to the traffic. The Texas installation has been in for two years and is performing well. The dollar impact of delays in returning highways to service is staggering, hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases.”

ENHANCING COMMUNICATIONS

Even as it promotes new technologies for clients, PCI will work to enhance communications among its staff and with member companies. “We will work on internal communications, both with staff and members,” D'Arcy emphasizes. “I have directed each of six zone directors to contact each member in his zone prior to our board meetings to determine what their concerns are, gauge how we are doing, and get their ideas on improving PCI's performance. We've had some zone meetings and the response has been great. Members have been very open in expressing what they would like PCI to focus on.” Associate and professional members also have been asked to contact their constituents for input on PCI activities.

PCI is distributing the new, sixth edition of the PCI Design Handbook. “We will make designers and engineers aware of the new edition via seminars across the country, which will start this fall,” D'Arcy reports. Typically, these will be one-day seminars offering continuing education credits. Also, any individual who signs up for the seminar will be granted a one-year trial membership in PCI.

Among changes in the sixth edition of the handbook are a new layout, alterations in accordance with ACI code changes, and a greatly expanded seismic design section. “A whole chapter is devoted to seismic solutions, which in the past were not covered in such detail,” D'Arcy says. “Seismic requirements have expanded across the entire country, encompassing the East Coast and the Midwest as well as the West Coast. Even parts of Texas must consider seismic design due to soil conditions. It's a nationwide concern, focused presently on the West Coast, mid-Mississippi Valley, and the Charleston area.”

PREPARING PCI LEADERS

After celebrating PCI's Golden Anniversary last year and looking ahead to the next 50 years, Tom D'Arcy aims to ensure that PCI is grooming its leaders of tomorrow today. “This past year, we conducted ‘Leadership PCI,’ in which 21 engineers — men and women nominated by their companies — participated in leadership growth sessions,” he tells Concrete Products. “The idea is to prepare our younger folks for leadership roles in the future of the industry.”

Leadership PCI participants attended a three-day session at PCI's fall 2004 convention, followed by a recent meeting in Denver for additional leadership training. “We intend to have another, different class this year and a new group each following year to make sure we have young folks in our industry who are ready to take charge,” he affirms.

In May, PCI also is facilitating international technology transfer with its TechnoQuest 2005 tour to Verona, Italy, and environs. TechnoQuest will permit producer executives to observe new plant technologies firsthand and make contacts with the people who use and supply them. “In past years, we've gone from Scandinavia to Spain, Germany to France, to examine the best ways, including mechanization and handling, that Europeans manufacture precast concrete,” D'Arcy recalls. “Every day, we visit a plant or two. Then, we can bring this information back to North America.”

SCC SPREADS NATIONWIDE

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is here to stay, D'Arcy contends. According to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), using SCC to manufacture precast, prestressed bridge elements provides the benefits of increased production rates, improved safety, reduced labor needs, and lower noise levels at manufacturing facilities.

“Several producers use SCC almost exclusively,” D'Arcy says. “The result is improved appearance with fewer bug holes and less wear and tear on forms, because vibrating isn't necessary. It also provides rapid strength for early release of the product, as well as good 28-day strengths. We're working with highway departments to communicate these SCC advantages.” Under the aegis of NCHRPA, a three-year research program began last year to examine SCC highway-structure applications.

PCI is offering a new publication, Interim Guidelines for the Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete in Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Member Plants. Prepared by the PCI Self-Consolidating Concrete Fast Team, the guidelines cover constituent materials, mix design, production, curing and quality confirmation, plus transport, placing, finishing and curing. Test methods, mix design examples, and a checklist are provided. The publication can be ordered from www.pci.org.

LEEDING THE WAY

In today's market, the appeal of a building material can be enhanced by its association with environmental sustainability. Thus, PCI and the rest of the industry are working hard to position concrete as the environmentally responsible building medium. “We are looking at environmental sustainability of precast, prestressed structures through LEED [Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design] standards and certification,” D'Arcy explains. “Precast structures can obtain LEED points for a favorable rating. For the most part, concrete is an energy-efficient, ecologically sustainable material; and, the energy required for its production is less than that of other building materials. In addition, we're mold-, fire- and rust-resistant, so we satisfy a lot of sustainability issues.” Accordingly, PCI is developing marketing tools that highlight precast/prestressed concrete's environmental sustainability.