Source: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.
Construction firms added jobs in 40 states and the District of Columbia between May 2014 and May 2015 and in 28 states and D.C. between April and May this year, according to an AGC analysis of Labor Department data.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
Following June committee week in Anaheim, Calif., ASTM International Subcommittee C09-40 on Ready Mixed Concrete has issued a new C94, Standard Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete. In contrast to the predecessor version, NRMCA Engineering staff notes, ASTM C94-15 places the onus on the customer to communicate all requirements for concrete from a project specification; sets mix air content at levels for moderate and severe exposure; directs the purchaser, when ordering ready mixed, to either state the required air content or indicate finished concrete exposure type; requires purchaser to indicate density when ordering heavy weight mixes, and clarifies terms for ordering lightweight aggregate by stating equilibrium density; and, contains appendix revisions advising on strength overdesign concepts.
Read MoreSource: Turner Construction Co., New York; CP staff
The Second Quarter 2015 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures non-residential building construction market activity and is widely subscribed among public and private project stakeholders, has increased to a value of 938, reflecting a 1.19 percent jump from the first quarter and 4.7 percent gain over the same period in 2014.
Read MoreSource: FMI Corp., Raleigh, N.C.
Construction activity in 2015 is expected to grow at 5 percent, leveling off from the previous forecast of 8 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to the Q2 Construction Outlook from lead management consultant FMI. “Construction spending continues to build on the rapid growth experienced in the industry last year,” says Senior Managing Director and President of Investment Banking Chris Daum. Although the Q2 Outlook is lower than last quarter’s, he adds, it still finds 2015 logging the highest total for construction put in place since 2008.
Read MoreSources: Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), Portland, Ore.
DTNA has announced an investment in Zonar Systems, Inc., whose heavy-duty truck telematic and connectivity devices support remote diagnostics and automated logging of driver hours of service and vehicle inspection results.
Read MoreSources: CP staff; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
A June 30 presentation, “The NLRB Is Changing the Workplace. Are You Prepared?,” will spotlight recent National Labor Relations Board decisions impacting union and nonunion companies. A partner in the Macon, Ga., office of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, attorney Jeff Thompson will focus on rule or procedure changes that allow unions to be quickly and easily elected as bargaining unit representatives, and require release of employees’ personal information to union organizers, potentially undermining employer due process rights.
Read MoreSources: CP staff; Michael Green Architecture, Vancouver, B.C.
In an announcement lacking detail on structural member dimensions, integrity, combustibility characteristics, sourcing, and code feasibility, an architect and developer team has proposed a project harboring what would be the world’s tallest wood-framed building. The 35-story structure is envisioned as the centerpiece of Baobab, to be reviewed with other project concepts in the Réinventer Paris competition.
Read MoreSources: Frank Bryan Inc., Pittsburgh; CP staff
Independent ready mixed and aggregate operator Frank Bryan Inc. recently closed on Beaver Concrete & Gravel, Rochester, Pa. The rebranded Beaver Concrete & Supply becomes a satellite, up the Ohio River, to two larger Bryan Materials Group (BMG) ready mixed operations in Pittsburgh: the Frank Bryan flagship, whose downtown location affords participation in many signature-building contracts; and, Quality Concrete, focused on residential and light commercial work.
Read MoreSources: Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff
EPA- and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-proposed performance standards covering 2021–2027 model year heavy- and medium-duty trucks would achieve up to a 24 percent reduction of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions when measured against a 2018 vehicle. The agencies address concrete mixers and dump trucks within a larger Vocational Vehicles category of heavy- and medium-duty models, representing what officials estimate is about 20 percent of fuel consumption in the transportation universe their proposal covers.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
The NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee has revised Guide to Improving Specifications for Ready Mixed Concrete (2PE004) to reflect the recently released ACI 318-14, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. First published in 2009, the document is a tool for ready mixed producers to minimize prescriptive provisions in actual project specifications and encourage performance-based solutions.
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