NPCA flags precasters on reversal of steel products’ Buy America exemption

Sources: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff

Citing a late-December U.S. District Court decision vacating Federal Highway Administration Buy America exemptions for miscellaneous steel components, NPCA is urging members who fabricate precast structures for federally funded projects to evaluate use of tie wire, lifting devices and any other elements from foreign sources, and assume requests for documentation that all structure components are domestic.

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ACI Foundation Council slates $100K to match BIM research commitments

Sources: ACI Foundation, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff

The ACI Foundation’s Strategic Development Council (SDC) has committed $100,000 to match donations supporting Phase 3 research to develop Building Information Modeling standards for exchanging digital information on cast-in-place concrete construction. Dubbed Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), the standards are open, international models for exchange of data in BIM and will permit interoperability among current and future software platforms and programs.

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Pavement stakeholders set 125th anniversary celebration for first concrete street

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

In tandem with the National Concrete Consortium spring meeting in Columbus, NRMCA and American Concrete Pavement Association staff are organizing an April 25 field trip to Bellefontaine, Ohio, home to the first concrete slab used for a U.S. street or road. The program begins at the Hyatt Regency – Columbus with “Historical Highlights of Concrete Pavement Technology Developments in the U.S. and Canada” and “Best Practices for the Design and Construction of Long-Life Concrete Pavements” presentations, followed by the visit to Bellefontaine, one hour west.

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Construction trades’ unionization rate continues slide

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; CP staff

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show the percentage of U.S. construction workers belonging to unions dropped from 13.9 in 2014 to 13.2 last year. The figures are based on rank-and-file totals of 968,000 and 940,000 against 2014 and 2015 workforces, respectively, of 6.97 million and 7.1 million. The total percentage of construction workers represented by unions—local or association members plus workers whose jobs are covered by a union contract—was 14.7 and 14.0 for 2014 and 2015.

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