CalPortland states case for carbonation line item in GHG accounting

Sources: CalPortland Co., Glendora, Calif.

In a recent paper summarizing peer-reviewed scientific studies, the staff of key West Coast cement, aggregate and ready mixed producer CalPortland cites the exclusion of a critical factor in global, national, and regional greenhouse gas accounting methods: Concrete buildings, pavements and structures’ silent absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—to such an apparent degree that the built environment represents one of the world’s largest carbon storehouses. While considerable attention has been paid to quantifying the industrial phase emissions from cement production, authors observe, the natural reversal process of CO2 uptake during concrete’s complete material service life is just beginning to receive the consideration it deserves.

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Volvo tests artificial intelligence in truck safety

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Volvo Trucks North America, along with automated vehicle software provider Perceptive Automata and customer Dependable Highway Express (DHE), is proving the potential to raise drivers’ safety performance by leveraging human intuition artificial intelligence that predicts pedestrian, cyclist and motorist actions. The manufacturer recognizes the need for improved safety for all road users, specifically to augment situational awareness and better anticipate human behavior while on the road. It demonstrated a proof-of-concept, based on Perceptive Automata’s artificial intelligence software, with a Volvo VNR 300 regional-haul model at DHE’s Ontario, Calif., headquarters.

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PRODUCERS – JULY 2019

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Karl Watson Jr. has moved from executive vice president and chief operating officer at Summit Materials, Denver, to chief executive officer and board member of Forterra Inc., a top concrete pipe and precast drainage structure producer based in Irving, Texas. Succeeding Jeff Bradley, he arrives with 30-plus years in management and executive roles at major heavy building materials operators and, Forterra notes, “a track record of effectively leading through numerous business cycles and improving financial results.”

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Multiemployer pension backstop plan advances on Capitol Hill

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

Just ahead of its August recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act (H.R. 397), with 29 Republicans joining the majority in a 264-169 vote. Advocates argue the measure is needed to protect the pensions of 1.3 million workers in certain multiemployer pension plans (MEPP)—up to half of which cover construction trades participants—and prevent a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) collapse. 

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ACI 318-19 Building Code debuts with new aggregate, SCM provisions

Sources: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; CP staff

ACI 318-19 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete has been released in print and digital formats. The new edition has full-color illustrations to improve clarity, and includes major technical changes in higher reinforcing steel yield strengths; added shotcrete and deep foundation provisions; seismic requirements for deep foundations and other applications; vertical seismic motions; nonlinear analysis for seismic design; modification to development length equations; and, updated shear design provisions and equations. 

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Scoping the future, PCI Foundation steps up student outreach

Sources: Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Foundation, Chicago; CP staff

“Our mission is to impact the future of the built environment while promoting the use of precast concrete. We are partnering with bright young minds to push the boundaries of precast design and construction to do what has never been done before,” says PCI Foundation Executive Director Marty McIntyre, outlining 2019-2020 initiatives. 

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