August 11, 2015 – Concrete Products

CityMix agreement ushers EPS giant into recycled-foam aggregate

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

Under an exclusive agreement with Seattle-based CityMix Inc., Insulfoam is processing a lightweight concrete additive at its northern California expanded polystyrene (EPS) plant, with options for production throughout the U.S. Leading up to the Insulfoam agreement, CityMix aggregate was processed at a licensed facility in Calgary, Canada. The patented CityMix production makes use of the 1–2 percent of in-plant waste that cannot otherwise be recycled into specification-grade EPS insulation or geofoam lightweight fill.

MANUFACTURERS – August 2015

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

Jennifer Bronson has joined Tampa-based Meadow Burke to oversee the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program, bringing 25-plus years’ experience in quality management, engineering and customer service. Her certifications and achievements include Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Auditor, and Quality/Organizational Excellence Manager. Bronson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Tampa.

ISO Technical Standard Defines Green Heavy/Civil Parameters

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

The new ISO/TS 21929-2, “Sustainability in building construction—Sustainability indicators—Part 2: Framework for the development of indicators for civil engineering works,” establishes core impacts for assessing sustainability performance in new or existing non-building construction, factoring design, construction, operation, maintenance, refurbishment, and end of service life. The standard is the latest green construction related effort from International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, whose reporting and documentation guidelines back product category rules and environmental product declarations emanating from cement, concrete and other heavy building material interests.

USGBC yields to Golden State’s CALGreen standards in LEED documentation path

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

The U.S. Green Building Council will allow principals behind nonresidential projects subject to mandatory 2013 California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) requirements an alternative documentation path toward LEED certification. CALGreen is the nation’s first statewide mandatory green building code, covering nearly all Golden State residential and nonresidential construction.

Global survey reveals businesses’ energy strategies wanting

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

A survey of 1,500-plus professionals in the Americas, Europe and Asia finds that while most companies see the cost benefits of energy efficiency measures, the majority lack a clear strategy, concrete targets and a systematic approach to related goals. It was conducted by DNV GL – Business Assurance, a world leader among certification bodies, and the research institute GFK Eurisko.

ASTM Sustainability Committee Standardizes Water Stewardship

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

With an eye to a regulator, design professional and environmentalist user base, the new ASTM International Subcommittee E60.07 on Water Use and Conservation will target standards supporting sustainability and sustainable development of water-related products and processes.

Major auditor NSF attains accreditation for PCR development, EPD verification

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

Global public health organization NSF International, Ann Arbor, Mich., is among the first organizations to be recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a program operator for product category rules (PCR) development and environmental product declarations (EPD) verification. As a PCR and EPD program operator, NSF International will help meet growing demand for standardization of science-based environmental data, reporting and verification.

Promoting Performance-Based Solutions

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

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.

NRMCA department shift prioritizes Local Paving, Building Structures

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has restructured its promotion, technical services and sustainability programs and staff into two separate departments. Pending board approval, the National Resource Directors Division, known more informally as Promotion, will be renamed Local Paving and operate under Brian Killingsworth, senior vice president/division head.

ORGANIZATIONS – August 2015

August 11, 2015 Concrete News

The Construction Materials group of RJ Lee Group in Monroeville, Pa., has been accredited by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for demonstrated testing proficiency. Accredited laboratories must have a quality management system that meets AASHTO criteria and guidelines for “establishing and implementing a quality management system for use by a construction materials laboratory.”