OSHA adds year to boom crane operator certification requirement target

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has issued a one-year extension, to November 18, 2018, for precast concrete or construction fleets bound by Standard 1926.1427 – Operator Qualification and Certification. It requires operators of 2,000-lb. or higher capacity cranes to be 1) Qualified, where they are observed working safety and knowledgably, and have documentation on file; and, 2) Certified by passing written and practical exams administered through Crane Institute Certification, National Center for Construction Education & Research, National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, or other accredited body.

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Bluegrass, Aggregates USA deals speak to healthy Martin Marietta, Vulcan rivalry

The top two U.S. aggregate producers are pacing each other in building annual production volumes and long-term limestone and granite reserves. Predictable in most any economic cycle, their strategy takes on new dimensions in 2017, as investors see U.S. crushed stone and sand & gravel shipments netting some of the best returns or future earnings prospects in heavy building materials.

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OSHA gives crane stakeholders another year for operator certification

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

As industry observers hoped and anticipated, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has moved its crane operator certification deadline back a full year from a November 10, 2017 target. The compliance extension follows the agency’s early-July announcement that it would exempt operators of monorail hoists—also known as A frames and typically deployed in precast concrete delivery—from the crane operator certification rule.

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OSHA programs application for Form 300A data submission

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA plans an August 1 launch for the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), a web-based form allowing employers to electronically submit injury and illness data from their 2016 Form 300A. The agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking in June to extend the data submission deadline to December 2017 to afford affected entities sufficient time to familiarize the electronic reporting system, and the Trump Administration an opportunity to review the new electronic reporting requirements.

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ACI Council forum to spotlight algae-based binder, CO2-formed aggregate

Source: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.

The ACI Foundation’s Strategic Development Council has scheduled showcases on new binder and aggregate developments, plus pavement joint testing methods during its Technology Forum 42, September 6-7 in Reston, Va.:

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NRMCA research finds cause to revisit ACI 318 chloride limits

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

In collaboration with Dr. Neal Berke of Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Tourney Consulting Group, NRMCA has completed research to a) establish a relationship between the calculated total (initial) chloride content and measured water-soluble chloride content in hardened concrete; and, b) potentially give ready mixed producers latitude in mixture adjustments on projects bound by ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.

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Penn State affiliate sets 2018 launch for concrete science major

Sources: Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport; CP staff

A two-year associate degree in concrete science technology will be offered in the fall 2018 semester through the Penn College School of Construction & Design Technologies. Presented as the East Coast’s only program of its kind, it will prepare students for success in concrete production and analytical evaluation.

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