The American Society for Concrete Contractors will hold its 17th annual conference September 20-23 at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel, Charlotte, N.C. Concrete contractors, manufacturers, designers and other industry professionals will gather for three days of educational events and networking.
Key presenters this year are Cornell University Professor Dr. Ken Hover; Associated Builders & Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu; and, ChemSystems’ Chris Sullivan. Seminar tracks include Technology, Business Management, Business Field Level, Decorative and Polished Concrete, and Safety. Among seminar topics or themes: “Evaporation Retarders & Finishing Aids,” “Drones in Concrete Contracting,” “Surface – Create vs. Heart Crete: A Critical Difference,” “Concrete 101 for Polishers,” and “Pain Management.” Attendees can take advantage of ACI Flatwork Finisher or Decorative Concrete Flatwork Finisher Certification class and exam on the opening day.
The Decorative Concrete and Concrete Polishing councils will install an architectural exposed finish hardscape at the hotel ballroom entrance. It will entail placement of specialty aggregates and polishable overlay on Friday, plus exposed slab reveal and complete polishing the following morning. Additional activities during the conference will include a golf tournament, NASCAR Experience at Concord Raceway, Mint Museum Tour, and foraging with an executive chef. — ASCC, 866/788-2722; www.ascconline.org
ASTM International Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates presented its top annual recognition, Award of Merit and accompanying Fellow title, to Chryso Inc. Sales & Marketing Manager Steven Parker. The award reflects dedicated service to the committee, particularly in administrative leadership roles and contributions to developing and improving standards for aggregates, ready mixed and finished concrete.
An ASTM member since 1993, Parker received the C09 Service Award in 2006; Honorary Committee Member Award in 2014; and, Award of Appreciation in 2008 and 2012. In addition to C09, he is also a member of ASTM Committees C01 on Cement; D04 on Road and Paving Materials; and, S02 on Technical Committee Operations. He arrived at Rockwall, Texas-based Chryso after Nevada Cement Co., RMC Mid-Atlantic and Trinity Materials positions, and holds a bachelor’s in wildlife biology from Montana State University and master’s in geology and geophysics from the University of Wyoming.
ASTM Committee C01 on Cement presented it top annual recognition, Award of Merit and title of Fellow, to Argos USA Cement Technical Director Stephen Wilcox for contribution to developing standards surrounding cementitious materials and concrete. An ASTM member since 1995, he received the C01 Award of Appreciation in 2013 and 2017, and also serves on Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates.
Wilcox transitioned to Atlanta-based Argos USA from predecessor Lafarge North America, where he had a long management track record in quality, optimization and technical capacities. In addition to ASTM, Wilcox is a member of the Portland Cement Association, Slag Cement Association, and American Concrete Institute.
Separately, ASTM International’s new SpecBuilder platform empowers organizations to streamline collaboration and document development for internal specifications, test methods, guidelines, and procedures. Available as a subscription, it provides a single platform to ensure organizations’ drafts, comments, votes, and supporting documents are uploaded, acted on, and archived within a single secure tool. Users can manage changes to documents; revise multiple documents simultaneously; accelerate voting processes; hyperlink to standards; improve communications; and, securely store and restart projects. — www.astm.org/Standard/specbuilder_new
ASTM Committee C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units will soon publish C1825, providing guidelines for block and brick made from materials not currently addressed by existing Society standards. The new standard responds to unit masonry producers’ move to look beyond concrete, clay, shale, sand-lime and calcium silicates for alternative materials.
“This standard will hopefully spur innovation in masonry unit manufacturers, with consistent and reliable performance of the new units in the field,” says University of Louisville Civil Engineering Professor William McGinley. — ASTM Customer Relations, 877/909-ASTM; [email protected]
ASTM Committee A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys is eyeing a standard aimed at improving durability of strand used in (PT) post tension or bridge stay cable applications, principally through galvanized-product test methods. The proposed document would help gauge corrosion potential and a structure’s durability throughout its life cycle.
Bekaert Corp. Engineering and Product Development Manager Dale King notes that zinc and zinc alloy galvanization has been used for many years to improve steel corrosion durability of structures while also increasing the life cycle of the other steel components. “Applying galvanization to the reinforcement PT elements in these systems is economical and improves corrosion durability, potentially adding years of safe performance to a structure’s life,” he says. “This standard would also apply to other PT applications such as parking garage barrier cables or storage tank wall reinforcement.”
Constructors, designers, public agencies, and reinforcement manufacturers are among those that will likely to reference WK62898, which will among agenda items during Committee A01 meetings, November 5-8 in Washington, D.C. Contact: ASTM staff liaison, Scott Orthey, 610/832-9730, [email protected].
The International Code Council-aligned ICC Evaluation Service is reinstating its Building Department Service, which assists code officials in determining material, product or system suitability for specific project sites. ICC-ES technical staff evaluate a wide range of products, including fire-resistive assemblies, sandwich panels, classified roof coverings, and wall-covering systems.
The program is returning due to increased demand, notes ICC-ES President Shahin Moinian, adding: “Code officials trust us for technical evaluations of building products, and we are the only accredited agency to conduct product evaluation to our acceptance criteria. In addition to our evaluation report[s] and listing program[s], we can now better serve manufacturing clients and code officials by offering this specialized service.” — ICC-ES Building Department Service, 800/423-6587; www.icc-es.org