If construction stakeholders find it difficult to attract skilled workers now, what can they expect in a decade? Those unwilling or unable to effectively attract, engage and retain their workforce will pay the consequences in the not-so-distant future, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which is promoting best management practices through its ConExpo-Con/Agg 360 program.
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Associated Builders and Contractors is among 20-plus charter signatories to “Pledge to America’s Workers,” supporting a White House initiative, National Council for the American Worker, that President Donald Trump created by Executive Order. The Council is charged with developing a strategy for training and retraining workers across high demand industries.
Read MoreCemex USA will upgrade stormwater management at three southern California ready mixed operations as part of an agreement with Inland Empire Waterkeeper, Los Angeles Waterkeeper and Orange County Coastkeeper to resolve an ongoing dispute regarding the groups’ claims of Clean Water Act violations. The producer is revising best management practices (BMP) at Irvine (Orange County), Fontana (San Bernardino County) and Compton (Los Angeles County) plants and bringing water-testing protocols beyond current requirements. The agreement also calls for Cemex to contribute $55,000 to identify and fund future environmental-mitigation projects through third-party groups Rivers and Lands Conservancy, Pacific Marine Mammal Center and From Lot to Spot.
Read MoreIt has been a tough summer for advocates of combustible materials-rich construction methods that stretch the limits of relaxed building codes and are pitched as environmentally friendly alternatives to concrete or steel.
Read MoreSources: Precision-Hayes International, Seagoville, Texas; CP staff
Precision-Hayes plans to commercialize technology that will provide architects, engineers or other project stakeholders with real-time tendon elongation and force readings from post-tensioning (P-T) operations. Initial market development will focus on unbonded, monostrand tendons typical in elevated, cast-in-place concrete slabs and parking structures.
Read MoreSources: Arizona Masonry Guild Inc., Phoenix; CP staff
Seven of the nine concrete masonry producers serving Arizona have begun voluntary participation in a program funding education, promotion, workforce development, advocacy and building code activities—all geared to increasing block demand. The check off program entails a 2-cent per block collection and is administered under strict confidence by a third party, fully independent of the Arizona Masonry Guild.
Read MoreSources: Eagle Materials Inc., Dallas; CP staff
Michael Haack has been named president of cement, aggregate, ready mixed concrete and wallboard producer Eagle Materials, and will maintain the chief operating officer title he has held since 2014.
Read MoreSources: GCP Applied Technologies, Cambridge, Mass.; CP staff
Leading admixture producer GCP Applied Technologies has announced a strategic stake in Sysdyne Technologies, a Stamford, Conn.-based provider of plant control and information technology solutions for ready mixed concrete producers.
Read MoreSources: Lucideon, Schenectady, N.Y.; CP staff
A new white paper shows how petrographic examination identifies the root cause of common deficiencies and degradation mechanisms in hardened concrete, from low compressive strength, surface scaling or spalling to cracking and alkali-aggregate or chemical reactions. Available free of charge, “The Concreting Process and Petrographic Examination,” is primarily for cast-in-place concrete but offers content applicable to precast as well, and suits engineers, architects, contractors, producers, agencies and building owners.
Read MoreSources: Leading Raters of America, Fairfax, Va.; CP staff
Energy Inspectors Corp., PEG LLC, TopBuild Home Services Inc., and US-EcoLogic/TexEnergy have chartered Leading Raters of America (LRA) to promote best practices for energy rating services provided to home builders, commercial developers, institutional users and property managers.
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