October 2019 – Concrete Products

Autocar returns to concrete with mixer, pump chassis series

October 31, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Autocar Trucks, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff

Previewed earlier this month at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s ConcreteWorks conference, the Autocar DC-64M and DC-64P models for mixer and pump operators share a conventional truck platform engineered from the ground up for severe duty. Autocar Trucks has worked with a pilot group of ready mixed producers on the DC-64M concept and plans formal Q1 unveiling of a full mixer package, timed with World of Concrete and ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 in Las Vegas.

ASTM C13 standard probes microbially induced corrosion

October 30, 2019 Concrete News

Source: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.

ASTM C13 Committee on Concrete Pipe is set to publish C1894 Standard Guide for Microbially Induced Corrosion of Concrete Products, and finalize two proposed documents it references: WK69718 Standard Test Methods for the Determination of the Effects of Biogenic Acidification on Concrete Antimicrobial Additives and/or Concrete Products and WK69719 Standard Test Methods for the Chemical Resistance of Concrete Products to Acid Attack.

CIM director studies employee burnout in the concrete business

October 30, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro; CP staff

One of the primary Concrete Industry Management Program catalysts on the academia side has commenced an online survey to gauge employee burnout and worklife context. As director of the School of Concrete and Construction Management at MTSU—home to the charter CIM degree program—Dr. Heather Brown and Associate Professor Dr. Jacob Avila cite the survey’s intent of “advancing collective understanding of work and identifying intervention strategies to enhance the health and engagement of professionals in the concrete industry.”

Robust ICF home center stage in Superstorm FLASHback

October 30, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Tallahassee, Fla.; CP staff

The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) Partnership has marked the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Sandy’s sweep through coastal New Jersey and New York with a new video featuring a storm survivor’s commitment to building her home back better and creating resilience in the face of future storms.

U.S. producers trigger probe of rebar imported from Mexico

October 23, 2019 Concrete News

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce

The Commerce Department has initiated an inquiry to determine if concrete reinforcing steel bar, bent at one or both ends, circumvents existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders covering imports from Mexico. The action responds to requests from domestic operators Byer Steel, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Commercial Metals, Gerdau Ameristeel, Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics.

Robotics venture targeting rebar fabrication books $3M seed fund

October 22, 2019 Concrete News

Source: Toggle, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Toggle, a startup using robotics and automation to optimize the fabrication and assembly of rebar, has raised $3 million in seed-funding to expand its team and further develop its robotics technology at its Brooklyn facility. Toggle’s goal is to double labor productivity and to increase overall production five times over traditional assembly methods for its customers in the construction industry.

Cemex aims to dump idle truck time through Quarry Link app

October 22, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Cemex USA, Houston; CP staff

Following a successful pilot of expedited order loading and tracking at its FEC Quarry outside Miami, Cemex USA is rolling out a major extension of its Go mobile technology platform, launched in 2017 for concrete accounts with an eye to digital transformation of the heavy building materials business. Measured against current methods, the Go Quarry Link app enables customers to receive aggregate orders with greater efficiency and provides real-time truck monitoring plus better product visibility and loadout processes.

Masonry, mortar tasks frame case for OSHA silica rule revisions

October 22, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Construction Industry Safety Coalition, Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

The 26-member Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) has formally requested the Occupational Safety and Health Administration revise the Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica – Specified Exposure Control Methods standard (silica rule), thereby expanding compliance options and recognizing sub-threshold dust levels typical of masonry sawing and mortar mixing.

Safety Council spotlights workplace perils of cannabis consumption

October 21, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: National Safety Council, Itasca, Ill.; CP staff

The National Safety Council calls on employers to ban the use of cannabis, regardless of state laws on consumption of the substance, for workers in safety sensitive positions, where execution of duties impacts the well being of the employees themselves and co-workers.

Home Builders stats counter pervasive speculation on the economy

October 21, 2019 Concrete News

Sources: Allen-Villere Partners, New Orleans; CP staff

A National Association of Home Builders analysis of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Census Bureau data contrasts with widely subscribed pessimism on the economy and outlook for construction. In his latest dispatch for Concrete Products, construction materials management consultant Pierre Villere weighs NAHB estimates—tracking market activity through August and indicating single-family home sales up 18 percent year over year—against a prevailing, ‘sky is falling’ mood.