ORGANIZATIONS – JANUARY 2020

Convening late last year in New Orleans, the American Concrete Pavement Association, named 2019 awards program honorees:

  • Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan, Peter Deem, Holcim (US) (retired), who served as 2006 ACPA chairman and is credited with building membership and expanding association scope through work with contractors. Also receiving the award was retired Michigan contractor Leet Denton, for whom ACPA has renamed its honorary life membership designation. The Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan Award recognizes individuals and companies, as well as other organizations, for unparalleled commitment, dedication, participation, and leadership in the concrete pavement community.
  • Outstanding Pavement Promotion, Indiana Chapter-ACPA Executive Director Mike Byers, recognizing leadership in advocating for the use of concrete pavements and work in improving the design, constructability, preservation and maintenance of Indiana’s roads and highways, plus collaboration with the Indiana DOT and Purdue University.
  • Sustainable Practices, Federal Highway Administration, recognizing leadership in creating a framework for sustainable design and construction practices that consider societal, environmental and economic factors—i.e., the triple bottom line. Accepting the award was FHWA Pavement Materials Team Leader Gina Ahlstrom.
  • Marlin J. Knutson for Technical Achievement, Minnich Manufacturing Product Manager Paul Jaworski, recognizing 40-plus years of offering expertise in concrete vibration and consolidation technology. Named for ACPA’s second chief executive, who served at the helm from 1985 to 1998, the award is presented to an individual or group who has made significant contributions to advance the development and implementation of technical innovations and best practices in the design and construction of concrete pavements.

The Masonry Society will charter a Segmental Retaining Wall Committee this year, tasked with developing and maintaining consensus standards that address the design, construction, and quality assurance of SRW structures. The committee will also work toward goals improving or creating practices or resources that encourage safe and economical design; inform designers, regulators, and users; and, reflect appropriate state-of-the-art design, analyses, research, and field observations. Among planned activities are identifying current practices and resources related to SRW design, construction, or inspection, plus gaps; create, maintain and update appropriate consensus standards; identify issues requiring additional research or investigation; and, promulgate resources developed under committee purview.

Houston-based Olshan Foundation Solutions, a premier foundation repair company since 1933, has secured exclusive rights to install a newly patented technology that reduces the cost and complexity of repairing sunken tilt up concrete wall buildings. Historically, tilt up walls have been subject to the same forces that cause conventional home and business foundations to settle and lose their load-bearing capability. All kinds of weather, site and soil conditions, along with variances in original construction practices, can compromise wall integrity. Older repair methods, such as drilled piers or separate installed piles, are often subject to lateral shifting and subsequent structural failure, Olshan contends. The firm’s patented repair technology (US Patent #10,428,516 B2) eliminates these risks in one integrated process.

“In the past, tilt wall repairs were incomplete and stop-gap at best,” says General Manager Chris Cates. “We will be able to help business owners save time and money by enabling them to avoid the cost and disruption of full replacement and providing a solution that brings the building back to its original construction elevation in a safe manner. We are excited to partner with engineers, their customers and commercial property owners to dramatically extend the life and value of their tilt wall properties with greater safety and less risk.”

Through its Novus Ordo and ICF Industries subsidiaries—the latter aligned with insulating concrete form system manufacturer Logix Inc.—New York-based Here To Serve Holding Corp. is conferring with the city of Los Angeles to help develop and build the 9.9-acre Lanzit opportunity site. The Novus partnership is designed to bring feasibility, economic benefit, diversity commitment, plus environmental and financial benefits to the Los Angeles community. Through a proposed ICF structure, Novus plans to provide the most energy efficient technologies in construction.

“Our partner Logix Inc. is a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced manufacturer of ICF blocks,” says Novus Ordo President Cesar Herrera. “The R value of an ICF built structure is R24 or greater, making it an energy efficient and sustainable method of building. When combined with other technologies, the R value is significantly increased, making it energy efficient on a grand scale. Developers, brokers, contractors, suppliers, distributors, non-profit entities, sophisticated community planners and public and private investors are all working strategically to develop a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient community complex.”