The 2024 World of Concrete provided the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute a springboard for 100th anniversary observances. Founded in 1924 with priorities that included legal measures to ensure fabricator payments, CRSI has emerged as the trusted industry resource and standards development organization for steel reinforcement, specifically rebar, in concrete construction. Since its inception, the Institute has continually built upon partnerships…
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Labor observer sees continuing slide in unionized construction workforce
An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of 2023 union membership data published by UnionStats.com finds at least 90 percent of workers in the private construction industry do not belong to a union in 29 states, up from 26 and 24 states in the prior two years. North Carolina, Mississippi, Maine, South Carolina and Texas lead the current list of states…
Read MoreChryso, GCP admixtures propel UHPC Solutions’ Ductal record
Crews from New Jersey-based UHPC Solutions North America closed out 2023 placing Holcim Ductal ultra-high performance concrete on the third and final phase of a 14-month, 5,000-yd. deck rehabilitation for the two-mile Delaware Memorial Bridge. In partnership with UHPC Solutions and Ductal US officials, a technical team from Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals’ Chryso and GCP brands helped identify high-range water reducers…
Read MoreCourt rejects $125M false claims case against Tresca Brothers Concrete
Sources: McCormack Suny LLC, Boston; Commonwealth of Massachusetts Suffolk Superior Court; CP staff Honoring a motion for summary judgment, Suffolk Superior Court has dismissed a five-year-old case where two whistleblowers asserted that Tresca Brothers Concrete, Sand & Gravel Inc. violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act by providing inaccurate age and water content information on ready mixed orders. Acting on behalf…
Read MoreABC, AGC uniformly harsh in federal project labor agreement rule critiques
Sources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C. Merit shop and union contractors’ top national representatives will seek court action in response to a final Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council rule, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects. Effective December 2023, it implements an early-2022 White House executive order requiring federal construction…
Read MoreOSHA inspectors’ PPE evolution: Helmets on, hard hats shelved
Sources: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; CP staff The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is replacing traditional hard hats with safety helmets, citing greater protection prospects for inspectors while noting, “OSHA wants employers to make safety and health a core value in their workplaces and is committed to doing the same by leading by example and embracing the evolution of…
Read MoreConsumer Confidence Contrasts with Economic Growth
As I have written many times in the past, we pay close attention to both the Conference Board’s monthly measure of consumer confidence, as well as a similar measure from the University of Michigan which they characterize as consumer sentiment. Both descriptions are really interchangeable, as they measure how consumers feel about the times, both politically and economically. We publish…
Read MoreABC challenges Labor Department’s Davis-Bacon rule updates
Sources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff An Associated Builders and Contractors and the ABC Southeast Texas lawsuit states a case for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division to vacate the Department of Labor’s Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations (DBA) rule, implemented in October and applicable to federal or federally…
Read MoreAGC COO Shoaf to succeed CEO Sandherr in Q2 2024
Sources: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.; CP staff AGC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sandherr plans to retire from his post of 27 years, effective March 31, capping an overall 37-year tenure with the organization. “I am grateful to have retained the confidence of AGC’s officers and Board for these many years,” he says. “I am also fortunate to…
Read MorePrometheus bio-concrete scales sound absorption performance
Prometheus Materials, Boulder, Colo. developer of bio-cement and bio-concrete technology debuting in molded, dry cast products, reports strong performance of 2-in. thick specimens subjected to ASTM C423-23, Standard Test Method for Sound Absorption and Sound Absorption Coefficients by the Reverberation Room Method. Testing at the Johns Manville Technical Center Acoustical Laboratory in Littleton, Colo. determined that the company’s bio-concrete—formulated with…
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