Mike Hernandez, Technical Director
The Voice Newsletter February 2024
As we begin 2024, ASCC collaboration with other trade associations continues to expand. The challenges with concrete expectations and particularly with low carbon concrete can’t be solved by the concrete contractor alone. Concrete has traditionally competed to be the paving and building material of choice with asphalt, structural steel and masonry. Now the wood industry has compared concrete unfavorably with heavy timber structures. In response, concrete construction needs increased collaboration within the allied groups of ready mixed producers, cement manufacturers, specifiers/design professionals, testing labs and owners. That cooperation can be in the form of working together on joint programs, within ACI Committees, at ASTM, on government grant proposals or general best practice.
ASCC has maintained a relationship with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, NRMCA, since the early 2000’s. This comes in the form of co-authoring documents, such as the P2P and pre-construction checklists, review of the AIA specifications or articles for Concrete International. Brian Killingworth is a Special Director on the ASCC Board. Brian supports the NRMCA/ASCC Joint Paving Committee which provides the opportunity for contractors to take the NRMCA paving bootcamp and engineering assistance on conversion of projects from asphalt to concrete pavement. Former ASCC Technical Director, Ward Malisch, was part of the NRMCA Research, Engineering and Standards, (RES) Committee, and I have joined on behalf of ASCC. Several other ASCC contractors and I are engaged to provide the contractors’ perspective. An RES member provided the idea for placing inexpensive sensors in jobsite early age curing boxes to monitor the temperature. Initial curing at outside the ASTM 60F-80F range will yield inaccurate cylinder test results. I am working with several ASCC contractors and ready mixed producers in the Denver area and nationally to gather data on early age curing temperatures. NRMCA supported the recent ASCC proposal for EPA research funding. Even if unsuccessful in this specific request, we have set the groundwork for future research projects. Several state ready mixed concrete associations are also ASCC Members
The Portland Cement Association, PCA, and ASCC are working together more. Since the ready-mixed producer is the cement manufacturer’s customer, this can be an indirect relationship. Through discussions with quality and conscientious contractors, knowing your local cement options and properties has become more important than it once was. PCA and ASCC joint sponsored a World of Concrete session on Portland Limestone Cement/PLC Best Practices. In the session ASCC Contractors, NRMCA concrete producers and a PCA cement manufacturers recounted how they worked together on specific projects making trial batches and field mockups to confirm finishability and hardened concrete goals. PCA has been welcomed to participate in our monthly Voice newsletter and Michelle Wilson recently joined the ASCC Board of Directors as a Special Director. Among the ASCC Members are a handful of companies that are also PCA Members.
ASCC’s long-term relationship with the American Concrete Institute, ACI International, is ongoing. ASCC members serve on over 40 ACI Committees. There are two joint ACI-ASCC committees, 117 tolerances and 310 decorative, with 301-0J Polishing subcommittee. ACI, ACI NEU and ACI Pro have joint memorandums of understanding, MOUs, for collaboration with ASCC. Mike Tholen, ACI staff and ASCC Special Director, Phil Diekemper with PRO and Dean Frank from NEU have open lines of communication with ASCC staff.
The ASCC Sustainability Committee has members of other trade associations, including the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, CRSI, the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations, NCSEA, the previously mentioned associations as well as general members. A member from DPR also serves on an AGC sustainability committee. ASCC seeks to understand AGC’s plans and expectations as well.
ASCC recently joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, Low Carbon Cements and Concretes Consortium. Among other things it seeks to set specification standards for low carbon concrete, which is in the long-term interest of ASCC members.
There are even more concrete association formal affiliations that have not been finalized which will support our members. We are all working together to maintain concrete’s role as the paving and building material of choice for strength, durability and sustainability.