Mike Hernandez, Technical Director The Voice Newsletter May 2023
ASCC had a great Committee Week May 1st – 3rd in St. Louis both technically and socially.
The Manufacturers Advisory Council discussed several issues including the need to bring new talent into the construction industry. We have an aging workforce and are losing people to retirement. Members encouraged one another to provide career opportunity paths and hire less experienced employees to try to grow their next generation of leaders.
ASCC’s two recent webinars help address the same craft labor challenge. April webinar “From Curiosity to Career: Build Their Future in Construction” presented the website byf.org which is set up to being people into construction by describing different trades, the needed skills, their wages and a Career Card. For example, a Concrete Finisher “build foundations, floors, walls, roads and other structures that are made using concrete.” Needs to be active, detail oriented and team player. Average annual salary $58,046. A spinoff, Career Starter, was presented in the May webinar “Build Your Talent Pipeline with Career Starter.” It helps connect job seekers with educators and potential employers is found on their website. Both are affiliated with the training organization NCCER. This is an excellent resource to connect you with local talent.
For the Technical Committee, multiple documents were distributed prior to the session including three new Position Statements: two for polished concrete and one on Considerations for Deferred Submittals. ACI Committee progress was discussed by various attendees. A lively discussion of ASTM C595/type 1L cement concrete ensued. Some contractors stated they have had great success with Portland-limestone cement (PLC). Others have stated even within the same metro area type 1L mixes will respond differently to changes in course aggregate and sand. ASCC is committed to a deeper dive into PLC/type 1L this summer through the Sustainability Committee headed by Bev Garnant and Bruce Suprenant. I explained the CTAC program which seeks to ensure concrete field tests and initial curing are done correctly by using ACI Certified observers, QC personnel from the contractor or a ready mixed producer. According to data collected by CTAC, initial curing is performed incorrectly 40%-60% of the time in various states. More information is at concretetac.com.
The Paving Committee had an extended conversation about the Paving Tool Kit sponsored by NRMCA. This package will help concrete contractors convert asphalt paving into concrete with NRMCA design assistance for thickness and additional details. Brian Killingworth encouraged members to submit good paving photos or drone video to him for possible social media posting by NRMCA. Thank you to Ray Merlo for his term as Chair.
Emerging Leaders Committee had a fascinating discussion about the use of Chat GPT Artificial Intelligence (AI), software to generate social media posting content and translate documents from English to Spanish, even to a specific dialect. Knowledge of Chat GPT was split across age demographics with under 35’s already using it and over 50’s like me completely unaware of AI’s potential to assist us. This could be a tool to help ASCC with initial translations then asking members to confirm instead of creating Spanish translations of Position Statements or other documents.
Safety & Risk Management Council had a national presenter who discussed the legal precedents being established, risks and potential need for accommodation associated with medical cannabis. Evaluating “fit for duty” has new technical options available through phone apps.
Decorative Concrete Council started with a good safety moment in which Diedre Dann spoke about a suicide prevention and mental health program. Ray Hefner provided an update on the upcoming Annual Conference. Additional discussion about the need for Spanish translation of documents and the potential for AI to assist in the project. There was a report on a successful Community Project at Leeds High School, managed by Brandon Meeks. The idea to use ASCC Decorative Awards submissions as potential social media posting content was well received.
Keep in mind that Committee Meetings are generally open to any member. Only a few are closed meetings. So, feel free to attend as many committee meetings as you can while at an ASCC gathering. This is your association, the more effort you invest, the greater the reward in personal connections and professional advice.