Mike Hernandez, Technical Director, The Voice Newsletter March 2024
The current and future challenges of concrete construction are what the ASCC Technical staff focuses on each day. Those challenges can come in many forms. Jim Klinger has a vast library of documents and decades of experience in structural concrete and receives Hotline calls. Clark Branum, the Decorative and Polished Concrete Specialist, knows the proper steps for numerous decorative and polishing solutions. Clark is working through several best practice documents and a polishing position statement. In addition to engaging urgent member issues, I am looking forward to what ACI, ASTM, emerging technologies, and now what sustainability expectations are going to be placed on the members and to see if we can lighten the burden. The goal is to provide the contractor’s perspective while documents are still in draft review. Once ACI publishes a document, it will be years before it changes.
American Concrete Institute (ACI): The ACI Convention in New Orleans will take place March 23rd-27th. A hot topic continues to be Type IL/portland limestone cement (PLC). There will be several two-hour sessions on experiences with PLC as well as two sessions on “Who is Responsible When Sustainable Concrete Does Not Meet Performance Expectations?” The ACI staff stated they plan to record these sessions for future viewing on their website.
ASCC is working with the ACI 302 committee to perform a collection of industrial floor slab mixes using Type I/II, or II/V where higher sulfate resistance is needed, and now Type IL mixes. Once a comprehensive group is collected, we will run comparison tests to give guidance on what to focus on when transitioning to IL on hard-troweled slabs. We are still evaluating the technical feasibility of having an artificial intelligence (AI) platform run the initial analysis. The degree of support we receive from allied organizations, ACI, NRMCA, and PCA will affect the scale and speed of this effort, probably even its success or failure. This is a complex issue where one or two solutions are not an option. With 25 ASCC voting members plus 39 consulting and associate members, we should have enough projects to draw from to have the collection effort done quickly, for an ACI group. Also intend to request support from ASCC’s Finishing, Constructability, and Technical Committees.
Member Engagement Visits: I am going to be in Atlanta, Georgia visiting members for a few days 3/19-3/20 on the heels of an NRMCA’s technical committee nearby. Would like to make myself available for 2-3 hours to discuss member companies’ specific challenges in person when I am already traveling to a nearby city. The further in advance the planning, the more likely I can visit your team. My travel in 2024 currently includes:
