Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist, The Voice Newsletter, April 2021 Full disclosure: This writer’s first experience with shotcrete was in 1987; when the general level of industry understanding of structural shotcrete was evolving, shotcrete wall reinforcement was typically limited to a maximum #5 bar size, and only a minimal use of reinforcing steel contact lap splices was all...

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The American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), St. Louis, MO, has announced that the ASCC Education, Research & Development Foundation has published “Guide to the Design and Construction of Concrete Toppings for Buildings.” The authors are Scott M. Tarr, PE, FACI; Ronald L. Kozikowski, PE; and Matthew J. Sheehan, PE. Tarr and Kozikowski are president and vice president, respe...

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Safety is Not Proprietary Joe Whiteman, director of safety services  4-2021 Trade secrets, industry connections and “secret sauce” all have their place and should be guarded well to help you maintain your edge. One of the areas where we should not play our cards close to our chest, however, is safety. Safety applies to everyone, in every facet and level within your organizatio...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist, The Voice Newsletter, March 2021 Veteran concrete contractors will tell you one of the worst parts of getting blindsided is that you never see it coming. And so it is with COVID-19. How many are there among us who left World of Concrete last year without collecting our personal copies of “The COVID-19 Owner’s Manual” that explains...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist, The Voice Newsletter, February 2021 In his suspense novel Skyscraper, author Robert Byrne employs lead character Brian Mitchell, an intrepid Colorado-based consulting engineer, as a foil to introduce and explain a massive construction failure and its aftermath to a non-technical audience. To oversimplify enormously, Google Books advertises the nove...

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ASCC's New Monthly Safety Roundtables and Why You Should Participate Joe Whiteman, director of safety services  2-2021 For those who have attended our COVID-19 Roundtables, you have seen the value in sharing your experiences and listening to others challenges or lessons learned. The Safety & Risk Management Council realized what a great tool and opportunity it provides members to ...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist, The Voice Newsletter, January 2021 Hotline Question “We have a project featuring a 6-inch thick concrete slab-on-ground over an 85,000 SF footprint of prepared subgrade. Reinforcing for the slab is plain welded-wire mesh (WWR 6x6). We installed the WWR using a lap splice of one square overlap, or 6 inches. The project inspector has rejecte...

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Safety Moments: The Value in Sharing Lesson Learned Joe Whiteman, director of safety services  1-2021 One of the many great benefits of being an ASCC member is the knowledge base that comes with it. We pride ourselves on the quality of our members and the professionalism they bring to the association. Whether it be experience with technical knowledge, operations, or means and methods, eac...

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Bruce Suprenant, Technical Director, The Voice Newsletter, December 2020 You might not have met Jim yet, but you will. He has been assisting ASCC on developing company certification, especially related to the company certifications. And he is also involved in ACI committees for ASCC including: ACI 318A-General Concrete and Construction, ACI 134-Concrete Constructability and ACI/ASCC 117-Toleran...

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