Mike Hernandez, Technical Director The Voice Newsletter January 2024 Looking forward to our World of Concrete ASCC committee meetings, booths and events, 1/21/24 – 1/25/24. Committee meetings start Sunday afternoon 1/21 with MAC Board and Finishing Committee. All ASCC members are welcome to attend almost all committee meetings, with few exceptions. In case you missed it, PLC Alert! 2 was ...

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Ray Hefner, Executive Director The Voice Newsletter January 2024 The ASCC staff and volunteers have worked diligently to ensure that ASCC members’ experiences at the 2024 World of Concrete are new, engaging, entertaining and educational. To that end, don’t forget to stop by the new DCC/CPC Experience booth and check out what is new and exciting. DCC/CPC Experience will feature li...

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Maizer Ouijdani, Vice President The Voice Newsletter January 2024 As I reflect on the year 2023, I’m trying to figure out how I can summarize the year from a business perspective, and the best word I could come up with is “PENDING”. Throughout the year, most of the terms I heard from our private clients were: "The project is shelved for now." "We are ra...

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Joelle McGehee, Alliance Safety Council, SRMC director, The VOICE Newsletter December 2023 Let’s be honest: the first few days on the job are challenging for everyone. So how can you help your new employees to start on a high note? Can you do this without spending every Monday of the year in a conference room, staring at safety orientation checklists? Like many learning processes, you ...

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Clark Branum, Decorative & Polished Concrete Specialist, The VOICE Newsletter December 2023 I hope everyone is getting ready for the Holiday season now that Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is on the horizon. It seems like everywhere you go there is another reminder that Christmas day is soon approaching. For contractors, it means that employees will take time off to spend with their fam...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist, The VOICE Newsletter December 2023 Full Disclosure: Perhaps one of the most unwelcome telephone calls a concrete construction project manager could ever get usually comes first thing the Monday morning following a Friday foundation concrete placement that required setting of large anchor rod assemblies for follow-on steel buildings. Such phone call...

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Mike Hernandez, Technical Director, The VOICE Newsletter, December 2023 ASCC just issued Alert! #2 on portland limestone cement (PLC) (members click here to view). In it, ASCC recommends two tests, one for bleed rate and one for initial set. Because reduced bleed is a common issue raised about PLC, this test was recommended, per ASTM C232. One response from experts regarding our recommendations...

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Ray Hefner, Executive Director, The VOICE Newsletter, December 2023 The days on the 2023 calendar are beginning to dwindle down, and we are all focused on the holidays, friends and family but, don’t forget 2024 is around the corner. 2024 is a clean slate for everyone, and we can put the successes and failures of 2023 in the rearview mirror (don’t look back)! It is time to start thin...

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Chris Klemaske, President, The VOICE Newsletter, December 2023 I have discovered that 3:00 a.m. thoughts are something I have in common with most of my friends and colleagues so I have decided to share one of my reoccurring 3:00 a.m. thoughts that I finally googled, and it seemed like it would be appropriate for our newsletter. What is the difference between Gratitude and Grateful? Gratit...

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ASCCSAFE Fall 2023 Cassie Hilaski, VP of Safety and Health, Nibbi Brothers Concrete In September 2023, Nibbi started requiring all individuals on our jobsites (including subcontractors, vendors, clients, inspectors, and visitors) to make the switch from hard hats to safety helmets. But the journey started in 2018. As part of our constant pursuit to provide the best, most innovative safety e...

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