Monthly meeting announcement
The next meeting of the Northeast Texas Chapter of ACI will be held at 3 p.m., on Thursday, January 19, 2012, at the Ellison Miles Geotechnical Institute (EMGI) on the Brookhaven College campus in Farmers Branch.
As the incoming president of the chapter, and the regional manager for CRSI, I have asked to present a two-part meeting. First, I will give an overview of the specifications and grades of reinforcement (rebar and wire mesh) and the rebar fabrication process. I will also discuss some common questions about things like rust, field bending, and repair of reinforcement.
The second part of the meeting will be a quick presentation about the chapter activities for the year, and then I want feedback from members about meetings and the operation of the chapter. (Remember that, as this is a volunteer organization, if you have a good idea, you WILL be asked to help make it a reality.)
It is important that members attend this meeting to help shape the chapter for the coming year.
For those unable to attend, please take a minute to drop me an email and let me know why you do not attend the chapter meetings (time, day, location, content, or whatever reason.) Also, if the chapter is not doing something you think it should, let me know that. If you prefer to talk with me or another chapter officer or board member directly, please do so, the names and phone numbers are on the chapter website.
NETX Annual Meeting & Casino Night
On Friday, November 11, 2011, ACI NETX held its annual meeting, dinner, and casino night at Texas Star Conference Center in Euless. Thirty-six attendees enjoyed food and fun, with a little chapter business thrown in.
Service plaques were given to officers, directors, and others giving service to the Chapter in 2011. Elections of 2012 Chapter officers were held, with the Nominating Committee slate of candidates unanimously elected.
2012 Chapter Officers
President: John Turner (Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute)
Vice President: Robert Ray (Terracon Consultants, Inc.)
Secretary-Treasurer:Robert Henry
Past President: Perry Kakara (Alliance Geotechnical Group)
One-Year Directors:
Jeff Choate (BASF)
Meghan Morales (Wiss Janney Elstner Associates)
James Yesenik (Alliance Geotechnical Group)
Two-Year Directors:
Megan Dangel (Lafarge)
Tomas Montemayor
Bonnie Reed (Fugro Consultants)
Three-Year Directors:
Chris Harbour (Southern Star Concrete, Inc.)
Gary Herron (D & S Engineering Labs)
Gary Meyer (TXI Operations)
Shilstone Scholarship
we are approaching our deadline to get funding established for the James M. Shilstone Scholarship. The goal is to have the required $30,000 endowment ready by September 30, 2011, so that the ACI Foundation can begin awarding the scholarship.
For more information, see the flyer.
Checks should be made payable to ACI Foundation, and include a note or memo entry for Shilstone Donation
Please send your check to:
ACI NETX
Dr. Robert Henry
3510 Fox Glen Drive
Colleyville, TX 76034
NRMCA class in Austin
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) and the Texas Aggregates & Concrete Association (TACA) are presenting the seminar "Handling Concrete Specifications, Low Strength Problems and Mixture Submittals" on October 26, 2011, at the TACA Headquarters in Austin, Texas. See the flyer for more information.
Basic Concrete Technology Course 2011
ACI NETX will present the Basic Concrete Technology Course this year on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September 27 through November 15. See the Education page of the website for more information.
ACI 318-11 Seminar - December 13
ACI NETX will host the national ACI seminar on the 2011 revisions of ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete on December 13, 2011.
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has just published the latest edition of "ACI 318-11 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary". This seminar, which is cosponsored by ACI and the Portland Cement Association (PCA), will cover all of the major changes in this new edition of the Code. A major portion of the revisions are related to the addition of adhesive anchors in ACI 318 for the first time. In addition to the new anchor design requirements, the seminar will cover adhesive anchor evaluation requirements and new provisions requiring certification of the anchor installer under certain circumstances. Changes to reinforcing steel detailing requirements, allowable grades, and coating types will also be covered.
Important topics, such as detailing for structural integrity and designing using the latest in strut-and-tie modeling, will be presented and discussed.
Field Trip - Friday July 22
ACI NETX members toured the ongoing construction at TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, on Friday July 22.
The Chapter would like to extend a special thanks to Don Baker and Jeff Horn at Austin Commercial for hosting us and providing this tour to our members.
ACI Masonry Design Seminar in Dallas
On April 21, ACI NETX hosted a national ACI seminar on design and specification of masonry structures. There were ten designers in attendance to hear presentations by Drs. Richard Klingner and Richard Bennett.
Below are the files and videos provided as part of the course: (if you need a different video format, please email)
Summary of Shake Table Testing (pdf)
Shake Table Video 1 (MCEx2 1st run) m4v video (4.5 MB) or WMV format (4.3 MB)
Shake Table Video 2 (MCEx2 2nd run) m4v video (4 MB) or WMV format (4 MB)
Shake Table Video 3 (MCEx2 2nd run, from the inside) m4v video (12 MB) or AVI format (59 MB)
Spreadsheet, Example 5a (xlsx)
Spreadsheet, Example 5b (xlsx)
Spreadsheet, Example 6a (xlsx)
Spreadsheet, Example 6b (xlsx)
March Certification Training and Exams
ACI technician training and certification schedules are now up for March 18 and March 25/26. Please check the Calendar for dates and times and the Certification page for registration forms and more details.
March Membership Meeting
The March meeting of the Northeast Texas Chapter will be at the usual place, at the usual time, that is:
Thursday, March 17, 2011 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Brookhaven College Ellison Miles Geotechnical Institute (EMGI Building)
More information to come.
ALSO - the May meeting is being planned for somewhere in Arlington or Fort Worth over lunchtime on Thursday, May 19. The Board wants NETX members to the west a chance to get together. We will have a short program about the 2012 convention and chapter activities, and then spend the rest of the time enjoying a chance to network with other members. If turnout is good, we will start work on regular programs and meetings around the Chapter.
January 2011 Meeting
The January meeting of the Northeast Texas Chapter will be at the usual place, at the usual time, that is:
Thursday, January 20, 2011 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Brookhaven College Ellison Miles Geotechnical Institute (EMGI Building)
Our speakers will be Lara Kohl and Addie Cosgrove from the LBJ Express Project now underway to modernize the I-635 corridor between I-35 and the High Five (US 75) interchange. There will be a significant amount of concrete construction on this project, and it is likely most ACI NETX members will be involved in the 17 mile long project before it is complete in 2016.
Lara Kohl is the Public Relations Manager for Trinity Infrastructure, LLC, the contractor for the project.
Addie Cosgrove is the Public Information Coordinator for both Trinity Infrastructure, LLC, and LBJ Infrastructure Group, the developer on the project.
As always, ACI NETX meetings are free and open to all members, guests, prospective members, and other interested parties.
New Officers
At the Annual Meeting on November 12, the 2011 Officers were elected as recommended by the Nominating Committee. They are as follow:
President: Perry Kakara, Alliance Geotechnical Group
Vice President: John Turner, CRSI
3 Yr. Directors:
Tomas Montemayor, Alan Plummer Assoc.
Bonnie Reed, Fugro Consultants
Megan Dangel, Lafarge
Also, below are the current 1 and 2 Year Directors for 2011.
1 Yr. Directors:
Curtis Lee, Southern Star Concrete
Gene Marter, C.M.C.I.
Bobby Ray, Terracon Consultants
2 Yr. Directors:
Jeff Choate, BASF
Leo Fellin, TXI
James Yesenik, Alliance Geotechnical Group
Upcoming ACI Certification Exam & Training
On October 9, ACI-NETX will be holding an ACI Field Testing Technician Grade I certification examination at the Technical Services Lab of Hanson (1000 MacArthur Blvd, Grand Prairie, TX.) Arrive at 7 a.m. on Saturday for the exam, and plan on spending all day, weather permitting. Training will be conducted at Hanson on the Friday prior (October 8, from 10 a.m. to about 5 p.m. ) Visit the Certification page to get the whole scoop.
Basic Concrete Technology
ACI NETX will begin the 2010 Basic Concrete Technology Course on September 28, 2010. The schedule and details are HERE.
US EPA Fly Ash
UPDATE July 1, 2010: The US EPA has issues a proposed rule, followed by a revised propose rule, which will regulate coal combustion products destined for landfills. The EPA states the following regarding beneficial use CCP:
"EPA is not proposing to change the May 2000 Regulatory Determination for beneficially used CCRs, which are currently exempt from the hazardous waste regulations under Section 3001(b)(3)(A) of RCRA. However, EPA is clarifying this determination and seeking comment on potential refinements for certain beneficial uses. EPA is also not proposing to address the placement of CCRs in mines, or non-minefill uses of CCRs at coal mine sites in this action."
UPDATE: On May 4, 2010, the US EPA suspended active participation in the Coal Combustion Products Partnership, and announced a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) concerning fly ash. The proposal includes two potential methods of regulating fly ash; neither method would classify coal combustion products as hazardous waste, but they would require special handling in conformance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The goal of regulating these materials is to improve the impoundment, storage, and handling of fly ash and related materials using federal rules. The current rules allow states to regulate these materials.
OSHA Update
Currently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, has two main enforcement programs that affect the concrete industry. They are referred to as Regional Emphasis Programs, or REP's:
1) SIC Code 34 (fabricated metal products) - a complete list of SIC 34 businesses in each region is provided to the regional OSHA office by OSHA national. This list is assigned a random order, and the facilities are inspected in that random order. These inspections include any hazard to employees, which is primarily hazardous chemicals, machine guarding, lock-out/tag-out, cranes, and other material handling. SIC 34 includes fabricated structural steel (beams, columns, pipes), bar joists, concrete reinforcing bars, and fabricated wire products. If your company files any labor, employment, or tax reports using an SIC 34 (including sub-codes 34x and 34xx), you are on this list.
2) Construction - any work or workplace condition which is visible from a road or other public place and is unsafe can trigger a full worksite inspection. The "big four" are falls, struck-by, caught-in, and electrical hazards. Once they are on site for these hazards, anything they see will be addressed (and possibly cited.)
Isam (Sam) Munir: 50 Years of ACI Membership
ACI has recognized NETX member Sam Munir for his 50 years of ACI membership.
Victor Villarreal: ACI Construction Award
Continuing the list of NETX members recognized at the 2010 Spring ACI Convention, Victor Villarreal was recognized with the ACI Construction Award for "his paper describing the benefit of replacing a portion of normalweight aggregates to mitigate plastic and drying shrinkage cracking."
ACI NETX: Excellent Chapter for 2009
As part of the opening ceremonies at the 2010 ACI spring convention, the Northeast Texas Chapter was recognized as an "Excellent Chapter for 2009."
Vartan Babakhanian: ACI Certification Award
NETX member Vartan Babakhanian was awarded the ACI Certification Award, as part of the 2010 spring convention of the American Concrete Institute in Chicago, IL. In making the award, ACI cited "outstanding and tireless service on ACI Certification Committees and in promoting and administering ACI Certification programs."