Webinar Archives

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Recognizing decorative concrete flatwork requires a higher attention to detail is critical for success.  This program will cover best practices for all facets of decorative concrete flatwork.  We will look at steps including pre planning, installation, sealing and maintenance, and how each impacts the end result.  The primary focus will be key steps installers and designers need to consider to control color and promote longevity.

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Using recent data and ongoing surveys by the Minneapolis Fed, Ron Wirtz (Regionial Outreach Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) will discuss the speed and breadth of recovery in the construction sector and broader Minnesota economy, and role of labor force on economic growth going forward. Using an interactive survey, Ron will also gauge sentiment among event attendees regarding recent business activity, hiring demand, labor and wage trends, and the short-term economic outlook.

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Engineering ethics is a set of ethical standards for engineers to follow which can apply to most circumstances that arise on the job. These ethical standards are the engineers’ obligations towards the public, employers and the profession. The purpose of engineering ethics is to identify specific ethical issues that may arise in order to avoid a potential problem.

The presenter will be David Schultz, Professor of Political Science (Hamline University).

No credits will be awarded for viewing recordings of the webinar. 

The webinar is being sponsored by the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Minnesota Concrete Council, the North Dakota Concrete Council, the Oklahoma  Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the South Dakota Ready Mix Association, and the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association. 

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Why do good people and organizations act unethically? Architects and engineers may confront ethical dilemmas in many forms during their professional practice, especially in the public arena. Many think that only unethical people do bad things, and that ethical people generally do not do bad things. However, the reality is that is often not the case, and this presentation will discuss why good or ethical people often act unethically. In this program, attendees will examine the Minnesota Rules of Professionalism and Ethics and examine examples of ethical dilemmas in professional practice. Specific case studies will be used to provide a foundation for an analysis regarding how the fostering of ethical diversity and thinking about one's personal ethics within organizations can prevent the slippery slopes that lead to administrative evil or unethical behavior.

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This presentation provides an overview of extended joint slabs primarily used on industrial warehouse floors. An overview of the stresses that must be controlled in order to extend joints will be discussed. Two case studies of extended joints will be presented; one of which is the Twin Cities metro area.

Learning Objectives:
1.    Address the reasons why joints are extended.
2.    Explain how shrinkage and thermal stresses have an impact on joint spacing.
3.    Review the families of technology associated with extended joints.
4.    Define joint widening and how this can impact slab performance.

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WJE carried out independent studies related to the 2018 collapse of the FIU Pedestrian Bridge in Miami. Most significantly, WJE developed and tested full-sized specimens to evaluate the significance of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) finding that the construction joint between the northernmost diagonal and deck was left in an as-placed condition, rather than intentionally roughened as required by the project specifications. The webinar also describes WJE’s independent review of shear friction strength in accordance with the AASHTO Code.

The presentation describes the details of the experimental program that demonstrated that, had the construction joint been roughened as required by the project specifications, the collapse would not have occurred. Contrary to NTSB’s findings, the contractor’s failure to roughen the surface was the primary cause of the collapse.

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Green building is the concept of constructing buildings we need today without depleting resources for future generations. In the new world of sustainable building, information about the strength, durability, and indestructible nature of concrete as a resourceful building material is emerging. Amid the teardown-and-replace mentality still pervasive in the world today, concrete stands out defiantly. Try to replace concrete with an alternative building material, and you'll be hard pressed to find a substitute possessing the same thermal qualities, design flexibility, and permanence. This presentation will discuss where we are at as a green industry and the various ‘green” efforts that have been used in concrete production, such as substituting relatively high percentage of cement by fly ash (up to 100%), the use of other natural pozzolans, and development of concrete with recycled or waste materials. The presenter will also discuss where the industry might be headed in the future. Finally, problems in the realization of and potential barriers to green concrete construction are also discussed.

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Concrete is used in nearly every structure we build today, including buildings, bridges, homes and infrastructure. With greater emphasis placed on sustainability, design professionals are faced with the challenge of meeting traditional design criteria with evolving criteria that support green building and efforts to reduce impact on climate change. Performance-based specifications for concrete represent an important synergy with sustainability initiatives because they provide the opportunity to optimize mixtures for performance that can also reduce environmental impacts. Prescriptive specifications often adversely impact the environmental footprint of concrete structures. This presentation outlines how concrete performance can be improved while lowering environmental footprint by implementing performance-based specifications.

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Like any industry, the construction sector is heavily influenced by technology. Even more so in recent years. While materials such as concrete might not conjure images of sci-fi films, lasers and androids, the industry itself has been immeasurably shaped by technological innovations, and this is set to continue. This presentation will discuss current and future technologies that will help automate processes, boost productivity, increases savings, and assist in reducing carbon emissions, all while improving communication and collaboration amongst all construction trading partners. New technologies like in truck concrete monitoring, sustainability trends, fleet tracking, inbound materials management, and other new technologies will be discussed.

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Gary Klein addresses how the strut-and-tie method is implemented for various types of discontinuity regions such as deep beams, corbels, and post-tensioning anchorage zones. Jeremiah Fasl shares an example of how the method was used for design of the crane support beam at Barbours Cut Terminal at the Port of Houston.