Webinar Archives

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Concrete is a durable, resilient material that can provide many benefits to efficient, sustainable structures in the long term. While concrete does have an upfront CO2 impact, the industry is working to reduce GHG emissions and increase the efficiency of its products. This presentation will discuss technical innovations to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete and examine current process improvements that are pushing the industry forward to a more sustainable future.

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Concrete is the foundation for everything we build. Concrete is an integral part of homes, businesses, schools, offices, churches, roads, and bridges. The concrete industry is in need of people who aren't afraid of hard work. A career in the concrete industry not only pays well but gives individuals the chance to build something that will stand the test of time. Right now, there is a growing need for concrete contractors, equipment operators, ready mix concrete truck drivers and quality control personnel. #ConcreteTough is a Nebraska based workforce recruitment campaign that exposes youth to the concrete construction industry. This message is communicated through participating in various career fairs, concrete 101 programs, and presented to numerous schools on the different careers the concrete Industry offers. Attendees will learn ways that they can incorporate concrete career awareness into their own workforce recruitment efforts.

A short overview of the new Concrete Industry Management degree at South Dakota State University will also be included with this webinar.

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This presentation will focus on alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete.  A brief background of the reaction mechanisms and ways to prevent the reaction will be covered.  The reliability of standard test methods, within the context of current standards (ASTM C1778 and AASHTO R80) will be highlighted. In addition, several current research projects and international efforts in the area will be highlighted. 

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The tilt-up industry remains characterized as a budding or growing delivery method for new construction.  This dominant method of design and construction has a rich history of more than a century of influence and nearly fifty years of dramatic growth and unmatched solutions.  This presentation will move through the concepts of the traditional tilt-up building and address the principle design requirements and challenges faced. The presenter will be James R. Baty II, F.ACI, F.TCA (Tilt Up Concrete Association).

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 South Dakota Ready Mix Association, and the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association. 

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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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With increasing discussion about the need to control global warming, engineers are starting to pay attention to how they can reduce the environmental impact of their work. This presentation will review what actions have been taken in recent years to reduce carbon footprint in concrete construction, as well as offer some thoughts on what actions can be taken today, and dream a little about the future.

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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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Concrete is unique among building materials. Its formulation is highly influenced by its application. Design professionals and contractors have a greater influence on concrete formulation than they do with other building products. Concrete can be made stronger, lighter, more flowable, stiffer, less permeable, and even weaker depending on performance needs. No other building material is that versatile. This presentation will discuss how design and construction teams can implement ten simple strategies to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint today. The recommendations are listed broadly in order of priority, but not in order of impact reduction. All are important and should be implemented. In addition, the strategies are meant to achieve a lower carbon footprint without impacting other desired performance capabilities for the concrete.

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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.