Webinar Archives

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This presentation will discuss materials being developed for the concrete industry that will lower the embodied carbon of a yard of concrete.  Some materials are ready to use and do not require additional support or alteration of how we produce, place, and finish concrete.  Others will require new approaches, new specification, and new understanding of chemistry. 

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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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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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 detail the progress made and highlight the features of the industry that evidence why it is an ideal platform for specialists in design and construction, returning craftsmanship to the mindset of today’s contractor. 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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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. When looking at the environmental impact of a building, it is important to assess every stage of the environmental life cycle, from material extraction and product manufacturing to building operations and maintenance through to end-of-life. Concrete offers many environmental attributes that help reduce the overall environmental life cycle impacts of a building. This learning session explores how life cycle assessment can be used to measure and lower the environmental impacts of concrete buildings.

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Concrete provides structures with strength, rigidity, and resilience from deformation. These characteristics, however, result in concrete structures lacking the flexibility to move in response to environmental or volume changes. Cracking is usually the first sign of distress in concrete. Cracking of concrete flatwork is natural, expected, and accepted. However, cracks may affect appearance, performance, and maintenance costs. This presentation will discuss the various types of concrete cracks and how to best minimize their occurrence.

Learning Objectives:
1.    Understand the different types of cracking in concrete.
2.    Understand what causes concrete to crack.
3.    Understand how to evaluate the difference between structural cracks and cosmetic cracks
4.    At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will know how to minimize concrete cracks.

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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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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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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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This presentation will include an overview of the American Society of Concrete Contractors award winning decorative concrete projects across all the major product categories highlighting how concrete can be strong and beautiful. Using the award-winning projects as examples, the presenter will illustrate how various types of concrete materials and finishes can be used across a wide scope of projects. The presenter will explain unique ways in which decorative concrete can be used to enhance projects – providing increased value and aesthetic appeal.

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This presentation reviews strength and serviceability problems in concrete parking structures. The effects of environmental exposure, vehicular loading, and deterioration will be discussed with an emphasis on key differences between buildings, parking structures, and bridges. Case histories will be provided to illustrate common problems, failures, and remediation methods. Precast concrete and cast-in-place systems will be discussed, including problems that occurred during construction. The presentation will include examples of changes that have occurred in the industry to enhance safety and long-term performance.