RESEARCH

The COVID pandemic has added a new urgency to an already existing complex labor market to recruit and retain workers. This presentation will report and then extend the results from a recently completed Local Rural Roads Board and MnDOT study that explored and examined possible causes and organizational response strategies of the workforce shortage in Minnesota’s transportation industry. Data from other recent research as well as current and emerging trends on human resource planning and practice will be presented. Discussion will focus on appropriate human resource and workforce planning from strategic, financially sustainable, and developmental approaches will be highlighted.

The presenter will be Dr. Ken Bartlett, PhD (University of Minnesota).

Everywhere you look, the interest in sustainability is strong. This presentation will review how cement and concrete continue to evolve a year after the release of Portland Cement Association’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. Many cement producers have announced a shift toward production of portland-limestone cement, or PLC, to reduce their own carbon footprint; many designers have embraced its use. We’ll highlight some recent examples of PLC projects and look at how lower carbon cement fits into the broader efforts of the construction industry to chip away at the environmental footprint associated with creating resilient infrastructure. After this program, participants will have increased knowledge on achieving more sustainable concrete as they understand how to use PLC and other emerging technology and how to quantify impacts associated with them.

The presenter will be Jamie Farny (Portland Cement Association)

This webinar is the first of five webinars in the 2023 Sustainable Structures Webinar Series

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 (Manager for Regulatory and Technical Affairs, Tilt-Up Concrete Association)