• Caught-In-Action

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

      Challenging the industry to always improve, this photo was captured by a CFA member proud of one of their crews. “This photo shows some of our team members forming and shoring an elevated structural concrete slab,” states Doug Herbert, President of Herbert Construction Co. in Atlanta. “The award-winning project was made possible by the […]

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  • How Would Your Company Benefit From an Expert Talent Attraction Consultant?

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

    By RecruiterGuy – Bill Humbert Running a business is not easy. There are so many moving parts, not the least of which is recruiting (Talent Acquisition or Talent Attraction). Does your business have a line of qualified candidates (Project Managers, Concrete Superintendents, Finish Superintendents, Commercial Drivers, and Laborers) outside your figurative gates desiring to work […]

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  • Gearing Up For Success: Revolutionizing Workplace Culture

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

    In today’s post-pandemic landscape, characterized by an employee-centric and highly competitive market, organizations across the board are grappling with the challenges of attracting and retaining talent. The notion that “Times are changing” might sound cliche, but the reality is undeniable. We are not going back to the “good old days” of 2019. This article will […]

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  • Spring Executive Retreat – Baltimore, Maryland: How to Find a $100,000 Idea

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

    “Wait, say that again,” I asked. My contractor friend explained again what he was doing in his business that was different from what we are doing in ours. I quickly pulled out my phone and punched some numbers into the calculator. I wanted to see how much we could reduce our costs by doing it […]

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  • Laying the Foundation for Safety: The CFA’s Take on OSHA’s Top 10 Violations

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

    I. Introduction Construction and workplace safety are ever-evolving, with the consistent imperative being to adapt and improve. A critical tool in this endeavor is the annual list of the top ten safety violations released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This list does more than just highlight prevalent safety issues—it serves as a […]

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Feature

Jun
10

Robert D. Sawyer Distinguished Service Award: Bruce Neale, Modern Foundations

The Robert D. Sawyer Award, named on behalf of Bob Sawyer, the first executive director of the CFA, is the most prestigious recognition that can be offered to a member of the concrete foundation industry. The award recognizes individuals who give tirelessly of their time and resources to serve the industry. “Bob Sawyer took the […]

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Jun
10

Contractor of the Year: Doggett Concrete Construction

The most frequently awarded recognition from the CFA historically has been the Contractor of the Year award. This recognizes the industry contributions of a poured wall contractor and often shows the great efforts the contractor makes to benefit more than just their company’s location and position—how they work toward the greater goals of the association […]

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Jun
10

Innovative Contractor of the Year: Bulletproof Walls Inc., dba TCB Walls Inc.

An industry with as much history as cast-in-place concrete may appear as if practices and systems are no longer evolving. While new technologies using computers and advanced mechanics or logic are often brought to light, many times the most innovative solutions are initiated by the contractors themselves, tapping their experience and creativity to find a […]

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Jun
10

National Associate of the Year: Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions

National Associate members are the primary supplier and manufacturing members of the association, which can be found in the CFA’s active Products and Services Directory. The Associate of the Year award honors one of the many National Associate members (a company or an individual) for their commitment to supporting and growing the association. Their efforts […]

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Jun
10

Kick-Start Member of the Year: Curtis Cowgill, Nies Foundations

The most valuable part of joining an organization is diving in and finding the networking, interaction, support, and resources beneficial to your company’s goals. In honor of the value of jumping in, the CFA Board of Directors developed a new award in 2015 that honors the intentional exploration of the professional network found in the […]

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Jun
10

Golden Tie Membership Development Award: Western Forms

The award luncheon began with a new award recognition as Jason Ells, who is the CFA president and the executive vice president for Custom Concrete of Westfield, Indiana, stepped up to the microphone. “The Golden Tie Award is something we’ve been developing for a while within the Board of Directors,” he said. “We recognize that […]

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Magazine Issues

Jan
15

Off-Season Employee Retention, Will You Entertain Creative New Ideas?

Let’s face it. Recruiting can be a pain back there… And I am a recruiter!  “Sometimes, I see things differently” is my tagline, and it is how I handle problems, especially those problems surrounding Talent Attraction. Hey! I am lefthanded! My life as a lefty forced me to look at problems differently. Have you attempted […]

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Jun
21

El liderazgo autodefinido proviene de tomar riesgos

English | Translation Provided by the CFA Skye Kelley, Gerente de Participación de la Membresía Una entrevista con Amanda Kurt, finalista de Contratista del Año de 2023 de Equipment World Las mejores asociaciones incluyen una amplia variedad de miembros. Esta diversidad alimenta el pensamiento variado y desafía el crecimiento de la industria. Sin embargo, en […]

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Jun
21

Self-Defining Leadership Comes From Risk Taking

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA Skye Kelley, Manager of Membership Engagement An Interview with Amanda Kurt, finalist for Equipment World’s 2023 Contractor of the Year The best associations are filled with a diverse array of members. Such diversity powers expansive thought and challenges industry growth. At the surface of the concrete industry, though, […]

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Jun
21

Conseguir Involucrado

English | Translation Provided by the CFA ¡Me encanta “jugar en prototipo”! Aunque algunas personas necesitan un plan meticulosamente organizado antes de comenzar, yo a menudo opto por empezar y aprender a medida que avanzo. Es por eso que me emocionó tanto ser parte del primer Retiro de Ejecutivos de la CFA. Nuestro Director Ejecutivo, […]

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Jun
21

Get Involved

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA I love “playing in prototype”! While some individuals require a meticulously crafted plan before getting started, I often choose to dive in and learn as we go. That’s why I was so excited to be part of the first CFA Executive Retreat. Our Executive Director, James Baty worked […]

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Jun
21

Palabras de inspiración

English | Translation Provided by the CFA Esta edición se publicó al final del Q2 2023. Esta carta, en muchos sentidos, fue difícil de escribir para mí. El clima invernal prolongado pareció transformarse en mayo en un instante. De igual manera, el mercado revirtió el reposo radical que se produjo en septiembre del año pasado […]

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Jun
21

Words of Aspiration

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA This issue comes to you at the end of Q2 2023. In many ways, it is hard for me to write this. The lingering winter weather seemed to transform into May in an instant. Likewise, the market reversed the radical break that was induced last September, and companies […]

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Jun
21

NEx and the CFA Partner to Advance the Use of Nonmetallic Building Materials in Concrete Foundations

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA Farmington Hills, MI – NEx, an ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials, is excited to announce a new partnership with the Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) aimed at advancing the use of nonmetallic building materials in concrete foundations. NEx is a leading research center focused on the […]

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Jun
21

Lanzamiento de la iniciativa Carbon Zero Youth Initiative para motivar a los jóvenes a apoyar las prácticas de construcción ecológicas

English | Translation Provided by the CFA Los jóvenes pueden ayudar a hacer construcciones más conscientes de las emisiones de carbono, si saben qué –y quién– hace que un edificio sea “ecológico”. Esa es la idea fundamental detrás de la Carbon Zero Youth Initiative [Iniciativa de una juventud con cero emisiones de carbono] (www.carbonzeroyouth.org) fundada […]

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Jun
21

Carbon Zero Youth Initiative Launches to Empower Youth to Support Green Building Practices

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA Youth can help make buildings more carbon-conscious–if they know what – and who – makes a building “green”. That’s the core idea behind the Carbon Zero Youth Initiative (www.carbonzeroyouth.org), founded to engage students ages 12-18 in the rapidly growing movement to decarbonize the built environment. While currently responsible […]

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Jun
21

Concrete Foundations Association Announces Partnership With Informa Markets at WOC 2023 for Inaugural Wall Foreman Qualification Certificate 

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA Mount Vernon, IA – Concrete Foundations Association is excited to announce that sixteen individuals received recognition in the first year of a new industry professional development program titled “Wall Foreman Qualification Certificate.” This newly established education effort pairs management skills with technical development education to fill a void […]

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Jun
21

Out of Plumb may not Mean Damaged and Unsafe

Español | Translation Provided by the CFA Question: The foundation for my new home has one wall showing two vertical cracks and the top of the wall is not even with the base of the wall. I’m concerned the backfilling has pushed the wall in and the building inspector wants an engineer to certify the […]

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