I just returned from a week in Chicago where just about every concrete and masonry industry group was represented at combined meetings for the Alliance for Concrete Codes and Standards (ACCS), the Masonry Alliance for Codes and Standards (MACS) and the Concrete And Masonry Related Associations (CAMRA) executive council. These are bodies that I interact with on a regular basis and represent the interests of this organization and industry consistently.

CFA members define leadership in the market through this connection to the higher industry effort and bring further intangible value to their company. This past week in Chicago was direct evidence of the benefit and essential nature of the seat at the table that CFA maintains.

Within the circles of the concrete and masonry industries, the buzz is all about wood. The wood industry is coordinated and single-voice in what it offers to the market despite having as many or even more segments as the concrete and masonry industries combined. This means fewer low-to-mid-rise structures are being built with concrete due to the perceived lower costs and “adequate” engineering for wood systems. It also means that high-rise structures are the next target with lower structure weights and messages of sustainability piquing the interest of developers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Where is the common sense for rebuilding tornado-ravaged sections of the Midwest with concrete shells or schools with virtually indestructible concrete shells? The answer can best be attributed to message.

The first part of this effort has been developed by NRMCA in their new initiative labeled “Build with Strength”. You can Google that or go directly to the .com site with that title (no spaces). The strategic goal at CAMRA includes your opportunity at a grass roots level, participating in labeling and lobbying the real issues.

OSHA’s new silica regulation was another hot topic this past week. While the final ruling has been established, the CAMRA executives are not finished yet. You can read more about the regulatory impact to your business in the article we’ve included in this issue of Concrete Facts. Know that CFA, on your behalf, is part of this effort to find a more appropriate solution for this issue that protects from exposure properly without further handcuffing this industry in the competitive ‘market place’.

I want you to be informed and want you to know you are part of a much bigger effort. You don’t have time to do it yourself but if you have an issue burning, your CFA membership provides a vehicle for it to be heard and acted on. Together we can be vocally dominant, technically superior and strategically effective. That is why we are at the CAMRA table. Are you at the CFA table?