The National Precast Concrete Association works for you by monitoring and participating in codes and standards groups that impact the precast industry. Eric Carleton, P.E., NPCA’s director of codes and standards, has spent significant time networking with industry leaders, groups and professionals, and staying in touch with the latest industry innovations at noteworthy codes and standards events.
Eric Carleton, P.E.
Earlier this year, Carleton traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2019 Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting. While there he participated in the meeting as a member of committee AFS40 Subsurface Soil-Structure Interaction and monitored the activities of committees AFF70 Culverts and Hydraulic Structures, AFN20 Properties of Concrete, AFN30 Durability of Concrete, and the AFF00 subcommittee on Accelerated Bridge Construction. Additionally, he attended a workshop on the Federal Highway Administration’s Accelerated Bridge Construction SHRP 2 R04 toolkit. The meeting was well attended by more than 12,000 policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry and academia.
Carleton also traveled to San Diego, Calif., for the Strategic Development Council’s Technology Spring Forum 45. The SDC, an entity of the American Concrete Institute Foundation, conducts two forums per year, at which new technologies are showcased and innovators can request additional project funding from the ACI Foundation.
During the Spring forum, Carleton attended education sessions on topics as:
- Unexpected 100 ksi tensile steel rebar cracking
- Changing the sustainability dialog to include resiliency based on long term use and application of the built environment in an unstable environment
- Methods to better quantify the carbon footprint of construction materials used for sustainability building requirements and EPD applications on the West Coast
- Developing employee safety training using virtual reality methods
Hot discussion topics among attendees included ACI code committee to the 318 Structural Building Code and the code revision cycle process.
NPCA participation in codes and standards events is a way for the association to connect with decision makers and gain insight on industry challenges, trends, innovations and much more.
“Attendance at these forums provides the opportunity for NPCA to network with the leaders and forward thinkers of the concrete industry and for NPCA to be informed of coming trends or technology,” Carleton said.
Looking ahead, NPCA has committed to attend the SDC Fal Technology Forum 46 titled, “Concrete 2029,” which will take place in Pittsburgh, Pa., on August 27-29.
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