By: Jim Rogers

This year’s Fall ACI Convention will be held October 20th – 24th, 2013, at the Phoenix Convention Center and Hyatt Regency in Phoenix, Arizona. The ACI Conventions, held twice a year, attracts more than 1,500 attendees who come to participate in committee activities, attend educational sessions and network with their colleagues and peers. The networking and educational opportunities at these conventions are numerous. Registered attendees can attend any of more than 50 educational seminars, dozens of committee meetings and multiple networking events. In addition, there is an exhibit hall filled with the latest products and services for the concrete industry. The exhibit hall also plays host to the student concrete competitions where university students will compete this year in two events: the pervious concrete competition and the art of concrete.

As part of the Fall ACI Convention this year, the Arizona ACI Chapter will host Contractor’s Day on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013. Contractor’s Day is integrated with the overall convention, but activities and sessions are added to appeal to the construction community. This year, we have included the following sessions in the Contractor’s Day track:

Help! I am Being Sued – a presentation and discussion panel on what to do (and what not to do) when you get that inevitable notice of a pending law suit.
Lean Construction Principles – What exactly is Lean Construction, and how does it affect scheduling at the concrete contractor level?
Key Note Lunch Speaker – Attend lunch and hear from Ken Atha, OSHA Region 9 Director, on the latest OSHA initiatives and activities. He will also provide a look into the future of OSHA enforcement.
Economic Forecast – What does the future hold? Join us at this session where Ed Sullivan, Chief Economist for the Portland Cement Association, will discuss the future for construction and concrete consumption

End the day’s activities with the year’s premier networking event, The Concrete Mixer. This event will be held just a couple blocks away at the Arizona Science Center. The unique architectural concrete and design of the Science Center provides the perfect venue to house the evening’s activities. Join contractors, designers, suppliers, owners and others for an evening of networking as you walk through the unique exhibits on display and reserved exclusively for the ACI Convention attendees.

Attendees have two options for registration. Coming for the week? Go to www.concrete.org and register on-line as a convention attendee. Your registration will get you into all of the week’s events, sessions and activities, but make sure to add on the contractor’s day lunch, which requires a separate fee. Only able to come for a day? Go to www.azaci.org and download a special Contractor’s Day registration form, with a discount code and instructions on registering for the day at the reduced rate of only $99. This one-day pass will allow you to attend all of the events and sessions on Contractor’s Day, including the lunch and the mixer. Either way, we look forward to seeing you there on October 22nd.

Specific to the tilt-up industry, the Arizona ACI Chapter will also be hosting a tilt-up certification exam opportunity.  This event will take place the Wednesday and Thursday following Contractor’s Day.  Ed Sauter, Executive Director for the Tilt-Up Concrete Association will be present the afternoon of Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013 to offer a preparatory seminar for the ACI/TCA Tilt-Up Technician/Supervisor Certification.  There will also be a Spanish version of the preparatory seminar offered at the same time. Both of these will be conducted from 1-4:00 pm.  On Thursday, October 24th, 2013, Jim Rogers from the Arizona ACI Chapter will host the exam from 8-10:00 am.  This additional opportunity offers contractors regionally and those that may be involved in ACI Committee week a chance to renew or establish their participation in this significant industry program.  Registration for the certification is available at www.azaci.org/certification. Make sure you select either the English or the Spanish option.

Jim Rogers is the Director of the Western OSHA Education Center at Arizona State University and is the Chairman of the Contractor’s Day Committee in charge of organizing the Contractor’s Day events for the Fall ACI Convention. Mr. Rogers has been an active member of ACI for many years and has served on several ACI committees including 423 Prestressed Concrete and 332 Residential Concrete. He is also the Chairman of the Arizona Chapter’s Certification Committee and oversees ACI certification activities in Arizona. His center at ASU provides continuing education to industry in the area of occupational safety and health and OSHA standards.