TCA Announces Two Speakers for Annual Convention
TCA has announced two speakers for its fourth annual Convention to be held Oct. 1-4 in Phoenix, Ariz. Julie Buffenbarger, LEED AP, will be speaking on sustainability. An engineering and architectural sales specialist for Lafarge Cement, Buffenbarger will discuss how the practice of sustainable design involves the careful selection of building materials, design details and construction methods to create structures that require fewer natural resources to build and maintain today. The presentation covers sustainable design history, sustainable design specifications, how Tilt-Up materials contribute to U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification, LEED documentation and calculations as well as positioning Tilt-Up materials in sustainable building certifications.
In addition to Buffenbarger, Ed Javanbakht, P.E. with Dayton Superior will be speaking on “How to Plan a Successful Tilt-Up Project.” In his session, attendees will learn how to figure the brace lengths, if there is enough building slab for all the Tilt-Up walls if you are setting from the inside, and explain how to figure the weight of the Tilt-Up walls accurately on bid day. Time spent planning for the lift day will minimize time wasted during the erection operation and ensure a smooth lift. Oversights and errors during lifting and bracing can add significantly to the cost of the project. Planning, experience and training will make the difference between a smooth lifting operation and one that is riddled with problems adding to the lifting time.
To be held at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix, the convention is the premium gathering of the Tilt-Up industry each year with a multi-discipline approach to education and networking. Jim Baty, technical director of the TCA, said the Tilt-Up Convention will feature two concurrent educational tracks that focus on the construction and design aspects of these great projects. In addition, this year’s Convention will once again offer an expansive tradeshow of the latest product technologies, a golf outing, and back by popular demand, a bus tour of area buildings. The TCA Convention will also feature a gallery of entries to the 2008 TCA/PCA student design competition and the 2008 TCA Safety Awards. In addition to the split tracks detailing the accomplishments on challenging projects, general session seminars will be offered for Tilt-Up certification, intro to Tilt-Up engineering, sustainability in the concrete industry and immigration laws revisited.