The World of Concrete, the leading global concrete and masonry industry connector, has launched a brand-new award program, dedicated to recognizing and showcasing the most innovative and forward-thinking equipment, materials, tools and services available in the concrete and masonry markets. The Innovative Product Awards, powered by World of Concrete, will feature many items on exhibit during the 2023 World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Jan. 17-19.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week at Roanoke Cement Company’s Chesapeake Terminal near Norfolk, Virginia. Council members, other state and local officials, and RCC team members gathered to launch a new $40 million storage dome. In response to increasing demand for low carbon cement, the storage dome at the terminal will provide an additional 70,000 tons of capacity, tripling the existing storage.

The construction industry added only 1,000 employees in October while it continued to boost wages for hourly workers, as firms compete to hire from a small labor pool, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the small increase in construction employment is an indication of how hard it has become for construction firms to find qualified workers to hire.

On Nov. 3, the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance submitted comments in support of the Department of Labor’s proposed independent contractor rule that would rescind the prior Administration’s rule that made it easier to classify employees in the construction industry and across the economy as independent contractors. The proposed rule replaces this regulation with a well-understood standard ground in 60 years of judicial precedents that SWACCA urged the Labor Department to adopt because it is easier to apply and will make it harder for employers to claim their workers are independent contractors.

The National Labor Relations Board released a proposed rule to rescind and replace the Trump-era Board’s April 1, 2020, final rule revising election procedures under the NLRA. Specifically, Nov. 3’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has three parts, each rescinding a corresponding portion of the NLRB’s April 2020 final rule.

Topcon Positioning Systems has committed to making two significant donations to TU Dublin, Ireland’s first technological university, which will enhance students’ experience with education on the latest digital construction methods. The announcement marks another step in the longstanding relationship between the two organizations.

CertainTeed is proud to announce that UL Solutions, the global leader in safety science, has awarded its highly acclaimed fire resistance certification for column assembly application to three NO-COAT drywall corner products: NO-COAT PRO Corner, NO-COAT Outside 90 and NO-COAT Flexible Corner 450 – marking the first-ever non-metal corner technology in the industry to earn the trusted rating.

NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials is pleased to welcome ICC Evaluation Service as a new Allied Organization. NEx has signed a MOU with ICC Evaluation Service to create a partnership in advancing the use of nonmetallic building materials.

The National Institute of Building Sciences Building Information Management Council is planning the upcoming release of COBie 3.0 as an update to the Construction to Operations Building information exchange (COBie 2.4) Specification. COBie 3.0 also will be published as an integral part of the upcoming version 4.0 of the National BIM Standard – United States.

Beacon announced on Nov. 2 that it has opened greenfield locations in Indianapolis and Burnsville, Minnesota. The branches expand Beacon OTC network service in the Indianapolis and Minneapolis-St Paul markets.