Notes from TAC
TAC News
The following is a summary of TAC actions/discussions from the Novi 2011 summer meeting.
Meetings
Scheduling Committee Meetings for the ACI Fall Convention in Cincinnati
Don't forget to pre-register for the ACI Fall 2011 Convention in Cincinnati. Pre-registration rates are available until September 18, 2011. Online registration closes on October 3, 2011. Reduced sleeping room rates at the Millennium Hotel are available until September 14, 2011. To complete the online reservation form or for more information on the hotel and reduced rates, please visit http://www.aciconvention.org.Virtual Meetings
To hold an official virtual meeting the chair must submit a request to Dan Falconer, Managing Director of Engineering at least two weeks before the scheduled meeting. The request must include a reason, proposed agenda, number of participants, and the requested meeting time and duration. ACI staff will advertise the meeting to the committee membership, but does not provide the conferencing system, staff support during the virtual meeting, or pay for the conferencing system. A virtual meeting cannot replace a convention meeting.Documents
Approvals
TAC approved nine documents at their summer meeting. Congratulations to Committees 122, 232, 330, 372, 437, 440, 506, 522, and 550! Remember that if your committee is starting work on a new document, you need to get approval from TAC by first contacting Shannon Banchero.Deadlines
To submit documents for TAC review, please use the document submission checklist and keep these deadlines in mind:
For review at the 2012 spring convention: December 16, 2011
For review at the 2012 summer TAC meeting: April 10, 2012.New Business
When responding to a TAC review comment identified as “S” or to public comments, committees may choose to take the item up as new business. To help the committees remember these items, a “New Business” folder will be placed on each committee web page under the “Committee Member Work Area.”Definitions in ACI Documents
When revising reports and guides, or writing new ones, committees should refer to the online ACI Concrete Terminology for common definitions, and define only terms of specific interest within the report or guide.Committee News
New Committee on Ultra-High Performance Concrete
TAC approved the formation of a new committee, ACI 239, Ultra-High Performance Concrete. The committee's mission is “develop and report information on Ultra-High Performance Concrete.” The committee's first meeting will be held at the 2011 fall convention in Cincinnati.Committee 117 Mission Change
The mission of Committee 117 has changed to “collect, coordinate, and report information on the tolerances for concrete construction through liaison with other ACI committees.”Posting Profile Picture on the Web
In this age of online meetings, conference calls and websites it is sometimes difficult to put a face with a name. Posting your profile picture is easy. Just log onto the ACI website and select My Profile from the left hand side menu. Click on the Profile Picture button and then browse for your photo on your computer. When you have selected the photo you want click on the Upload & Edit button. The system will automatically re-size the picture for you and you can use the tools on that page to crop or adjust the final image. When you are done click on the Submit button. If you have any questions or technical difficulties with the process please contact ACI technical support at 248-848-3767.Project Maintenance on the Web
To better track your committee's projects, a Project Maintenance feature has been added to each committee's Web page in the committee member work area.The Project Maintenance is visible to each member of a committee; however, only a committee officer can edit/update the fields through the Chair/Officer Work Area.
You can find step-by-step instructions by visiting the Committee Assistance online at http://www.concrete.org/COMMITTEES/Committee%20Help/!SSL!/FlashHelp/ACI_Committee_Web_Help.htm.
Click on the folder titled “Using Committee Work Areas” and then “Project Maintenance.” This will also give you step-by-step instructions for navigating the new feature.Funding Available
ACI's Concrete Research Council, a council of the ACI Foundation, reviews research projects and can supply research seed money in the amount of $10,000 - 20,000. CRC can also assist in securing additional research money through funding organizations that partner with the ACI Foundation. For more information about options available through CRC, visit www.ConcreteResearchCouncil.org.Breakfast Meeting for Chairs
Please plan to attend the breakfast meeting for technical chairs on Monday, October 17, from 6:30 to 8:15 am. It's a great opportunity to learn about new developments important to ACI committees, meet with fellow chairs, TAC members, other ACI leaders, and ACI staff. Due to space limitations, secretaries and subcommittee chairs should not attend unless substituting for the committee chair.TAC Minutes
Items from the open section of the TAC minutes that affect your committee are listed next to the committee number in the TAC minutes committee task list. The items appearing under “All” at the top of the list also require your attention. Please review relevant TAC actions and convey the information to your committee members as appropriate.