LEARNING CENTER 2026 ON-DEMAND
Concrete Innovations Learning Center On-demand provides recordings and downloads for previously aired Learning Sessions on the latest innovations for sustainable concrete design, construction and manufacturing. Select a year for on-demand learning sessions:
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Each session of the Concrete Innovations Learning Center offers AIA Continuing Education and Professional Development Hours. Complete the form provided for each session to receive credits.
SESSION 40: JULY 15, 2026 | WHAT'S NEW IN CEMENT STANDARDS FOR 2026
CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
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What's New in Cement Standards for 2026 | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION | DOWNLOAD RESOURCES
The cement and concrete industries continue to advance initiatives that improve the sustainability and resilience of concrete construction. Ongoing updates to cement standards can support those goals, such as the recently approved revisions to blended cement standards regarding changes to compositional requirements, including the introduction of a new cement type. Concrete producers, users, and specifiers who stay informed of the most recent technical requirements contained in cement standards will be well positioned to produce concretes with appropriate fresh and hardened properties and will be better able to evaluate current practices to determine if, when, and how to adjust those practices for optimum results.
Topics covered:
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Evolution of US cement standards
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Overview of cement standards C150/M 85, C595/M 240, C1157
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Review of cement types, including the new Type IC
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Naming practice Type XX((A)(B) and transparency
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Comparison of general requirements of cement types
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Comparison of special property requirements of cement types
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Standards changes coming to C595 and M240 in August
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Details of the new requirements and rationale
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USGS blended cement share
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DOT acceptance maps
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Best practices for introducing new cements, including blended cements
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SCM (and blended cements) influence on fresh and hardened concrete properties
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Producer data and recommended concrete tests and test placements
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NRMCA and ACA resources
Presented by:
James (Jamie) Farny, ACA Director, Environmental Measurement and Metrics
Paul Tennis, Ph.D., FACI, FASTM, ACA Senior Director, Research & Product Standards
BCMI and the Superworkforce, Part 2: Agent XBE Across the Full Operation
Description: In Part 1, we showed how All-22 turns dispatch into a simulation-driven discipline -- optimizing the full field, generating tickets, and opening the door to autonomous execution. This session picks up where that left off. Agent XBE doesn't stop at the batch queue. It works across BCMI's entire operational and commercial surface -- answering dispatch questions, investigating tickets and orders, supporting customer changes, surfacing quoting and CRM context, generating reports, and executing multi-step workflows that used to require a person clicking through screens. We'll walk through what it actually looks like when an AI superworkforce monitors your operation continuously, spots delivery risk and cycle-time drift before anyone has to ask, and takes action on the same workflows your team uses every day. This isn't a chatbot bolted onto a dashboard. It's a superworkforce that grows out of the system your dispatchers already trust.
Presented by:
Chris Wurtz, Division President at XBE
SESSION 41: AUGUST 19, 2026 | THE NEW CONCRETE PCR, INDUSTRY-WIDE EPD AND BENCHMARK REPORT
CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
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The New Concrete PCR, Industry-Wide EPD and Benchmark Report | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION (Coming Soon)
Sustainable ready-mixed concrete design is a rapidly evolving field. The NRMCA industry average environmental product declaration (EPD) for concrete has demonstrated an estimated 21% decrease in industry carbon emissions, measured in Global Warming Potential (GWP), from 2014 to 2021. It is essential for industry standards to be updated frequently to keep pace with the changing field of sustainable ready-mixed concrete.
NSF International recently published the revised Product Category Rule (PCR) standard for ready mixed concrete with key updates that will affect how ready-mixed concrete producers report data to create EPDs.
NRMCA is also publishing its fourth version of the Industry Average EPD and Benchmark Report, which it has maintained since 2013. This report will conform with the new concrete PCR and estimates the environmental impacts of ready-mixed concrete across a large range of compressive strengths and ratios of cement replacement by supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Version 4.0 is based on an entirely new survey of the industry, with data contributed by over 1,000 ready-mixed concrete plants, more than double the size of previous versions.
The Regional Benchmark Report is a companion document which uses the same survey data to estimate the impact of the “average” concrete mix based on survey data, for both national and multi-state regional scopes. This assists specifiers and policy makers with setting realistic, achievable benchmarks for low-carbon concrete that still drive innovation and best sustainable practices.
This session will provide an overview of the new concrete PCR, industry-wide EPD and regional benchmark report outlining key updates and their anticipated impact on industry.
Learning Objectives:
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Review the history of the concrete product category rule (PCR) and Industry Average environmental product declaration (EPD) for concrete.
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Understand the concrete PCR version 3.0 and its effects on EPDs for concrete.
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Discuss the expanded range of concrete products in the Industry Average EPD version 4.0.
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Review changes in national and regional global warming potential (GWP) benchmarks and their causes.
Presented by:
Tiffany Reed-Villarreal, P.E., Director Sustainability Codes and Standards, NRMCA
James Salazar, Sustainability Director, WAP Sustainability Consulting
Product Spotlight - Command Alkon | BEYOND THE MIX DESIGN: ACHIEVING LOWER CARBON CONCRETE THROUGH DIGITAL WORKFLOWS | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
The concrete industry is making significant progress in designing and measuring lower-carbon concrete. But an important question remains:
Once we've designed and measured lower-carbon concrete, how do we consistently deliver it?
Success depends on more than the mix itself. It requires the ability to produce, manage, and deliver concrete with greater consistency, less waste, and better visibility across operations. This session explores how digital technologies help ready mix producers improve process control, reduce variability, optimize resources, and connect critical operational data to support both sustainability and business performance goals.
Presented by:
Todd Koch, SVP Plant Automation Solutions, Command Alkon
Jay Shilstone, Quality Control Expert & Product Owner, Command Alkon
Product Spotlight - Climate Earth | COCNRETE EPDs - A PRACTICAL FOCUS | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
This presentation will focus on what concrete producers should do next, how they can prepare their EPD workflows, and how Climate Earth is adapting their platform to support producers through the PCR transition.
Presented by:
Hossein Tavakoli, Global Director of EPD & LCA Services, Climate Earth
SESSION 39: JUNE 17, 2026 | CONCRETE OPTIMIZATION WITH AI
CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
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Using BOxCrete to Optimize Concrete Mixtures with AI: From Open-Source Models to Data-Center Deployment | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Dr. Nishant Garg, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Modern concrete must meet rising demands for strength, workability, durability, and sustainability, making mix optimization increasingly complex. Herein, AI models can be useful; however, they rely largely on proprietary industrial datasets and closed-source algorithms. This webinar presents BOxCrete - an open-source AI model developed jointly by Meta, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Amrize. It is trained on an open-access dataset containing 500+ strength measurements from 123 mortar and concrete mixes tested at five ages (1, 3, 5, 14, & 28 days) using materials sourced from a specific Minnesota data center project. Using Gaussian Process Regression and Bayesian Optimization, the model accurately forecasted strength development (R² = 0.94, RMSE = 0.69 ksi) while quantifying uncertainty. It also generated mixes with higher early strength and lower-CO₂ that were successfully deployed in floor slabs of Meta’s data center scheduled to open in 2026. Unlike many proprietary systems, this openly shared model + dataset gives concrete producers a free tool for strength prediction and mix optimization.
Achieving Color Consistency in Concrete | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Christopher Roumie, Market Development Manager, Chryso North America
This presentation provides a practical overview of pigments for concrete, examining how pigment chemistry, particle form, dosage rates, and dispersion methods impact color uniformity, performance, and long-term durability. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of industry standards such as ASTM C979, along with best practices for using integral pigments in ready-mix, precast, and architectural concrete applications. The session also addresses common causes of color variation and how producers can achieve consistent, repeatable results across placements.
SESSION 38: MAY 20, 2026 | RESILIENCE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE
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ResilieNomics and Why Building Resilience Index will Change How we Build, Finance & Insure | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Aris Papadopoulos, Founding Chair, Resilience Action Fund
The presentation will examine ResilieNomics and the International Finance Corp (IFC) Building Resilience Index (BRI), and discuss its current launch in developing countries and future use in the US. Discussion will include an analysis of how the index will advance above-code construction by increasing resilience transparency and aligning finance and insurance, how it will increase the use of resilient construction materials and methods, and what opportunities exist for building professionals to become BRI Assessors and Verifiers.
Resilient Design Collaborative | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Steve Sunderman, President, Terrazia PC
Good project design is not just about creating beautiful buildings that meet code - it is about keeping businesses and communities functioning when hazards strike. Business and communities cannot achieve long-term sustainability if they are not also resilient. This presentation will provide insights into how disaster risk reduction supports operational continuity, examples of design strategies that reduce the risk of disasters and improve business outcomes, as well as strategies for planning and creating disaster resilient projects and sustainable communities.
BCMI and the Superworkforce: From Dispatch Tool to Autonomous Execution
Joe Carlson, Sales Executive XBE
Ready-mix dispatch has always been the highest-leverage decision point in the operation — and the most dependent on a single person's experience. In this session, Joe Carlson walks through how XBE's BCMI works as a system of action for ready-mix concrete, connecting dispatch, production, delivery, sales, and customer experience in one platform, and how the superworkforce capabilities recently launched within All-22 are turning dispatch plans into dispatch execution without manual intervention. All-22 simulates the full field and optimizes against the producer's own priorities — and its auto-ticketing capability autonomously creates tickets, assigns trucks, and closes deliveries based on the plan and real-time batch panel and fleet tracking signals, eliminating the manual ticket lifecycle that consumed dispatcher and plant operator time. Joe will also cover how Agent XBE extends the superworkforce further, answering operational questions, generating reports, and taking proactive action across the full breadth of BCMI's data — shifting the dispatcher's role from pulling every lever to strategic planning and exception handling.
SESSION 37: APRIL 15, 2026 | CONCRETE MATERIAL AGENCY
CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE (Coming Soon)
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Beyond Decarbonization: Concrete Material Agency and Multi-functionality
This presentation examines the evolution of sustainable design in the built environment—from operational carbon reduction to embodied carbon assessment and regenerative design. Participants will explore the concept of material agency, where building materials actively influence environmental performance, resilience, and long-term outcomes. Using case studies and emerging research, the course demonstrates how materials such as concrete can function as dynamic systems—contributing to energy performance, carbon reduction, durability, and lifecycle resilience. The session also introduces the role of structured data and digital tools (e.g., BIM, classification systems, and AI-enabled workflows) in supporting informed material selection and performance optimization. Participants will gain practical strategies to integrate low-carbon materials, circular economy principles, and regenerative design approaches into architectural practice to improve health, safety, and welfare outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
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Describe the progression of sustainability frameworks from operational carbon (e.g., AIA 2030) to embodied carbon and regenerative design, and explain their impact on building performance and occupant well-being.
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Evaluate the role of material selection in reducing embodied carbon, including the use of performance-based specifications and lifecycle assessment strategies.
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Analyze how material properties influence building health, safety, and durability, including thermal performance, fire resistance, moisture control, and long-term resilience.
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Apply principles of regenerative design and circular economy, including material reuse, urban mining, and design for disassembly, to improve environmental and community outcomes.
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Explain how digital tools and structured data systems (e.g., BIM, MasterFormat®, UniFormat®, OmniClass®) support better decision-making, coordination, and lifecycle performance tracking.
Presented by:
Frank Mruk FAIA, CSI, RIBA, Senior Director, Building Innovations, NRMCA | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Dr. Hessam AzariJafari, Research Scientist and Executive Director of the MIT Electron-Conducting Carbon-Cement-Based Materials Hub (ec^3-hub) | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION