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This is an exciting time in  the masonry industry. Joel Arthur Barker writes in  Paradigms, the Business of Discovering the Future,  "Don't wait for the trends to develop.  Instead, watch for people messing with the  rules that is the earliest sign of significant  change."

 The construction industry is  definitely messing with the rules - every segment. New  products. New processes. And a new look on masonry.

 Are you ready for the  paradigm shift to load-bearing masonry? Simple  foundations provide the dual function of supporting  uniform gravity loads while resisting lateral loads.  With the price of steel spiraling, delayed availability  and the threat of a potential iron-ore strike looming,  count on load-bearing masonry to go up quickly and cost  effectively with  a myriad of additional benefits.

 As more reinforced masonry is  being designed, the industry responds with more  efficient methods of grouting. Code changes include  grout demonstration panels. Upcoming code changes  include higher (12 ft.-8-in.) grout lifts. Research on  self consolidating grout continues, and now extended-set  grout emerges, a new product for efficiency and  profitability.

 After 9/11, the American  Society of Civil Engineers spent two years defining the  Body of Knowledge to be taught for the 21st Century, prescribing a  substantially greater depth and breadth of knowledge,  skills and attitudes.

 In neighboring  Michigan,state-of-the-art facilities have been  completed at both Ferris State University and Oakland  Community College. At Ferris, the Granger Center for  Construction Management is truly a structural  observatory with a variety of masonry assemblies  exposed as well as interfacing with other building  systems demonstrating its versatility. The Fire  Training Building at Oakland is part of a 15-building  emergency services training complex, the first of its  kind in the country. Built of masonry, it will  ultimately survive up to 5,000 fires, extreme  temperature differentials, voluminous water coverage,  steam, condensation and abuse from fire-fighting  equipment.

 The story of the Three Little  Pigs perhaps should be amended to include one more  scenario, that of fire resistance, so everyone can  learn at a very young age that masonry not only stands  up to the big bad wolf huffing and puffing but also to  fire. Fire kills more Americans than all natural  disasters combined. When will we learn? After  experiencing devastating fires, cities vow to  reconstruct with noncombustible masonry. And yet,  buildings continue to be constructed with less  expensive alternatives that burn.