BENEFITS OF QUALITY-SPECIFIED CONCRETE BEING RECOGNISED

Years of effort by the Southern Africa Readymix
Association (Sarma) to spread awareness about the importance of
quality-specified concrete are finally bearing fruit, as it is starting to
reach local-government level, says Sarma director Johan van Wyk.

Van Wyk stepped down as Sarma director at the end
of July and is replaced by Hanlie
Turner. Van Wyk will still, however, be involved with the association
and the industry. 

Collaborating with parastatals, such as State-owned
freight utility Transnet, State-owned
power utility Eskom and road network
parastatal the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral),
are also reaping awards, as such entities are requesting specifications for
certain qualities of concrete to be used in significant infrastructure
projects, and they want to work with Sarma-accredited ready-mix companies, Van
Wyk says.

He emphasises quality concrete means that the
concrete is appropriate for its chosen application and of high quality in terms
of the materials used; however, the benefits of quality-concrete products are
negated if applied incorrectly.

He states that, after collaboration with entities
such as Sanral, parastatals have started to specify quality concrete products
and communicate more with institutions such as The Concrete Institute (TCI).

Thus there will be opportunities for ready-mix
companies to become involved in large infrastructure projects that are reaching
the tender stage, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.

A prevalent challenge with large projects, however,
is that the period which begins once a tender is awarded and ends when a
ready-mix company receives payment for work completed on a project tends to be
long.

“Companies have to survive for that time period
until the funds come in. Meanwhile, companies have to look for smaller jobs,
whether it’s local or international work, until government comes good on its
promises of infrastructure projects,” Van Wyk explains.

Readymix Training

Van Wyk reiterates that Sarma’s unchanging goals
are to promote quality readymix and use legally compliant plant facilities.

To promote quality ready-mix concrete, Sarma is
doing several ready-mix workshops and presenting the SCT 15: Concrete for plant
operators courses in partnership with the TCI for Sarma members and
non-members.

The SCT 15 courses will be aimed at batchers and
batch plant staff of ready-mix concrete, covering vital topics associated with
concrete education and theory to produce quality ready-mix concrete.

Workshops and courses have been held in Johannesburg, Durban
and Cape Town this
year, while both will be held in Port Elizabeth in
October. The workshops and courses are each a day long.

“Concrete evolves, and so quickly, with new
technology and new value-add. We have to constantly train and inform. When you
speak to Sarma, you speak to the ready-mix industry,” Van Wyk points out.

He emphasises the importance of knowledge in all
aspects of concrete, from production to the

processes used in production and delivery.

“There’s a process that needs to be followed. You
need to test the concrete, and then there’s legal compliance. When a concrete
truck arrives at a site, it becomes the site manager’s responsibility. The
truck and driver need to be legally compliant, with health and safety,
and environmental law also coming
into effect.

“We need trained people who can design mixes. There
needs to be a tertiary or concrete technology qualification. It’s a complex
material,” Van Wyk declares.

Emphasising the range of applications and types of
concrete, including the institutions and companies involved in the buying,
selling and use of concrete, there is a move for TCI, Sarma, the Concrete Society of Southern Africa, the Concrete Manufacturers Association and
the Association for Cementitious Materials Producers  to
consolidate into one body.

While a target date has not been set for the finalising of the consolidation process, he states that members of Sarma, and members of the other related institutions, have requested this process to be quick and efficient. The associations, therefore, are looking to complete the process in the coming months.https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/benefits-of-quality-specified-concrete-being-recognised-2019-08-12