Concrete Placement

Chilled water, crushed ice and evening pouring were all part of the recent effort by a New Hampshire-based concrete contractor to mitigate the effects of 113-degree temperatures and complete the construction of an ice rink in Dubai.

The New Hampshire Business Review reports that Somero Enterprises, with headquarters in Jaffrey, New Hampshire and its primary manufacturing facility in Michigan, was called in to help with the project because of its extensive experience building ice rinks, including the one that serves as home ice for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.

Somero worked as a subcontractor under CIMCO, the primary contractor on the job and a specialist in the building of ice rinks.

On the September day when the pour was scheduled, the 113-degree temperature was much too hot for adequate hydration. In order to deal with the problem, the job was started early in the evening to take advantage of slightly cooler temperatures of 95 degrees. Additionally, the concrete was cooled using chilled water at the hatching plant and kept workable during transit with crushed ice. A 5.5-inch hose was used for pumping the concrete to minimize the heat of friction that would be likely with a smaller-diameter hose. The team also ran chilled water through the pipes to remove some of the heat.

Eliminating the need for dedicated teams of men to rake the roughly placed concrete, Somero's ride-on PowerRake was able to push and pull large piles of freshly poured concrete over the submerged mesh surface, working in front of the company's CopperHead XD, which, with its laser screed, cut the concrete flat to its final grade and vibrated it smooth to the standard required by CIMCO. The process was repeated throughout the night, until 470 cubic yards - about 45 Redi-Mix trucks full - were screeded level.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety told attendees at a recent conference that it has strengthened its recommendations for construction standards to withstand hurricane winds in the Gulf Coast region – a change that accompanies a discussion of concrete building materials as a possible solution in meeting the standards.

The IBHS, an insurance industry trade association, issues the guidelines under its Fortified . . . For Safer Living program, which is designed to provide insurance professionals with safety information to pass on to their clients.

“Concrete, because of its durability and the way concrete can withstand wind rows, makes an ideal type of construction material for homes to meet these kinds of requirements,” says Chuck Vance, Fortified Program Manager for IBHS.

More than 200 insurance professionals attended the workshops.

At the same time, IBHS has relaxed some of its recommendations with respect to flood risks and wind danger in other parts of the country, based on recent data indicating the standards may have been more stringent than were necessary.

Sermac America Inc. recently delivered its largest operating concrete boom pump to C&C Concrete Pumping Inc. in Miami.

“We have large jobs, so we had a need for a large pump," says Pepi Cancio, Jr., president of C&C Concrete Pumping Inc. "The five-section, 62-meter pump gives us the flexibility we need to cover basically any job, so we have a lot more opportunities.”

The pump was delivered in August and is the largest operating concrete boom pump in Florida.

"With a pump this large, energy consumption can be an issue," Cancio says. "With the Sermac pump, we can pump all the time in low idle. It saves on fuel and on the equipment, and that's important to us."

The American Concrete Pumpers Association has released a new safety DVD titled “The More You Know, The Safer It Gets.”

The video is designed to educate pumpers on safety techniques by walking them through safety checkpoints from the pre-dispatch inspection to cleanout.

In an effort to make the video more user-friendly, the ACPA introduces a character named Bob, who leads viewers through the various checkpoints as he goes through what the group calls a typical day in the life of a concrete pump operator.

“This is a different method of getting our safety message out there.” says Christi Collins, Executive Director of the ACPA, referring to the narrative style that is used in this DVD. “It’s designed to create a more comfortable interactive level between the DVD character (Bob) and the operator. That alone may help the operators to take the safety tips to heart and have a safer day in the field.”

Those wishing to purchase the DVD can do so visiting the ACPA Web site at www.concretepumpers.com and clicking the "Safety Store" button. Members can request a free copy by calling the National Office at (614) 431-5618. The member price for any additional copies is $10, while the non-member price is $30. The DVD also includes a Spanish translation.