Production of concrete

Production of concrete

The production of concrete involves two distinct but equally important activities. One is related to ‘material’ required for concrete and the other to ‘process’ involved in its production.


Material

The activity related to materials involves their

(1)       Selection

(2)       Proportioning

 Process

The activity related to process involved in production of concrete involves :

(1)                Mixing

(2)               Transportation

(3)               Placement

(4)               Compaction and

(5)               Curing

Out of above activities, more often than not, it is the ‘process’ which is responsible for quality of the concrete, though the cost of the concrete is mainly governed by the cost of the materials. The selection of materials and their proportioning is usually well taken care of at higher levels but the process is left to the lower levels. The expenditure incurred on materials goes waste if the process is not taken care of. Ignorance and lack of appreciation of good practices are the main reasons for the poor quality of concrete. Therefore, if we are able to control the process, we can obtain far better quality of concrete at no extra expenditure.