1. Engineering a concrete pour
Anybodycanconcrete. Orderconcrete,place the pump& bam! Case closed. Thatis concrete
farming,gentlemen!
However, engineeringaconcrete pourisa totallydifferentball game.Here we wouldlike to
share the achievementof ahandful of Engineerswho planned, managed&executed apourof 3400
cu.m. A simple PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)cycle shall putthingsinperspective.
Planningphase
The plan was to pour 3400 cu.m concrete for a raft of 1.8 m thick with the help of 3 pumps at a
rate of 150cu.m per hour.The methodstatementidentifiedthe rate of pour& the needfortemperature
control withthermocouplers.The labour was arranged in shifts and so were the Construction Manager
and Project Engineers. The checkpoint for concrete testing was set up & manned by the 3rd
party
technicianwiththe QCEngineerformonitoringthe slump,temp. & collecting cubes as per the regional
specification.All the supportteamnamelylogistics, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), stores, land
surveyors&QA/QCwere representedthroughoutthe pour. There was backup material/equipment for
everything being used at site like the pump, vibrators etc.
The mass concrete was planned to be placed in successive even layers of 400mm thickness and 2.00m
setbacks. The stepped front progresses forward, across the full width of the module, from one end of
the module to the other until the raft form is filled and the lift placement is completed.
Approval wasobtainedforanepoxybondingagent,tobe usedif there isdelayinsupplyof concrete and
there is a cold joint and methodology for cold joints identified in the method statement.
400
400
Even setbacks @ 2.0m
400
Even layers @ 0.40m
2000 2000 2000 2000 2000
10000
Next layer
460 thick
Exposed pour face = 40.30mx6.00mx0.40m=96 m3
@a pour rate of 150 m3 per hour =45 min exposure

2. Just DID it
The actual pour startedat 0830AM inthe morningandthe Engineersatsite coordinatedwiththe
supplierregularlytoensure there wasnoshortage orbottle neckof concrete trucks at site,asthe site
access wasverynarrow. The supplier,Smeet, hadabatchingplantdedicatedforthe project andthe
supplywas smooth,withtheirrepresentative atsite.
The communicationamongstourEngineerswasveryeffectiveasa groupwas formedon the social
mediaplatform,‘WhatsApp’forconcrete pourlive updates,whichhelpedinteambuildingasmuchas it
didfor communication.
Logisticsarrangedforall the equipment’sandmachineries withsome extraasbackup.HSE ensuredall
environmental hazardsare addressed,likewashingbay forpumps,plasticsheetsforconcrete.Proper
trainingsandtool box talkswere providedtoall workersatsite.
With effective coordination the actual pour average was 180 cu.m per hour against the planned
150cu.m per hour and the total pour was completed in less than 23 hours.
Check
The trucks were routed insuch a waythat theycame to the checkpointwhere the temperature and
slumpwas measured,cubeswere takenandif foundsatisfactoryforwardedtothe pumplocation.
Also,thermocouplersinstalledin the massconcrete ensuredthatthe temperaturereadingsshall be
takenfor 7 consecutive daysfromthe dayof pour.
Act
The site teamwas fullyempoweredtotake anycorrective actiondeemednecessaryduringthe time of
pour.
Also,continuousmonitoringof concrete duringandafterthe pour(throughthermocouplers)ensured
that the material usedisas perspecification.
Lessonlearnedfromthispourwasthat a proper,smoothcommunicationchannel andteameffortgoes
a longway if it isbasedon a planned foundation.
QualityControl teamhelpedinbuildingastrongteamby providingthe backupandplatformonwhich
the Engineersatsite couldefficientlyandeffectivelyfinishthe concrete pour.