Safety in concrete supplies, clarifications from ANCE and CNI

See kwikstampedconcrete.com for more info and details.

With the Circular letter n. 315 (downloadable for free at the end of the news), the National Council of Engineers has transmitted the focus on safety in the supply of concrete on site. In summary, the focus highlights the fact that to ensure adequate levels of security, coordination between the various parties operating on construction sites is necessary. Coordination is required by the legislator of the Consolidated Text on Safety in the case of mere supply of concrete on site: the supply of materials does not include the obligation of drafting the POS (Safety Operational Plan), but “ mutual information and mutual coordination between contractor and supplier company ” , pursuant to article 26, paragraphs 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree no. 81/2008.

Participation in the installation, the distinctions in the explanatory circulars
To clarify the two distinct operations, mere supply and installation of concrete, the Ministry of Labor has issued several explanatory circulars. The distinction lies precisely in the concept that it is a mere supply of concrete in the case in which the worker does not hold and does not maneuver the rubber terminal of the pump or the bucket, the nerd and the chute in the case of unloading from a truck mixer. The discriminating factor, therefore, is not the use of the pump or the truck mixer, but rather the participation in the installation which is expressed, in fact, in the performance by the worker of the company supplying operations that compete with the workers of the executing company. Despite the clarifications of the Ministry, a sentence of March 2017, n. 11739 of the Criminal Court of Cassation, again raised the question of the POS request for the delivery of concrete by pumping. The ruling stated that, in the case of pumping, the performance by the concrete supplier of personnel handling the pump arm would represent an execution of the work and, therefore, in the situation object of the sentence the company would have had to deliver a POS.

In the focus, the procedure issued by the Ministry is recalled. In dealing with the pumping phase, which is the subject of the aforementioned sentence, the procedure identifies this operation as the use of the pump arm, as the movement of the arm is considered in all respects a method of delivery, in the same way as the movement of the crane arm with which various components are unloaded on site, and not a participation in the installation. The procedure contains two models with which the concrete supplier and the company communicate information and details for the purpose of preventing the risks of the workers involved.

BASF Construction Chemicals

BASF Construction Chemicals Italia is the BASF Group company specialized in the production and marketing of chemical products for the construction sector.

In Italy the company has a main office in Treviso, where the administrative offices, laboratories and production facilities are located, and a second production site in Latina.
With Master Builders Solutions, BASF presents a global brand for innovative chemical solutions in the construction industry. The brand uses the strengths of existing BASF products and represents over 100 years of experience in the building sector.
The Master Builders Solutions brand combines all of BASF’s expertise in the development of chemical solutions for new buildings, maintenance, rehabilitation and restoration. Master Builders Solutions is based on over a century of experience in the construction industry.

The wide range of Master Builders Solutions products includes solutions for durable construction, maintenance, renovation and renovation of buildings:

Concrete additives
Additives for cement plants
Solutions for underground constructions
High performance mortars
Concrete restoration and protection
Waterproofing systems
Sealants
High performance resin flooring
A qualified and efficient team, characterized by professionalism and motivation, aims to satisfy customers’ needs with high quality chemical products and proposes optimal solutions for highly complex technical projects.

At the Treviso site there is a development center that represents excellence at European level in the field of concrete additives.

Environmental sustainability and energy saving, ease of use and the properties of the finished product are some of the key points of the projects that are carried out in the laboratories of Treviso.

The company
BASF Construction Chemicals Italia Spa , a leading company in the Italian high-tech building materials market, joined the BASF Group on 1 July 2006, following the worldwide acquisition of Degussa’s Construction Chemicals Division. The history of BASF Construction Chemicals Italia Spa, is a story of success and innovation serving the customer since 1958, the year the company was founded under the name of MAC.

He has a long experience in research and development of products and technologies intended both to improve the mechanical, chemical and workability performance of ready-mixed, prefabricated and projected concrete, as well as to restore reinforced concrete structures and structures. It has also developed advanced technologies for the recovery and dehumidification of the walls of historic buildings, with specific product lines with high chemical-physical compatibility.

Important steps are: Important steps are: the CERTICHIM Quality Certification UNI EN ISO 9001 of 1992 (first company in the sector) and the 1995 Quality Award of Unindustria that complete the success story and innovation of BASF Construction Chemicals Italia Spa.
From September 2003 has also obtained the CERTICHIM UNI EN ISO 14001 Quality Certification.
Furthermore, the Company has the necessary certifications for the CE Marking of its products: concrete and mortar additives, products and systems for the protection and repair of concrete structures, masonry mortars .

BASF operates worldwide in compliance with the guiding principles of the ResponsibleCare® program, a voluntary initiative of the global chemical industry with which chemical companies, through their national federations, undertake to work together to continuously improve product performance and processes in the areas of health, safety and the environment. In Italy the program is supported by Federchimica and BASF joined it in 1992, becoming part of the Directive Commission of the program itself.

Innovation & products
Often the concrete is still packaged and used in a completely empirical way, without taking into account the rather in-depth knowledge that has been achieved. Moreover, in Italy, the exuberant presence in constructions of all kinds has almost never coincided with the rule of art; so much so that the saying of “invasion of cement” is recurrent to define all the most diverse ugliness and urban speculation, a legacy of previous decades. To change these clichés, to convince that expertly packaged concrete is a noble material, able to challenge the wear of time, and to promote a true technical culture, in Italy but also internationally, has certainly contributed to the work carried out by researchers at the laboratory of the current BASF Construction Chemicals Italy.

Architectural design

Architecture is basically the art or rather the science of building and designing buildings or structures for human use. Now you will be definitely wondering what is that so special about it, a well-designed form of structure is not only practical for use but it is also beautiful in appearance. The one main reason why people like to travel to different countries is that different countries have different and beautiful architectural beauty.

Nature of Architectural job involves:

Architecture’s job involves planning the product, visualizing how the structure will look like, deciding on the space, design, construction materials, ambiance, space balance, technical aspects of construction, aesthetic aspects of construction and design. The end product of all this is a beautifully constructed structure of a building that lasts for a really long time.

What are the expected characteristics of an Architectural Designer?

There are a few expected and important characteristics that are required for architecture to posses, it is these characteristics that separate the good architecture from the best in the business. The characteristics are:

1. Have the necessary qualification
2. Should be able to have a creative and active imagination
3. Should be able to visualize his or her ideas in 3 D
4. Should be technology savvy
5. Should be able to do the technical drawings
6. Artistic drawing in freehand drawing
7. Should be aware of the local laws and practices

It is the architectural design in the paper that brings to life the real structure; previously we did not have software to help clearly understand how the structure will really like. For a person who does not have architectural knowledge, will not be able to clearly understand how the final structure will look like. But with software available, you can visualize the structure, materials used in the structure, paint colors used in the structure. You can even design and visualize the interior decorations of the structure using the software available nowadays. So now it becomes a necessary requirement for architecture to be well qualified in designing both using paper and software. The end product is a beautifully constructed structure that creates a lasting impression on people’s mind.