Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

In general the manufacture of hollow core slabs has consisted of a number of work phases, more or less being repeated as a production cycle. This process has largely remained the same because, until recently, floors had standard dimensions and there was no requirement to work on the fresh concrete during the production work phases. Over the years, the evolution of architectural building design has led producers of hollow core slabs to have to undertake various procedures on the floors, whilst in their fresh concrete state and which, in turn, has led to complications in the production process. The production companies found themselves having to reorganise their production to use suitable machines and technologies for these fresh concrete processes in order to reach a level of efficiency necessary to maintain the competitiveness of the hollow core slabs compared to other products for floors. Without the use of machines, fresh concrete working can be labour intensive and carry with it harsh working conditions that make it more difficult to attract suitable personnel. Even with the help of certain machinery, the health and safety of workers is always an important consideration.