What makes a good Concrete Engineering Tech? 8

[Rjeffery]

I would like to know what the group thinks makes a good Concrete Engineering Technician. What test methods should they be comfortable performing? Should they be able to perform in the lab and in the field? What gives you the 'warm and fuzzy' feeling when you read their test reports?

 

[workingpour]

Either way the concrete must make it down the chute, right? A few days ago I inspected a 100 yard slab pour (yep, I think pour is the right word here), where they needed to pump, and to keep the pump from clogging, they watered it plenty. Slumps were about 8" - sloppy stuff. Still, if the breaks are good, it seems everyone's happy.

oday I started landfill liner inspections. Is it me, or have I jumped around jobs some in 3 months of work?

I think a sense of humor is also desirable in a good concrete tech.

 

[superfreep]

I may have read about freshly mixed concrete being "placed" as opposed to "poured" in an ACI document, but cannot at the moment recall which one . It could have been an opinion statement in one of the magazines. But I remember recognizing it as a truth I wanted to amplify.
Now, I would guess that boffintech is on target in his most natural logic of "pouring" a "wet" concrete mix. I mean to say, my mom never asked me to "place her up" a glass of sweet tea. But be aware of other parameters associated with an out-of -spec mix. I am imagining having to say the concrete was poured due to elevated mix temperature or something other than a violated w/cm ratio. It seems to me, that some mixes, such as a SuperP with HRWR admixtures and/or Self-Consolidating Concrete, can certainly be in-spec and at the same time behave like wet mixes. So now what do we have? I think from this point forward we should be given credit, and hopefully cash for workingpours' debt hole, for the newly defined "Poured and Placed" concrete. It's a win/win in that it is "in-spec" concrete with the flavor of an out-of-spec mix. Men, what do you think?

 

[workingpour]

Seems good to me - "Placed" means in-spec. I tested concrete with SuperP for Natgun that was very high-slump, yet cohesive & in spec. That would be placed.

The watery mess in the slab was poured. Pumped & Poured. I've had soup that was more cohesive.

 

[henri2]

ACI 116 is entitled Cement and Concrete terminology. It appears that it as all the definitions in ACI 318 Chapter 2/IBC Sec 1902 plus a lot more.

I have an old version (1990) and here's what it says about these terms:

placement - the process of placing and consolidating concrete; a quantity of concrete placed and finished during a continuous operation; inappropriately referred to as pouring

placing - the deposition, distribution, and consolidation of freshly mixed concrete in the place where it is to harden; inappropriately referred to as pouring

pouring (of concrete) - see placement and placing

Based on that version of ACI 116, there are no definitions for the terms 'pouring' or 'pour'..other organization may have explanations for these terms. In essence, as far as ACI is concerned (at least back in 1990) these are inappropriate non-standard terms.

Regarding the term "pour", it is not uncommon to see it used to designate a quantity of concrete placed and finished during a continuous operation as explained below.

In floor plan views of installation drawings of post-tensioned concrete buildings/parking garages, "pour" designations are sometimes shown..i.e the plan is split into areas where a quantity of concrete will be placed and finished during a continuous operation/a monolithic placement and this area is designated a pour number. Construction joints will be shown at the interface of these "pours"...for example between POUR 1 and POUR 2, POUR 3 and POUR 4 and so on and so forth.

In the real world, we often have to deal with the use of terminology deemed inappropriate by ACI...and when it is not clear what is meant by non-standard terminology, it does not hurt to request clarrification.

 

[bb29510]

I have been a certified concrete tech for 23 years, I do not carry my card, I have no sticker on my hard hat. You want to know if I,m certified, try internet on the aci page. my names on the list. constuction inspector, have no used for it, company cannot make money with a construction inspector. Thats the job of the engineer, not the testing lab.

What makes a good tech, easy, being able to handle any job without having to have a buddy ride with you. piles, concrete, asphalt, density, undercut. lab work, concrete lab work, writing reports. There are easily 300 different task that need to be known. I, as a senior tech do not have time to hold your hand. what makes a good tech, knowelge and expriences. also when to shut up.