Safety Is A Concrete Idea

One of the issues I like to stay on top of is safety. May was Building Safety Month and Construction Safety Week was observed May 1-5, if schedules go as planned, the May/June is hitting your desk past these events - if not, you'll find the issue in your mailbox in the next couple of days. Regardless, I wanted to take the opportunity in this issue's letter to bring forward a handful of safety stories.

I was lucky enough over the past half year or so to have spoken with some great people that also put safety top of mind.

• Concrete Strategies reached out and I learned more about their safety program. You might remember them through a profile piece published within this year's January/February issue. 
• I worked with Rob Edwards, the person to talk with if you're learning about concrete boom pump safety. We spoke for about an hour and a half about hose-whipping and published an article together on the subject. 
• Addressing ground-pressures and tipovers, Kris Koberg of DICA wrote on how dunnage or outrigger pads are a critical piece of the solution. 
• Further on concrete pumping, the American Concrete Pumping Association launched their safety campaign to heighten awareness on ASME B30.27, the Safety Standard for Material Placement Systems. Their microsite WeAreSaferTogether.org received a Gold Hermes Creative Award. 
• I also spoke with AWP Safety about work zone safety (National Work Zone Awareness Week was observed April 17-21) about relying on a partner help support your team. One of the major takeaways here was awareness. They suggested that an extra minute or two needed to step back from a situation and reevaluate may allow you to consider something you might have missed. Sounds a worthwhile idea to me.

Find these and more on construction safety at https://CONC.me/safety.

Also

From a polished concrete slab, a new concrete foundation, to rebuilding our concrete infrastructure, new equipment and tools are developed all the time to help construction professionals be more productive and as efficient as possible.

In recognition of the products, tools, and equipment from within the construction, decorative, and finishing concrete industries, the products recognized in the Concrete Contractor Top Products award were designed to not only help overcome the daily challenges contractors face but do so with innovative ideas and ingenuity. Find the Concrete Contractor Top Products award announcement at https://CONC.me/2023TopProducts.  

While each project has its unique challenges, there’s a product or some sort of equipment that helped.  And that’s why we enjoy putting out the annual Top Products award program. Many of these products provide an energy-efficiency or a sustainability benefit for the jobsite while so many others were made to make the contractor’s day that much easier.

As always, thanks for reading. (And stay safe out there.)