The Cement & Concrete SA Inland Committee hosted a very informative panel discussion on concrete specification, testing, and interpretation of test results with authorities in the field, at the impressive Concrete Engineering 4.0 Lab at The University of Pretoria. It was another first for the Inland Committee, hosting a physical panel discussion and over 20 industry enthusiasts attended.

The panellists comprised Bryan Perrie (CCSA), Jacques Smith (Go-Consult), and Roelof Jacobs (Lafarge). Vice-Chair, Jaco Du Plessis kicked off the event with some questions which led to an interactive discussion between our panellists and the diverse audience, comprised of members from contractors, ready mix suppliers, concrete testing facilities and civil engineers. The panel members raised some concerns that the industry is faced with issues that include:
• Engineers that “cut & paste” specifications from project to project
• Specifications are specified that are no longer valid or in use
• Test houses that don’t take care with handling and testing specimens
• Test results that are misinterpreted

Several questions from contractors were deliberated on concrete specifications regarding slump, cube tests, and 7-day strengths. Discussions kept everyone engaged, absorbing the wealth of information shared by our esteemed panel members.

A big thank you to Go-Consult as the main sponsor for the event.