Taking responsibility for concrete onsite

Surface mining industry association (ASPASA) says its members, who supply sand and aggregates, as well as readymix concrete to the construction industry, are alarmed at the lack of responsibility taken for concrete used on construction sites.

This is increasingly leading to disputes onsite where the blame is often incorrectly placed on the shoulders of the material suppliers. They then carry the burden of proving materials were delivered as specified and prescribed.

ASPASA director, Nico Pienaar, says many of the country’s sand and aggregate producers also operate readymix concrete plants on their sites and are calling for fairer practices when it comes to proportioning blame when things go wrong.

He further explained that there needs to be a clear cut-off at every stage where the responsibility changes from the supplier to the contractor and site engineers.

According to Pienaar to avoid future problems, members and suppliers in the industry take their time to carefully negotiate all the requirements of the supply agreement upfront.

“Agreement needs to be reached on specifications, material requirements, testing methods onsite, as well as delivery and timeframes for the placement of the concrete. Laboratory procedures also need to be discussed and methods used internally, as well as by accredited laboratories that will test the quality of the materials. With these types of agreements in place, ASPASA hopes to see fewer disputes in future,” added Pienaar.

He concluded that the association is also taking a further, proactive approach to preventing disputes with the compilation of a site meeting guideline and process documents to be used by members when accepting supply contracts. These will be made available from the association when completed.