WP8 safety questionnaire
Partner
Your name
E-mail
Motivation
It is important that the TailorCrete concept does not worsen already existing concerns or gives
rise to new safety issues. On the other hand, existing safety issues should be improved, if
possible. Safety is very important in the building construction. Lack of safety measures will lead
to accidents which in turn will culminate in the loss of life, injury, financial loses and delays in the
project completions.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain a valuable input for safety evaluation in WP8 from
TailorCrete partners regarding the identification of possible safety issues during the various
stages of life cycle. Please include your comments and thoughts regarding identification and
possible elimination of various safety problems and issues that you are aware of in the
corresponding gray boxes related to individual life cycle phases. Your expertise in particular
field is essential to us as it can reveal new issues and help to eliminate them. We have added
also some remarks and questions in the header parts of individual boxes. Your answers,
comments and suggestions will be very important data input for WP8.
Main tasks of safety evaluation
 Analyze all phases in the life cycle (pre-construction design
-- Raw material production – Manufacturing of concrete,
reinforcement and formwork – Concrete transportation,
installation, and casting – Service life, maintenance –
Demolition) with regard to identifying possible safety
issues.
 Emphasis put on new issues compared to the traditional
approach, as this is well covered.
 Recommendations to how possible or existing safety
problems can be eliminated.
The electronic version of this questionnaire can be downloaded from http://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/TC/safetyQuestionnaire.doc
Please send filled questionnaire to borek.patzak@fsv.cvut.cz no later than April 22, 2012.
1. Pre‐construction phase – design
The safety of design process itself will have to be ensured by corresponding codes, and will be covered
by WP9. However, many additional safety aspects can be improved already during design phase:
Design to reduce Health hazards: Improving safety by using materials that are easier to handle, e.g.
lightweight building blocks, limiting the weight of formwork for easier handling.
Design to reduce Hazardous work: Prefabrication can be considered to minimize hazardous work on
site by designing elements like steel structures so that they can be prefabricated and assembled on
ground and then lifted to position for installation; Specifying cutting of steel members to be done off-site,
under controlled conditions, to reduce the amount of dust created; and Reducing site welding so as to
reduce fire or burn risks and using prefabricated bolt and nuts as connections.
Design to safe construction: Providing lifting points on prefabricated elements and marking the weight
and the center of gravity of heavy or bulky items both on the drawings and on the items themselves;
Making provision for temporary works required during construction; Designing connections to minimize
risk of incorrect assembly and providing clear directions on drawings; and Designing for safe
installation of external cladding i.e. installation of cladding from the inside of the building.
Design to simplify future: Using materials that require less frequent maintenance or replacement; The
risks related to maintenance and repair of the building, such as the cleaning methods, should also be
considered.
Design to reduce demolition hazards: Sources of substantial stored energy, such as pre- or posttension cables; Unusual stability concepts; Alterations that have changed the structure significantly; and
Embedded materials, utilities, or artifacts whose exposure or removal may introduce new hazards.
The safety and reliability of SCC depend very much on quality assurance procedure, test methods,
frequency of test as well as of actions taken as results of tests. The planning should also address the
corrections of the mix that might be done at the casting site through extra dosage of plasticizer. How the
quality of mixed SSC will be verified, including fiber content and distribution?
2. Raw material production, processing, transportation
Material Safety: Will SCC use lead to utilization of new, potentially, hazardous materials? (Viscosity
modifiers, formwork release agents, etc.). Please identify any new hazardous substances and provide
information on its composition, properties, and procedures for handling or working with that substance in
a safe manner by filling in attached material safety data sheet (MSDS). MSDS information also includes
instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product.
Note: Mix designs are likely to include more than one admixture and more than one mineral additive. This
will require additional installations as well as proper processes for batching. To further optimize the
processing and the quality, an improved handling of the aggregate, e.g. in the form of split fractions will
be common practice. A close control of the aggregate moisture is also enhancing quality and cost
efficiency. Will this induce some safety issues, compared to traditional concrete?
The electronic version of this questionnaire can be downloaded from http://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/TC/safetyQuestionnaire.doc
Please send filled questionnaire to borek.patzak@fsv.cvut.cz no later than April 22, 2012.
3. Concrete, reinforcement and prefabricated formwork manufacturing
Quality Management to ensure safety: Considerations of quality cover all aspects of a system’s life
and are therefore of great importance to fault management.
Worker safety: formwork, casting and stressing operations are adequately braced and chocked to avoid
sudden release of materials. Are new tools, training or protective equipment necessary?
Working environment: Will use of SCC use lead to improvement in working environment? Is the use of
robots planned on construction site or robots will operate in a dedicated plant and products transported
and assembled on site? Are there additional safety concerns, related to this?
New formwork types: Are you aware od new safety issues connected to new formwork types used? Will
the assembly of formwork bring new safety issues (work in confined space, manipulation of bulky items,
spraying)? Are additional training, regulations, or protective tools needed? Is formwork design redundant
to assure fault tolerance? The high flow ability of SCC can result in flotation of any buoyant formwork
units, stop ends or detailing that is not securely fixed. Particular attention should be given to fixing and
sealing the formwork to the base where uplift could be a problem. Leakage at joints can occur and reduce
an otherwise high quality of finish, however SCC generally leaks less than concrete that has to be
vibrated.
Robotic manufacturing: Will robot use in formwork and reinforcement production bring in new safety
issues.
SCC production: As the SCC mixture properties are very sensitive to variations of inputs (compared to
traditional concrete), can this be considered as potential safety issue? What kind of safety regulations and
quality assurance procedures should be applied to minimize the effects?
The electronic version of this questionnaire can be downloaded from http://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/TC/safetyQuestionnaire.doc
Please send filled questionnaire to borek.patzak@fsv.cvut.cz no later than April 22, 2012.
4. Transportation, installation, concrete casting, surface finish
Concrete casting: Careful quality control and proper design of CSS composition necessary to avoid air
entrapments, segregation. etc.
Improvements in working environment: Drastic improvement when using SCC. Reduction of noise
level and avoidance of blood circulation disturbance (white fingers) induced by handheld vibrators. No
need for the installation of vibration isolators anymore? Improved safety through more mechanization and
remote control. Substantial reduction of hazardous objects e.g. elevated platforms, cables, vibrators. The
process of casting SCC can be mechanized to a great extent. Increased productivity, lower cost and
improved working environment is achieved. The elimination of manual compaction during casting makes
very high casting rates possible which, in combination with the high flow ability, might cause high
formwork pressures.
In situ robots: Do we consider the utilization of robots in building site for final formwork assembly,
reinforcement placement, etc? If yes, many new safety issues will arise.
SCC is a complex material with several sensitive interactions between the constituent materials.
Compared to vibrated concrete it is at this stage of development less robust and requires more
knowledge, competence and skill of personnel, more closely controlled properties of the constituent
materials and greater care in production and delivery. The technology also requires greater skill and care
in the casting operation. These conditions call for an increased focus on training of personnel and on
quality assurance issues.
5. Service life, maintenance
Can the use of fiber-reinforced concrete improve the safety with respect to fire? (Possible reduction of
spalling). Also, the increased ductility of fiber reinforced structures can improve safety in many areas
(earthquakes). Also a strong reduction in permeability is expected due to the high content of fines in the
mix.
In general SCC has shown to give improved microstructural features leading to potential improvements of
strength, durability and surface quality.
6. Demolition, recycling
Could fibers be recycled and how this compares to recycling of traditional reinforcement? Are there any
new safety issues?
The electronic version of this questionnaire can be downloaded from http://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/TC/safetyQuestionnaire.doc
Please send filled questionnaire to borek.patzak@fsv.cvut.cz no later than April 22, 2012.