In June, the NPCA Foundation Board of Directors held a strategic planning meeting in San Diego, in conjunction with the 2018 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition, where they discussed the future of the Foundation and how to best advance the precast concrete industry. During the meeting, the board refined their mission and identified new opportunities to help NPCA members with their …
June 23, 2018, has come and gone. Are you in compliance with OSHA’s new silica exposure rule? NPCA Staff Report There are many ways silica dust is created in a precast concrete plant, as well as numerous ways to mitigate the threat it poses to workers. With a 30-day grace period now concluded, manufacturers must ensure their workplace and safety …
When precast concrete products are used for infrastructure projects, the ability to customize the shape, size and strength gives engineers and contractors the flexibility they need to tackle tough challenges. When a material with so much potential is put in the hands of architects, functionality gives way to beauty, and the results are visually stunning. Precast is employed by top …
In the construction world there are a lot of unknowns that take place and if a General Contractor can find any avenue that they know will be reliable and make their life easier, that avenue would be using precast concrete components. Going with precast concrete components guarantees a smooth route for owners and designers in both the immediate and distant …
Think for a minute about Rice Krispies. They’ve been around since 1927. Many of us grew up with the “snap, crackle, pop” advertising campaign that created a fun, colorful image of this popular breakfast cereal, which in reality is nothing more than thin hollowed out puffs of crisped rice, sugar, salt, engineered vitamin ingredients and preservatives. If you separate the …
Today’s mid-rise and multi-use buildings can include retail space, office space and residential living units and parking. The challenge with having multiple users is finding a single structural system that will accommodate the very different floor plate layouts for each without placing load bearing columns and walls in odd areas that will hinder the use of the space. The …
When reviewing the production and finishing of architectural precast concrete, the multi-step operation of panel finishing is subjected to influences such as weather conditions and the age of the concrete. Sometimes efflorescence appears, which complicates the process of approving the finished product for color and texture when comparing against the approved mock-up samples. What is Efflorescence? During the early stages …
Header image: © Richard Barnes When Steven Holl Architects set out to design the The Glassell School of Art at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, there was a clear goal in mind – make the building as much a work of art as what is created inside of it. The result is a one-of-a-kind structure featuring 178 unique precast concrete …
More and more Americans are ditching their cars and riding a bike to work, with one study showing bike commuting doubling in the 50 largest U.S. cities from 2007 to 2016. Many cities are embracing this trend, creating dedicated bike lanes on existing roads. Unfortunately, many times these lanes are nothing more than paint on a street, providing little safety …
Precast concrete has the capability of incorporating other trades in a plant fabricated atmosphere. Components can be cast into the concrete, or it can be used as a platform to prefabricate other trades. This can take work off the jobsite, reducing congestion and shortening construction time. Additionally, plant fabrication can offer productivity and quality gains, and while some elements added …
