A new Texas Department of Transportation Special Provision Specification notes that mixer trucks deploying sensor-enabled slump adjustment equipment meet ASTM C 94, Standard Specification for Ready-Mixed Concrete requirements. Among current equipment options for ready mixed producers is GCP Applied Technologies’ Verifi automated water and chemical admixture dosing system. It utilizes a suite of on board sensors and hardware to monitor, measure and manage concrete in transit, and doses loads with GCP ITM750 superplasticizer from a 12-gal. tank.
“Verifi gives [us] the ability to manage our concrete from the plant to the jobsite, which delivers the quality that TxDOT and other contractors, engineers, and owners demand,” says Kirk Deadrick, director of Technical Services, Ready Mix for Argos USA, a key Dallas and Houston market operator.
“TxDOT is leading the way by embracing innovation,” affirms GCP Specialty Construction Chemicals Vice President and General Manager Pung Chan. “The ability to make in-transit water or admixture additions will ensure the concrete arrives in spec, shaving priceless minutes of delivery time and reducing the number of rejected concrete batches. The system constantly measures and adjusts the slump, and monitors water content.” The TxDOT spec change mirrors actions of peer Florida, Illinois and Missouri agencies, she adds.