Abstract:

Cement is the base material for concrete. Ready mixed concrete is a rather homogeneous product which nevertheless has many uses. There is little reliable information available on the quantitative consumption of the products of the ready mixed concrete industry in the various applications as to the different building sectors. An internal study group within the Dutch Cement Industry has examined in 1989 the possibilities to come to a representative research method. This research method has been developed in close consultation with R&M, Research and Marketing B.V. in Heerlen. The Netherlands Cement Association (VNC) acted as client. On an average working day between 7.00 AM and 17.00 PM, at all the participating ready mixed concrete plants in the Netherlands the product specifications as well as the application specifications of each delivery with a truckmixer are being registered. The product specifications are being recorded at the plant and the driver of the truckmixer registers at the delivery of the ready mixed concrete its application. The registration forms have been tested during a pilot registration at one of the largest ready mixed concrete plants in the Netherlands. The quality of the collected data is furthermore guaranteed by the deployment of interviewers from R&M as coordinator of the registration at the participating plants. This involves a group of interviewers who beforehand received a specialized training. Taking into account the comparability of the results from different measurements, the registration system has been constantly further developed. For the realization of this study the cooperation of the Dutch Ready Mixed Concrete Association (VOBN) is highly important. Thanks to this cooperation each lime the majority of the enterprises were found willing to cooperate. By this a national coverage of 80% to 90% was achieved during the research day, and many plants and interviewers meanwhile experience this day as a tradition.