Concrete has been in use across the globe for almost 3,000 years. Cultures throughout the world began creating forms of this building material early in their development. As time went on, concrete formulas and creation techniques improved.
These days, concrete is one of the most frequently used building materials in the world. Reports show that more than 4.4 billion tons of concrete are produced globally each year, and analysts expect that figure to surge to more than 5.5 billion tons within the next few decades. Because of those figures, ensuring utmost efficiency when using concrete for modern building projects is essential.
Maximizing Efficiency When Producing and Using Ready-Mix Concrete
Much of the construction industry’s usage revolves around ready-mix concrete. This material is used when concrete can’t be mixed on site or in cases where using standard concrete would be impractical. Quite a few variables factor into the amount of concrete and additional resources that are used for those projects. Maximizing efficiency is the key to minimizing the resources needed to bring those projects to life. While cloud-based concrete dispatch can go a long way toward improving efficiency and productivity, it’s important to examine the five major resource areas that are impacted by the widespread use of concrete.
Materials
Materials encompass all the ingredients needed to make concrete. These generally include cement, gravel, sand, and water. Cement, in itself, requires a range of resources, such as ground shells or various types of stone, silica sand, and iron ore. While all those ingredients are crucial for making cement, misuse and overuse can place a significant strain on the availability of those resources both now and in the future.
Water
Water falls under the category of ingredients needed for making ready-mix concrete, but its use also runs much deeper than the basic creation of this material. Water must be used for clearing away excess concrete at manufacturing plants and on job sites. At the same time, water is required for cleaning mixing trucks and other tools and equipment used when working with concrete.
Carbon Emissions
Carbon emissions are created during virtually every phase of the concrete production and implementation processes. Energy is used, and emissions are generated at concrete manufacturing facilities, while transporting the material from the factory to the job site, and while using concrete on job sites. These elements also come into play when tearing down structures that were built using concrete.
Waste
Efforts are already underway to minimize the amount of concrete waste generated by the construction industry. Wasting of resources can occur during the manufacturing process. It can also become an issue when too much material is ordered for construction projects or the concrete is used improperly. This aspect likewise applies to the use of concrete after demolition. Minimizing waste in this regard could entail recycling more of the material to prevent as much as possible from reaching landfills.
Biodiversity
Sustainable development and use of concrete is the key to maintaining biodiversity. This concept applies to a wide range of aspects within the industry. For one, it’s important to consider using various sources of minerals and aggregates for the concrete being made. Paying close attention to the sources of water is also crucial. While it’s sometimes necessary to turn to natural water supplies, such as lakes and ponds, for the water required for concrete, municipal supplies can be used in other instances.
Following a Solid Plan for Action
Concrete is among the most environmentally friendly building materials in use today. It’s energy efficient, lasts for decades, holds up well against the elements, and is completely recyclable. Having said that, maximizing efficiency when manufacturing and using this material is the true key to sustainability. Covering these five points can help builders and other members of the industry to improve their efforts when it comes to using the necessary resources more efficiently.
