Improve Productivity with Wireless Concrete SmartRock® Plus Sensors

If you’ve already looked at our SmartRock® Plus product page, then you know that this program helps ready-mix producers differentiate their company, and mixes, within the market. But this value-added solution also provides project managers and contractors with an opportunity to significantly speed up their timelines, helping improve productivity on site.

How you may ask?

By offering you an opportunity to reduce your reliance on third-party labs for compressive strength testing and instead make the switch to wireless maturity sensors.

As you probably already know, most jobsites use cylinder break tests to measure the compressive strength of concrete. However, this process is not only outdated, it is also very inefficient for keeping your project schedule on track. For this reason, more and more project managers are turning to wireless maturity sensors to monitor concrete strength directly on site. A very simple process, it only requires a calibration up to 28-days prior to your pour before you are able to receive strength data.

That is what the SmartRock Plus program is all about.

Licensed ready-mix producers offer you the means to use SmartRock maturity sensors on your project using mixes which have already been pre-calibrated with the maturity calculation.

How Do Wireless SmartRock Concrete Sensors Work?

Giatec’s wireless SmartRock sensors allow you to estimate the early-age and compressive strength of in-place concrete based on the maturity method, according to ASTM C1074. The goal of these sensors is to measure the temperature of your slab in real-time and correlate this data to the concretes’ strength. Temperature is collected by the sensor’s cable and uploaded to any smart device within an app using a wireless connection. This information is then used to calculate the compressive strength of the in-situ concrete element based on the maturity equation that is set up in the app. This means you will know right away when your concrete is strong enough to move on to the next steps in the construction process. This data is considered to be very accurate and reliable as the sensors are subject to the same curing conditions as the in-situ concrete slab. Using this method means that field-cured cylinder testing is eliminated, and standard cures are only needed on day-28 to confirm strength. You can therefore obtain accurate in-situ strength data and avoid inaccuracies associated with testing labs.

The Benefits of Using SmartRock Plus

If it’s so simple, why not set up the SmartRock sensors yourself?

For some jobsites, project managers want to make sure the calibration process has been done properly. For others, they simply want to get started on their pours right away and don’t have time to wait the 28-days for calibration to be ready. Not only will these ready-mix companies tell you how many sensors you need on your site based on the square footage, they will also set them up and connect them to your SmartRock Plus application. This means that everything will be ready for you to immediately start receiving strength data via your mobile device.

In this way, the SmartRock Plus program offers you the convenience of being able to test concrete strength right away without having to teach your team how to perform the calibration, or spend the time placing the sensors and setting them up in your app.

Stoneway has successfully offered SmartRock Plus to construction companies in Seattle working on high-rise structures and concrete pavements. Contractors immediately see the value as they can obtain real-time strength information on the jobsite through this novel mobile-based technology

– Greg McKinnon Operations Manager Stoneway Concrete

SmartRock Plus producers also have a variety of mixes calibrated and ready for contractors. They can help you identify a mix that fits your project’s specific performance requirements–whether they be paving, post-tensioned decks, structural columns, or industrial elements. Not only that, but with the SmartRock Plus program, the ready-mix producer you partner with will be continually improving their mixes and optimizing them to speed up the curing process. This would allow you to purchase Smart™ mixes which are specifically designed for your project and timeline. This is especially useful when working on high-rise projects, post-tensioned concrete, fast-track pavement repairs, etc. This saves significant time and gives contractors more control of their schedules, allowing for more knowledge regarding when additional operations can be implemented, such as formwork removal.

With SmartRock Plus, producers are able to achieve;

• Brand differentiation in local markets
• Strong customer loyalty
• Performance analytics and visibility on all mixes and projects
• Market share expansion

Learn more about SmartRock Plus and find out how you can benefit from this program today.

Editors Note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.