Production control of ready-mix concrete
The Technical Standards for Construction have introduced important innovations for the ready-mixed concrete sector, among which the scope of certification of the Production Process Control System known as FPC – Factory Production Control – should certainly be included.
In fact, the Standards introduce a requirement for all ready-mixed concrete plants to have appropriate procedures for controlling the production process. This control must be certified by an independent third party possessing certain characteristics established by the measure and guaranteed by the Central Technical Service of the Superior Council of Public Works through an authorization issued following a decree of the Superior Council of Public Works. FPC certification must be possessed by each industrialized process ready-mix concrete plant. According to the formal opinion provided by the Superior Council of Public Works on March 10, 2006 in response to some questions posed by ATECAP, concrete produced by industrialized process “means that produced by means of plants, structures and techniques organized both on the construction site and in a plant outside the construction site.”
FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY:
- Concrete produced in fixed plants
- Concrete produced within industrialized prefabrication plants and factories (fixed)
- Concrete produced in industrialized plants installed at (temporary) construction sites
On the other hand, concrete produced without an industrialized process, i.e., concrete produced directly on the construction site, usually in limited quantities, through temporary and non-industrialized production processes, should not be subject to factory production process control by independent third-party bodies. This type of concrete must be produced under the direct supervision of the construction manager who must ascertain the initial qualification of the mixtures or rather the characteristic strength for each homogeneous mix. A key element to keep in mind is that FPC certification should by no means be confused with ISO 9001 certification, which is voluntary and can be adopted by companies to apply a Quality Management System to the entire company. Rather, the Process Control System certification activity in the prepacking plant is similar to that provided in the D. Lgs 16 June 2017, no. 106, bringing national legislation into line with the provisions of EU Regulation No. 305/2011 on CE marking of construction products.