This truth affects key aspects of life and business in all the concrete and construction world. Once it is poured, concrete begins to dry and concrete finishers work with this reality. The ‘on the tools’ trades don’t have the time to mince words as the concrete is drying. This is a trade grounded in action.…

The Canadian cement and concrete industry shares a responsibility to find solutions to the challenges of climate change, a circular economy and sustainable construction. As an industry, we’ve taken major steps to reduce our carbon footprint and help lay the path to a net-zero concrete future by 2050, with targets for 2030 and 2040. These…

In 2021, the honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Cement Association of Canada (CAC) Chair, Marie Glenn, and Michael McSweeney, President, and CEO, affirmed the partnership between the Government of Canada and Canada’s cement sector to support the development and implementation of a ‘Roadmap to Net-Zero-Carbon Concrete’. This work will provide the…

British Columbians with disabilities are a large population that is growing each year. In 2017, more than 926,000 British Columbians aged 15 and older, nearly 25 percent of British Columbia’s population, identified as having a disability. The Province of British Columbia is committed to making British Columbia a truly inclusive province for people with disabilities.…

“Vancouverism” is a very well-known term that describes a new kind of city living. Combines deep respect for nature with enthusiasm for busy, engaging, active streets and dynamic urban life. It means tall slim towers for density, widely separated by low-rise buildings, for light, air, and views. There are many parks, walkable streets, and public…

Classification of formwork based on its structural components Continuing with this short series of articles to understand what formwork is all about, we present the last part of this series where we will talk about the classification of formwork based on its structural components. In addition to being classified by materials, formwork can also be…

When developing formwork it is important to consider the type of concrete and the pouring temperature, since both affect the pressure exerted. Also, formwork must be capable of resisting loads of wet and dry concrete. Formwork requires planning, and structures such as poles and stabilizers to avoid movement during construction procedures, and these are called…

Formwork is a term used for the process of creating a temporary mould into which concrete is poured and formed. Traditional formwork is fabricated using timber, but it can also be constructed from steel, glass fibre reinforced plastics and other diverse materials. While formwork is a broad term that is used concerning the forming process…

The utilization of precast concrete offers significant benefits in terms of increased material efficiency, safety, labor productivity, and reduced time, cost, and wastage over conventional on-site construction. In the meantime, challenges exist in precast concrete production in the high requirements for dimensional accuracy of precast elements, flexibility and reusability of formwork, and stability of shuttering.…

After 15 years of hard work and research, a new earthquake-resistant concrete was developed in B.C. in 2017. which saw its first real-life application in a Vancouver elementary school seismic retrofit project. The project to develop the environmentally friendly ductile cementitious composite (EDCC) was overseen by Nemy Banthia at the University of British Columbia (UBC)…