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Brett Concrete Wins MPA BRMCA 2011 Customer Service Award

Brett Concrete has won the MPA British Ready-Mixed Concrete Association’s (MPA BRMCA) 2011 ‘Excellence in Customer Service Award’. The award aims to recognise and congratulate those ready-mixed concrete companies who provide a high quality, efficient and professional service. The awards were presented at this year’s Concrete Society Awards Dinner.

Brett Concrete won first prize for its concrete supply to the VolkerFitzpatrick/Hochtief joint venture for the East Kent Access Phase 2 improvement of the A299 between the Minster roundabout and the Lord of the Manor junction, and improvement of the A256 between the Lord of the Manor junction connecting with Phase 1 at the old Richborough Power Station site. Phase 2 involves improvement to dual carriageway standard including taking the road via a 126m underpass beneath Fords Lane and the existing Canterbury to Ramsgate railway line at Cliffsend. The work will connect the ports of Dover and Ramsgate and the Kent International Airport and will complete improvements of the A299 Thanet Way and A256 that were started in the 1980s.

The contract called for the supply of over 27,000m3 of concrete and contained the requirement to complete six large roof deck sections, each comprising 1000m3 of concrete, to form an underpass. For these large pours, the concrete was delivered in excess of 90m3/hr. The concrete mix pumped with ease with excellent control and surface finish. The C40/50 concrete was made with a maximum aggregate size of 10mm, CIIIA cement at a minimum cement content of 380kg/m3 with a superpasticizer to achieve a water/cement ration of 0.40. The West head wall of the Cliffsend underpass pour was used as a large scale trial for the main mix intended for the six major 1000m3 pours. The pours were completed over an 8 month period from December 2010 with subtle changes made to the mix to ensure consistent performance over the range of winter and summer temperatures.

The underpass was necessary due to the proximity of private/business properties that ruled out a simpler over-bridge. The answer was to develop a solution that would allow the jacking of manageable structural sections without having any impact on the operation of the railway. A pair of 2.05m internal diameter temporary tunnels was bored 8.5m below the railway line along the lines of the underpass side walls. From within these tunnels, mini-piling rigs were used to construct rows of closely spaced reinforced concrete piles taken through the tunnel base and founded in the underlying chalk. These piles provided the foundations for the access paths for the deck roof sections. The 6 sections were then cast on site and jacked into position to form the complete structure. At 126m, the underpass is believed to be the longest jacked structure in the world. Given the need for six separate structures to be jacked in line and on a critical path, Brett had to ensure there were no problems in quality or delivery.

This was a complex project that demanded a high level of co-ordination and management. The close working relationship between the Joint Venture and Brett ensured that the logistical challenges in working in a semi-rural location on a difficult civil engineering project were successfully met. In addition to the delivery of 6,000m3 for the underpass, Brett coordinated 21,000m3 of concrete to six different sections of work and ensured a close liaison on a daily basis to answer the challenging programme demands. Throughout the project Brett provided an outstanding level of service that was much appreciated by the client Joint Venture. Commenting on Brett’s award, the judges said: Brett provided an exemplary ‘can do’ level of service given the scope and complexity of the project, particularly the critical nature of the pours”.

The MPA BRMCA awards saw two companies being highly commended. The first of these is Lafarge Readymix for the supply of 40,000m3 of concrete for Phase 2 of the Whitelees wind farm project. Lafarge erected a temporary mobile plant to service the project and despite changing timescales, poor weather and road conditions, carefully planning and a close working relationship with the client and project team ensured that a consistent high quality of material delivery.

Lafarge were also commended for their service providing the concrete for the South Shields Foreshore, a seaside promenade that stretches for over half a mile. The need for a high quality decorative finish of different coloured concretes called for close liaison between all parties. Of paramount importance was a high level of colour consistency with no chance of contamination from other materials. Lafarge ensured that the end result impressed all concerned due to site staff training, thorough cleaning of the trucks and plants to ensure no contamination occurred and close communication with Scott Wilson, the landscape architects.

The other company to be highly commended was Tarmac Ltd for the supply of concrete for a bridge-stitch pour to join the North and South carriageways of the Wolvercote Vaiduct carrying the A34 over the River Thames. Night working, short possession windows and tight site conditions presented a range of challenges. For the concrete mix, the main challenge was the April cold night time temperatures as generating heat with concrete is key to ensuring that it can develop the require strength quickly. 160m3 of concrete was placed within three hours using 26 trucks. Each delivery was slump tested prior to discharge into the four concrete pumps, and technicians worked through the night and the following day to undertake cube testing. The concrete achieved a strength of 20N/mm2 within 20 hours of being placed and allowed the carriageway to be reopened ahead of the allocated closure time. This was a project that had strict programme times and Tarmac’s efficiency and quality of service meant that the Viaduct was reopened ahead of schedule.

The judges praised all these companies for demonstrating a consistent high quality service: “Good customer service should be integral to a business. These companies have delivered a level of service that is not only good but is exemplary in the provision of collaboration, efficiency and professionalism”.