Method Statement for Concrete Works

1. Concrete Batching Preparation

A stockpile of gravel and sand will be maintained on site to ensure concreting
operations are not hindered by the supply of gravel and sand.
The concrete plant will be located at WTW, the quantities of various Materials
(cement, sand, gravel water, etc.) used for production of concrete will be in
accordance with the approved Concrete Mix Designs. The capacity of the concrete
plant will be approximately 10 – 15m³/h. The amounts of water, sand, gravel and
cement will be determined by weight.
The cement will be stored in bags of 50 kg and keep in suitable containers in order to
avoid contact with the ground or bags directly with rainwater in the presence of
adverse weather conditions, with precipitation.

2. Concrete Mix Designs

The concrete mix design will be submitted as a Shop Drawing for approval.

3. Concrete Site Preparation

The concrete preparation and placement will be supervised by an experienced

Concrete Supervisor who will be on site to monitor the concrete preparation and
pouring works.

The key elements of the concrete preparation are described below:

 Setting out and control – to be done well in advance to ensure no mistakes in line
or level are made. Sufficient checking and liaison with Engineer’s surveying staff
ensuring works are not halted waiting for verification.
 Base preparation and blinding – the base to be excavated no lower than base of
blinding level. The base of the excavation will be inspected and approved by the
Engineer prior to making ready for the blinding layer of concrete.
 Compliance of the reinforcement and its links with the design drawings;
Compliance of the dimensions of the structures with the design drawings;
Minimum cover and distance between the men in armor (the minimum cover is
50 mm for the columns, wall, base slab, roof etc.); Compliance with the design of
the formwork.
 Fixing reinforcement steel – to follow the latest revision of construction drawings
and to include spacer blocks to ensure cover (with particular attention to the cover
as specified on the drawings. Use of ‘chairs’ to negate sagging of the
reinforcement cage in slabs.
 Permanent joints / waterstops – It is of upmost importance to ensure that all
Waterstops as per the drawings are installed.
 Formwork – shop drawings of the formwork will be submitted and reviewed prior
to installation of the formwork proceeding. Formwork will be installed to
accurate line and level and supported sufficiently. The formwork shall be well
fixed, rigidly held in the mounting position and will have a capacity of resistance
 to withstand the pressure resulting from the load of concrete during its placing
and vibration. Before the concreting phase, the entire surface of the formwork
that will be in contact with concrete shall be clean ensuring that all the impurities,
dirt or other foreign elements are removed. After the cleaning phase, to cover the
same surface with anti-adhesive mineral oil in order to ensure proper removal of
the formwork, as soon as the concrete has acquired the necessary strength. The
formwork to be properly sealed on wall end sections to ensure no leakage of wet
concrete.
 Access structures / scaffold – a properly installed and checked access platform
must be installed to allow access for concrete pours. The scaffolding / access
structures are to be properly braced and complete with a safety railing system.
Access ladders are to be of acceptable materials and secured as required to a safe
standard for use.

4. Reinforcement Steel

The reinforcement steel will be ordered either in straight lengths of different

diameters to be cut and bent on site.

The field cut and bending machine will be the Tecmor PG40 as illustrated below:

Reinforcement cut and bent on site will be bundled and labeled in accordance with the
design drawings and the submitted reinforcement bar schedule shop drawings.

The procedures in the following sections will be adhered to in order to ensure quality.

4.1 Fabrication

The reinforcement shall be cold bent without the use of heat to the shapes. Bars
having cracks or splits on the bends shall not be used.

Where reinforcement bars are bent aside at construction joints and afterwards bend
back into their original position, care should be taken.

Welding, if required, shall be done on approval of the Engineer.

4.2 Preservation

The reinforcement steel shall not be kept in direct contact with ground but stacked on
top of an arrangement of timber sleepers or any other suitable structure. Fabricated
reinforcement shall be carefully stored to prevent damage, distortion, corrosion and
deterioration.

The stacks shall be easily measurable. Steel needed for immediate use shall only be
removed from storage. Any reinforcement, which has deteriorated or has been
damaged or is otherwise considered defective, shall not be used for the concrete.

Exposed ends of dowel bars for underground structures shall be protected, if

necessary by encasing the same in lean concrete. For structures above ground,
exposed ends of dowel bars shall be given adequate coat of cement wash and if
additional protection is needed, shall be wrapped with plastic tape.

4.3 Placing of Reinforcement Steel

Reinforcements shall be placed, tied using annealed soft wire, and fixed at the exact
location at site as per the drawings. Cover blocks will be placed adequately as per the
site condition. All the spacers and chairs will be provided as per drawings or as the
site conditions.

For vertical / non-horizontal reinforcement, only wired cover block shall be used.

For horizontal reinforcement unwired cover block shall be used. In case if it is found
necessary, wired cover block shall also be used in horizontal reinforcement.

The vertical and horizontal distance required between successive layers of bars in
beams, walls or similar member shall be maintained by the provisions of spacer bar, if
required to meet the reinforcement shown in the drawing. Covers mentioned in the
drawing shall strictly be maintained.

Rough handling, shock loading (prior to embedment) and the dropping of

reinforcement from a height shall be avoided.

Reinforcement shall be accurately bent, placed and fixed by any approved means to
maintain the correct position of bars as shown on the drawings for this purpose. They
shall be bent gradually by machine or any other suitable device.

Bars intended to be in contact at crossing joints shall be securely bound together at all
such points with annealed soft Iron wire (Binding wire). The vertical and horizontal
distance required between successive layers of bars in beams, walls or similar
members shall be maintained by the provisions of spacer bars at such intervals that the
main bars do not perceptibly sag between adjacent spacer bar.

Arrangements for placing concrete shall be such that reinforcement in position does
not have to bear extra load and get disturbed. Bars shall be placed that cover to the
reinforcement is maintained as shown in the drawings.

Top layer of reinforcement shall be supported to avoid bending of the bars.

Reinforcing bars shall not be straightened and re-bent in a manner that is detrimental
to the materials

Bends and shapes shall comply with the dimensions corresponding to the approved
bar bending schedules.

Erected and secured reinforcement shall be inspected and approved by the Engineer
prior to placement of the concrete.

When specified diameter of reinforcement is not available, the Contractor may be

allowed to replace such diameters with available diameters calculated to provide the
equivalent steel area as shown on the drawings and such alterations shall be carried
out only after obtaining the approval of the Engineer.

4.4 Splicing of Reinforcement Bars

Lapping of reinforcement bars shall be done at locations as shown in the drawings or

as directed by the Engineer. However, not more than 50% of the splices shall be
provided in one location.

The lap length shall not be less than that specified in the drawings. If not specified,
the lap length shall be decided by the Engineer. Splices in adjacent bars shall be
staggered and the locations of all splices, except those specified on the drawings, shall
be approved by the Engineer.

The bars shall not be lapped unless the length required exceeds the maximum
available lengths of bars. At such locations, where by providing lap splice is giving
rise to congestion of reinforcement or wherever required as per the Engineer, such
splice shall be replaced with welding/ mechanical splicing at the discretion of the
Engineer.

4.5 Inspection

The placing of reinforcements shall be completed well in advance of concrete

pouring. Immediately before pouring the concrete, the reinforcement shall be
examined by the Engineer for accuracy of placement and cleanliness. Necessary
corrections as directed by the Engineer shall be carried out.

5. Concrete Planning Preparation (Pouring Plan)

During the planning phase before the works commence, the following will be
described:
 Pouring plan and size of each pour – the volume of concrete to be poured must be
achievable in terms of the size of the batching plant, the capacity of concrete
pump.
 Construction joints - It is anticipated the existence of vertical or horizontal
construction joints. The fresh concrete surfaces on or near horizontal joints can be
cleaned by abrasive surface with the aid of high pressure water jet or sand when
the hardness of the concrete to implement them without the occurrence of
disintegration of the concrete surface. The vertical joints and the surrounding area
will be treated the same way, if circumstances permit, removal of the formwork
in a timely manner. In the case of hardened concrete, it is not possible to adopt
the treatments presented above, the choice should be scraping surface with the aid
of mechanical equipment or projection of moist sand, then cleaning the surfaces
with clean water. The scarification depth shall not exceed 10 mm and approach
surfaces will be finished until the distance is never less than 40 mm.
 The classes of surface finish and all requirements of the concrete surface will be
as indicated in the Specification or according to those determined by the
Engineer. The surface finish of the concrete will be performed by qualified
personnel.

6. Pre-Concreting Check

Before concreting takes place and after all the above described steps, the following
items should be checked:

 Ensure that there is a power generator on site where there is no local power
supply on site.
 Ensure the concrete pump work properly, and pipes are connected properly.
 The availability of equipment for concreting and compaction, such as auto-
mixers, concrete pumps and vibrators, all equipment coming into contact with the
concrete, the amount of equipment will depend on the volume of concrete in
question.
 The availability on-site of all the necessary equipment to the stage of finishing
and protection of concrete, including tools for irrigation and spraying water.

7. Concrete Placement

The phase of concreting may be done with the help of concrete pumps that will be
positioned close to the concrete mixer, and the concrete will be pumped to the
structures through the steel pipes.

Concrete will be discharged continuously so that each layer of concrete is covered

with a new layer of fresh concrete, to ensure a good level of compression during the
vibration.

The key elements of the concrete placement are described below:

 Site slump tests – the test results should meet the mix design approved by the
engineer. Concrete pouring – pouring using concrete pumps and pipes or bucket
attached to crane, ensuring that adequate trunk is connected.
 Vibration during pouring - for wall concrete, pouring will be in ‘layers’ such that
 vibration of each height of the wall minimises air entrainment to an acceptable
degree. The vibration of the concrete is done whilst concreting with using
mechanical vibrators with wide frequency range. Electric vibrators or motor
driven vibrators will be used. The vibrators are positioned vertically with the
vibration of strata of variable thickness between 100 mm and 200 mm.
 Curing - if the ambient temperature during pouring is very high, sufficient
measures will be taken to ensure the curing is kept to a sufficiently low
temperature with watering of the surface, When the environmental conditions
require, the concrete can be protected from sunlight and wind to dry the coating
of horizontal or nearly horizontal surfaces with damp sand.

8. Concrete Placement against Existing Cast Surfaces

The additional elements of the concrete placement against existing cast surfaces are
described below:

 The conditions of cleaning the adjacent surfaces of concrete or other materials

(rocks or monolithic concrete surfaces shall be properly cleaned before concreting
phase).
 The conditions of cleanliness and consistency of construction joints. All surfaces
are cleaned with the help of sand blasting or water jet immediately before
concreting.
 The surfaces shall be exempt from any remnants of the old concrete by scraping
or defragmentation, or other approved means.

9. Concrete Post Placement

The key elements of the post placing are described below:

 Testing of the concrete cube / cylinder samples – During the pouring, concrete
cubes / cylinder samples will be taken and sent for testing to the concrete
laboratory. The number and frequency will be as per Specification 3100 or as
agreed with the Engineer.
 Safe striking of the formwork – Once the concrete has gained sufficient strength,
the formwork will be removed and moved to the next section of base or wall. The
minimum periods of time for striking after placement will be as clause 3.2.1 of
Specification 3100.
 Safe striking of the formwork – Once the concrete has gained sufficient strength,
the formwork will be removed and moved to the next section of base or wall. The
minimum periods of time for striking after placement will be as clause 3.2.1 of
Specification 3100.

10. Concrete Quality Control

When concreting is authorized, the incumbent reports to the Laboratory Manager

including class of concrete required and location of concreting. Laboratory personnel
deliver a copy of the Design Mix to the concrete plant technicians.

After identification by the laboratory personnel of the use of different aggregates and
the verification of the requested correspondence, the production phase of the concrete
will start with concrete mixer.

Control of Concrete will be by the Foreman and the Laboratory Manager, with any
changes in the components of concrete and / or addition of water being authorized
only by laboratory personnel.

The control of slump may not be constant, varying according to the type and quality
of the aggregates, the temperature, or adding super-plasticizers. Laboratory personnel
will also take samples of fresh concrete (cubes).

Concrete samples should be taken three at a time, to be broken at 7, 14 and 28 days.