That’s exactly what Anchor Concrete Products did.
After recognizing the growing risks of manual testing machines and handwritten data, the company searched for solutions that could eliminate them.
With Forney, they found a two-in-one solution that could help them address both.
ABOUT ANCHOR CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Anchor Concrete Products is a Canada-based precast manufacturing firm that specializes in boxed culvert and other precast products.
“Forney was the first company we reached out to. They were very helpful and responsive. It just made sense to go with them.”
DARRELL SEARLES – Manager, Engineering Services
UPGRADING OUTDATED TESTING MACHINES & MANUAL DATA MANAGEMENT
Precasters have unique challenges compared to others in the concrete industry. When it comes to large-scale boxed culverts, product performance and consistency are extremely important.
That’s why, when Anchor Concrete’s manual testing machine started losing hydraulic fluid, they worried about the validity of their results—and took the opportunity to search for an upgrade.
“We were worried about not only the safety of our technicians on site, but also the safety of others everywhere. If a mix doesn’t meet strength, people can get hurt,” said Patrick Hudson, Quality Control Inspector.
So, thanks to Anchor Concrete’s commitment to quality and innovation, the team immediately started to research solutions that could replace their outdated testing machine—and the manual data management processes that went with it.
“We went through a lot of paperwork. We’d write down results that the machine displayed on the screen, save them in filing cabinets, and then dug them out and scanned them when we needed to make a report,” said Patrick. “It was messy and unprofessional.”
TWO-IN-ONE SOLUTION WITH FORNEY
At the end of 2019, Anchor Concrete found Forney: leading provider of automatic construction materials testing machines and software. The value of the machine-software integration was clear, making the decision an easy one.
Forney VFD Automatic Machine
- Faster cylinder breaking
- Automatic preloading and rate adjustments
- Energy-efficient hydraulic system
- Consistent, repeatable and accurate results
ForneyVault CMT Software
- Testing machine & QC system integration
- Automatic data flow before and after the test
- Auditable, unalterable data trail
After a call to learn how to use the machine and software, Anchor Concrete started seeing results almost immediately. The potential for human error was all but eliminated. Report compilation went from hours to seconds. Data could be easily accessed, but only by authorized users. The process had never been more secure.
“My partner quality control team member who tests the cylinders loves it,” said Patrick. “We don’t have to question results at all. We know it works and leave it at that.”
For specific precast products and projects, the process of tracking concrete for shipments greatly improved. Sales order numbers, batch numbers and the unique ID for test specimens (generated by ForneyVault) now tie together, seamlessly moving through the lifecycle of the project, from design to production to QC to shipping.
“We work with a consulting engineer with a decade of experience with precast and get a monthly inspection by a Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) auditor, also an engineer. They were both happy to see that data was automatically kept and couldn’t be manipulated by individuals.”
DARRELL SEARLES – Manager, Engineering Services
“The real time access to every bit of data we have ever collected is great. Especially as people still work from home,” said Darrell. “Results have been really good: Neat, clean and organized. Compared to handwritten, this has been a dream.”
While the solution makes the Anchor Concrete team members’ lives easier, the true success is that they are now equipped to deliver high value results to their customers—and pass audit inspections without worry every single time.
“When we first implemented the new reports, our customers— including government agencies reviewing reports at project close—found it very clear and to the point, making their work a little bit easier. The reports look more professional and there is more confidence in the actual results.”
DARRELL SEARLES – Manager, Engineering Services
KEEPING ERRORS OUT OF THE MIX
The combination of Forney VFD automatic machines and ForneyVault has truly automated the precast testing process for Anchor Concrete.
Now, they are able to:
- Focus on innovating and delivering high quality precast products.
- Work on value-added processes instead of data entry.
- Ensure accurate precast testing results.
- Promote trust and transparency with unalterable results.