Precast manufacturers collect critical data daily to ensure the quality of their products. But when that information is lost on paper, it can lead to costly rework—or even more serious consequences.
One-day strength tests can tell you a lot about your batch and mix design, but sifting through pages and pages of paper for trends and exceptions is unrealistic and, at times, can feel near impossible. For the safety-conscious team at USA Precast, finding a way to improve visibility into this information was top priority.
The solution they found ended up being a complete gamechanger. In just 30 days, they were up and running with automatic testing controls and integrated QC software—a combination that gave them exactly what they were looking for and more.
ABOUT USA PRECAST CONCRETE
USA Precast Concrete is a precast manufacturer based in Canal Fulton, Ohio.
“It’s like going from a rotary phone to an iPhone. Everything you could want at your fingertips is there.”
–Austin Barnard
HOW MANUAL QC TESTING CAUSES PAPER PROBLEMS
The average small business doesn’t need a complicated, bloated technology stack. But paper-based work — even at a small scale — presents problems that risk trickling into the final product. For a company like USA Precast that has built its reputation on ease, efficiency and integrity, living with that risk was not an option. “We are very safety conscious,” said Austin Barnard, Plant Manager.
“We strip products off the form in 15 hours based on strip strength tests. We need a good test to make sure concrete isn’t too weak, otherwise products will break, anchors or cables can get ripped out, or worse.”
The problem: Information about these one-day strip strength breaks were being recorded and reported on paper. This meant things like low strip strength streaks were more difficult to uncover and resolve.
As an alternative to cast-in-place concrete, precast products offer unique cost, time and quality advantages for construction projects. However, USA Precast’s customers can only experience these benefits if the precast product they order meet design, quality and safety expectations. To ensure this, USA Precast is always finding new ways to make their QC testing process the best it can be.
So how did they end up with all this paper? What kind of transformation needed to occur?
The root of the problem: Manual QC testing.
Here’s what this looked like:
Manual Machines
- Set up test
- Manage specimen details and preload calculations
- Run test, including constant manual load rate adjustments
- Hand write break type and failure value
- Zero-out machine before next test
Manual Data Management
- Writing results by hand
- Retyping data into spreadsheets
- Scanning results to send via email
“If anyone wanted break or mix information without being at the plant, someone would have to track [results] down, scan them, and send them.” – Ryan
A SOLUTION CLOSE TO HOME
To solve the paper problem, USA Precast needed to solve the manual QC testing problem. Turns out, the part of the solution was already sitting on the plant floor: a Forney Compression test machine.
Already familiar with the Forney standard of quality, Austin said it was an easy decision to make the leap from manual to automatic with Forney. All they had to do was upgrade their manual machine with a Forney RetroPak and subscribe to ForneyVault.
“I had heard of ForneyVault before, too,” Austin said. “It was a quick turnaround to pulling the trigger.”
“We set it up in house, and I picked it up in two days,” said Austin. “I had some questions around inputting data, but it was pretty seamless. Things seemed to line up perfectly.”
The quick set up process was only the beginning. USA Precast saw the value in automating their QC process almost right away.
AUTOMATIC QC TESTING: RESULTS & ROI
USA Precast sought a solution that would increase visibility into their data. What they ended up with was even better: Visibility into higher quality data generated faster than ever before.
Efficiency
“Our time is so valuable, and we both wear multiple hats,” said Austin. As plant manager, he oversees everything from sales to delivery. Likewise, Ryan Wirtzberger is QC Lead but shares in purchasing responsibilities. “If we can pick up time in our day, that’s really valuable.”
“It looks like a lot of money, but it can save you time, especially if your QC team is small. It can quickly pay for itself in that regard.”
– Austin Barnard, Plant Manager
The automatic testing workflow allows them to multitask while the machine runs. Depending on the project, they could be breaking anywhere between 12 and 18 cylinders every day, in addition to preparing more cylinders, inputting batch information, and all the other roles they’re responsible for on a daily basis.
“If Ryan’s breaking cylinders and someone asks him to check another product, he can walk away instead of having to stand there and babysit the machine,” said Austin.
Consistency
“With the automatic machine, we’re breaking quicker, and we’re getting more consistent breaks – not just tiny chips,” said Ryan.
The automatic controls give Ryan and his team confidence in the consistency and quality of the data the machine generates. With ForneyVault connected to the machine, they also don’t have to worry about capturing that data by hand.
“If you’re recording data by hand, you have to stay on top of it,” he said. “Now, there’s no second guessing. The machine and software do it now.”
Visibility
Automatic testing gives Ryan and Austin speed at the machine – and the entire company confidence in the quality of data. This culminates into the main reason they looked for a solution in the first place: better visibility into everything.
“If we can pick up time in our day, that’s really valuable.”
“You wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.”
– Austin Barnard, Plant Manager
“I can just log into ForneyTools to see where our breaks are, which I couldn’t do before,” said Austin. “Sometimes customers want to see the last 30 days of breaks. Instead of having to track down our books, anyone can log in and export the data in a matter of a minute. This helps with NPCA audits and our DOT work.”
Wendy Potashnik, Executive Vice President, agrees. “I am not in the office every day, but I absolutely love the fact that I could see this morning at 5 am we had a low break for our stripping strength in one of our buildings.”
“If we can pick up time in our day, that’s really valuable.”
“The implementation of the ForneyVault system has been a gamechanger in regards to our safety protocol and communication.”
– Wendy Potashnik
The ability to easily access data has unlocked much more for USA Precast. Now, they can analyze and act on the information in ways they couldn’t before. For example, they can run easily run mix performance reports on the standard deviation between results, an indicator of a good quality mix design.
“It makes breaking cylinders easy, but the data analysis we can do with it is pretty cool,” said Austin. “We’ve only scratched the surface there.”
FROM A PAPER-BASED PROCESS TO ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES.
The USA Precast team is excited by the potential of their automatic QC testing workflow. With more efficient tests and complete visibility into unalterable results, USA Precast is able to deliver the high quality precast products they’re known for with more confidence than ever – and much fewer headaches for the team.