Construction World November 2016

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

AUTHORITY AWARDS FIRST MARK OF APPROVAL

DRY MORTAR OFFERS NUMEROUS BENEFITS

Manual blending of a mortar is labour intensive and time consuming, and requires careful attention to ensure the correct ratios of sand and cement are used. Incorrect blending or mixing will certainly affect the final product and in the case of plaster result in cracking. This Class II mortar has been specially engineered as a dual purpose mix that can be used for both mortar and plaster work. It will achieve a minimum strength of 5 MPa at 28 days. SANS 50197 compliant AfriSam All Purpose Cement was selected as this cement offers a spectrumof functional attributes that provide customers with guaranteed quality performance in concrete, mortar and plaster applications. This advanced composite cement contains milled clinker as well as advanced mineral components and additives, and therefore the ideal component for the AfriSam Dry Mortar product. The innovative AfriSam Dry Mortar solution is being produced in part- nership with Stick a Tile at a bespoke plant in Meyerton. Sand, quarried on the site, is dried to the requisite level, and blended with AfriSam’s All Purpose Cement in a controlled environment to produce this quality mix. The fully automated plant has a 400 ton per day capacity and batch printouts are produced to verify consistency and ensure optimum quality. Samples of the dry mortar product are taken at regular intervals and tested at AfriSam’s Centre of Product Excellence to ensure compliance with the required specifications. The AfriSam Dry Mortar product is supplied in either 10 ton or 20 ton silos offering optimum flexibility as customers can then decide on the size required based on individual project requirements. The AfriSam Dry Mortar solution offers contractors a number of benefits in addition to time and cost savings. Using a pre-blended mortar mix will ensure optimum product integrity and subsequently quality construction on a project. >

Garth McMillan, divisional general manager of Bosun Bricks, receives the CMA CS Mark of Approval from executive director, Frans Minnaar.

The Concrete Manufacturers Association Certification Services (CMA CS) has undertaken its first complete initial assessments and certified a number of products on behalf of its maiden client, Bosun Bricks. Initial assessments were undertaken to test compliance with SANS specifications on a number of different precast concrete products that are manufactured by the company and that need to be certified to meet engineering and architectural specifications. The CMA CS Mark of Approval is the first non-SABS mark to be used in the concrete industry since legislationwas changed to allowmultiple certification authorities to undertake certification of SANS standards. Born from the need to professionalise the certification of products within the precast concrete industry, CMA CS was established under the wing of the voluntary members’ association for the industry, the Concrete Manufacturers Association (CMA). This was in response to undue delays in the issuing of SANS certification from the current certification body that had the potential to harm member companies whose products needed certification in order to meet customer requirements. Peg in the ground Speaking on acceptance of the Mark of Approval, David Wertheim Aymes, managing director of Bosun Bricks said that adherence to standards is critical and that the establishment of CMA CS is a step in the right direction for the concrete industry.“At the end of the day, standards are all about putting a peg in the ground as a measure of what is acceptable and what is not. “SANS specifications are compiled by industry experts who deem them suitable for the type of product being manufactured. Thereafter it is the role of the certification agency to measure and certify that a product meets these standards, where after a Mark of Approval can be issued as proof to customers and end-users. “We are pleased to have been the first to be certified and found the process to be similar to our previous SABS audits, but much more in depth. The actual audits took three days rather than a few hours that we were used to. The auditor was comprehensive and the process from start to finish was considerably quicker than it had been traditionally,” said David. Quicker turn-around He added that Bosun Bricks will heavily advertise its newly acquired Mark of Approval in the media, on packaging and all other areas of business where it needs to be visible. CMA CS general manager Christo van Zyl, concluded that the new certi- fication process also marked an improvement over traditional certification as it is completely comprehensive, is undertaken by system auditors with industry knowledge and is done timeously to avoid manufacturers losing out on deals while waiting months for certification that should be done in a matter of days or weeks. >

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The Class II mortar has been specially engineered as a dual purpose mix that can be used for both mortar and plaster work. BELOW: AfriSam’s Dry Mortar product can be delivered in 10 or 20 ton silos to meet customer and project requirements.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2016