Albayrak Beton Chairman of the Board Erdal Albayrak stated that one of the foremost factors directly affecting earthquake safety in housing is the time required to pour ready-mixed concrete. Albayrak said, “Ready-mixed concrete must be poured within a maximum of two hours; otherwise, it loses its properties. Considering Istanbul traffic, concrete mixer trucks should be placed in the category of ‘vehicles with right of way in traffic’.”
Drawing attention to the importance of concrete—one of the first materials that comes to mind regarding earthquake safety and construction durability—Erdal Albayrak underlined that the factors directly affecting residents’ safety are not only the quality of the ready-mixed concrete but also the time it is poured, its placement, and its curing.
Emphasizing that the strength of ready-mixed concrete changes over time after it is poured, Albayrak noted that it is vital for mixer trucks to deliver the concrete to the pouring site within two hours and that concrete mixer trucks should therefore be given right of way in traffic.
Providing further details, Erdal Albayrak said, “Ready-mixed concrete, now the most preferred material for the construction industry, enables projects to progress quickly and efficiently. Yet there is a critical detail: ready-mixed concrete must be poured within a maximum of two hours. After two hours, the concrete loses its properties. For this reason, concrete mixer trucks must be accommodated in Istanbul traffic—indeed, they should have right of way. Concrete quality has a direct impact on human life. The distance between the concrete plant and the pouring site is crucial. Because it is a dusty, busy operation with heavy vehicle traffic, plants cannot be set up just anywhere. Just as gas stations have designated locations, ready-mixed concrete plants must also have permits at strategic points.”
Albayrak stressed that when concrete is combined with rebar, statics, and workmanship, a reinforced-concrete structure is created, but because concrete has the largest mass, it is the most critical parameter in an earthquake. He added that truly earthquake-safe buildings require all these parameters to come together optimally: “We view every batch of concrete we pour as an investment in human life or as a product made to safeguard lives. We strive for production with pharmaceutical-grade precision.
“We Tolerate Possible Errors of Our Stakeholders”
“We keep our standards at the maximum level, pushing beyond the standard. As much as possible, we try to produce concrete that can tolerate potential errors of the stakeholders who come after us. The transport stage also requires quality management. You must use your vehicle fleet and chosen routes efficiently so the quality of the product you produced is not compromised during transport. Legally, our quality journey ends at the end of our pump hose before the concrete is placed in the formwork. But the concrete’s quality journey continues. Our stakeholders are those who place the concrete, prepare the formwork, and carry out the curing process. If these steps are done correctly, the final product is of high quality.”