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A shift to performance-based

specifications for concrete,

with a focus on innovation, quality,

and customer satisfaction.

Learn more | P2P RESOURCES | P2P Promotion | Online Seminar

Introduction

Strategies

Benefits

Challenges

Prescriptive vs. Performance

Specifications

Introduction

Since the early days of the ready mixed concrete industry in the 1920s, technological advances, production capabilities and practices of concrete producers have evolved into an advanced science. Most modern ready mixed concrete production facilities have laboratories that incorporate rigorous quality control and product development programs, and expert concrete technologists to develop innovative concrete mixtures for any application—from houses to high-rises and sidewalks to superhighways.

Unfortunately, typical project specifications are prescriptive in nature and stifle innovation by limiting the types and quantities of ingredients and material proportions. Prescriptive specifications are often overly conservative, which can lead to higher costs and unexpected negative results, ultimately leading to unsatisfied customers. The concrete producer should be part of the team that delivers a quality constructed project since he is the expert on the material he manufactures and delivers. The same goes for the progressive contractor.

A shift to performance-based specifications is the next logical step in the evolution of the ready mixed concrete industry. Performance-based specifications provide details of required results such as strength and other mechanical properties along with requirements for durability and serviceability. The results are verifiable through measurement or testing to assure the product meets the desired requirements. And finally, performance-based specifications are free of process limitations such as mixture proportions and construction methods. Performance-based specifications encourage innovative products and construction methods along with rigorous quality management systems that lead to superior products and satisfied customers.

The ready mixed concrete industry recognizes customer needs will best be served through innovative concrete technology and improved quality—the outcomes of performance-based specifications. Led by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), the ready mixed concrete industry has established the P2P Initiative to promote a shift from traditional prescriptive specifications to performance specifications for concrete. P2P is an acronym for Prescription to Performance specifications.