Singapore sets record for largest continuous concrete pour

Pan-United Corporation has reported that the company has achieved Singapore’s largest two continuous ready-mix concrete pours in casting the raft foundation for a development project.

The Group’s subsidiary, Pan-United Concrete, set a national record when it poured 18,916 cubic metres for 57 hours non-stop from October 31 to November 2, 2020. This first pour was followed by a second pour of 18,342 m3 of concrete in a shorter time of 42 hours non-stop, November 27-29, 2020, to complete the raft foundation.

The mixer truck convoys delivered one truckload of concrete non-stop every 60 seconds. The total concrete volume of the two pours, at 37,258 m3, is equivalent to filling 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The previous record of 18,000 m3 was in March 2015 for the Marina One raft foundation.

Ready-mix concrete is produced just in time and typically has a two-hour workable lifespan. Pan-United designed a special concrete that remained workable for six hours to ensure the layers bonded integrally to form a solid raft. The planning for the production, delivery and casting of the raft foundation took several months in close collaboration with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the main contractor of the development.

Ken Loh, chief operating officer, Pan-United, said, “We are thankful to Hyundai for taking all the measures necessary to ensure safe distancing and to greatly reduce any health risks to the teams handling the massive pours. Pan-United also used our contactless processes such as e-delivery orders, e-concrete sampling, e-sign-offs, and our customer portal to minimize physical interaction at the worksite.

“Both mass pours went very smoothly, thanks to the excellent cooperation with Hyundai, and the tremendous team effort of all parties involved. We had full confidence of success in executing this feat, supported by our concrete innovation specialists and with the advanced logistics managed through our digital optimisation platform called AiR1.”

Technology was said to be crucial in both mass pours in ensuring no disruptions and a continuous supply of concrete. Chiller systems developed in-house were used to maintain the low heat of this special flowing concrete to prevent cracking during the setting of the huge raft and virtual quality testing was conducted remotely using e-sampling to ensure safe distancing.