Do not forget, lo/to procedures are not a choice but a life saving necessity!

Energy is essential for all industry and all processes that run the machines and equipment. Simply, energy is the ability to do work and we need energy. The energy is harnessed, tamed and put into work for us. But, on the other hand, energy is always ready to escape from control. And if it is not kept under control, it can hurt even kill us! We need energy in readymix industry and the form of energy can be in different sometimes live and sometimes stored or hidden!

One of the most important components of the safety program in readymix industry is lo/to (lockout/tagout) policy. The purpose of lo/to is prevent machinery and equipment in the workplace from unexpectedly moving or energizing. Lo/to specifies safety procedures and practices that protect operators, his assistants, maintenance &repair people and other workers around the machine from serious injury, harm and damage and against risks arising in the area. Lo/to procedures ensure that each employee can work without fear.

Lo/to, also called control of hazardous energy, is used in many industries including readymix facilities. This study has been prepared to explain the relation of energy with machinery and equipment and how to implement a lo/to system for the people working in readymix concrete plants.

Apart from the stationary plants, loto can also be applied to control dangerous energy for the mobile machines like wheel loaders working continiously in the production area and mixer and dumper trucks in/out the facility or all trucks including concrete pumps being repaired at the shop. However this subject often overlooked and loto is considered only for stationary equipment.

In order to be succesful for loto application, it is important that all personnel at all levels in the facility receive a training. Loto processes need to be kept simple for the workers to be implemented properly. One challenge to a lo/to program is the safety culture. Therefore building a safety culture at the facility is also important for loto.

Energy is not only beneficial but also dangerous. Do not forget, lo/to procedures are not a choice but a life saving necessity for yhe control of hazardaus energy!

This E-Book, which consists of the following chapters, tries to explain how to apply lo/to policy in readymix facilities. What is loto, energy means danger, control of energy, loto aplications, loto in batch and recycle plants, loto on mixer truck and wheel loader, loto procedures, responsibilities, questions for lo/to.

www.ozsoylev.com

In ready-mixed concrete, safety comes first then work!

This study consists of a series of images that draw attention of mixer truck drivers to the main accident areas experienced in ready mixed concrete plants and on the roads. The visuals are designed in a simple way to enable those working in the industry to understand safety related issues more easily.

The images are comprised of bug-seeking visuals, each addressing a different number of problem situations. Each image is also supported by information with which relevant errors are resolved.

The images are supported by information that explains the erroneous or missing situations in more detail or gives additional information. This informations also includes relevant laws, standards and guidelines where critical situations must be classified as unacceptable or at least dangerous.

The fact that all white and blue-collar personnel working in ready mixed concrete facilities analyze these images independently and try to detect errors will increase the awareness of safety in the company. After that, they are also expected to report the situation to the company’s job safety officer when they feel a safety-related weakness.

At the end of the study, some laws, standards and directives related to the subject are given. In this sense, it is an exceptional reference source for occupational safety personnel who have just started the sector.

www.ozsoylev.com

This E-Book is consisting of following topics; safety issues, machine safety, safety at the plant, safety on the road, safety survey at site, safety on the site, safety at setup, safety at pumping, safety at cleaning and safety at  maintenance. This study covers the precautions to be taken and the points to be considered for the safe operation of concrete pumps in the ready mixed concrete sector and all on construction sites. In addition, many topics related to safety as well as safety culture are also covered in the book.

While concrete pumps provide great advantages in construction projects, they can also create great dangers. If they are not used properly and safely give harm to lives, property and money. Therefore nowadays, the most important issue with concrete pumps is to increase the safety.

The most common concrete pump accidents; traffic accidents on the road, overturning at the construction site, hitting power lines electrocution, breaking the boom, bending the feet, burning the pump, getting the operator’s hand off at cleaning, hitting the worker by hose, etc.

Thousands of concrete pumps are currently operating all over the world. Some of them are not in good condition, some pumps are not suitable for the project, some works have time limits, some pour sites are not suitable for mobile pump installation. Operators are tired, most sites work in the dark at night. Some people don’t care about risks etc. Many reasons increase pumping risks. But on the other hand the most important factor for the accidents is lack of safety awareness and professional skill training of the operators.

The cheapest and fastest measure for safety is education and  training. However, this is not only learning about some set of rules. But it is clearly understanding and carefully applying them. In this book, safety related issues are detailed in a ‘question-and-answer’ form so that concrete pump operators and all others involved in the concrete pumping process can understand the subject more easily.

Although it is not clear when and how the danger will arise, the main purpose of safety training is to identify the risks associated with the work and reduce them as much as possible. In this book, possible danger situations at plant, on road and at construction sites are examined and measures to be taken to reduce them are given.

Timuçin Özsöylev

www.ozsoylev.com

Depreme dayanıklı bina ne anlama geliyor.

Depreme dayanıklı binalar, deprem olunca bize kaçacak kadar zaman tanıyan mı, yoksa deprem sonrası kısmen hasarlı olarak kalabilecek yapılar mı veya hiçbir şekilde etkilenmeyecek binalar mı, hangisi? Çoğu ülkede eski binaların güçlendirilmesine ilişkin standart, bina sakinlerinin güvenli bir şekilde tahliye edebilmeleri için ayakta kalacak kadar güçlü olmalarını gerektirir, diyor.

Bir binanın deprem sarsıntısı sırasında güvenli kalması için, kirişlerden kuvvet alan kolonların kirişlerden, kirişlerden ve kolonlardan kuvvet alan temelin de, kiriş ve kolonlardan daha güçlü olması gerekir. Dahası; kirişlerin kolonlara ve kolonların temele güvenli şekilde kuvvet aktarabilmesi için aradaki bağlantıların sürekli ve yeterli dayanımda olması önemlidir. Buna mukavemet hiyerarşisi deniliyor!

Eğer kirişler büyük esnekliğe sahip olacak şekilde ve uygun detaylandırılmışsa, bina bir bütün olarak deforme olur ancak ayakta kalabilir. Eğer, kolonlar zayıf yapılmışsa, aşırı fakat local bir hasar oluşur. Üst katlardaki kolonlar neredeyse hasarsız durumda kalsa da, bu local hasar, binanın çökmesine neden olabilir.

Ahşap ve çeliğin aksine beton bükülemez ve eğilemez. Sadece basınca dayanıklı bir malzeme olan betonun çekme kuvvetlerine karşı da dayanıklı olması için demirle birlikte kullanılır. Ve bu birleşim yani betonarme, betonu en uygun ve ekonomik yapı malzemesi haline getirir. Kolon ve kirişleri daha güçlü ve daha esnek hale getirmek için inşaat demiri olarak bilinen çelik takviyeler kullanır. İnşaat demiri, betonun içinde bir kafes oluşturarak, betonun ufalanmadan çatlamasına ve bükülmesine izin verir.

Esnek olmayan beton içine yeterince demir koyulsa bile daha sonra paslanma ve yıpranma yada işçilik hataları nedeniyle beton kolonlar bükülmek yerine bir tebeşir parçası gibi kırılabilir. Buda, büyük bir deprem sırasında eski beton binaları riske sokabilir. Sonuç olarak, bina yönetmelikleri, binaların onarılabilecek orta derecede hasarla depreme dayanmasını şart koşuyor. Hastaneler ve okullar gibi bazı kamu/özel binaların depremden sonra çalışır durumda kalması için daha yüksek bir standart olması gerekmez mi?

Betonarme bina, yapının güvenli olduğu anlamına mı geliyor? Yüz yıl kadar eski olanlar da dahil olmak üzere tüm beton binalarda azda olsa bir miktar çelik donatı bulunuyor ve bu nedenle beton çelik takviyeli olarak tanımlanıyor. Ancak bazı eski binalarda, şiddetli bir depreme dayanacak kadar inşaat demiri olmayabilir. Bu, büyük bir deprem sırasında eski beton binaları riske sokar.

Güçlendirilmiş binalar yenileri kadar güvenli midir? Güçlendirilmiş binaların yenileriyle aynı standartları karşılaması tabii ki beklenemez.

Depremlerde sadece yüksek binalar mı risk altında? Çok katlı binalar en büyük tehlikeyi oluşturuyor çünkü bu binalarda pek çok insan yaşıyor yada çalışıyor. Ancak, tek katlı bir beton bina da çökebilir ve ölümlere  neden olabilir.

Oturduğumuz binanın risk altında olup olmadığını nasıl anlarız? Bu sorunun basit bir cevabı yok. Çünkü tüm yapıların bir listesi veya somut özelliklerinin bir envanteri yok. Bölgedeki münferit bina kayıtları da, diğer binalar için  tam bir resim sağlamayabilir.

Beton bir binanın risk altında olup olmadığını anlamanın tek yolunun, uzman bir mühendise kontrol ettirmek olduğu söyleniyor. Ancak buda  tekdüze bir çalışma oluyor. Çünkü bu işlem yapılırken yapı bütünlüğü ve yapının geçmişi ne kadar dikkate alınıyor!

Istanbul’ da, önceki depremlerde kullandığımız alanların neredeyse hepsinin yapılaştırıldığını görüyoruz. Bunun için özellikle her semtte bir şekilde bulunan tüm okulların (bina ve boş alanları) hızlı şekilde kontrol edilmesi ve ivedi olarak yeterince sağlamlaştırılması çok önemli.  Çünkü, Istanbul’ da mezarlıkların kenarları hariç, gidilebilecek başka boş bir alan kalmadı!

Timuçin Özsöylev

Artık her şeyi konuşma zamanı diyorlar da, acaba her şey konuşuluyor yada konuşulabiliyor mu? Asrın depremi oldu, binlerce insan öldü yine bir tane bile suçlu bulamadık. Bulunamaz tabii. Çünkü zamanında tepki vermediğimiz için hepimiz suçluyuz!

Belediyelerin seçim dönemindeki; bir ay inşaata uğramayız dedikleri ve çalışan (yada aracıların) aldıkları paralar konuşuluyor mu? Bu bir ayda inşaatta ne olduğu konuşuluyor mu? Kalıp parası yüksek olduğundan zamanı gelmeden kalıbı çıkarıp bir üst kata geçildiği konuşuluyor mu? İki kat çıkıp bir sonraki seçimi (4-5 yıl) bekleyen binalar konuşuluyor mu?

Hep beton beton deniliyor, demir bağlantıları ve demir işçiliği konuşuluyor mu? Hızla yapılan binalardaki demir işçiliği kalitesi konuşuluyor mu? Demiri ve demirciyi kontrol eden var mı?

Düzce ve Gölcük depreminde bireysel yapıların nasıl ve neden çöktüğünü hepimiz gördük! Yapılar hep bekleyip sonradan üzerine kat eklenen yerlerden çökmüş yada devrilmiş! Ve imar affı ile bu binaların çoğu normal kabul ediliyor. Hala bu durumda olan ve kat çıkmak için apartta bekleyen sıva bile yapılmamış (çünkü sıva bir kat parası demek!) ve çatısız daha kaç bina var konuşuluyor mu?

İmar affı aslında, herkesin yaşam hakkının para ile satıldığı anlamına gelmiyor mu? Affedilen o çürük, uygunsuz, kuralsız, plansız evlere, dükkanlara, mağazalara, otellere hepimiz girmiyor muyuz! Niye konuşulmuyor! Kimi kimden koruyoruz, kendi celladımızı mı!

Büfeye gidiyorum leblebi alıyorum, fişte tekel, gıda, inşaat vb. yazıyor. Kasaba gidiyorum et alıyorum, fişte hayvancılık ve inşaat vb. yazıyor. Fırına gidiyorum ekmek alıyorum, fişte un mamülleri ve inşaat vb. yazıyor. Önüne gelen inşaat işiyle uğraşıyor. Ne tatlı bir iş! Bu konuşuluyor mu?

Futbol takımlarına bakıyorum yöneticilerin çoğu inşaatçı. Milyon dolar verip sporcu alıyorlar. Nasıl ya diye, konuşuluyor mu? Sosyete dünyasına bakıyorum, altlarında acaip arabalar, mankenler peşlerinde, çoğu inşaatçı. Belediye başkanları inşaatçı, meclis üyeleri inşaatçı! Neden ya diye bunlar konuşuluyor mu?

Son olarak; Düzce depremi sonu yargı ve cezalar:
Yapım hatalarından çöken binaların müteahhitleri hakkında yaklaşık 2100 dava açıldı. Bu davalardan 1880’ ü, yasal boşluklardan dolayı cezasız sonuçlandı. Geri kalan 300 davanın 110’ unda ceza verilse de çoğu ertelendi. Bunun dışında kalan davalar ise 2007 yılında 7,5 yıllık zaman aşımı süreleri dolduğu için düştü…

Sonuç olarak bir tane bile suçlu bulunamadı ve yine bulunamayacak!

Timuçin Özsöylev

Binalarımız ne kadar güvenli!

Defensive driving saves your lives, time and property!

Many books have been written about defensive driving. However, this book is an unique study for mixer trucks which are not carriying any stable load but a big drum on their back. This drum is always rotating to doing an important job for mixing liquid and perishable material ie concrete in it!

We need this study because the mixer trucks have very distinctive feature than other trucks on the roads.

This E-Book containing the following topics has been prepared to prevent mixer truck accidents. What is defensive driving, driving awareness, safety conscious, driving fundamentals, tips for safe drive, mixer truck accidents, extrem conditions, driving on road, driving off-road, driving at site, fit driver, safety training, safety culture.

Defensive driving in a concrete truck is driving to prevent accidents, in spite of the incorrect actions of others or adverse weather conditions. Drivers who are safety-conscious have developed good habits and practice them daily. And every time they get behind the wheel, they obey all important rules.

‘Defensive’ may be not an enough wording to cover all when talking about driving a vehicle. Defensive driving doesn’t mean you need to be scared when you’re behind the wheel, but it also doesn’t mean you should let confidence turn into aggressive driving. It’s important to find a good medium where driving techniques are obviously while also accounting for the actions of other drivers and potential hazards.

The question of what is meant by defensive driving is sometimes answered incorrectly. Defensive driving means driving cautiously and anticipating dangers early on. It does not mean, however, that one always waives one’s own rights. For example, if you drive into an intersection and have the right of way, defensive driving means that you pay attention to whether the other vehicles give you the right of way.

So if you start driving without paying attention to what others are doing, then this is considered offensive. However, if you set off while making sure that others don’t set off, then this is considered defensive driving.

www.ozsoylev.com

All rollovers can be prevented!

Rollover risks have existed for as long as vehicles have travelled on roads. Statistics show that rollover accidents occur every day despite major improvements in vehicle performance and the computerisation of safety systems. If you operate any type of truck with a high center of gravity, you need to address the potential of a rollover accident. While operator training helps mitigate the chances of a rollover, even the best drivers are subject to unavoidable emergency maneuvers and momentary lapses in attention that can lead to major incidents. But new technology in the form of electronic stability systems is emerging that will minimize these risks.

The duty of the mixer trucks is to transport the concrete prepared in the batch plant to the construction sites. While doing this work, mixer trucks are in motion both on the highways and on the sites and the rollover event is experienced in both areas. When the rollover accidents are analysed, it will be clear that there are common causes in both areas and also in the special cases specific to each area.

Rollovers occur due to a particular set of circumstances. Distractions, mechanical condition, driver fatigue, road conditions (soft verges, camber), weather etc. If these circumstances are corrected or prevented, then any rollover can be eliminated. A rollover is one of the most serious types of mixer truck accidents, resulting in many cases in serious injury and/or death to drivers or the general public at large. When rollovers occur, it puts the driver into a position that no amount of training or anticipation can assure the prevention of very serious consequences.

How to prevent the mixer truck rollovers:

In order to prevent rollover incidents, first of all, it is necessary to know that mixer trucks are technically very different from other truck-mounted vehicles in traffic and this should be learned and accepted by mixer truck drivers in particular.

Mixer trucks are more prone to overturning than other truck mounted equipment due to the forces acting on the vehicle, that is, due to the high center of gravity due to the drum in a high position on the chassis and the centrifugal forces caused by the rotation of the drum. These two features also affect other movements of the vehicle and increase the possibility of overturning.

Driver training:

Rollovers typically occur during cornering, rapid lane or road position changes and low or adverse road surface grip conditions. This is where centrifugal force acting through a vehicle’s centre of gravity causes it to lean. The magnitude of the centrifugal force will increase as speed and turning angle increase, resulting in a rollover.

The training and experience of the drivers using the mixer vehicle is very important in order to reduce the rollover incidents in mixer trucks at least as much as possible.

Awareness of mixer truck rollovers:

Mixer truck rollovers will only be prevented if drivers remain focused. In order to accomplish this, repeated training must be conducted of ‘recognizing conditions’ that are common to most rollovers. Statistics show the most common cause for many trucks rolling over is the driver’s inability to assess the combination of speed, heavy loads, and cornering. The dangers these combined factors pose may seem obvious, but the problem is that the driver must learn to assess them from behind the wheel. Doing so requires good judgement, knowledge of the vehicle and, if possible, practical training.

Lastly, rollovers create unnecessary human suffering, substantial costs and business disruption. It is everyone’s responsibility in the company to do whatever can be done to prevent the occurrences of rollovers.

This nine-chapter E-Book covers rollover incidents in mixer trucks in detail. Rollover risks, rollover awareness, rollover incidents, analysis of rollovers, rollover prevention, prevention systems, rollover training, rollovers at turns, results of rollover.

www.ozsoylev.com

It doesn’t work anymore without digitalization!

Some people may say that digitalization is not new for ready mixed concrete. But don’t confuse digitalization and digitization which often used interchangeably, however they’re different.

Digitalization is the transforming of all processes and workflows to make them easier and more efficient. Especially in today’s technically driven world, it is crucial to adopt a digital culture in order to survive and succeed. And we will here discuss the digitalization of all processes in readymix.

The digitalization in readymix has become not only a reality but a necessity. If you want to be active and strong in the market, you can no longer do without consistently digitally aligning your processes.

The readymix industry has been changing with digitalization through the individual process areas at operation side supply chain of raw materials, production at batch plant, logistics with mixer trucks dispatch, concrete placement with pump and at business side offer, delivery note and invoicing procedures.

Digital processes help the employees to save time on recurring activities, receipts that go to or from business partners, thus everyone gets the most out of day-to-day business.

From the planning of the production to the timely ordering of the raw material, the connection of the laboratory, the recipe management and the loading control, to the point at which the concrete finally leaves the plant for the construction site you can work with digital processes. Each of work steps in the production of concrete as well as the recording of them can be optimized  with digitalization.

Thanks to the data-technical integration of pump and mixer trucks, all vehicle cycle times and the recording of performance are also accompanied.

You always know where any mixer truck is and how much material is loaded on and when it will return. Also whether pumping process is being made or is already completed or when the work will be finished etc. Accordingly you can easily handle the provision of load capacity for the rest mixers.

Receipts and performance records are becoming digital and paper is largely eliminated. From the concrete plant to the customer, all data are delivered over the business digitally in safe and secure.

At the end, the concrete delivery notes with data such as waiting time, retarder used, extra water if added, etc. on the construction site and the timely billing of the concreting work is executed digitally. Everything is done simply with direct connection to the administration.

This E-Book, which consists of the following sections, tries to explain how to do digital transformation in readymix; digitalization, industry 4.0 in readymix, digital supply chain, smart concrete sensors,  telematic and digital dispatch, digital training and digital safety, digitilization and efficiency, erp for transformation and where to start.

www.ozsoylev.com

Can a fleet manager reduce annual operating costs by 20% in a few years?

Answering this question does not seem easy at first glance:

-By professionalism in vehicle and driver management,

-By creating and encouraging technical expertise in every subject,

-By making little daily decisions taken careless purposeful,

-Meeting with customers and suppliers and resolving problems, if any,

-Developing cooperation in a way that shares responsibilities.

Is this success achievable?

The importance of fleet management:

Behind salaries and benefits, fleet-related costs are generally one of the largest expenses at any readymix company. It makes sense, then, that fleet manager is one of the most important roles for a business with a mobile workforce.

It’s their responsibility to ensure fleet vehicles are well maintained and ready for use and that the drivers are driving safely and in compliance with regulations.

Fleet managers wear many hats and likely have multiple titles and duties. They work with critical employees across the business and their duties and titles can differ depending on the industry, vehicle types and company size.

Fleet managers play a vital role in maintaining a healthy bottom line because they are responsible for one of the business’s most important cost centers.

Following the day-to-day operating costs may be more challenging task among the others.

Balancing different tasks:

From deploying technicians more effectively and calculating more efficient routes to promoting positive customer interactions, fleet managers must be able to balance changing roles and responsibilities and stay cool under pressure.

It is not essential for fleet managers to know exactly how to overhaul hydraulic brakes or repair a leaky valve, but understanding what they need to solve the problems (i.e. cost and downtime) helps minimize negative impacts on business and profitability.

A skillful fleet manager can quickly adapt assess potential downtime and quickly reorganize or reassign jobs while minimizing disruption to vehicle operations when vehicles or workers are unavailable.

Vehicle park:

Another important task of the fleet manager apart from operations can be managing the vehicle park. Mixer trucks, pump trucks and other bulk trailers and dump trucks can be included in this group.

In most large ready-mixed concrete companies, the operation and management of the vehicle park is now considered as a whole, and the responsibility is given to an engineer who is specialized in this field.

-Is the vehicle park created in proportion to the work in terms of quantity?

-Is a make or buy strategy implemented?

-Is the formation of the vehicle park suitable for optimal usage demands?

-Is there a standardization in the vehicle park?

-Is the vehicle park consisting of different types and models?

-Is the regeneration timing of the vehicles fit for purpose?

A successful fleet professional is able to lead and coach not only the fleet team, but also drivers and multiple management levels. He is able to inspire a team toward a common purpose or vision.

A fleet manager with the following qualities and skills will have a better chance at success:

-Having technical knowledge relevant to the industry.

-Keeping up with changes and trends.

-Familiar with regulations for commercial vehicles and drivers.-

-Knowing the business priorities and helps solve problems to drive cost reductions.

-Understanding vehicle maintenance, repair implications and driver safety best practices.

-Managing multitasking and shifting priorities effectively.

www.ozsoylev.com