Monday, February 3 (Day 1): 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 4 (Day 2): 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Room: CC, 140-142
Presenters: Claude Goguen, Director of Technical Education, National Precast Concrete Association; Barry Fleck, Owner and CEO, ALP Supply; Todd Jones, Director of Technical Services, ALP Supply; David Jablonsky, Executive Vice President, ALP Supply; Todd Spindler, Midwest Regional Manager, Sika Corp.; Ashley Smith, President, Smith-Midland Corp.; Alan Pritchard, Plant Manager, Smith-Midland Corp.
PQS II – Production is designed for plant personnel who benefit from a comprehensive understanding of precast-specific production practices in four key areas: lifting and handling, issues related to production practices, lean manufacturing and patching and repair. This course goes beyond the fundamentals explored in PQS Level I to prepare students to think critically about the links between these four areas and common plant production and safety issues. Course participants go in-depth in exploring these topics, discussing best practices and learning to address production challenges in their plants. Shift supervisors, team leaders, production managers, batch plant operators, engineering and drafting personnel and those who aspire to these positions should attend.

Attendees of this workshop learn what it means to be a leader, learning to lead themselves and influence others. The discussions, role play, and activities enhance the skills and knowledge necessary to become a person of influence. Attendees learn key attributes required to build teams, select employees and motivate others to accomplish the organization’s goals. Anyone who wishes to show better leadership or influence in their company, their community or in any organization is encouraged to attend this course.

Navigating the complexities of lifting and handling precast concrete products requires a deep understanding of safety, equipment, and best practices. This comprehensive presentation covers crucial aspects of lifting precast products, ensuring you enhance safety, productivity, and compliance in your operations. This presentation will guide you through essential principles, compliance with federal regulations, and optimal practices for handling precast concrete to prevent accidents during the lifting and handling operation.

The precast concrete industry constantly grows and evolves, and companies strive to hire and cross-train employees. Ensuring employees get up to speed swiftly can improve teamwork, enhance efficiency and help new hires quickly become integral team members. This course introduces precast concrete industry terminology, equipment, processes and concepts and is intended for those who are either new to the industry or in roles outside the typical production area. This session examines the similarities and differences between precast and cast-in-place concrete, addresses the benefits precast offers over alternative construction materials and helps attendees become well-versed in important industry terms. We will discuss different types of concrete used in the precast industry and common applications for each, look at typical raw materials and learn how they impact hardened concrete properties, and learn how concrete gains strength and hardens over time. We will also discuss production best practices, covering everything from proper aggregate storage and concrete consolidation to curing and handling of precast products. Lastly, we will discuss fresh and hardened concrete tests and the importance of quality control and quality assurance.

Precast concrete is repaired every day in a precast plant. This session will focus on procedures and techniques used to make various precast concrete repairs with an emphasis on material selection and techniques. We will use an actual structure in the classroom to perform live repair demonstrations on issues such as chips, spalls and bugholes. This is a great opportunity to learn about this important phase of production and quality control.

There are many components to producing quality precast concrete products. Raw materials, mix design, reinforcing, consolidation and curing all play a part in achieving the final product. In this interactive class, attendees learn from an expert and from each other, including a discussion of best practices and solutions to production issues that precasters deal with every day. Bring questions as we will address your production issues and discuss how to resolve them.

Lean manufacturing is a set of useful tools that can be used to streamline your business. The key element is the reduction of wasteful processes that do not add value. This course provides the basic elements of lean manufacturing and how they can be used not only to improve processes at work, but also at home. See how lean fits into the world around you. The bottom line: save time, increase capacity and reduce costs!