Take advantage of petty gains and suffer big losses! Looking at the risks of admixture selection from a construction delay

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Last year, a friend was responsible for a city commercial complex project. Due to problems with a batch of water-reducing agent, the construction period was delayed for half a month. At that time, the purchasing department reported that it had found a supplier with a price that was 20% lower, and the contract was signed and paid. However, there was a problem when the first batch of goods entered the site. The concrete slump was lost too quickly and the pump could not be pumped. Later, the problem was solved by urgently switching to products from the old supplier. After calculation, the comprehensive cost of return shipping, downtime losses, and equipment occupation far exceeds the 20% price difference. This is a true story. In the construction industry, similar examples of "taking advantage of small things and suffering big losses" are not uncommon. As a multi-phase composite material, the working performance of concrete is affected by multiple factors such as cement type, mineral admixtures, sand and gravel gradation, and ambient temperature. Admixtures are core auxiliary materials that regulate the performance of concrete. Their quality stability and compatibility with cementitious materials directly determine the pumping performance, setting time and final strength of concrete. In large infrastructure, super high-rise buildings and harsh environment projects, the core performance indicators of water reducing agents usually include water reducing rate, setting time difference, chloride ion content and compressive strength ratio. These indicators are not the higher the better, but they need to be optimally matched according to the characteristics of the project. You can avoid similar situations from the following aspects:: 1. Find large-scale manufacturers. The advantages of large-scale production are reflected in many aspects.: The first is the batch procurement of raw materials, which can obtain upstream supply with more stable quality. ； Secondly, the automation and standardization of production processes reduce manual operation errors. ； The third is the degree of perfection of the quality inspection system, which can realize full batch inspection and sample traceability. Taking Shandong Wanshan Group as an example, its subsidiary Weifang Jianbao Biotechnology's Wanshan brand sodium gluconate project uses biological fermentation technology to achieve fully automated control from raw material placement, production process control to product packaging and storage. The degree of automation is at the leading level in the industry. This fully automated control greatly reduces the impact of human factors on product quality and ensures the stability of each batch of products. 2. Avoid procurement risks from the perspective of supplier management. For engineering project management, the selection of admixture suppliers should not be limited to quotation comparison. A scientific supplier evaluation system should include the following dimensions: The first is to confirm the supplier’s qualifications and certification system. Shandong Guoqiao Building Materials Technology Co., Ltd., as the source factory of Wanshan brand high-efficiency water reducing agent, has successively passed ISO9001 quality management system certification, ISO14001 environmental management system certification and ISO45001 occupational health and safety management system certification. These certifications are not only the threshold for entering major project bidding, but also a reflection of the company's quality control capabilities. The second is to examine the supplier's production capacity and supply guarantee capabilities. Wanshan Group has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of powdered naphthalene-based high-efficiency water-reducing agent, with a domestic market share of more than 30%, and its products are exported to more than 30 countries around the world. * * . Large-scale production capabilities mean stable supply can be guaranteed during peak order periods. The third is to check its successful cases in similar projects. Wanshan brand naphthalene series high-efficiency water reducing agent has been widely used in component prefabrication, sleepers, bridges, tunnels, water conservancy and electric power projects and various high-rise building projects. The experience accumulated in actual working conditions has important reference value for the suitability prediction of new projects. Fourth, suppliers are required to provide full batch test reports and sample records. Companies with complete traceability systems are more trustworthy. There is a saying circulating in the field of construction admixture procurement: Choose water reducing agent based on quality, not price. For any construction project, saving money is important, but quality and construction schedule are the lifeblood.