American Concrete Pumping Association Releases New Safety Materials

The American Concrete Pumping Association has released new and updated safety materials to fulfill its ongoing mission of promoting safe concrete pumping practices. The first item, Safety Bulletin: Use of Lay Flat Hose, identifies and illustrates the handling guidelines for using lay-flat hoses on the job.

Lay-flat hoses allow for improved flow control and lower placement rates than standard concrete boom tip hoses and are a popular accessory when pumping is required in tight spaces such as ICF forms, columns and walls.

“It is important for concrete pumpers and concrete contractors to understand the differences between lay-flat and standard boom tip hose applications,” says Executive Director Christi Collins. “Although similar, each have specific guidelines that should be followed for their respective uses. This new safety bulletin responds to a need in the industry for increased education when using lay-flat hoses to avoid certain hazards, such as kinking, which can cause a hose whipping. Hose whippings are a leading cause of accidents with a concrete pump.”

The new safety bulletin complements the association’s extensive safety library and is available for download on the association’s website.

Next, the ACPA updated two of its Safety Guidelines for Wind Velocity and Lightning. These guidelines outline the ACPA’s recommended practices in severe-weather events and more.

Wind Velocity reflects changes to previous generic guidelines and defers more specifically to the pump’s manufacturer; Lightning expands on the definition of determining when to stop pumping operations when lightning is present and when it’s safe to re-start.

The Safety Bulletin: Use of Lay Flat Hose and Safety Guidelines for Wind Velocity and Lightning are available for download on the association website.