Demonstrated Commitment
AVR, Inc. has a demonstrated commitment to working safely across the entire Miineapolis/St. Paul metro area. Dedicated ready mix plant employees safely produce and load concrete into AVR, Inc's trucks, then our highly skilled drivers travel thousands of miles every year without incident.
Safety continues at the customer's jobsite with quick pre-delivery jobsite safety checks. These checks identify potential hazards and review the pour plan, to ensure an injury-free experience for everyone.
AVR, Inc. has earned several recognitions for our safety performance, including our material supply efforts for LG Constructors. Their power plant project in St. Paul was the first in Minnesota to obtain the 'Voluntary Protection Program' (VPP) award from OSHA.
Readymix Concrete Warning
CAUTION: CONCRETE BURNS!
CONTACT WITH WET (UNHARDENED) CONCRETE, MORTAR, CEMENT OR CEMENT MIXTURES CAN CAUSE SKIN IRRITATION, SEVERE CHEMICAL BURNS, OR SERIOUS EYE
DAMAGE!!! Wear waterproof gloves, a fully buttoned long-sleeved shirt, full length trousers, and tight fitting eye protection when working with these materials. If you have to
stand in wet concrete, use waterproof boots that are tight at the tops and high enough to keep concrete from flowing into them. If you are finishing concrete, wear knee pads
to protect knees. Wash wet concrete, mortar, cement or cement mixtures from your skin with fresh, clean water immediately after contact. Indirect contact through clothing
can be as serious as direct contact, so promptly rinse out wet concrete, mortar, cement or cement mixtures from clothing. Seek immediate medical attention if you have
persistent or severe discomfort. In case of eye contact, flush with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Consult a physician immediately. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.
A printable cautionary document on concrete burns is available from our Business Documents Page.
Protect Yourself
Unhardened concrete is alkaline (pH of 12-13), and can cause chemical (caustic) burns or irritation to unprotected skin. Rinse any affected areas with cool water and use a pH neutral soap.
Eye contact by splashes of wet concrete can cause severe eye damage, and must be flushed immediately with water for 15 minutes.
To protect yourself, always wear:
- Hard Hat
- Glasses/goggles
- Alkaline resistant rubber gloves and boots
- Cover all exposed skin
Addressing Silica Concerns
Concrete may contain trace amounts of Crystalline Silica depending upon the mix design. When Silica is inhaled (respirable) it can lead to chronic lung damage or illness.
Respirable Silica exposure only occurs in dust created from drilling and cutting hardened concrete. There is no dust during the wet unhardened concrete stage, and therefore no silica risk or hazard.
Material Safety Data Sheets
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) are required by OSHA, and provide important product information such as health hazards, storage, PPE, chemical composition, etc. Common concrete MSDS's are available by clicking the link below.
Material Safety Data Sheets
Truck Safety THINK SAFE - BE SAFE!
Truck Placement
Before any concrete can be poured, the site must be checked for potential hazards to the truck; which could further lead to an on-site injury. Specific considerations include:
- Minimum 14' clearance from all overhead utility lines and structures
- Slope angle of any jobsite entrance, exit, or roadway
- Proximity to excavations (truck should maintain a 1' horizontal distance from excavation base, for every 1' in excavation depth)
- Adequate compressive protection of underground utilities (water lines, electrical, sewer, etc.)
- Adequate soil conditions for trucks weight
For specific truck dimensions see the Truck Specifications section of our Dispatch Page.
Watch That Chute
The delivery chute of a concrete truck is the one component with the most injury potential. There are multiple pinch points, heavy chutes, and a large swing radius. Additionally, once the chutes fills with concrete, the added weight makes it harder to control. There is always a potential for the chute to collapse.
To help prevent injury, please follow these safety rules:
- Follow the drivers instructions
- Never walk or work under the chute
- Keep fingers away from hinge areas and pinch points
- Be alert to anyone working within the chutes swing radius
- Do not allow chute to contact the ground
Hand Signals
Good communication is essential to jobsite safety. Make sure to talk with our driver prior to entering your job site/property about the truck placement and about how to give the proper hand signals. Accidents happen when one of us doesn't understand the other.
Each time a concrete truck unloads, it is important for the driver to rinse residual concrete from the chutes and discharge area, so it does not fall off the truck while driving down the road. There are certain 'wash area criteria', which the AVR driver will be able to assist you with.
For everyone's safety, please follow these rules:
- Keep a safe distance from the truck, and stay out of the 'concrete truck's blind spots'
- Wear the appropriate 'personal protective equipment' if you are near the wash area, to protect you from possible overspray.
- Stay clear of any chutes that are still connected to the truck.
- Do not dismantle, lift, or carry any of the chutes.
- Watch for any muddy conditions created from the wash out process.
- Allow any residual concrete to dry prior to proper disposal.
New Environmental Regulations from the MPCA
The MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) recently revised and reissued their storm water permit; aligning it with the federal EPA's 'NPDES' (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System). This is a federal mandate that prohibits the discharge of Storm Water contaminates into the environment.
MPCA Links
Change Examples
These significant changes went into effect on 8/1/08, and cover numerous point source pollutants on a typical construction site; including:
- Concrete wash water can not come in contact with the ground. It must be captured in a leak-proof container or lined pit.
- Mud and dirt sediment that builds up on roadways adjacent to jobsites, must be minimized, or eliminated, so it is not carried into nearby storm sewers.
- SWPPP (Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan) development, which outline site-specific environmental controls that will be implemented and monitored to prevent storm water contamination.
- Storage of 'Significant Materials', ranging from commonly used chemicals/lubricants, to aggregate piles and equipment storage.
Letter to Customers
AVR, Inc. has sent out a letter regarding the recent changes to the MPCA stormwater regulations. To obtain a copy of this letter in Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) Format please click the link below.
AVR's Environmental Services
AVR, Inc. understands that all these new changes can be confusing and overwhelming. We also respect the fact that we have to do this, and hopefully it will lead to a better environment for all of us.
AVR, Inc. is assisting you with the wash-water requirement, by outfitting our trucks with on-board capture/containment systems, and transporting the wash-water back to our plants for proper disposal. This provides our customers more time and on-site space.
AVR, Inc. uses the award winning wash-water containment system from A-1 Truck Sales and Equipment, LLC, the Booster Washout Tank. For more information or to see a video of this sytem in action please visit www.boosterwashout.com.
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| Driver reclaiming wash water that has been transported back to the plant. |
There is a fee for this service; but customers must always remember that environmental fines are substantial, and applied to everyone involved in the 'Cradle to Grave' chain of custody. By using our on-board system, vs. an on-site system, our customers are not part of that chain of custody, and its associated risks.