Why is it important to have a pro regularly chip out concrete from your drums and mixers, and to clear clogs from your cement silos, too? To lessen the physical burden those tools of the trade experience on the job. At General Chipping, our concrete chippers
liken your central mixers and ready mix truck drums to a water bottle on its side. Even if you’re diligent about the water inside that bottle — and work to pour out every drop — there will always be some that stays behind along the walls. That’s how it works with your drums and mixers, too. Each and every time you pour concrete, there’s some residual material that remains. It’s no big deal at the start, but as time progresses and that material accumulates, it becomes more than your equipment can handle. Left unchecked, that buildup can
throw your drums off balance, lower your
carrying capacity, affect your
concrete blends — and lead to costly
equipment breakdowns, too. Regarding your cement storage silos,
outdoor humidity can lead to clumped cement that slows or halts your pours, making it difficult to access the material you need to create concrete. Long story short,
preventative maintenance by a professionally trained team helps keep your crew and equipment
ready to roll.
People are often surprised to learn that a traditional concrete chipping appointment actually consists of three separate services. Because your concrete chippers are focused on keeping your overall operations up and running — not just your redi mix concrete trucks — they’ll typically roll up their sleeves to tackle concrete drum chipping, concrete central mixer cleaning and cement silo cleaning all at once. Here’s a high-level overview of what that work entails.
- Concrete Chipping: Using handheld jackhammers, crews physically enter your ready-mix truck drums to remove hardened material that has dried along the walls. This improves your carrying capacity and helps ward off mechanical issues which can lead to costly slowdowns, repairs and replacements.
- Silo Cleaning: Members of your chosen company’s silo cleaning crew are lowered down into your cement storage silos. Once inside, they remove clumps and clogs that slow the release of your cement — and can hold up your projects. Those clogs are ushered out the bottom of the silo.
NOTE: Cement silo cleaning work is especially important in areas that experience extreme humidity, such as Louisiana, due to the tendency for dry cement to clump.
- Central Mixer Cleaning: Similar to concrete chipping services, central mixer cleaning involves crew members reaching inside your team’s mixer to remove hardened material from drum walls. This results in a healthier mixer capable of holding more material than before.
As with any working relationship, it’s all about finding a company you feel you can trust to care for your expensive drums and mixers, and who you feel comfortable doing business with. Here are a few tips that can help make the process simpler.
- Hire a Concrete Chipping Crew That Will Work with You: Flexibility is key when it comes to the maintenance work that helps keep your operations moving forward. After all, no other company is quite like yours, and no other concrete chipping appointment will be, either. Look for concrete chippers who will take time to understand your operations and any special considerations that come into play — and who can work around your needs. If your plant sits near a residential area, for instance, they might need to schedule your drum chipping outside of regular hours. If your crew is in the midst of a heavy project period, it might limit the days your trucks, silos and mixers are available for maintenance. If noise ordinances come into play, it might require your concrete chipping crew to rethink the way they go about their work. Think through any such issues and make them known to your concrete chippers early on.
- Work with Concrete Chippers Who Have a Solid Reputation: One of the best ways to find a quality company to do business with is to speak with friends and colleagues in your industry. Find someone whose opinions you trust and ask who they might recommend. Which concrete chipping companies have they worked with in the past? What was that experience like? Would they work with them again? Is there anything they’d do differently? You might consider taking your studies a step further, digging into online reviews or Better Business Bureau ratings, for instance, or asking the concrete chipping company itself for any testimonials or references they can pass along.
- Find a Concrete Chipping Company That’s Done its Due Diligence: Chipping out concrete and cleaning silos requires more than a can-do attitude and the right equipment. Drum chipping and silo cleaning are incredibly dangerous work, and hiring an untrained team to tackle the job can have lasting consequences. Not only could an unskilled concrete chipper do irreparable damage to your expensive drums and equipment, but their work could result in life-changing injury — or even death. We recommend asking for proof that your potential concrete chipping crew carries the right certifications and insurance, and to inquire about any continuing education requirements. At General Chipping, for instance, safety sits front and center. Our team regularly comes together for OSHA safety training aimed at keeping our entire crew at the top of its game and working as safely and efficiently as possible.
Your unique concrete chipping needs will vary slightly, depending on factors such as the
concrete blends you use, the make and age of your redi mix trucks and even your regular volume of work. Generally, though, industry experts recommend
booking concrete chipping services every three months. We encourage customers to
book cement silo cleaning services at the same time as their concrete chipping work, just to keep everything in healthy working order. (And
booking such maintenance well in advance can help you avoid issues such as limited appointment availability!)
