2019 Winners of World of Concrete’s Most Innovative Products Announced

World of Concrete

The World of Concrete is a massive industry event hosted annually at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  For those who have never been, it’s an endless sea of exhibitor booths, training sessions, and even a bricklaying competition.  Every Year, Concrete Construction Magazine organizes a Most Innovative Product competition for many of the new products that are highlighted at the show.

This year, there were 10 different product categories:

Each category has 3 winners: an industry choice voted on by readers, an expert’s choice, and the editor’s choice. The links are above for each of the categories, but I thought I would highlight a couple of my favorite winners.

Expert’s Choice Business & Technology Winner: SmartRock

Concrete strength testing is all about cylinder breaks, but does it have to be?  Not anymore with the SmartRock concrete sensors, which give you real-time monitoring capabilities of concrete temperature, maturity, and strength.

More information about SmartRock in the video below:

Industry Choice Dust Control & Accessories: Guarda Edge Power Cutter

Dust control has been the talk of the town in the concrete world for the past few years and the Guarda Edge Power Cutter is a first of its kind in that realm.  Not only does it deliver water directly to the blade to turn dust into a slurry, it also has an integrated extraction hose and shroud to suck the slurry back up, greatly reducing cleanup efforts.

More information on the Guarda Edge Power Cutter in the video below:

Full story: 2019 MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS | Concrete Construction

Featured
Concrete cylinder slump.JPG
Avoiding the Uncertainties of Concrete Cylinder Testing with the Maturity Method

[guest post] a in-depth comparison between laboratory and field cured concrete maturity testing

4WirelessSensors.png
The Best Concrete Sensor in 2020

[Guest post] A Review of Top Wired and Wireless Temperature and Strength Concrete Sensors

Concrete Sensors.JPG
Hilti Acquires Concrete Sensors, an IoT Concrete Testing Startup

The only thing slower than watching paint dry is, well, watching concrete dry. Proper curing of concrete is extremely important, though, for quality and safety reasons. Perhaps equally important is proper testing and documentation of the concrete’s strength over time. In a move to help bolster their digital portfolio, power tool giant Hilti has acquired Concrete Sensors, an internet connected concrete testing startup.

tyley ley concrete youtube.JPG
[VIDEOS] Use Your Quarantine Time to Learn About Concrete from A College Professor

Times are weird, guys. While there are a lot of jobsites still open, there are many that have been temporarily shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. If you need some resources for how your construction company should handle the pandemic, you can check out my resource guide by clicking or tapping here, but if you want to take your mind off of that and use some of your newly found free time, you can learn about concrete on YouTube from a college professor.

steel rebar.jpg
7 Innovative Ways to Tie Rebar Without Using Hand Tools

Tying rebar is an extremely repetitive and strenuous job, but it’s an essential part of most concrete roads, bridges, and buildings. Typically, rodbusters use hand tools for this work on the jobsite, but my recent visit to the World of Concrete in Las Vegas made me realize how much innovation there has been in the space in the past few years.

MAX USA Twintier YouTube Header.jpg
[VIDEO] MAX USA’s New Upright Rebar Tying Tool is a Back Saver

Over the past few years, there have been many companies offering different ways of tying rebar, which can be a very strenuous and tedious task. It’s also extremely repeatable, which makes it a strong target for innovation. MAX USA has had a rebar tying gun out for a little while now, but they just showed off a new version at the World of Concrete.

Curb Roller Batt Screed 6000
[VIDEO] World’s First Battery Powered Roller Screed for Concrete

As lithium-ion battery technology continues to get better and better, we can start to expect larger tools to hit the market – and that’s been the case over the past few years. Those advancements eventually lead to opening to door for tools that the world has never even seen before, like a battery powered roller screed for concrete.

World of Concrete 2020
Most Innovative Products of World of Concrete 2020 Announced

The gigantic marathon of a construction trade show, the World of Concrete, has sadly come and gone already, but the winners of the annual contest for the show’s Most Innovative Products has just been announced!

Houston hotel floor collapse.JPG
9 Workers Injured After Floor Collapse During Concrete Placement of 7th Floor in Houston

While placing concrete on the 7th floor of a new hotel in Houston, TX, 16 construction workers were suddenly sent falling to the 6th floor below, sending 9 of them to the hospital, according to local news reports.

concrete cutting
OSHA is Considering a Change to The Silica Dust Standard

In September of 2017, OSHA’s new standard on exposure to respirable crystalline silica went into effect in the construction industry.  The rule lowered the allowable exposure to the harmful substance to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, a measurement that we’re all familiar with [/sarcasm].  After a full year of enforcement, OSHA is considering making a change to the rule.