Safety is in the details

Curved stab ends eliminate the need for capping

Construction site accidents are often in a small corner. Take the ends of rebar cuttings. These have frayed edges after cutting or trimming and can leave significant cuts. That's why they are capped with protective caps where necessary. By hand. Holterman Wapeningsstaal from Markelo recently started supplying rebar nets in which bent ends are inserted during the production process. "A piece of innovation that improves safety on the construction site and makes a series of operations unnecessary." 

Safety hooks they call the bent ends of the rebar cuttings. Arné Boonk, Sales Manager for Holterman Reinforcing Steel: "It seems like a small adjustment, but we see it as an improvement that fits in with what Holterman stands for. Dowels are a notorious source of minor accidents and irritation. They are capped for a reason. But because that is done manually, things still go wrong, both when applying and when removing them for the concrete pour. Workers often have to move their hands between the rebar to do so, and that is by no means always safe."

Safety Priority Holterman

To address this issue, Holterman Rebar Steel has invested in two fitting mat welding machines for rebar netting. With this, Holterman currently has five such machines. Alan Burchartz (sales & development): "Both machines contain a tool that automatically applies a safety bending in the cuttings. We call that the VPH bending, which stands for Safety Priority Holterman. The first machine has been running since January this year and makes cuttings and pass nets up to 3 by 3 meters. The second has been in operation since June this year and with it we can make cut nets up to 3.5 wide and 8 meters long, and for diameters from 6 to 12 centimeters. With both machines, the bending of the bar ends follows the welding of the nets. The bending is in line with the net and not perpendicular to it; this prevents problems such as when the concrete vibrates."

Small adjustment, many benefits

Safety is thus already built into the reinforcement mesh with the bent bar ends. Boonk: "Caps are no longer needed, which is more durable and saves costs. Moreover, they cannot come loose and you no longer have any problems with loose caps on the construction site. In addition, the safety feature is already built in at the factory, saving you time and hands on the construction site. In times of labor scarcity and an expected rebound in demand for housing, for example, any profit is a bonus. Moreover, there is never again conflict between contractor, installer or braider over the placement or replacement of caps. The security is simply already there and it stays that way."

Gear

The innovation of production in reinforcement netting fits into the development that Holterman Wapeningsstaal is undergoing. Burchartz: "Since last year, our company, together with sister company Holcon, has been part of the Hardeman Group. This has accelerated the renewal of the machine park through robotization and since then we have invested heavily in automation and sustainability of the rolling stock. This has allowed us to simultaneously work on sustainability and safety, both on our shop floor and for our customers. The construction industry increasingly demands this. That is why we also pay attention to the procurement of our materials and raw materials, in order to achieve the lowest possible EQI values. And we are also gradually climbing the Safety Ladder: now we are on Step 2, soon on Step 3, and in time we are aiming for Step 4."