National Precast CEO Sarah Bachmann explains what new amendments to the Australian standard for precast reinforced concrete box culverts mean and the benefits they bring.
AS 1597.1-2010 Precast reinforced concrete box culverts specifies minimum requirements for the design, testing, manufacture and installation of precast reinforced concrete rectangular box culverts that span up to 1200 millimetres.
According to National Precast Chief Executive Officer Sarah Bachmann, a recent amendment to the standard, which increases the number of nominal size classes, has several benefits.
“This amendment brings the standard in line with Australia’s current manufacturing and installation practices, as well as current governing design codes. It will also bring efficiencies to civil projects,” Ms. Bachmann explains.
Published by Standards Australia in August 2018, the amendment to the standard adds eight new nominal size classes in Table 2.5. The removal of note 2 beneath the table, “Other size culverts may be made to a specific order”, was a key part of the amendment.
Precast manufacturers that choose to align their product range to the new sizes can manufacture stock to provide customers with ready-made products. As designers and civil contractors become familiar with the expanded range of sizes, they can have more confidence that small box culverts will be readily available as “off the shelf” items.
“More nominal sizes should increase the likelihood of designers specifying one of the standard sizes, rather than custom-made sizes,” Ms. Bachmann says.
“Being available at short notice will shorten lead times, allow projects to get started sooner and will reduce the overall timeframe of projects. This is a change that will benefit manufacturers, contractors and asset owners.”
About Australian Standards
While on their own, compliance to Australian Standards is voluntary, government regulators and public health authorities often turn to standards in their regulation to provide a baseline level of safety requirements for houses, buildings, infrastructure and machinery. In the construction sector, compliance with Australian Standards helps to codify best practices, methods and technical requirements to create safe and sustainable infrastructure.
It is vital that all asset owners, both in the private and public realms, have confidence that the products they are buying and installing meet the requirements of the relevant Australian Standard. Australian Standards set out specifications and procedures that aim to ensure all suppliers are manufacturing, supplying and testing their products in accordance to strict guidelines.
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