Business View Magazine | December 2020

23 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2020 transform the precast concrete industry, helping shape the industry’s future. It all started from determined beginnings and a strong need to organize. “PCI was founded in 1954, and our original mission, which continues to be our core mission today, is the development and maintenance of what we call our ‘Body of Knowledge’,” says Robert J. Risser, President, and CEO of PCI. “Following WWII, prestressed concrete technology began to be used in the U.S. Several producers banded together to write the precast concrete industry’s rules around how to design and construct precast,prestressed concrete. Before PCI and similar industry associations formed, precast concrete companies followed in-house processes and procedures, which varied considerably. PCI’s mandate is to write and rewrite the rules such as building codes together with sister organizations to make sure we’ve got safely constructed precast bridges and intricate structures.” By the late 1960s, PCI began offering a certification program, which today covers plant certifications, erector certifications and personnel certifications. “These certifications are necessary because precast concrete is unlike cast concrete,” explains Risser. “Our members make concrete elements in a controlled environment within a plant and then ship them out to a job site, which requires a high level of standardization to guarantee safety and quality.” PCI certification for public bridge construction are required by 43 out of 50 Departments of Transportation. The Institute’s extensive Body of Knowledge covers a broad base of design, safety, and construction standards, encompassed in what they call the twelve essential elements: Industry Standing, Clearly Stated Purpose, Broad Professional and Stakeholder Involvement, Governance and Consensus, Research, Validation, Dissemination, Certification (Personnel and Manufacturing), Independent Auditing, Feedback, THE PRECAST /PRESTRESSED CONCRETE INST I TUTE Mount Sinai Medical Center Surgical Tower – George Nikolajevich 1200 Intrepid – Bjarke Ingels Group