Concrete should be inspected for the owner before, during, and after casting. Before concrete is placed, the formwork must be free of ice and debris and properly coated with bond-breaker oil. The rebars must be in place, properly supported to bear any traffic they will receive during concrete placing. Conduit, inserts, and other items to be embedded must be in position, fixed against displacement. Construction personnel should be available, usually carpenters, bar placers and other trades, if piping or electrical conduit is to be embedded, to act as form watchers and to reset any rebars, conduit, or piping displaced.
As concrete is cast, the slump of the concrete must be observed and regulated within prescribed limits, or the specified strengths based on the expected slump may be reduced. An inspector of placing who is also responsible for sampling and making cylinders, should test slump, entrained air, temperatures, and unit weights, during concreting and should control any field adjustment of slump and added water and cement. The inspector should also ascertain that handling, placing, and finishing procedures that have been agreed on in advance are properly followed, to avoid segregated concrete. In addition, the inspector should ensure that any emergency construction joints made necessary by stoppage of concrete supply, rain, or other delays are properly located and made in accordance with procedures specified or approved by the engineer.
Inspection is complete only when concrete is cast, finished, protected for curing, and attains full strength.
(Manual of Concrete Inspection, ACI SP2.)
