Prism Cement first to get Italian quality certification

Mumbai: Prism Cement Ltd has become the first Indian company to get the Quality Council of India’s (QCI) certification for its ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant in Kochi, Kerala. The unit has a production capacity of 1.08 lakh cubic metres a year.

The company received the certification from ICQM (Institute for Certification and Quality Mark) , a leading Italian certification body authorised to oversee QCI compliance.

The QCI audit for ready-mix concrete was launched in May in consultation with the Central Public Works Department, the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and the Ready-Mixed Concrete Manufacturers’ Association.

Venugopal Panicker, Executive Director (RMC Readymix division), told Business Line the QCI scheme was an independent third-party audit that would instil confidence on the quality of RMC being used by customers.

“We are now preparing to implement the scheme at all our 88 plants across the country. The audit is made in every six months to ensure the quality process is embedded in the system.”

The QCI audit includes a check on plant and machinery, testing facilities, the control mechanism , the properties of concrete ingredients and technical skill sets of the manpower at the units, besides a test on the final product quality.

Prism’s RMC production capacity stands at 70 lakh cubic metres per annum. While globally 70 per cent of the cement produced is sold in the form of RMC, it is just 10 per cent in India.

Moving away from the general mix of cement, sand and water, companies have adopted various technological innovations to enhance the quality of RMC to cater to the needs of construction companies. Right from lightweight concrete to coloured concrete to temperature control concrete, companies have used chemicals to alter the nature of concrete.

Though established cement companies such as ACC, Ambuja Cements, UltraTech Cement and Prism Cement have all-India presence, nearly 60 per cent of the RMC market is controlled by unorganised players.

Unlike ISI mark on steel bars, it is not mandatory for RMC units to comply with any quality certification.