A high-pressure water jetting system for removing the buildup of dried or ‘dead’ concrete in cement mixer trucks is overcoming health and safety issues, saving costs and lifting productivity in the concrete industry.

Concrete gradually builds up on the inside surface of every truck’s agitator – the mixing drum and blades within the drum – reducing concrete carrying capacity and increasing the weight carried by the truck.

The traditional method for removing dead concrete known as de-dagging requires a labourer to chip away the accumulated concrete with a jackhammer inside the barrel of the cement mix truck.

This is a dangerous practice where falling chunks of dead concrete, sharp agitator blades, and accidental rotation of the drum with a jackhammer-operator inside have caused injuries and deaths. Long periods in a cramped, confined space with a jackhammer also lead to repetitive strain injury (RSI), silicosis and loss of hearing.

The Agi-Kleen patented water blasting system eliminates these occupational health and safety (OH&S) risks, with the equipment technician working outside the truck’s mixing drum.

The Agi-Kleen system removes the dead concrete without damage or wear to the concrete mixer drum.

Manual de-dagging can take up to 8 hours. Agi-Kleen, by comparison, can remove dead concrete in 2 hours, and requires fewer operators. This substantially cuts the time a truck is off the road, increasing productivity.

The patented system – the only one of its kind – is now well proven, having removed more than 500 tonnes of dead concrete from Australian concrete trucks. Several of Australia’s leading concrete suppliers have started using the cleaning system.

Agi-Kleen’s managing director Jonathan Sweet is excited about the improved safety and increased productivity this new technology offers.

“We’ve seen trucks clogged with dead cement carrying only half their capacity, decreasing the potential saleable product carried.

“The Agi-Kleen process is a safe, fast and cost-efficient service that will improve the industry’s productive output and eliminate dangerous work practices,” he says.

Agi-Kleen is committed to implementing environmentally conscious and sustainable operations. All water used to remove the dead concrete is recycled to make fresh concrete.

Agi-Kleen, an Australian company, has been granted exclusive rights to the Ready Jet technology developed in the U.S. and is now expanding the Agi-Kleen operations around Australia by appointing additional franchisees to service the growing demand for its services.