2016 Q4 Rebar Report
vCalc OnCenter Rebar Report (2016 Q4)
Rebar Calc adds features
vCalc’s Rebar calculator became a highly use estimation and planning tool in 2016 in the rebar installation industry. vCalc’s Lab regularly answered inquiries and requests for additional features to vCalc’s free on-line Rebar Calc. The additions included the following:
- Lapping – This is the lapping of reinforcement bars where one bar ends and another continues the run. In this case, the user enters a lapping factor that is multiplied by the diameter of the size of rebar being used to compute the appropriate amount of lapping at the splice.
- Mats – This lets the estimator enter the number of mats of rebar to be placed in the slab, and therefore included in either the length or weight of rebar calculations.
- Irregular Slab – This is a unique feature from the vCalc Engineers using a new math algorithm. It lets the estimator enter a rough area estimation of the slab and the rough measurement of the perimeters to compute an estimate of the length and weight of rebar in an irregular shaped slab.
Rebar Calc picks up users and average time on the page
2016 was the year the rebar estimators found vCalc’s Rebar Calc. There was growth through the beginning of the year. It then flattened as the summer came (summer vacations presumably slowed the growth in the calculators use.) and then picked up in earnest in the fall. Once it was realized that holidays and vacations impact the use of the tool, it was predicted that the second half of December would realize a slow-down. It happened just as predicted. However, the January 2017 numbers show a growth of 25% over November 2016 and 38% over December 2016.
The Rebar Calculator saw 521% growth in sessions in 2016. This was great, but not as good as the 2,945% growth in the amount of time spent on the page making repeated calculations. In November, Google Analytics indicated that the Rebar Calculator engage users for 64,436 minutes (1,073 hours).
Volume of Rebar Consumption
The vCalc Rebar Calculator is used primarily in the United States (68% of utilization). In November, vCalc began aggregating the calculation data (inputs and results) to produce the vCalc U.S. Rebar Estimators Report (available upon request). The data is aggregated to the level of each state. No individual’s data is ever exposed. With this data, the industry can see the total monthly rebar estimates including the following:
- By country and region (state),
- Rebar stats by size, length, weight and number of mats, and
- Concrete stats on the dimensions of the slabs.
The total volume in the estimations is growing rapidly. Note that data is filtered for exceptionally large calculations (greater than 10,000 tons or 5 million feet) or exceptionally small (less than 50 pounds or 10 feet). There was evidence that rebar in the proposed wall with Mexico was present in some calculations. However, this was part of the data that was filtered out.
The filtered data trends at the national level (U.S.A.) are as follows:
Calculator Location
vCalc’s Rebar Calculator is free for all to use on the web and can be found at the following link:
There is also a short video tutorial available on YouTube at the following link:
- Comments
- Attachments
No comments |