THE PSIP
STANDARD
BROKEN DOWN.
Six pillars. One record. Here is every element of the PSIP protocol, what the record holds for it, which ACI document it references, why it exists, and what happens when it is skipped.
THE PROBLEM
PSIP SOLVES
IS THE MISSING RECORD.
Without a record, a dispute three years out is one person's memory against another's. When concrete fails, the homeowner has no record of what was done. The contractor has no record of what was poured.
PSIP does not change the chemistry of concrete. It changes the accountability structure around every pour. By recording each step against published ACI documents, with photographs and a signed certificate, PSIP creates one record the homeowner, the contractor and the builder can all read. The standard is not a marketing claim. It is a documented process.
PSIP adds the documentation layer on top of what the published ASTM concrete standards specify, so what actually happened on a pour is on the record and can be read against them. The committee writes the rules. PSIP records the work in the field beside them. The full institutional architecture is published on the PSIP Independence Standard page; technical governance passes to the Technical Advisory Council once it is seated, and no seat is filled yet.
THE CONTRACTOR BUILDS IT.
THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT ENFORCES THE CODE.
PSIP KEEPS THE RECORD.
PSIP records the work. It does not direct it.
The contractor decides how the work is done and is responsible for doing it to the building codes, permits, inspections and licensing that apply where the work is done. PSIP does not design, engineer, specify, supervise or inspect concrete work, and it does not tell a contractor what materials or methods to use.
A PSIP certification means one thing: the work was recorded under the PSIP protocol at the time it was done. It is not a building inspection, a code approval, a warranty, or a guarantee of how the concrete will perform. For what the code requires on a specific project, the local building department is the authority.
THE PSIP STAGES ARE WHERE THE RECORD STARTS, NOT WHERE IT ENDS.
Version 1 of the PSIP protocol sets 8 stages for concrete and 11 for pools. They are the main points of a job that every PSIP record holds at a minimum. They are not a construction sequence, and they do not tell a contractor how to build.
The contractor is the professional on the job. At any stage, the contractor may add more photographs and notes, as the contractor sees fit. Notes are recorded as the contractor's own statement.
The stages will change as PSIP develops. Every change is published with its date before it applies, and a record is always read against the stages in force on the day it was captured.
WHERE THE STANDARD
ACTUALLY COMES FROM.
ACI SPEC-301-20 describes a level of discipline. A PSIP record shows what was done on the pour, so it can be read against it.
Where The Bar Actually Sits: The exposure class, the water cement ratio, the air content and the cure either appear on a document or they appear nowhere at all. A PSIP record holds what was on paper that day: the mix as the contractor specified it, the batch ticket as photographed, and his own notes.
EVERY PSIP POUR.
EVERY PILLAR.
What PSIP documents: The mix design the contractor specified, the cement type, and the SCM by type, or that none is specified, as he states them at setup. The batch ticket photographed on the day, with any water added on site in the contractor's notes. Where he specified the mix against an ACI 318 or ACI 332 exposure class, he records that in his notes as his own statement. The mix design and batch tickets are retained in the PSIP closeout packet.
Why it matters: Exposure class is the input. Strength, water to cement ratio, air content and SCM strategy are outputs that follow from it. In ACI 318, the exposure classes are F0 to F3 for freeze-thaw severity, S0 to S3 for sulfate exposure, W0 to W2 for water and C0 to C2 for chloride exposure.
What happens when it's skipped: A low-strength mix in the wrong exposure class fails differently than a high-strength mix in the wrong exposure class, but both can fail. PSIP puts what was specified, and the batch ticket from the day, on the record.
What PSIP documents: The reinforcement as the contractor placed it, recorded in a photograph before placement begins.
Why it matters: Once the concrete is placed, the reinforcement is inside the slab and cannot be seen again without scanning or cutting into it. Where the bars sat is answered only by what was photographed before placement began. ACI Concrete Terminology (ACI CT-25) defines a bar support as "hardware used to support or hold reinforcing bars in proper position to prevent displacement before and during concrete placement," and concrete cover as the "distance between the outermost surface of embedded reinforcement and the closest outer surface of the concrete." PSIP does not set where the steel goes; the contractor's design and his jurisdiction do. The record shows what he placed.
What happens when it's skipped: Nothing on file shows where the steel sat. After the pour, finding out means scanning or cutting into the slab.
What PSIP documents: How the concrete reached the forms, recorded, by pump or by direct pour. Where a direct pour was used, any exclusion zones are recorded as they were set at delivery.
Why it matters: A compacted aggregate base is the platform the slab sits on, and it is buried the moment the pour starts. Where the base is disturbed, differential settlement under the slab creates the bending stresses that can make a slab fail early.
What happens when it's skipped: A PSIP record photographs the base at stage three, base protection, so whether it was protected is on the record.
What PSIP documents: The base and subgrade condition immediately before concrete placement, recorded in a dated photograph, damp or standing water or dry. PSIP never said what it had to be.
Why it matters: When fresh concrete is placed on dry subgrade, the ground acts as a sponge, pulling moisture out of the concrete matrix from below. This moisture loss is most severe at the bottom of the slab, where it is invisible but critical. The result is differential curing: the top surface of the slab hydrates under ideal conditions while the bottom loses water rapidly, creating a zone of reduced strength and increased shrinkage stress. In Tennessee's summer heat, fresh concrete on dry subgrade can lose enough moisture to permanently impair strength development in a matter of hours.
What happens when it's skipped: It leaves no trace on a finished slab, which is why the record is the only place it can show.
What PSIP documents: The pour in progress and the final surface, each photographed as it happened. Placement starts the 28 day record period.
Why it matters: Placement and finishing happen once, and the conditions on the day are gone by the next morning. By the time anyone asks how the concrete went in and how the surface was finished, the finished slab is all that is left to look at. ACI publishes its guidance on finishing in ACI PRC-302.1-15 and on curing in ACI PRC-308-26, in its own words. PSIP sets no method. The photographs record what was done.
What happens when it's skipped: A driveway with an over-finished surface can fail at the surface, by scaling, before any vehicle load has been applied, before any de-icing chemical is used, before any maintenance question arises. Nothing on the finished slab shows when it was troweled. A PSIP record holds a photograph of the pour in progress and of the final surface.
THE CURE, CLIMATE × CHEMISTRY: Climate is the conditions on the day, recorded. Chemistry is what the batch ticket shows, such as the cement type and the SCM. The batch ticket is photographed, and the photograph records what it shows. PSIP sets no curing method.
What PSIP documents: The close out: the photographs from every stage, the batch tickets as photographed, the contractor's own notes, and the signed PSIP Flatwork Certificate once it issues, delivered to the property owner.
Why it matters: In the absence of documentation, a concrete dispute becomes a credibility contest. "We always do it right" versus "it didn't work right." PSIP documentation creates a dated record that a buyer, an underwriter or an insurer can review.
What happens when it's skipped: The absence of documentation does not cause concrete cancer. It leaves nothing on paper to show what was done.
WHAT THE AQUATIC RECORD CAPTURES: For pool shell construction, the batch ticket is photographed before any material is placed, and the record shows what the ticket shows, including whether an SCM is listed and which one. If the line is blank, that is what the record says. PSIP does not stop a shoot.
These six are the minimum a PSIP record holds. A contractor can record more, and the record shows everything he recorded.
WHAT PSIP
RECORDS.
| Element | What PSIP Records | ACI Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mix Specification | ✓ The mix design as the contractor states it at setup, with any exposure class in his notes | ACI SPEC-301-20 / 318 / 332 |
| W/C Ratio | ✓ The batch ticket photographed, with any water added on site in the contractor's notes | ACI SPEC-301-20 |
| Rebar | ✓ The reinforcement as placed, recorded in photographs before the pour | ACI PRC-302.1-15 / 318 |
| Base Protection | ✓ How the concrete reached the forms, recorded | ACI SPEC-301-20 |
| Base Pre-Hydration | ✓ The base condition at the time of the pour, recorded in a dated photograph | ACI PRC-302.1-15 |
| Placement and Final Surface | ✓ The pour in progress and the final surface, photographed as they happened | ACI PRC-302.1-15 |
| SCM / ASR Mitigation | ✓ The batch ticket photographed, showing whether an SCM is listed | ACI SPEC-506.2-13(18) / ASTM C1778 |
| Closeout Documentation | ✓ Certificate, photographs and batch tickets, on file | Closeout Record |
| Record Retention | ✓ The closeout packet retained and transferable to the next owner at resale | Closeout Record |
FIVE QUESTIONS.
BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING.
These five questions show whether a contractor keeps a written record of the work.
FIVE QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SIGNING ANY CONCRETE CONTRACT
Question 1
"What PSI mix are you specifying, and can I see the batch ticket when the truck arrives?"
Ask him to explain his mix choice in writing. A PSIP record holds the mix design he specified and the batch ticket from the day. If they can't name the PSI or have never been asked to justify it, you have your answer about their documentation culture.
Question 2
"How are you preventing Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)?"
If they look blank, that's your answer. A PSIP record holds the batch ticket photograph, and shows whether it lists an SCM. A contractor who doesn't know what ASR is has never thought about whether their concrete will fail.
Question 3
"What supplementary cementitious material is in your mix?"
Answers you may hear: natural pozzolan (Class N per ASTM C618), a colloidal nano silica admixture, Class F fly ash, or slag cement, at the replacement rate on the batch ticket. "None" is an answer too, and a record will show it. "I'm not sure" means nobody has written it down yet.
Question 4
"What is your curing protocol for the conditions on pour day?"
Ask him to put it in writing. A PSIP record holds the pour day conditions, and he can add what he did in his notes, as his own statement.
Question 5
"Is your process documented and will I receive a signed PSIP Certificate at completion?"
A PSIP record holds the batch tickets, the photographs and the contractor's notes as they were captured. A contractor who's never been asked this question tells you everything.
WHAT TO ASK
YOUR CONTRACTOR
FOR
THE RECORD
A CONTRACTOR
CAN SHOW
EVERY PILLAR.
EVERY POUR.
EVERY TIME.
PSIP certification gives a contractor the exam, the protocol, the PSIP app, coming in App Version 1, and a signed certificate the homeowner keeps.