What technical resources and advice does the Concrete Society offer?

The Concrete Society provides technical guidance through published documents (Technical Reports, Good Concrete Guides, Advice Sheets, and online Fingertips), a searchable Fingertips information bank, and a technical advisory service that members can reach through an online Technical Enquiry Form. The advisory team handles queries directly and can also carry out desk studies and site visits. Most of these resources are aimed at members, and some carry member pricing or access conditions.

Published technical guidance

The Society describes its output as a body of technical guidance covering four main formats:

• Technical Reports – detailed reports produced by industry experts who collaborate through Society events, working groups, and committees.
• Good Concrete Guides – practical guidance in the Society's guidance series.
• Advice Sheets – shorter advisory documents.
• Online Fingertips – in-depth information on concrete construction topics, delivered online.

These are listed alongside the Society's bookshop, which stocks Concrete Society publications plus selected guidance from other publishers, including the Concrete Bridge Development Group. Publications come as a mix of hard copy and digital download.

Using the Fingertips information bank

Fingertips is described as a fully searchable bank of information about concrete and concrete construction. Beyond free-text search, the page highlights two curated routes into the content:

• Top 10 most popular Fingertips – the entries other users consult most.
• Featured Fingertips – entries recommended by the advisory team, chosen because they are new, topical, or long-standing favourites.

If you are new to a subject, starting with the Featured list is a reasonable way to find the advisory team's own shortlist before running your own searches.

Getting direct technical advice

The advisory service is the route for questions that published guidance does not answer. According to the site, technical advisors provide "prompt, impartial technical advice on concrete" directly to members, and also through desk studies and site visits. Queries are submitted using the online Technical Enquiry Form.

A practical sequence for a specific problem:

1. Search Fingertips and check the Featured and Top 10 lists for an existing answer.
2. Check whether a Technical Report or Good Concrete Guide covers the topic (browse the bookshop).
3. If the question remains open, submit it through the Technical Enquiry Form, describing the project context clearly enough for the team to judge whether a desk study or site visit is appropriate.

The site does not state turnaround times for enquiries, so treat response speed as something to confirm when you submit.

Membership, pricing, and access conditions

The page evidence shows several member-linked conditions but does not publish prices:

Because no prices or free-access terms appear in the source material, check the bookshop and membership pages directly before budgeting. The 40% bookshop discount and the training discount both depend on membership, so the effective cost of guidance depends on how much you buy or use.

Related resources worth knowing

• Training – the Society is a CITB Approved Training Organisation and provides continuing professional development and training for people involved in the manufacture, use, and application of concrete.
• Magazines – two industry magazines are published, including Concrete, issued 10 times a year.
• Community – events, regional groups, a members directory, news, and awards are listed as part of the membership offering.

If your need is a one-off technical question, the enquiry form plus a Fingertips search is the most direct path. If you expect repeated use of reports, the bookshop discount and training discount are the main reasons membership changes the economics.