A common mistake I see is taking the cost of the abrasive media only in calculating the cost of blasting. There are many costs to consider understanding the true cost of a blasting project. Things like labor, abrasive cost, abrasive productivity and consumption right through to equipment and disposal costs. It goes without saying that if it takes you longer to blast more time on site and costs add up quickly. There is no room for uncertainty and no margin for surprise costs.

At GMA we’ve spent a lot of time globally understanding how our products perform and compare that with other abrasives and how that impacts the bottom line.

We’ve done controlled testing in the USA, Australia, Europe, Middle East using local conditions and local knowledge and now we have combined this into a comprehensive calculator for you to use to understand the true cost of an abrasive in comparison to alternative abrasives. You’ll get all the information you need to make a well-informed decision, presented in easy-to-understand charts and tables.

One question I get regarding the calculation is that all blast projects are different, no one project is going to be the same. This is certainly true. A calculator helps to understand the hidden costs but it never replaces the need for onsite trials, working with blasters and site personnel to optimize operations to get the most out of the abrasive.

What the calculator does is estimate from the years of knowledge through GMA’s technical teams globally and collate in an all-encompassing calculator.

To calculate your abrasive blasting project costs, we’ll need some information from you. Once you launch our calculator, you’ll need to provide:

• Total project area
• Anchor profile requirements
• Type of blasting application
• Average GMA and competitor product costs
• Average GMA and competitor product transport costs
• Equipment costs
• Labor costs including operator, clean up & non operative hours
• Disposal costs

The outputs provide actual total project costs calculated from your inputs with a suggested product that could be used. All presented in an easy-to-understand summary.

Have your own performance and consumption testing data and comparisons? No problem! Contact your regional GMA representative who can run through your own performance and consumption data and develop a tailored report and summary.

Anthony Burns, GMA Group Anthony Burns, GMA Group