FSC Advantage Shrinkage Compensating Floors

Declaration details

Manufacturer

FRICKS

Program operator

Smart EPD

Declaration number

SmartEPD-2026-115-0743-01

Date of issue

January 30, 2026

Valid until

January 30, 2031

Product category rules (PCR)

Smart EPD® Part A Product Category Rules for Building and Construction Products and Services, 1000, v1.2 (version 1.2)

Standard

ISO 14025:2006 and ISO 21930:2017

Declared unit

1 m3 of product

System boundary

Cradle to gate with other options (A1 - A3, A4, A5)

Product specificity

Product Average

Manufacturing specificity

Manufacturer Average

Manufacturing plants

Project TX 22-803 (Texas, USA); Project FL 23-827 (Florida, USA); Project PA 24-848 (Pennsylvania, USA); Project NC-24-849 (North Carolina, USA); Project NV 23-821 (Nevada, USA); Project NC-24-849 (North Carolina, USA); Project NC-24-849 (North Carolina, USA); Project NC-24-849 (North Carolina, USA)

Product category

Concrete › ReadyMix

Verifier

Mari Kirss

LCA software

SimaPro 10.2

Program instructions

Smart EPD General Program Instructions v.2.0, March 2025

Life cycle assessment results

Results per 1 m3 of product.

Environmental Impact Assessment Results

Resource Use Indicators

Waste and Output Flow Indicators

ND = not declared. Life cycle modules: A1-A3 product stage, A4-A5 construction process, B use stage, C end of life, D benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

Material composition

Hazardous substances

No regulated hazardous or dangerous substances are included in this product.

Product description

The Fricks shrinkage-compensating concrete slab (FSC Advantage Shrinkage Compensating Floor) is a high-performance industrial flooring system made for difficult conditions where durability, flatness, and few joints are very important. It employs a specific mix that includes an expansive cement (or an expansive additive).

Fricks shrinkage-compensating concrete slab have up to 90% fewer joints than conventional concrete with reduced curling and greater surface durability and easily withstands the abuse of excessive forklift traffic while maintaining its durable light reflective surface (The Fricks Company, 2025).

The Fricks Company has successfully installed more than 400 million square feet of floors across the United States over the past 40 years—with zero failures—using its proven Shrinkage Compensating Concrete (SCC) system. Unlike shrinkage-reducing systems or admixtures, SCC uses expansive cement to counteract shrinkage through ettringite crystal formation. This compensating expansion is the key mechanism outlined in American Concrete Institute (ACI) 223. The Fricks Company follows the standards of both ACI 302 and ACI 223 rigorously to ensure consistent, high-performance results that minimize cracking, curling, and long-term durability issues.

The Fricks system employs Type K cement, as recommended by ACI 302, and follows best practices for placement, finishing, joint construction, and curing, resulting in Fricks having the most durable and low-maintenance floor in the world. Fricks SCC system is also environmentally responsible. It reduces the number of ready-mix trucks, which cuts fuel consumption and emissions. It eliminates the use of chemical cleaners and saw cuts, eliminating air pollution and requires 90% fewer joints, minimizing non-biodegradable material waste.

The result of all the aforementioned, along with other natural materials, is a long-lasting, high-quality floor that reliably performs while supporting a cleaner, more sustainable construction process.

The general process for installing shrinkage-compensating concrete slabs is described as follows. Once a contract for a new project is generated, a “material order form” is created. The coordination team begins planning the logistics to meet deadlines, as the size of the project will affect the volume of material and transportation, as well as all the equipment needed to process concrete and supplementary materials. Both the raw materials for concrete (e.g., additives, admixtures, sand) and supplementary materials (e.g., rebar or vapor barrier) are transported from suppliers' distribution centers.

Each project requires a specific concrete mix so that the material properties are achieved despite weather conditions. The concrete mixing process is carried out in a silo that is set up at a site close to the project location, usually less than 7 miles (11.2 km) away. Once mixed, it is transported to the job site and poured. Together with the supplementary materials, the final product is then installed. The final steps generally require a finishing process for the floor. The Fricks team coordinates project logistics so that once one project is complete, all the necessary equipment is moved directly to the location required for the next project.

Interpretation

Key findings from the analysis include:

· Raw material supply (A1) is the primary contributor to impacts in all categories. Within raw material supply, Portland Cement is the primary contributor.

· Raw material transport (A2), Manufacturing (A3), and Assembly and Install (A5) all show up as secondary impacts at roughly similar intensity. Within these manufacturing of rebar and use of diesel at the installation site are the major contributors.

· Raw materials transport (A2) and transportation to the installation site (A4) are minor contributors to all impacts.

Additionally, an uncertainty analysis was performed using the Pedigree Matrix Approach for data quality assessment and 1,000 Monte Carlo runs. In LCA, uncertainty can occur due to many reasons, including dataset (ecoinvent) uncertainty, primary data uncertainty, model assumptions, and LCA practitioner choice uncertainty. In this study, several ecoinvent datasets were used to model background processes. These data were often from global datasets, which have geographical and technological differences when compared to the system under study. While efforts were made to choose US geography datasets or alter datasets to reflect US conditions, there is still uncertainty associated with the ecoinvent dataset selection.

Although primary data is preferred over ecoinvent data, it is important to be aware that mechanical errors or human errors can result in primary data uncertainty. In this study, primary data was collected by Fricks based on utility bills and annual reports. Although there can be uncertainty associated with primary data collection, the primary data in this study is not expected to significantly influence the uncertainty of the results.

Results are presented in the table below: