For the Schmidt Hammer test, the ideal procedure is, after preparation of the test area, minimum recommended readings are taken per test area, and to estimate the mean or median from the readings. Based on the orientation of the hammer and the mean or median values obtained, the compressive strength (fcu) of the concrete is read from an appropriate chart.

In the analysis and design of structures, the characteristic strength (fck) is basically used. Say for cube or cylinder strength test, a formula like so: fck = fcm - ks is generally used to compute the characteristic strength. Where 'fcm' is the mean strength, 'k' is a margin associated with the number of tests (usually 1.64 for a number of test >= 30; and 's' is the standard deviation.

Where Schmidt Hammer is used for the test, is this computation still applicable, or the compressive strength (fcu) read from the chart is adopted as the characteristic strength (fck) for analysis and design.