Defining And Understanding A Formwork System Construction Essay

Defining And Understanding A Formwork System Construction Essay Nowadays, construction industry in Malaysia is a mature industry. The Malaysia construction sector is regarded as a catalyst for growth while its own performance serves as an indicator to the nations economy. It is supported by a fraternity of construction player encompass developers, contractors, building material and equipment, suppliers, manufacturers, financiers, regulators and other in the value chain (Lynda, 2006). Formwork system is defined as the system of support for freshly placed concrete including the mould or sheathing which contacts the concrete as well as supporting members, hardware, and necessary bracing. Formwork system development has paralleled the growth of concrete construction throughout the twentieth century. Both designers and builders are aware of the need of construction industry in order to develop creative innovations from traditional method to improve quality and economy in the face of incoming construction industry challenges. Formwork is the largest cost component for a typical multistory reinforced concrete building. It normally cost account around 40% to 60% of the cost of the concrete frame and for approximately 10% of the total building cost. Besides, the demands and requirement of the clients have continued to grow and it is essential to find ways to build faster, cheaper and better quality building. Consequently, cost, productivity and quality of formwork system is variable by the system and material choosing. Therefore, consider as much as issue possible must be done before make the decision of choosing formwork. Definition of Formwork Formwork is a temporary boarding or sheeting erected to contain freshly placed and compacted concrete until it has gained sufficient strength to be self-supporting. The appearance of the finished concrete depends on the face texture and stiffness of the formwork. (Dictionary of Quarrying Terms) Formwork is the term given to either temporary or permanent moulds into which concrete or similar materials are poured. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering moulds. (Wiki Answer) Definition of Steel Wall Form System Steel is a material generally hard, strong, durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon, usually containing between 0.2 and 1.5 percent carbon, often with other constituents such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, copper, tungsten, cobalt, or silicon, depending on the desired alloy properties, and widely used as a structural material. Steel wall form system is one of the Engineered Formwork systems. (Answer.com) This formwork is built out of prefabricated modules with a metal frame (usually steel and aluminum) and covered on the application (concrete) side with material having the wanted surface structure (steel, timber, etc.). The two major advantages of formwork systems, compared to traditional timber formwork, are speed of construction (modular systems clip or screw together quickly) and lower life-cycle costs (barring major force, the frame is almost indestructible, while the covering may have to be replaced after a few or a few dozen uses, depending on the applications). (Nation Master.com) Definition of Conventional Timber formwork Conventional Timber formwork is also as known as Traditional timber formwork. The formwork is built on site out of timber and plywood. It is easy to produce but time-consuming for larger structures, and the timber facing has a relatively short lifespan. It is still used extensively where the labour costs are lower than the costs for procuring re-usable formwork. It is also the most flexible type of formwork, so even where other systems are in use, complicated sections may use it. (Nation Master.com) Background of Research Formwork is the single largest cost component of a concrete buildings structural frame. The cost of formwork exceeds the cost of the concrete or steel, and in some situation the formwork costs more than the concrete and steel combined. (Robert Leroy Peurifoy, Garold D. Oberlender, 1996) For some structures, deciding the priority of the formwork design allow to reduce the total frame costs by as much as 25%. This reduction involved direct cost and indirect cost. Formwork is one of the main components in a project, it efficiencies in accelerate the construction schedule in order to reduce interest cost, labour cost, machinery cost and etc during construction and early complete for the project. (Formwork for Structure, 1996) Formwork can be categorized into two types, which are conventional timber formwork and system formwork. Conventional timber formwork is the most common type of formwork, local contractors are already familiar and get used with this method. System formwork is a new technology which introduced by Industrialized Building Systems. Based on lack of knowledge on this technology, local contractor still refused to apply this method in project broadly. The main reason they refused to applied this technology is cost of conventional formwork is much lower than IBS or the technology of it. Justification of Research Presently, high rise building project is increasing in Malaysia. It consider as the main trends in Malaysias development policy. Steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork both is the main method to construct a building. The contribution of this research will be explorer and analyzed in order to allow provided information to allow contractor in placing formwork design. Problems Statement Adapting the usage of Industry Building Systems in the construction of high rise building had significantly giving advantages in various aspects, such as reducing the construction cost, speed of construction, minimizing manpower, environmentally friendly, improved site safety and better quality construction (Shaari 2004). In order to obtain the advantages of IBS, during pre-planning stage, contractor has to decide which type of formwork is most suitable to be use in the project before contractor tender the project. For a consultant, he must have well sensed in selecting the suitable formwork system to satisfy clients requirement. Therefore, this dissertation will suggest and provide a detail of comparison of costing and productivity between steel shear wall form and conventional timber formwork for high rise building to contractor and consultant. Consequently, they are able to choose suitable formwork system instead of increase quality and productivity of work, and save time and cost in the same time. Objectives of Study The aim of this research is to compare and find out whether steel wall form system or conventional timber formwork is more suitable in high rise residential building construction. The specific objectives were: To analyze and cost and labor force required for both types of formwork system. To define and study productivity of steel wall form and conventional timber formwork. To study into different quality outcome from the both formwork system. To compare of costing and productivity between steel wall form and conventional timber formwork. Scope of Project This research will focus on the local projects that are using steel shear wall form and traditional formwork system. The study is limited to high-rise residential building construction. Site visit to the high rise residential building project will be carry out in this research. One project will be sampled for this research with two different of formwork system for wall only. Research Methodology Desk Study The data, information and reference materials will be collected through reference books, journals, magazines, newspaper and etc will be major tunnels for me to gather information for my research title. Initial study is carried out by comprehensive review on the literature on all the resources, to gain the basic understanding and ground theory on the relevant topics and area, which then be used in generating useful information and data. Internet Research Internet is a major tool to allow me finds out the information about steel shear wall form and traditional timber formwork. It also enables me to get the latest information which is related with my dissertation. Site Visit Throughout site visit, it allow me to understand the method of the construction in apply both different types of formwork in detail. Interview will be carrying out during the construction site visit. The people to be interview included contractors and other relevant party. Case study Case study about steel and timber formwork system used in high rise residential construction will be carried out. Interview will be carried out during the construction site visit. The people to be interview included contractor, project managers and other relevant party. Chapter Organization Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter has been a general introduction to dissertation research and outlines the main aims and objectives of this dissertation. It also consists of clarity of problem statement and justification of the research before to start this research. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter explains and describes the characteristic and the usage for the steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork. It wills emphasis in the usage of both type of formwork in local high rise residential building construction. Besides, this chapter is going to introduces steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork in costing, productivity, quality, advantages and disadvantages. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This chapter will explain the process of the whole dissertation and the type of research Methodology. The method of collect data, information and analysis will be explained in this chapter Chapter 4: Data Collection This chapter will be completed by carried out one case study in order to understand in more detail of the steel wall form system and conventional timber formwork. Besides, a structured interview is conducted for analysis. Data and photographs will be show as an evidence for case studies. Chapter 5: Data analysis This chapter carries out analysis and discussion of the data collected from the interviewer and case study. The data analysis will included cost analysis, productivity analysis, quality analysis and manpower analysis. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter includes the objectives review of this dissertation. All the studies on this dissertation will be concluded in this chapter too. There will be further recommendation of this A Study on Cost, Productivity and Quality Comparison of Using Steel Wall Form System and Conventional Timber Formwork in Residential High Rise Building.