Form 'Work' safe at construction sites

Sushobhan Das, Project Co-ordinator, MEVA-India Rohitt Sharma, Director, MFS Formwork Systems Pvt Ltd Raj Lakhani, Managing Director, PERI (India) Pvt Ltd Sachin Yadav, Director Sales, Doka India. A brief discussion on selecting right formwork systems for construction sites With rapid growth of urbanisation, high rise structures will be seen everywhere across India. Modern construction demands

Form 'Work' safe at construction sites

Sushobhan-Das-225-300
Sushobhan Das,
Project Co-ordinator,
MEVA-India

Rohitt-Sharma-225-300
Rohitt Sharma,
Director,
MFS Formwork Systems Pvt Ltd

Raj-Lakhani-225-300
Raj Lakhani,
Managing Director,
PERI (India) Pvt Ltd

Sachin-Yadav-225-300
Sachin Yadav,
Director Sales,
Doka India.

A brief discussion on selecting right formwork systems for construction sites

With rapid growth of urbanisation, high rise structures will be seen everywhere across India. Modern construction demands technologies which are faster, safe and innovative. Formwork consumes up to 60 per cent time in over all construction process in concrete structure. Planning and achieving better productivity in this construction activity will have immense benefit on construction productivity.

How formwork leads to building failure?
Formwork is an essential part for any building project and it should be designed to take enough load while erecting and during operation and while delivering the product with faster cycle. The average cost of formwork in any building project is approximately 35 per cent to 40 per cent of total project cost. When there is a characteristic demand from the building project due to its type of concrete and shape, or the project scheduling, the formwork should be designed to fulfill all the requirements. Otherwise, it will lead to failure of the particular project, believes Sushobhan Das, Project Co-ordinator, MEVA-India.

For an example he says, “If a formwork is designed for a 3.0 metre height of pour, but as per the construction schedule a height 5.0 metre is to be cast to maintain the construction speed with the same formwork, the formwork will fail resulting in the loss of many resources (that is labour, time, and material) of the project. Sometimes even fatal may be caused resulting in indefinite loss of resources.”

“Any system formwork is nothing but design. Any failure during construction caused due to formwork system is mainly due to faulty designing of the same,” points out Rohitt Sharma, Director, MFS Formwork Systems Pvt. Ltd. Utmost care is required while designing any formwork system for particular project with detailing of minute points like condition of site, climatic conditions, rate of pouring, type of concrete, floor to floor height etc.

Suggesting views on how good designing of formwork can reduce failure Sharma says, “Associate should have experienced team of design professionals who should interact with technical team of client along with structural consultants and PMC for collection of minute details and based on that formwork should be designed and must be approved from authorised agency for flawless working. If formwork is manufactured and supplied in accordance with approved design chances of failure are reduced provided execution is carried as per approved drawing and user manual provided by the formwork associate. Special care should be taken to engage complete accessories as per the drawing provided by the formwork associate. Engaging less number of accessories than required is one of the reason for formwork failure and poor quality of end result.”

Informing about how system formworks help achieving better productivity Raj Lakhani, Managing Director - PERI (India) Private Ltd says, “PERI System formwork are pre-designed and engineered to fit site conditions. Unlike conventional formwork, components of modern formwork systems are standardised to ease handling at site and reduce inventory. Modern formwork systems are built with safety features which makes work condition safe and faster. It offers high number of repetitions which reduces material inventory and brings in economical solution for construction.”

For nearly 50 years, PERI products and systems have successfully proved themselves in the market globally. PERI has developed ground breaking formwork and scaffolding technologies which continues to set standards in the industry.
When we talk about building structures, mainly its comprises of vertical and horizontal members. Basic strength of structure is realised by good quality of ready-mix concrete, reinforcement and workmanship at site. “However, in order to achieve the desired strength, concrete needs temporary support that's called formwork. And many situations if formwork is not designed adequately then it leads to the failure,” says Sachin Yadav, Director Sales, Doka India Pvt Ltd.
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In today's scenario the System Formwork plays a vital role at construction site, wherein everyone is having time constraints and face scarcity of skilled labour. If suitable formwork with high standard of safety and quality like Doka not being used, then there may be a chance of error or accident at site. Quite often due to wrong selection of formwork people face issues like poor finish of structure and longer timeline.

Cautions while selecting right formwork
Selection of correct type of formwork plays pivotal role in the construction practice. Formwork selection parameters will include design criteria like concrete pressure, slab thickness, wall heights etc, resources available at site like crane, placing booms etc, type of structures and client project specific requirement.
“At PERI, we offer end-to-end solution to our clients guiding them in selection of correct formwork system through our engineering expertise, supplying it and extending site support to ensure smooth execution,” informs Lakhani.
Selection of right type of formwork depends upon the type of structure, construction sequence, and timelines of project and availability of labour force who have worked with particular type of formwork. “Once, type of formwork is finalised than selection of particular associate is very important for best results. One should make complete due diligence of formwork associate by visiting their facilities to analyse designing and manufacturing capabilities. Apart from this feedback from their existing clients shall be taken and reviewed prior to the selection of Formwork associate,” explains Sharma.

Currently in Indian construction industry majority of job sites makes use of nail, timber and ply to make the formwork panel. However, one will observe the transformation in industry. Where the quality conscious class A and class B civil contractors intend to go for system formwork due to speed of work, labour saving and obviously due to lower finishing cost.

Normally one gets to observe the failure of formwork due to wrong design or excess load being applied without considering the right factor of safety.

Yadav says, it's very essential to consider critical following factors while designing formwork in order to ensure safety at site;
• Concrete pressure/rate of rise
• Class and type of concrete - OPC/SCC
• Kind of form finish is expected
• Slab cycle expected/project tenure
• Safety features
• Crane handled system or light weight system.

Das suggest following factors needs to be considered while selecting the formwork for a particular
structure.
• The formwork should withstand the pressure exerted on its surface during operation. The formwork should
deliver the desired concrete finish and shape of the structure.
• The stability of the formwork during erection and operation.
• Post operation, the formwork should be dismantled safely and without any damage to the structure and
itself.
• Formwork should be designed in such a way that it allows a safe access for inspection pre-operation and
during operation as well.
• Formwork should provide the desired repeatability so that the project can be completed with optimum
resources.
• Formwork should easily be understood by workers and should be handled easily.
• Formwork should provide faster cycle of operation.

Safe formwork at construction site
As compared to conventional system, engineered modular systems provide much safer environment in construction projects. The project site looks more tidy, and clean when using systemised formwork. As the formwork making activities are much lesser using modular formwork systems, risk of accidents comes down drastically.

Informing on how MEVA's formwork provide safe working environment Das says, “MEVA's lightweight formwork systems makes it much easier to be handled by the Indian workers. Our every formwork solution is in compliance with European Standards. Every formwork system we offer has either inbuilt safety features with it or it comes with every safety accessories which can easily be mounted during operations. MEVA's state-of-the-art climbing solution for high-rise structures (that is MAC, MGC, MGS) has complete enclosure to avoid any accident in the building project.”

“Safety is at core of PERI values, avers Lakhani. He reveals, “90 per cent of formwork and scaffolding in India is still conventional and traditional which is not the scenario globally. There is a chance of accident during formwork construction and during concrete poring if system is not designed to handle specified concrete pressure. At PERI, we have taken serious of initiatives to educate construction industry to adopt system formwork and scaffolding. Many large contractors in construction industry have moved to system formwork. System formworks are designed for specified concrete pressure to ensure there are no failures during concreting activity. As far as scaffolding system is concerned, we use PERI patented gravity lock technology which is safest among all technology available in India.”

MFS Aluminium Formwork System comes with in-built safety features to ensure complete safety during erection and dismantling. Being light weight each panel is dismantled individually, which avoids potential accidental situation, which arises when formwork is dismantled collectively. “Our system ensures concreting of vertical (walls and columns) an horizontal (beams and slab) in one go, which makes it safer as one activity is done at site at a time. Apart from this our system comes with external brackets at two levels throughout the periphery of the structure ensuring safe working platform, which is used for erection of external members of formwork.”
Integrated safety at products is self-evident and includes all relevant products, which are necessary for safe use and safe handling.

Yadav says, “Safety on the formwork and on the site is a strategic priority for Doka. Formwork is designed with adequate safety factor as per DIN and EURO standards; that ensures no failure of formwork. Doka offers you right sequence of work with drawings and supervisor who ensures Do's and Don't about the formwork.
With endeavor of giving accident free and safe working environment Doka provides platform system, X safe plus, folding platform K, bracket platforms, handrails and guardrail system, protection screen and safety net system.
How formwork determines construction process and delivery Formwork is a key for determining progress and quality for any project. Correct usage of Formwork with prior planning of resources can enhance quality of end product. Timelines of any project can be achieved or even shortened if we plan the usage of formwork and other related activities, believes Sharma.

“Every formwork system has its own execution methodology and the time expenditure also differs. For a same straight wall structure, relatively heavy H-20 girder based system which is totally crane dependent may take more time than panelised light weight formwork system, which can be manually handled (subjected to site conditions). Thus affecting the overall construction schedule,” informs Das.

He adds, “Again for slabs, in building projects, it has now been proved that modular
formwork systems provide faster slab cycle than the conventional formwork system and the repeatability of
the system formwork increases up to many folds.”

In today's much advanced construction industry, it still can be seen, that many developer and contractor are still using very basic conventional formwork system that is bamboo, wooden planks in an abundant quantity, because the investment comes in a very cheaper cost, though the repeatability gained is much lesser. “But the quality of construction and delivery time of the project could have been much better and faster respectively with lesser work-force and time resources if the engineered formwork system are deployed,” emphasis Das.

With 10 years of existence in India, PERI India has executed large number of landmark projects like Statue of Unity, Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Hyderabad Metro using its state-of-the-art formwork and scaffolding system. One of the iconic projects is Mahatma Mandir, where PERI formwork engineering excellence was demonstrated. Design of the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Center has been inspired from and reflects the life and philosophy of the Father of the Nation- Mahatma Gandhi; reflecting the prosperity of Gujarat. “It was first such challenging Bridge Pylon project for PERI India due to its sloped profile. PERI India being world leader in climbing system technology was preferred as formwork solution partner to execute this Iconic project,” says Lakhani.

PERI SCS Climbing System is being used for inclined pylons which are inclined at 15 degrees. Due to large size of pylons through ties are not possible and SCS System is effectively used to take entire load from each pour and safely transfer it to the existing structure. With the SCS 250, the formwork can be retracted up to 62 cm by means of the carriage without a crane. This facilitates concrete reinforcement work, assembly of the climbing anchors and setting as well as striking of box-outs.

“Project was completed with best in class engineering and execution and PERI system was well appreciated for this work,” states Lakhani.

When we talk about the metro city like Mumbai where the land prices are obnoxious and so the construction cost. So it's very significant for developer or contractor to make best use of resources and minimise the operational cost, believes Yadav.

He adds, ‘Doka being formwork expert offers the complete value added formwork solution at job site.
Depends upon the height and complexity of structure one can decide to go for auto climbing system
as well as crane handled system. In Mumbai, mainly South Mumbai where you find large number of high-rise buildings is under construction with auto climbing system. Auto climbing technology has become the need of the hour for high-rise structure, due to easy in handling and gives higher productivity. In whole process of construction, you cut down the time and labour with minimum handling of formwork”
Also the panel based formwork like Doka FRAMI system is being well accepted among the contractors. The Key advantages are higher repetitions, ease of handling &very good finish of structure. Panel Formwork doesn't require initial time for panel forming like conventional formwork and get much better results.

“Minimising the slab cycle with no mishap is the endeavor of every developer. System formwork makes easy and faster installation with less involvement of labour. System formwork is becoming first choice of contractor over conventional formwork in account of better finish, higher productivity and faster delivery of project, he says.

Innovative structures for construction projects
MFS Aluminum Formwork for mass housing construction MFS Aluminium Formwork is a unique system which ensures monolithic concreting that eliminates one stage of concreting. Entire forms for vertical (shear walls/columns) and horizontals (beams and slab) including staircases, balconies, window hoods, storage lofts etc, are set at one stage for single pour resulting in accurate finish with consistent quality.

Briefing on the innovative formwork for construction project Sharma says, “MFS Aluminum Formwork System is an advance formwork technology highly suitable for mass housing construction where quality and speed can be maintained at a reasonably high level. Speedy constructions, consistency in architectural dimensions, excellent finish, less dependency on skilled workers and simplicity in erection and de-shuttering makes MFS Aluminum Formwork System more viable and preferred formwork technology for construction of mass housing projects.”

Unique advantages of formwork:
• Shortens construction period (7 - 8 days slab to slab cycle is achieved)
• Reduces construction cost
• Greater strength and durability of structure
• Monolithic crack free structure
• Environment friendly
• Eliminates entire plastering
• Seismic earthquake resistant structure
• Civilised method of construction.

“MFS provides end-to-end solution namely designing, manufacturing and professional aftersales services consisting of training and education for proper usage of MFS Aluminum Formwork System ensures more productivity at economic prices, informs Sharma”

Designing of MFS Aluminum Formwork System is done with in-built software. A rotating 3D Model of entire unit along with individual panels is viewed for accuracy. Any overlaps or clashes are identified and removed at design stage prior to the generation and release of shop drawings assuring flawless manufacturing drawings based on which entire system is manufactured.The company's competent and experienced teams of design engineers ensure maximum repetitions of formwork in particular project for better viability, which ensures economy along with quality and safety. MFS Aluminum Formwork System is designed with maximum standard size Inventory so that 60 - 65 per cent of inventory can be reused in other projects. However, if floor-to-floor height is controlled, 70 - 75 per cent of inventory can be reused making the company's system versatile and more economic.

Sharma adds, “We also provide technical design assistance for optimum usage of MFS Aluminum Formwork Systems enabling the customers to re-use maximum number of components in their future projects.

Modular panelised formwork
MEVA has provided various innovative solutions to the construction industry since 1970. For the first time, MEVA come up with the modular panelised formwork system, in the construction world. “MEVA has the most engineered modular formwork solution for slab called “MevaDec”. Which can give up to minimum 3 days slab-cycle. This system proved its excellence during the construction of Burj-Khalifa,” informs Das. In Indian construction market also MEVA provided complete solution for the project “Palais Royal” (highest tower in India) situated in Mumbai.
He adds, “MEVA has completely switched to a composite plastic material as form-surface replacing plywood. The Alkus gives guaranteed minimum 1000 repetitions which takes down the overall construction cost over a very long period of time.”

Thus MEVA took the initiative to reduce the consumption of wood based formwork within the construction industry. MEVA's clients within India are using MEVA systems (MevaDec, AluFix etc.) since 2007-08 and those systems are still providing good quality of construction till today.

For Doka, innovation is always factored on higher safety aspect and value added solutions. Doka has penetrated deeply in all segments like high-rise and mid-rise residential projects, Infrastructure and Industrial projects. In order to cater all kind of segments and to be a choice of customer it's important to have continuous improvement and development.

For Residential and Commercial segments Doka has:
• Auto climbing SCP400 system/Lubeca climbing/SKE100 and 50 plus/Xclimb60
• Wall formwork - Top50 and Frami Eco, Framini
• Slab formwork - Dokadeck 30 and DF tables For infrastructure Doka has metro rail/bridges pylons/power
plants/LNG, STP and ETP tanks has:
• SCF: Supporting Construction frames
• Dam and climbing bracket -SKE 175/ MF240 / 150F / D15 & D22
• SL1: Tunnel formwork
• CFT: Cantilever formwork traveler for Bridges
• Top50, Framini
• Stair towers / Load bearing towers D3
Concremote is the new product in Doka range of products: Product which assists in getting the real time concrete strength on job.
Infrastructure: An ocean of opportunities for formwork
Requirement of housing units and infrastructure development due to the urbanisation is increasing day by day. India being the second most populous country in the world with a growing population of 1.28 billion India is facing huge shortage of housing units. Different government bodies have launched various schemes to fulfill this demand but due to delay in the delivering these units, gap between demand and supply is increasing rapidly. Usages of conventional methods of construction consume more time, which leads to delay in the completion of any project. Desired quality is not achieved and safety of workers is compromised. It is therefore obligatory to work out a method or a scheme where speed and quality of construction are controlled automatically by a systematic approach, believes Sharma.
He adds, “MFS Aluminum Formwork System is most suited formwork system for all types of residential projects. Right from high-end projects up to affordable and low cost housing projects our system is being used efficiently and effectively. Latest national scheme “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yogna” (PMAY) has been one of the scheme where this technology is implemented and is being used in high volumes to achieve the goal which is “Housing for All by 2022”. Designed and manufactured as per Indian conditions, it ensures faster completion of project at optimum cost while maintaining high quality of the structure making it free from cracks, seepages and highly resistant to earthquakes.”

Commenting on the company's preparedness to cater Indian construction industry Sharma says, “MFS Aluminum Formwork System has been part of ‘Make in India' which focuses on maximum usage of equipment, which are manufactured in India. This comes, as a great opportunity for Indian manufacturers to compete with global agencies but at the same time it also requires quality deliverables as per global standards. We are fully geared to cater Indian Construction Industry with best quality products, in-time deliveries and best technical services as we have firm belief in our team. It would be refreshing to see Indian formwork industry to grow to new heights.”

Infrastructure development is need of an hour for Indian economy be it road, railway including metro rail, affordable housing or airports. “We see an ample opportunity in this sector for formwork and scaffolding industry. With affordable housing getting Infrastructure status, we see lot of investment moving in that direction which will amplify growth potential for industry. PERI India has been growing its footprints in infrastructure sector in India. With landmark projects such as Mahatma Mandir, Statue of Unity, Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Hyderabad Metro using our state-of-art formwork and scaffolding system, we have proved our mettle in delivering customized solutions for every complex need in a cost effective manner,” says Lakhani.

With India's current growing economy and industrial developments, MEVA sees an ocean of opportunities ahead. Every developing smart cities, and latest infrastructural development within large metros, will have requirement for huge quantity of formwork. With its highly engineered, efficient, and easy to handle formwork solutions, MEVA hopes the Indian Construction Industry will be benefitted up to many folds.The only thing Das points out is the overall Indian Construction Industry should understand the advantages of engineered formwork solutions. Though it seems to be a bit expensive investment initially, but in the long run it will help completing projects with much lesser expenses of resources related to formwork.

Yadav says that Doka is looking out for opportunities fromInfrastructure segment, affordable housing segment, Bharatmala, Setu Bharatam, NH Inter­co­nnectivity improvement
pro­g­ramme etc.

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