Formwork industry in India

Formwork or Shuttering is the mold in which concrete is poured to attain a particular shape and size. Formwork is temporary structure and mostly removed after concrete attains desired strength. Though temporary in nature, formwork is one of the key elements of construction process. Formwork is required in all kind of RCC structures from foundation to slab.

Conventional formwork system mainly comprised of wooden battens, logs, bullies, bamboos etc. Nowadays Plywood, timber and steel are extensively used in conventional formwork system. Modern formwork technology uses innovative materials like Film coated Plywood, Plastic, Special alloys, Steel, processed timber and other various materials.

Formwork is designed considering major factors like strength (safety), speed, surface finish and productivity (repetitions) required. The strength of formwork is required for supporting the self-weight, weight of green concrete, weight of machinery and men working on top of formwork, anticipated additional live load of the next lift, impact of vibration and other live loads during construction. This design load further depends upon weight of the structure, rate of concrete pouring, mode of concrete pouring, ambient temperature, height of pour, type of compaction required etc.. Formwork sheathing (skin) is designed to achieve desired aesthetic surface finish of concrete.

Speed of operations in formwork is vital for the overall project duration since capability of formwork system in transportation, fixing, allowing faster concrete pouring and deforming is very important in deciding overall cycle time of the pour. Certain types of special formwork like vertical slip form, horizontal slip form, Jump form, Tunnel form, etc. are known worldwide for their speed.

Concrete surface finish depend primary on sheathing, secondary supports and to some extent on over integrity of the formwork system. Globally surface finishes are classified from F1 to F5 where F5 is the highest level of finish. While F1 finish is achievable through sawn timber, F2 and F3 finishes can be achieved using normal plywood and F4, F5 by sealed plywood. Maximum level of surface unevenness allowed in F5 finish is < 3mm in 2 m. Surface is predominant in buildings and structures where exposed concrete surfaces are required.

Productivity of formwork materials decides the cost per usage i.e. total investment in formwork materials vs total utilization of these materials in the project. Cost of low repetition materials like timber, plywood etc. is fully booked in the project considering them as consumables. Cost of materials having higher life cycle like Steel molds, Film coated plywood, System formwork which can be used for multiple projects are generally spread in no. of projects of use.

Over the years, many companies have developed specialized patented formwork techniques. Such type of end to end solution of formwork is called System Formwork. Various international and domestic System Formworks are popular in the country based on their usages; e.g. Doka, Peri, L&T, Paschal, RMD Quickform, Mivan (MFE), Kumkang etc.

Selection of formwork system is primarily guided by factors like safety, speed of execution, resource availability, skill of manpower and budget. System formworks are safer and consistent as compared to conventional system due to uniformity in product and optimal design. Modern formwork systems are much faster compared to conventional systems primarily due to less skilled manpower required for the same. They have a standard operating mechanism and it is easy to establish and maintain the cycle time of operation of such this mechanized almost irrespective of the skill of manpower.

Formwork amount to significant cost in Civil works and properly managed formwork can help control project cost effectively. The basic objective of a Formwork system design is to achieve required speed, within target cost, maintaining desired level of quality and safety. Apart from cost factor, it is also equally important to ensure uniform utilization of formwork materials in a project to avoid unwanted Peaks causing additional inventory, transportation and maintenance cost of the formwork materials. Hence formwork system shall be designed considering whole scope of the project and it if need be, schedule of certain buildings or structures may be reworked in order to optimize cost of formwork, avoid additional mobilization of skilled manpower and materials for a shorter period. Enterprises managing multiple projects, are maintaining huge inventory of formwork materials and skilled manpower. It is very challenging form them to effectively utilize the materials in order to optimize cost maintaining project schedules.

Formwork cost mainly depends upon three factors Materials, Machinery and Manpower. While materials and machinery cost is controlled primarily by design, manpower cost depends more on skill or productivity. Formwork productivity though also depends on other external factors like speed of other associated sequential activities like scaffolding, rebar, concreting, deforming, transportation etc. When larger number of repetitions is desired, modern systems also provide better cost economy due to reduced cost per cycle.

Today skilled manpower is the biggest challenge in the formwork industry. Carpentry in India had been primarily a family business and this skill was being transferred by people to next generations. Government is running various industrial training Institutes across the country to develop skills in various trades including carpentry, however they are not able to meet huge gap in the growing industry demand. Moreover, a big chunk of skilled manpower is working in Middle East and other countries for better compensation. To fill up this gap, few companies like L&T are running their own manpower skill training institutes especially for carpentry trade. Apart from above, some independent organisations like CIDC are also providing manpower training in formwork and scaffolding based on requirement.

Accountability of formwork materials at site is also a major challenge for the contractors, since their projects are mainly executed by sub-contractors or manpower contractors. More numbers of loose formwork components will hamper controlling of wastage of materials at site. Some companies have set up a formwork organisation structure at site which is accountable for end to end solution of formwork for the project. This Formwork Competence Center is able to effectively manage materials and manpower in a structured manner. Monitoring manpower and materials productivity helps establish bench marks for future planning in an effective way. In an organisation where various projects are running, productivity bench-marking also can help comparing level of process effectiveness in different projects to enable take appropriate corrective measures.

As per leading survey agencies, Formwork Industry in India is growing to the tune of 10 – 15 % per annum. While more domestic players are developing to meet market demand, huge gap exists to cater to industry needs. At one end, production of cost effective system needed, skilled manpower development is also equally important to avoid demand gaps and improve quality, safety and productivity. Our responsibility is to make efforts in making Indian Formwork Industry more organised for greater level of excellence in Safety, Quality and Efficiency.