Economy in Formwork

A key challenge in selecting any formwork system is cost economy, which primarily depends on viable number of repetitions as per execution plan and durability of formwork materials. If system is utilized beyond single project, overall “cost per use” shall be arrived at including handling, transportation, refurbishing, and maintenance cost.

In a structure, required number of sets for each element viz. foundation, tie beams, columns, slab/beams etc. shall be worked out for an optimum floor cycle time and form repetitions. E.g. for a floor cycle of 18 days, column sets shall be provided in such a way to complete all columns of a pour area within 5-6 days to achieve desired cycle time. Cycle time is paramount being the essence of overall productivity of the system.

Another key factor is to decide upon optimum pour size to ensure proper resource levelling during executing. Larger pour sizes can result in increased cycle time on one side, but also increase peak resource requirement and idling of resources intermittently. On the other hand, too small pour sizes will lead to increased number of pours and joints resulting in higher time and cost of joint treatment.

One should also think about overall cost of completion and not just cost of individual activities in a project. For example, if a structure with scope of 15000 Cum concrete and 40000 Sqm of formwork to be constructed, while individual cost of concreting , rebar and formwork activities shall be calculated and compared with budget, a cost benefit analysis shall also be worked out by optimizing resources like formwork, temporary works etc. which may increase cost of individual activity slightly but reduces overall time frame and cost of the project by reducing other fixed costs like site infra facilities, batching plant, cranes, DG sets etc.

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