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New technology is impacting all aspects of construction. While different regions worldwide are advancing at different rates, 3D design in construction is now reasonably commonplace, delivering many well-documented benefits to all stakeholders involved in a project.
What’s more, with a skills shortage felt across the construction industry globally, a sector that is innovative, collaborative, and forward-looking will be more attractive to new entrants. In the UK, the latest Construction Skills Network (CSN) report suggests an extra 225,000 construction workers may be needed by 2027, although the economy is facing a recession in 2023.
With this in mind, what new digital technologies are available to aid the concrete construction sector, and how can they be best leveraged to full reap the potential benefits?
Communication, productivity, and health and safety
Digital solutions contribute to a more inclusive construction process where the flow of information is unhindered, seamlessly enabling everyone involved to view, interrogate, and communicate information and questions about a project.
The latest digital engineering tools offer realistic 3D visualisations of temporary works on a build, helping to break down any communication barriers and ensure transparency across the supply chain for any specified systems, and allowing any potential issues to be quickly raised and remedied.
Improved health and safety standards and better workforce planning are possible too. BIM, for instance, models all components of the construction process. This includes tools, people, resources, materials and so on, throughout a building’s lifecycle.
A competitive advantage
Technology can be a critical differentiator, playing a pivotal role in helping businesses gain a competitive advantage. For example, digital tools are not only being used to help streamline decisions across the supply chain, but they can also play a crucial role in winning tenders.
Not only do digital engineering tools help hugely with collaboration, but they provide vital opportunities to manage and control costs, while also preventing waste and better controlling risks. Ultimately, we must now embrace the opportunities that digitalisation offers, which will help drive substantial operational improvements and add real value for those in the industry.
Digital engineering in practice: Colne Valley
We recently engineered a highly complex formwork shutter for client Kilnbridge Construction Services Limited, to construct the Fixed Buttresses piers within tight cofferdam constraints on the Colne Valley Viaduct, being constructed by Align JV as part of HS2 Phase One.
The key formwork challenges on this high-profile project were the complex shape, reuse on 8.5m and 7.5m high piers, the required finish combining plain and textured surfaces and the limited access. Altrad RMDK engineers had to find innovative ways to form the shape and also to enable efficient removal of the shutters once the concrete had cured.
The fixed buttress piers had significant architectural features and were shaped as an asymmetrical angular arch with the 8 faces on each leg tapering over the height of the pier. The position of joints and ties were important considerations and had to be agreed with client.
Altrad RMDK worked closely with their customer to provide a flexible solution that was efficient to use. It consisted of 79 unique quadrilateral panels ranging in weight from 82kg to 1550kg that were bolted together at the changes in direction of the pier. The panels were designed as composite two-way spanning structure with folded horizontal channels and vertical flats. The completed structure utilised 20mm ties and hoop action to contain the significant concrete pressures. The vertical concrete loads from the arch were resisted by a specially designed support structure.
Due to limited access and mechanical lifting options an innovative solution had to be developed to strike the equipment. Altrad RMDK designed the support frame with special wedges which when struck lowered the frame onto integral wheels and allowed it to be rolled out leaving the panels held in place by the tie bars. A special full width lifting beam, featuring a rotating circular tube was then used to lower the panels to the ground.
Early collaboration at the pre-tender stage can reap real rewards. By using digital engineering technology, recommendations on project structures and construction phases, not to mention the ability to identify any potential challenges, can be ascertained.
In response to evolving working practices in the industry and greater adoption of digital construction technologies, we created LocusHUB; a ‘one-stop’ hub for all our digital innovations and resources. Available at locushub.rmdkwikform.com, it brings together all our digital assets including apps, product videos, CAD resources and technical data.
Designed and developed to meet the changing needs of the construction industry, LocusHUB offers users an evolving library of digital tools to help optimise working processes and improve productivity levels. Tools on LocusHUB include LocusEye, our innovative 3D visualisation software, which offers high-quality interactive 3D models of temporary work schemes. Our entire catalogue of material handling and guidance notes for its products are stored on LocusHUB, too.
The analysis of the formwork was one of the most challenging ever undertaken by Altrad RMDK and pushed the boundaries of what is possible with conventional software. An elastic analysis was carried out on the complete structure and contained over 13,000 individual members.
Speed of detailing and fabrication were critical to the success of the project and a great deal of thought went into keeping it to a minimum. To simplify fabrication the folded channels and vertical flats were slotted so that their relative positions were fixed reducing setting out time and the need for jigs.
Electronic DXF files were created for every component in such a way that they could be input directly into the laser cutter. The DXF files were the primary data with the drawings just being used for identification. This reduced detailing time as only principal dimensions had to be shown. Each DXF file included an identification number which was etched on by the laser cutter which aided assembly.
*This article was originally created for and appeared in Concrete Engineering International Magazine.