Repeating formwork greatly reduces costs

BY ALVIN BURKHART DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTIVITY PHELPS, INC. GREELEY, COLORADO ALI TOURAN UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER, COLORADO ZIAD QABBANI UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER, COLORADO

Spandrel beams were the most variable structural component in this building. Labor output improved on floors with fewer variations in beam details.

t your fathers knee, you learned how to change a tire. With your first flat tire, you mimicked what dad showed you. By your second flat, you hated it more, but the spare almost jumped on the axle. Repetition made you good at it.

The same applies to setting and stripping forms. The more you work with the same form configuration, the fewer errors you make. Like changing a flat, the job goes faster with practice. In formwork, though, theres an added benefit; the repetition saves you a lot of money. Hensel-Phelps Construction Co. proved this when it built the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. In most of the 600,000-squarefoot prison, each floor of its four interrelated tiered towers re q u i re d unique formwork (see Figure). For example, on the 7th floor there were 13 different spandrel beam crosssections. But in floors 10 through 17, the design repeated itself, calling for the same five or six cross-sections of spandrel beams. On these floors, labor output (square feet per manhour) rose by about 25 percent compared to the average output for

These are some of the spandrel beam shapes used in the King County Correctional Facility. Form setting and stripping are slowed when many different beam configurations are used.

forming all spandrel beams in the building. Compared to the production rate achieved in the first eight floors, design repetition improved labor output by 40 percent. Because labor alone accounts for up to 30 percent of concrete structural frame costs, reductions in man-hours can significantly reduce job costs. Cutting man-hours is a team effort by the designer and the c o n t ra c t o r. If the designer makes the building easy to build and the contractor plans and estimates the job well, a lower cost project results.

SEPARATE ESTIMATES OF FORMING COSTS FOR SPANDREL BEAM COMPONENTS

To accurately bid a job calling for spandrel beams with 59 different sizes and shapes, a contractor needs field data that permits separate cost estimates for different components. But like most contractors, HenselPhelps field accounting practices didnt differentiate between side or soffit forms or between blockouts and bulkheads. Howe ve r, labor productivity for forming spandrel and interior beams was recorded separately at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle. The contractors experience and a professors computer-modeling abilities were used to analyze the available cost data and the major variables influencing productivity. This study provided the contractor with a breakdown of separate forming costs for each spandrel beam component. The spandrel beam sides took the least time to form and the beam soffit took twice as long to form as the sides. A bulkhead, located at construction joints, took four times as long to form as the sides. But the chief cause of low productivity was forming the slab-beam intersection. As shown in the photo, this form was keyed into the beam face and drilled to accommodate pro t ru d i n g slab dowel bars. Aesthetics and seismic considerations ruled out less costly alternatives, such as: Dowel bar substitutes Drilled anchors A horizontal construction joint in the beam at the floor elevation with reveals at exterior beam faces to hide the joint Forming this intersection required 10 times as much labor as forming the beam sides. The data collected provided Hensel-Phelps with valuable information for future cost estimating. The next time they bid a complicated forming job their estimator will have the benefit of historical cost data. Field personnel will report expensive forming operations separately to make additional data more useful. This will allow the contractor to build future jobs in less time and at a lower cost.

Designers role
Designers often try to reduce material costs by designing stru c t u ra l sections as small as possible. Material savings dont always result in the most economical building. Because the labor cost of formwork is such a large part of the job, its best to design for constructibility. Making the formwork easy to build and rebuild saves money. The designer can do two things to make formwork more constructible: Repeat design modules. Use the same layout from floor to floor and dont change the size of stru c t u ra l members such as beams or columns. This helps workers learn the job fast, increasing output and decreasing labor costs. Also, base the design on readily available standard form sizes to avoid the cost of making custom forms. Avoid irregularities in the shape of concrete. Architects often design the concrete sections without considering how hard it is to build them. Architectural details may require special blockouts, bulkheads, pilasters, irregular corners, and complex slab-beam intersections. These decrease productivity and increase cost.

Because of architectural and engineering considerations the floor slab could not be placed integral with the spandrel beams. Forming the slab-beam intersection was 10 times more labor intensive than forming the beam sides.

Contractors role
Contractors also can lower formwork costs: Design formwork for quality and safety. Shortcuts in construction usually cost more in the long run. Inadequate shoring and formwork

can result in excessive concrete deflections that require chipping and grinding. If liners dont produce the required finish, hand rubbing can cost more than the money saved by using cheaper form liners. Lay out a detailed work plan for forming activities. Using forming systems instead of job-built forms reduces labor costs only if work crews efficiently use the systems. Benefits of form reuse are greatest when forms can be set and stripped without lost time. Review formwork plan in rela tion to the whole project. Being able

to make formwork setting and stripping a daily repetition increases worker productivity. But timing must be planned so other site activities dont interfere with the forming crews. Both the contractor and designer can reduce formwork labor costs by creating repetition on the job. This repetition increases productivity and job constructibility, thus saving the owner money and increasing a contractors profit. Dads theory that practice makes perfect holds true, for both flat tires and formwork.

References 1. Building Briefs, A publication of Hensel-Phelps Construction Co., Greeley, Colorado, 1985. 2. Hurd, M. K., Formwork for Concrete, American Concrete Institute, 4th Ed., 1984. 3. Process Plant Construction Estimating Standards, The Richardson Rapid System, Vol. 1, 1983. 4. Concrete BuildingNew Formwork Perspectives, Ceco Industries, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1985.

PUBLICATION #C870853
Copyright 1987, The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved