Comparison of timber and metal formwork systems

Abstract

Formwork is one of the most important temporary works for reinforced-concrete superstructures in building projects. The use of traditional timber formwork has dominated the construction industry in Hong Kong for many years. Now, however, low-waste technologies for superstructure construction are becoming more common. The study reported here compares the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional timber formwork and a large panel steel formwork system integrated with precast concrete semi-slab (composite formwork system) in superstructure construction in Hong Kong. The study compares these two different formwork systems used in two identically designed school projects in Hong Kong. The comparisons are focused on construction cost, time required for completion of work and construction waste generation. By conducting a detailed cost comparison, this paper shows that, despite the fact that the composite formwork system is able to produce less construction waste, the traditional timber formwork system is still more favourable economically. However, if the composite formwork could be reused in other standard school projects after completion of the project, economic advantages would be realised.

Making Formwork Construction Lean

“…This is a structural problem that directly impacts project delivery, quality, and costs (Sutherland 2005;Chang 2007). To address these issues, scholars have suggested the use of substituting conventional wooden moulds with alternative materials, such as paper, fabric, fibre, Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (FRP), metal, compounds, and composites (Arslan et al 2005;Yip, Poon 2008;Veenendaal et at. 2011;Spottiswoode et al 2012;Kim et al 2008;Sheikh et al 2007).…”

Improving Formwork Using Lean Tools

“…This worker structural problem directly impacts deliverables in the project and performance, as well as cost [1,2]. For the purposes of improving the aforementioned problems, scholars have suggested other materials, including paper, fabric, fibre, Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP), metal, compound, and composite materials to substitute wooden molds [3][4][5][6].…”

Lean Formwork

“…This worker structural problem directly impact project delivery, quality, and cost (Sutherland 2005;Chang 2007). To improve the aforementioned problems, scholars have suggested alternative materials, such as paper, fabric, fiber, Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP), metal, compound, and composite materials to substitute wooden molds (Arslan et al 2005;Yip and Poon 2008;Veenendaal et al 2011;Spottiswoode et al 2012).…”