Improvements in Concrete Constructions - ACTS · Improvements in Concrete Constructions Presented by: Anwar Antoun ... There is NO NEED for piles and even no need for soil ... Detailed

Improvements in Concrete Constructions

Presented by:Anwar Antouncivil engineer - managing partner

Table of Content

• Introduction

• History of Concrete

• Reasons for the low level of innovation in the concrete construction

• Improvement Factors

• Three Case Studies:

– Optimized Design.

– Precast Walls.

– Cut & Bend Reinforcement

Introduction

• Concrete:

– Most widely used construction material.

– 10 billion m3 per year.

– Second consumed product after the water.

• Objective of the presentation:

– Make an overview of the different stages of concrete construction.

– Highlight areas with potential for improvement.

History of Concrete

• 753 BC–476 AD: Ancient Romans were the earliest large-scale users of concrete.

• Pantheon’s concrete dome is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome (118-128 AD).

• Roman’s concrete technique was than forgotten for more than 1,000 years.

• 1793: Modern usage of concrete started with the third EddystoneLighthouse – England.

• 1936 : First large scale concrete project (Hoover Dam) - 2.5 Mm3

• 1980s/90s (50 yrs ): Significant expand of concrete industry.

History of Concrete

• Although this progress in the technology and the supply of concrete:

– “The level of innovation within the concrete construction industry is considered, by many, to be too low” (Atkin et al. 2003).

– In Sweden, the productivity increase in construction industry has been around 3% during the period 1995-2005, which should be compared with an almost 90% increase for other industries (Byfors, J and Jäderholm, B - 2006).

Reasons for the low level of innovation in the concrete construction

• Lack of Cooperation, Communication, Coordination and sharing experience between the project’s main actors: Formal communications by Letters, Emails, RFI’s, Submittals, etc….

• Clients usually hire the designer with the lowest design fees; neglecting the experience and the skills.

• Clients usually search for the contractor with the lowest bidding sum; neglecting the quality, skills and the overall project time.

Reasons for the low level of innovation in the concrete construction

• Contractors usually consider every project as an individual project:

– Difficulty to invest in new production solutions that could have an important benefit in next projects.

– Example: Buying a formwork system.

Think Macro not Micro

Improvement Factors1- Work Together:

• Greater collaboration between different actors will help to improve this sector.

Traditional Organization

For the past 150 years owners hire Architects and Contractors separately


• Greater collaboration between different actors will help to improve this sector.

Required Organization


• Greater collaboration could be achieved by using the Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform.

BIM Process

Improvement Factors2- Change the way we design:

• Management decisions should be based on long term philosophy, even at the expense of short term financial goals.

Today’s designers spend more than 75% of their time in Non-designed tasks.(Patrick MacLeamy; HOK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer )










Improvement Factors3- Make an optimized design:

• Quotes:

– "Design can add value faster than it adds cost." (Thomas Gale)

– Good Design may returns 75% on your investment (Architect Dennis Davey, AIA).

Case study for a raft foundation

Extract from the Soil Report


Soil Pressure under service loads Displacement under service loads

K = 2,250 T/m3

The Structural Engineer requested that

S = 321 KPa


Soil Pressure under service loads Displacement under service loads

After making an optimized analysis we found that:There is NO NEED for piles and even no need for soil improvement.

K = 1,500 T/m3

S = 297 KPa

Improvement Factors4- Planning and Scheduling:

• Planning is the highest influencing factor for improving the construction productivity.

• Planning could be also connected to the BIM

Improvement Factors

5- Improve Construction Methods:

• Formwork, reinforcing and placing of concrete are the main factors dominating the consumption of time and money in the concrete construction projects.

• Improvements may include:

– Formwork system: (Climbing, etc…).

– Cut & bent reinforcement.

– Self-compacting concrete (SCC): Increase workability.

– Precast elements / Post-Tensioned construction.

5- Improve Construction Methods - Precast Concrete Walls:

Case Study:

• Area = 1,200 m2• Perimeter = 150 m• Height = 6 m

5- Improve Construction Methods - Cut & Bent Reinforcement:

• Main advantages:

– No storage is required (material is ordered & supplied per need).

– Safe & Operational (No handling of 12m bars).

– Saving in labor cost.

– Time saving.

– Avoiding wastage (Efficiency).


Wastage Examples: Beams


Walls & Columns

Finally, One of the common wastage is when the contractor install reinforcement more than required by design (storage reason)

Wastage Examples:

Case Study – Cut & BendHazmieh Restaurants Project:

• Project’s Description:

– Built-up area = 15,000 m2.

– Designed Concrete Volume = 7,000 m3.

– Designed Steel Weight = 800 Tons (≈ 115 Kg/m3).

The project was designed using the BIM technology (Thanks to the Architect’s efforts ).


Detailed shop drawings with BBS were prepared, taking into consideration the optimal arrangement of reinforcement.

Case Study – Cut & BendHazmieh Restaurants Project

Bar Bending Schedules were sent to the supplier. The bars were arriving on site divided into bundles with the related tags attached to them.


• Poured Concrete Volume ≈ 7,000 m3

• Steel Weight reduced from 800Tons to 600 Tons

• Steel Ratio ≈ 90 Kg/m3

• Saving was estimated to be around 150,000$ (after deducting the shop drawings with cut & bent fees)

Thank You

Documents

Improvements in Concrete Constructions - ACTS · Improvements in Concrete Constructions Presented by: Anwar Antoun ... There is NO NEED for piles and even no need for soil ... Detailed