Evaluation of Different Kinds of Formwork Systems in Indian Construction Industry

Abstract

In the construction industry, formwork plays a critical role in the construction of cast in situ reinforced concrete structures. Due to the rapid growth of the Indian economy, population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, the demand for housing and other built structures is increasing. To meet these requirements, quick construction is needed with less project completion time. The conventional system of formwork comprises nearly 50% of the total project completion time. Wastage and labour requirement is also high in conventional formwork systems. So, the use of modern formwork systems like aluminium formwork, tunnel formwork, etc., is increasing in the Indian construction industry. This paper aims to discuss and evaluate the various formwork systems available, and to show their impact on project duration, cost, quality, cycle-time, number of repetitions, labour requirements. Through literature review, data about various formwork systems available all over the world are collected. The current practices in India are known from various stakeholders through a questionnaire survey. Data analysis will be done using the data collected from the literature review and the questionnaire survey. The research will highlight the benefits and comparison of various types of formworks in terms of project duration, cost, quality, cycle-time, number of repetitions, labour requirements. This study concluded that implementing the modern formwork systems will improve the quality, safety, efficiency and minimise the cost and waste in construction.

Keywords: Conventional formwork; Modern formwork systems; fast-track construction; Comparison; Indian construction sector.