Construction World June 2018

PRECAST CONCRETE PRODUCTS

Evaluating PRECAST concrete SUITABILITY

“T his service assists our customers in understanding the feasi- bility of adopting this technology as it includes an evaluation of how their current and future projects could be structured using precast and whether to use complete or composite structures. The performance of the precast building in local ground conditions and the required precast product types are also evaluated," said Prakash Shah, Head Technical Support, Elematic India. The process With their global experience in precast production and application, Elematic can provide assistance throughout the process required to successfully implement a precast concrete solution, namely: choos- ing the most suitable concept design office, preparing for concept design project and concept design.

Precast concrete structures offer many cost savings to construction projects but evaluating these benefits in terms of clear cost calculations and precast product selection is essential. Elematic, based in Finland, offers a Concept Design Service to those manufacturers and contractors wishing to shift from traditional construction to precast technology.

When considering a new construction meth- od, it is important to have a professional partner to work with in order to reach the best possible outcomes. The following are considerations when selecting a structural engineering partner in the precasting field: • have the design engineers sound knowledge on precast industry developments along with good practices of successfully implemented systems? • have they gained experience on geographically varied projects, international structural standards and utilisation of varied programmes? The engineers should also have a sound knowl- edge of precast production, plant operations and efficient working methods as well as structural connections and their lifetime behaviour. The starting point to evaluating the suitability of precast to a project is the understanding of the project in totality. Architectural drawings in- cluding layouts, elevations, sections and special features are required as well as details of build- ing utility service arrangements, local seismic details and costs of structural materials. The end result of a concept design project is the final reporting which will include all informa- tion that will be required for adapting precast construction, such as basis of structural analy- sis and design, outline structural framing with precast arrangement, typical connection details of various precast elements, sizing,

“The SEMI lines offer an effective alternative that can efficiently produce up to 600 square feet per day and production does not require in-depth knowledge by staff."

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2018