Construction World November 2018

FORMWORK & SCAFFOLDING

A FORMWORK GAME-CHANGER A versatile new formwork beam is changing the face of the concrete forming industry with its ability to simplify and speed up the erection of formwork and falsework.

Formwork face “Another major advantage is that the plywood is secured to the beam from the back – leaving no screw marks or blemishes on the ever important formwork face,” Pouwels says. “These are significant improvements over the traditional timber formwork beams and other types of steel formwork beams and as a result of 18-months of exhaustive testing and field trials, we have moved swiftly to the registration of a patent and separate design registration. “Simultaneously we have also made the new Multi-Form Uni- Beam available to the market and already have a number of projects underway with our new system,” Pouwels says. Mercedez-Benz He continues that Stefanutti Stocks recently appointed Form-Scaff to undertake the formwork for a number of columns and beams at Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s (MBSA) new facility in East London. With facilities ranging from a production area, body shop, parts warehouses and showrooms, the project required the construction of more than 110 No 1 m x 1,2 m x 9 m high off-shutter columns which were all done with the new Multi-Form Uni-Beam system. This was successfully undertaken with 9 m long Multi-Form Uni- Beams (no splices) and high quality 21 mm Plywood which provided an enviably smooth surface finish and subsequently warranted a special congratulatory message from MBSA to the Form-Scaff team in East London. In another equally challenging application the system was also recently used in the upgrade of seven bridges along the N7 road from Cape Town to Namibia. The bridgework was part of an extensive road upgrade that was awarded to specialist construction firm, Triamic Construction for the upgrade of the road from a single to a dual-carriageway. Variable sizes “Here our own engineer, Gerhard Moll designed the new Multi-

D esigned and developed by South Africa’s largest and oldest formwork and scaffolding company, Form-Scaff, the new beam is being hailed as a game changer with its ability to speed-up and simplify installations and its versatility to be used in virtually any formwork or falsework application. Based on a standard galvanised steel IPE section, the genius of the beam is its series of specific holes and slots that, like a Meccano set, enables the fixing of a myriad of complementary components such as scaffold tubes, brackets, fittings and walers at any point along the beam. The beam – to a large extent – enables the contractor to build what was previously always done as purpose made or special formwork, with standard hire equipment. Timber replacement In many ways – and especially in the civil sector – it is a replacement for the traditional timber H20 beams, but it is much stronger, more versatile and longer lasting, as well as more secure and safe when shuttering large concrete pours such as tall columns and walls as well as complex shapes such as bridge decks. According to Form-Scaff Business Development Director, Klaas Pouwels, the Multi-Form Uni-Beam is an all-round improvement over the traditional timber beams as its bolted connections provide a far more secure connection than traditional friction clamps and/or woodscrew connections used on similar formwork systems. “The Multi-Form Uni-Beam – available as single beams up to 13 m in length – outperform and outlast the best timber beams in every respect.”

Form Uni-Beam system to form the bridge sides on all seven bridges. The new system allowed the contractors to adjust the shutters to suit all the different sizes as opposed to the conventional timber trusses or special steel trusses which would usually be cut to size and used just once. “In this instance the shutters were manufactured by the Form-Scaff Cape Town Branch and delivered in sections as required. After the concrete was poured and the post tension cables tensioned, the stripping of the side shutters commenced and met with the approval of the client, who subsequently recommended the system for all their future bridges. “To prove its versatility, the system is also successfully employed in the construction of the DCC Jesus Dome church where we use it to construct six buttresses requiring an attractive off shutter finish. The buttresses range in height from 6m in the middle and 16 m on either end to form part of three large and attractive arches. These are successfully undertaken with a series of pours that range from 100 m³ to 120 m³ of concrete each.” “This leads us to conclude that the system truly is a game changer and we highly recommend that all beams sold in future be the new Multi-Form Uni- Beam,” concludes Pouwels. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2018