Cooperation mode for concrete formwork reuse among construction sites

Abstract

Concrete formwork reuse enables both cost savings and resource consumption reduction and has attracted more attention recently. Construction sites in a certain district can reuse idle or underutilized formwork via cooperation. However, the way to cooperate and allocate cooperation profits is rarely explored. In addition, existing efforts usually assume that there are no contract-violated members in the cooperation. This is not in line with the practice since on-site emergencies always result in construction changes. This study aims to explore an applicable cooperation mode to improve the feasibility and stability of inter-site formwork reuse. The proposed cooperation mode enables optimal cooperation alliance establishment, contract-obedient profit allocation, and contract-violated compensation distribution and is illustrated and demonstrated via a case study in Chongqing, China. The results show that (1) formwork reuse within the optimal cooperation alliance can effectively reduce both costs and material consumptions; (2) profit allocation can motivate construction sites to cooperate for formwork reuse; and (3) compensation and penalties can guarantee the deserved profits of contract-obedient alliance members and prevent a breach of contract. These findings show that the proposed cooperation mode can promote formwork reuse among construction sites and provide insights into the sustainable development of cross-organizational cooperation.