Evaluations of the Precast Concrete System in the Local Market of UAE

Abstract

The current boom in the region's construction industry has created a need for more efficient and cost effective methods of construction that could be used in a variety of different projects. Also, concrete is the most widely used construction material here in the UAE and is used in virtually all projects regardless of the nature of size of the project. However, there are different ways of producing and using concrete when it comes to the construction of a multi-storey building. The most common method used is known as in-situ concrete construction and involves the casting and curing of the concrete on-site. The concrete is poured into forms where it is cured and allowed to harden before the forms are removed and used elsewhere. The alternative method being evaluated is known as precast concrete construction. Pre-cast concrete is manufactured in a plant and is later transported to the jobsite where it is installed. While pre-cast concrete is a relatively new concept here in the UAE that is not applicable to many types of construction, it has still managed to replace more conventional methods in several projects. The scope of paper includes comparison of two buildings constructed in UAE; one using in-situ and the second using pre-cast concrete. It will focus on the evaluation of the two forms of construction and ultimately, which construction method would we recommend at the end of the day. The major categories which are utilized for the final recommendation on are the following: 1 Budget (Cost) 2 Work Schedule (Time) The fine details of how this is done and what tools were used during the different evaluation processes are included later on in the report. For now, it will suffice to say that an extensive Bill of Materials (BOM) was generated for each construction project; this is done through an exhaustive process of quantity surveying. This BOM is used in order to find out the cost of the project as well as how long it would take to complete the entire project. Also, specialized computer software is used in order to calculate the durability of both types of concrete and provide us with an estimate of maintenance costs for the entire life span of the project.