Off-site Manufacture At Skilled Park Stadium
12-06-2010 - Construct - June 2008
The Robina Stadium project has demonstrated the enormous benefits that OSM can bring to a project. Indeed it is highly improbable that a project such as this would ever be attempted again without a significant proportion of OSM.
Benefits
The project benefited from OSM in many ways. Below are listed the main identified benefits to the project:
- The biggest benefit in this type of stadium construction is reduced overall project time and the associated cost savings;
- Reduced time and labour levels on site. This is particularly relevant where a skills shortage exists;
- Safer site - an in-situ approach would have required a large infrastructure of platforms, scaffolding etc. to be set-up. Using precast items drastically reduced the exposure to these risks;
- Better quality control - easy to control and obtain a better finish off-site; and
- Coordinated interfaces and reduced trade conflict - allowed different trades to be present at anytime without competing for common workspaces.
Importantly there was better environmental performance - reduced amount of wastage and better recycling was achieved both on and off site. All items brought onto site were used in the construction. The OSM providers also minimised waste as they were able to order materials more precisely reducing off-cuts, left-over concrete etc.
Barriers
Whilst the project enjoyed numerous benefits, there were aspects of the project that could have improved the overall performance on the project. OSM introduces new work processes that are often not appreciated by those who have not worked with significant elements of OSM. Some of these are briefly listed below.
- Mistakes made at the drawing stage may not have been discovered until the item was installed onsite. The consequences of mistakes were more significant with OSM.
- In automated systems, such as used in OSM, single component break-down has a significant impact on other aspects.
Even with prefabricated elements appropriate labour and workshop space and access are still challenges. - In-situ solutions have the flexibility to adjust elements on-site - this ability is largely lost with OSM.
- The number of engineers that are comfortable designing precast components is limited, tending to be conservative in their designs.
Further, fastenings are a substantial cost of pre-cast concrete elements - problems arise if the engineer does not understand precast or has limited technical knowledge. Knowledge in connection systems and their capacities is required.
Lessons
Given the benefits and barriers outlined above, some lessons can be drawn from the project. These do not differ from those identified in the CRC-CI report on off-site manufacture in Australia. Essentially OSM can only reap full benefits when it is considered and designed from the beginning of the project. It is especially maximised when all relevant parties are involved early in the process. Some examples include:
- Co-ordination and documentation flow is critical when using OSM. This is normally the main contractor's responsibility. However, coordinating between different facilities, as
opposed to a single site, introduces new challenges; - Spend more time getting the drawings right in the first instance. Delays in finalising engineering and architecture designs for the detailing of the steel and precast concrete elements cause fabrications delays;
- Negotiate and award the contract to a builder early - this allows better co-ordination and earlier commencement of off-site works;
- Allow architects and engineers enough time - they have been surprised at the speed of installation onsite - a basic stand being completed within a week;
- A large amount of trust is required - by using people who have worked together before reduces this risk; and
- Ability to discuss options and aspects with clients throughout the project is highly beneficial.
Conclusions
The Robina Stadium project has demonstrated the enormous benefits that OSM can bring to a project. Indeed it is highly improbable that a project such as this would ever be attempted again without a significant proportion of OSM. The main benefits of using OSM on the Robina Stadium project were vast improvements in construction time, reduced onsite labour, improved OHS, better quality, improved interface coordination and better environmental performance. However barriers in the process essentially surrounded the coordination and design aspects, which differ in the context of OSM-intense projects. The main lesson arising from the project was the importance of ensuring that coordination and cooperation between all parties is commenced very early in the project process so that design of the products and process maximise the benefits of OSM.
Acknowledgements and references: Gilbert Gouveia - Design Manager, Watpac Constructions: Mark Finney - Beenleigh Steel Fabrication: David Cullen-Ward -Managing Director, Precast Elements Pty Ltd.
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