Webinar on “Mechanisation of Construction Sector in India to make it Globally Competitive”

Indian Buildings Congress in association with ELEMATIC India Pvt. Ltd. on 26th June 2020 at 5.00pm Organized a webinar on “Mechanisation of Construction Sector in India to make it Globally Competitive”. Shri Pradeep Mittal, President , IBC in his introductory speech welcomed Shri O.P.Goel Founder President, IBC, Shri Vaibhav, Singhal, V.P. (Design), Elematic India Pvt. Ltd.Pune, Shri Shridhar Rao, V.P.( Sales & Marketing), Elematic India Pvt. Ltd. Pune,  Shri H.P.Gupta, Honorary Secretary, IBC,all viewers and audiences who have joined this webinar. The President, briefed about the journey of, IBC, its vision and role in promotion of Built environment. He emphasized the necessity and importance of mechanization of the Construction sector particularly in the post lockdown scenario on account of Pandemic of COVID-19 to counter  shortage of the labor and practical difficulties in maintaining social distancing and various health norms in construction industry.

The President, IBC opined that various parts of the building projects like, foundations, columns, Beams, Slabs, walls, joinery works, toilet units, manholes, ready made floor and wall finishes, facade etc., can be pre-casted independently in smaller segments in offsite factory under standard conditions with minimum work force.  These segments can be easily transported to the site, erected in position and assembled requiring minimum concentration of workforce. The off site construction in factories will generate minimum construction and demolition waste. The quality of the construction can be assured. The construction will be faster in place of conventional practice. The off site construction with pre-cast construction will be economical in long run. He also opined that the IT and computer aids can be very much helpful in the planning, designing and construction of these various precast construction activities which should be promoted by the construction industry in its work culture in order to have a competitive edge in the national & international markets.

Shri Vaibhav Singhal, presented an overview of various precast construction activities. He mentioned that any type of building may it be Residential, Commercial or Industrial can be constructed in pre-cast system.

 He explained the following precast structural systems generally adopted in precast construction:

Portal frame system,

Skeltal structural system,

Wall frame structure

He explained the manufacturing process of the following major elements of pre-cast construction.

  1. Slabs- Prestressed Hollow core slabs, Double TEE-Slab, half plank slab, solid slabs and Room sized slabs
  2. Walls- Load bearing , Facade and Architectural
  3. Columns
  4. Beams – Prestressed beams
  5. Partition walls – Acotec non load bearing partition walls
  6. Staircase

He also informed that larger spans without columns in between providing more open area can be easily constructed for commercial buildings in pre-cast technology.

He also explained the connection details of the precast members. He informed that speed, less manpower, economy, better workmanship, more durability, lesser carbon foot print, almost negligible wastage and eco friendly nature are the major advantage of pre-cast construction. He also explained the necessity of adoption of BIM on the construction projects and in the pre-cast processes where the pre-cast manufacturer, steel fabricator, engineer, detailer, architect, general contractor and owner of the project can work and interact simultaneously on a common platform.

Shri Shridhar Rao, welcomed the president ,IBC and explained the journey of Elematic since 1959. He explained that Elematic provides smart solutions for pre-cast construction. It has 450 patents for machineries in pre-cast construction. He informed that critical path is broken in pre-cast construction and labour requirement is reduced by 40-50%. Through his presentation he explained various sizes of plant depending upon production area of various pre-cast units.

He informed that Elematic also provides following services for successful execution of precast projects: 

  1. Engineering services – Concept design study and full-fledged precast building design
  2. Complete Architectural and MEP services design
  3. BIM Services: Building information modelling to identify inter discipline clashes, visualization of construction in 3D, and development of BOQ and construction drawings extracted from 3D model.
  4. Production support by training and supervision
  5. PMC services at project execution stage
  6. Maintenance and running of the factory by providing spare parts
  7. Factory design and installation of the precast factory
  8. Supervision or production and installation of precast elements

At the end of the webinar, Shri H.P.Gupta, Honorary Secretary, IBC presented vote of thanks. He thanked the President for his pro-active approach in organising the webinar, Shri Vaibhav Singhal and Shri Shridhar for their outstanding presentation. He also thanked all the participants who joined the webinar.