Precast concrete construction is becoming increasingly common in India as it offers several advantages over traditional building methods. Precast construction allows for faster construction times, lower costs, higher quality, and more sustainable buildings. As infrastructure and housing demand rises in India, the precast concrete industry is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years to help address these needs in an efficient manner. Several major projects are already utilizing precast construction techniques.
Original Description:
Published in The Masterbuilder April 2013 edition (www.masterbuilder.co.in)
Original Title
Article on 'Indian Precast Concrete Building Industry' by Chaitanya Raj Goyal
Precast concrete construction is becoming increasingly common in India as it offers several advantages over traditional building methods. Precast construction allows for faster construction times, lower costs, higher quality, and more sustainable buildings. As infrastructure and housing demand rises in India, the precast concrete industry is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years to help address these needs in an efficient manner. Several major projects are already utilizing precast construction techniques.
Precast concrete construction is becoming increasingly common in India as it offers several advantages over traditional building methods. Precast construction allows for faster construction times, lower costs, higher quality, and more sustainable buildings. As infrastructure and housing demand rises in India, the precast concrete industry is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years to help address these needs in an efficient manner. Several major projects are already utilizing precast construction techniques.
when restr|ctedtoas|ng|emater|a| and|s oten constra|nedby convent|ona| des|gn th|nk|ng. ln th|s context, Pre-cast con- crete systems are stead||y rep|ac|ng trad|t|ona| methods as lnd|a treads towards adopt|ng qua||ty assur|ng, qu|ck andeco-r|end|yconstruct|onpract|ces. These bu||d|ngs de||ver sure|t bene- |ts over trad|t|ona|, |n-s|tu bu||d|ng construct|on and are produced by cast|ng |nd|v|dua| concrete e|e- ments ||ke so||d wa||s, so||d |oors, ho||ow core s|abs, pre- stressed and precast ver bu||t a mode| skyscraper or your dream bunga|ow us|ng the ELEGO toy b|ocks, as a k|d? l yes, you w||| be ab|e to connect seam- |ess|yw|thth|samaz|ngtechno|ogy, wh|ch |n the past ew decades, has g|ven r|se toana|together new|ndustry |nlnd|a The Precast Concrete Bu||d|ng lndustry! W|th the onset o 12th FYP, con- struct|on act|v|ty |s peak|ng up across the nat|on as mu|t|-b||||on do||ar pro- |ects are current|y be|ng bu||t |n the orm o |arge sca|e commerc|a|, |ndustr|a| and res|dent|a| deve|opments and|nra- structure pro|ects. These pro|ects are tr|gger|ng extens|ve demand or many rawmater|a|s, ama|or shareho|der be|ng cement concrete, wh|ch |s at the heart o every bu||d|ng pro|ect and |s used |n many app||cat|ons, rom decorat|ve to unct|ona|. 120 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n beams and raters, sta|rcases, com- pound wa||s, roo t||es, paver b|ocks, etc. |n a contro||ed env|ronment, to be then transported to the construct|on s|te, ||tedand|xed|nto p|ace. AnaIysis Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo| Cosl|mg o Comc|ele |ulu|e |mo|om -|e-cosl Comc|ele 0u||o|mg |mousl|y Pre-cast Concrete Buildings: Steadily materializingdemand Pea| estate |ndustry has been one o the astest grow|ng sectors |n the country over the |ast ewdecades. W|th demands or hous|ng and commerc|a| property |ncreas|ng |n the same pro- port|onas the rap|d popu|at|onand eco- nom|c growth, the sector |s under h|gh pressure to cater to th|s demand at aordab|e rates and |ower turnaround t|me. The demand or urban and rura| hous|ng has a|so been r|s|ng cons|s- tent|y ow|ng to the abnorma||y h|ghres|- dent|a| pr|ces wh|ch are aordab|e or r|ch |nvestors but not the needy lnd|an m|dd|e c|ass, wh|ch compr|ses ma|or- |ty o the popu|at|on. The lnd|an urban popu|at|on |s expected to reach 576 m||||on |n 2030 (current|y, |t |s around 350 m||||on). lnd|a |s thus ac|ng a short- ageo near|y25m||||onaordab|ehouses or wh|ch the lnd|an Govt. |s read||y pro- v|d|ng var|ous subs|d|es to bu||ders and customers. Another ma|or prob|em |s the unp|anned urban deve|opment wh|ch the c|ty mun|c|pa||t|es have enterta|ned over the decades, wh|ch has |ed to |nadequate and |nappropr|ate urban |nrastructure, s|umestab||shments, etc. o||ow|ng wh|ch the governments have |aunched s|um rehab|||tat|on schemes, wh|chaddtotheovera|| hous|ngdemand. ln th|s scenar|o precast construc- t|on techno|ogy |s g|v|ng encourag|ng resu|ts ||ke a|ready w|tnessed|n Amer|ca, Europe and M|dd|e East. So ar th|s techno|ogy has been used |n con- struct|ng |arge pro|ects ||ke br|dges, |yovers, tunne|s and metro ra||s |n lnd|a, but |t can now be |ncreas|ng|y w|tnessed |n construct|on o hote|s, hosp|ta|s, res|dent|a| bu||d|ngs, show- rooms, schoo|s, etc. Market Overview: Arisingindustry Though precast bu||d|ng construc- t|on |ndustry |s st||| at |ts nascent stage |n lnd|a, |ts rap|d|y com|ng to the ore- ront o theconstruct|on|ndustrybecause |ong term market prospects, |n th|s |ndustry, appear h|gh|y encourag|ng. 121 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2013 AnaIysis structura| products or res|dent|a|, com- merc|a| and |ndustr|a| bu||d|ngs. Prod- ucts that w||| are part|cu|ar|y we|| |n th|s market |nc|ude oundat|ons, wa||s and |oors. Growth w||| a|so be spurred by the r|s|ng use o arch|tectura| products ||ke decorat|ve aades, door and w|ndow surrounds, and s|d|ng. Poo|ng t||es w||| a|so support demand and w||| bene|t rom the|r popu|ar|ty |nthe rap|d|y grow- |ng res|dent|a| markets. lnd|an construct|on |ndustrys dr|ve towards susta|nab|e deve|opment shou|da|sobene|t th|ssector, duetothe h|gh |eve|s o recyc|ed mater|a|s used, lts est|mated that the |ndustry w||| grow 10 t|mes |n next 5 years rom the current |eve| o around 2500 crore. The key sectors wh|ch are ||ke|y to exper|ence |nrastructura| growth |n com|ng t|mes are o|ces, |ndustr|a| and reta||, educat|on, res|dent|a| and med|- ca| - though these growth sectors are dependent on und|ng streams rom Government and PFl sources be|ng ma|nta|ned. Some spec||c products w|th|n the broad categor|es o precast concrete product|on |nc|ude dense, ||ghtwe|ght and aerated concrete b|ocks, precast concrete t||es, precast c|add|ng and PCC hoste| bu||d|ng construct|on at SPM un|vers|ty, Chenna| Th|s sunr|se |ndustry may be the answer to lnd|as aordab|e hous|ng needs 122 The Masterbu||der - www.masterbu||der.co.|n ApriI 2013 and precast concretes h|gh therma| and acoust|c |nsu|at|onpropert|es. Substituting 'n-Situ': Advantages are many The growth |n demand o PCC bu||d|ngs |s not surpr|s|ng as precast concrete components prov|de a num- ber o bene|ts as ||sted be|ow: Architectural flexibility: The sp|en- dor o var|ety |n precast so|ut|ons g|ves space to breathe, to be creat|ve and |mag|nat|ve. These bu||d|ngs oer amaz|ng versat|||ty and ab|||ty to better w|thstand the extreme temperatures |n a reg|on. Time and Life cycle cost: E|ement bu||d|ng method creates a great|y acce|erated construct|on t|metab|e, wh|ch |owers the cost, because cap|ta| |snt t|ed up or years |n bu||d|ngs that are not yet ready. Th|s techno|ogy a|so |mproves construct|on qua||ty and extends the ||e cyc|e o bu||d|ngs, mean|ng any repa|rs needed |ater |n the bu||d|ngs ||e w||| be stra|ghtorward and muchmore cost eect|ve. Green and sustainable: These structuresareway moreecor|end|y and susta|nab|e, be|ng u||y recyc|ab|e and contr|but|ng to |ower ||ght|ng costs due to |ts re|ectance qua||t|es. PCCe|ements arecreatedromh|gh-strengthre|norced concrete, wh|ch requ|res |ess concrete. There |s |ess construct|on waste, w|th urther reduces the env|ronmenta| |mpact. Another th|ng |s that these e|e- ments canbeerectedw|thout thewooden shutter|ng used or on-s|te cast|ng. Structural Safety: Mass o struc- ture |s cr|t|ca| |n context o se|sm|c|ty |n lnd|a. The mass o structure contr|b- utes to the |atera| orces and adds upto the stresses, |ead|ng to uneconom|ca| des|gns. W|th |mp|ementat|on o pre- stressed precast components and s|en- der members ||ke ho||ow core s|ab, the mass o structure |s contro||ed and over- a|| econom|c des|gn and mater|a| sav- |ngs |s ach|eved. Structura| con|gura- t|on or stab|||ty and |ntegr|ty o PCC structures |n se|sm|c reg|ons has been tested met|cu|ous|y and |t |s be|ng used |n h|gh se|sm|c zones across the g|obe ||ke West SA, Ta|wan, New Zea|and, Korea etc. Easier to execute: lnd|an Monsoon |asts or near|y 3-4 months, creat|ng add|t|ona| cha||enges or the bu||d|ng pro|ect management. Precast e|ements can be manuactured |n surround|ngs where the eects o ra|n and other weather cond|t|ons canbe e||m|nated. Th|stechno|ogyhasa|sobeenproven to be a good so|ut|on or work saety. L|ke many other countr|es, lnd|a |s a|so ac|ng a shortage o sk|||ed |abor |n the bu||d|ng |ndustry. Precast |s |ess |abor- |ntens|ve. An add|t|ona| advantage o precast |s that dur|ng manuactur|ng and |nsta||at|on s|m||ar work-rout|nes arerepeated. Th|she|psworkersto|earn and become more e|c|ent, pro|ect ater pro|ect. Experts have been qu|ck to recog- n|ze a|| these bene|ts and are thus work|ng towards gett|ng th|s techno|- ogy - |ts r|ghtu| market share |n emerg- |ng lnd|a. Key Players: VolumebasedBusiness sage o tota| precast |n bu||d|ngs |s new to lnd|a and there |s a huge opportun|ty because o the |ack o sk|||ed manpower, cons|der|ngthe h|ghvo|ume |ndemand. P|ant eng|neer|ng spec|a||sts, E|emat|c, Beton| Mestar|t o F|n|and and Precast techno|ogy oers a var|ety o arch|tectura| products: lnosys Bu||d|ng, Chenna| Precast structures can save a tota| o 64% man hours needed to construct a Cast |n s|tu bu||d|ng AnaIysis RBBR Infrastructure Pvt.Ltd 124 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n vo||ert An|agenbau o Germany, etc. are some |nternat|ona| ma|ors p|ay|ng |mportant ro|e |n assoc|at|ng w|th and supp|y|ng lnd|an entrepreneurs and compan|es w|th PCC product|on tech- no|ogy through state o art mach|nes and systems enab||ng them to set up the|r actor|es. Lead|ng compan|es |n th|s sector |nc|udeH|ndustanPreab, Precast lnd|a, S|mp|ex Preab lnra, Precast Bu||dcon, KK lnd|a, vME Precast, Janapr|ya, Amarapa||, Supertech, Sa| Preeth| pre- cast, etc. A|| these compan|es own s|n- g|e or mu|t|p|e product|on ac|||t|es w|th 2 a capac|ty o 200,000 600,000 m per year. Estab||shed p|ayers |n th|s sector are now |ook|ng to |ncrease the|r capac|ty at the|r ex|st|ng set-ups and then move to estab||sh other p|ants. Some op|ne that there |s no po|nt |n br|ng|ng th|s bus|ness to lnd|a un|ess one |s prepared or s|gn||cant sca|e- up. Th|s may be done by add|ng more cast|ng beds and more tab|e mou|ds to theex|st|ngactoryor bu||d|nganewone. Services offered: What toexpect? Most o the estab||shed p|ayers |n the |ndustry oer turnkey so|ut|ons |nc|ud|ng des|gn, manuacture and erect|on o PCC modu|ar bu||d|ngs through co||aborat|ons w|th the|r part- ners. A customer and |nvestor can choose the best des|gn so|ut|on or h|s spec||c pro|ect ut|||z|ng a wea|th o pre- cast concrete opt|ons ava||ab|e. Estab||shed and reputed compa- n|es guarantee pro|t, saety and qua|- |ty, based on the|r extens|ve exper|ence |n econom|ca| des|gn, |atest manuac- tur|ng processes and the use o com- pos|te stee| and concrete mater|a|s most appropr|ate to the pro|ect. Technology: Deeper nsight Broad|y, precast concrete con|gu- rat|on or bu||d|ngs are categor|zed |n two ways, co|umn-beam rame struc- ture or wa||-rame structure w|th pre- stressed precast s|abs. For commer- c|a| and |ndustr|a| structures, requ|r|ng wa|| ree |arge spaces, co|umn-beam rame structure |s common|y |mp|e- mented. Wh||e or res|dent|a| bu||d|ngs, aesthet|c po|nt o v|ewand make use o ava||ab|e essent|a| wa||s, wa||-rame structure |s common|y dep|oyed. For bu||d|ngs, ma|n structura| com- ponents are precast co|umn, pre- stressed precast beams, pre-stressed precast s|abs (e|ther ho||owcore or so||d s|abs), and re|norced concrete pre- cast structura| wa||s and non-|oad bear- |ng part|t|on wa||s. O these, ho||ow core s|ab |s one o the most |mpress|ve |nno- vat|ons wh|ch orm a part o th|s tech- no|ogy. lt |s apre-stressedconcretes|ab w|thcont|nuous vo|ds prov|dedtoreduce we|ght and cost and |s pr|mar||y used as a |oor or roo deck system. These s|abs are ormed through a dry cast, extrus|on process where zero s|ump concrete |s orced through the mach|ne. The cores are ormed w|th augersandtubesw|ththeconcretebe|ng compactedaroundthe cores us|ngh|gh requency v|brators. As ar as the|o|nts requ|redto|t these structura| e|ements together are con- cerned, cr|ter|a can vary cons|derab|y depend|ng on the product type, s|ze and bu||d|ng movements. Typ|ca||y, |o|nts |n structura| products are 1" and arch|- tectura| products are". However, there are a number o cons|derat|ons ||ke From Let: F|tt|ng the re|norcement manua||y, Concrete spreader w|th mob||e operat|ng p|atorm Ho||ow Core S|abs stacked at s|te AnaIysis Preca Solutions India Pvt. Ltd precast sect|ons and hand||ng at s|te has been pos|nga prob|emunt|| recent|y. But, now that there |s cons|derab|e |mprovement |nthe qua||ty o roads (r|d- |ng surace) and a|so ava||ab|||ty o h|gh capac|ty hand||ng equ|pment |n most metros, th|s |ndustry |s expected to |our|shrap|d|y. A|so, rea| estate deve|opers, due to p|||ng up o extens|ve|y h|gh pr|ced, unso|d|nventory |n metros ||ke De|h| and Mumba|, are |ook|ng or aordab|e hous|ng opt|ons to augment the|r bus|- ness|nhardt|mes. Not surpr|s|ng|y, Home, Sweet Home r|ngs true a|so |n th|s part o the wor|d, and many lnd|ans |ook or- ward to home ownersh|p as very h|gh soc|a| and cu|tura| va|ue |s attached to property ownersh|p. The examp|es o precast concrete rom other countr|es show that there |s market potent|a| or the product |nhous- |ng prov|ded manuacturers promote sens|b|e opt|ons to a we||-|normed mar- ket. There are thus many |essons to be |earned romcountr|es that use a h|gher proport|ono |ndustr|a||zedhous|ngthan lnd|a. lndeed, take-up o precast may u|t|- mate|y depend on the ba|ance o con- struct|on costs and added va|ue. Th|s d||cu|t equat|onmayneedtobereso|ved on an |nd|v|dua| pro|ect bas|s, thereby oer|ng every house bu||d|ng c||ent a ta||ored package. For precast concrete to make |nroads |n the hous|ng and commerc|a| market, contractors and c||ents need to be made aware o the speedandqua||ty bene|ts |t oers, wh||e owners and occup|ers need to be made aware o the perormance bene|ts over t|me such as |re res|stance, se|sm|c re- s|st|v|ty,acoust|candtherma||nsu|at|on, etc. The soc|o-econom|c changes |n lnd|a have paved the way or precast techno|ogy to |our|sh and |arge-sca|e bu||d|ngpro|ects havemade|t evenmore |ucrat|ve as the h|gh |n|t|a| |nvestment costs can be covered |n a reasonab|e per|od o t|me. ln the upcom|ng decade, |t wou|dnt be surpr|s|ng | we w|tness a|most every lnd|an construct|on com- panyspresence|nth|sboom|ng|ndustry. 126 The Masterbu||der - ApriI 2013 www.masterbu||der.co.|n Extract|ng casted wa|| pane| rom t||ted tab|e Transportat|on o Large Precast e|ements has been a cha||enge bu||d|ng expans|on |o|nts, bu||d|ng |so- |at|on |o|nts etc. that w||| d|ctate the |o|nt s|zes. Growing popularity: ncreasing appli- cationinreal estate The need to |ncrease the pace o construct|on has become a d|re neces- s|ty. W|th shortage |n houses ga||op|ng by the day and the act that end users expect to get possess|on qu|ck|y, th|s techno|ogy has prompted some ma|or names |n the rea| estate |ndustry to embrace |t, a|m|ng to |ncrease the pace o de||very. lnter|or Crat, A|stone, Orr|s lnra- structure, Amrapa||, Supertech, Omkar bu||ders, L&T, Sweta Estates, Godre| Propert|es, Tata hous|ng, Panchshee| Pea|ty, Marve| Pea|tors, etc. haveadopted th|s new bu||d|ng system|n some o the|r pro|ects wh|ch he|ps |n sav|ng up to 64%o thetota| manhours needed us|ng convent|ona| methods. The use o PCS a|so br|ngs down the construct|on cost by 10-15% | |ts a mass hous|ng deve|- opment. Future: All set for aconcretechange The ma|n concern or PCC |ndustry |s transportat|on |n a country as b|g and var|ed as lnd|a. Transportat|on o |arge AnaIysis
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