Construction Planning for Gang Formwork Reuse Using Simulation

Concrete formwork is a labor-intensive and time-consuming operation. Many modular formwork systems have been developed to automate the formwork construction and to improve its productivity and cost effectiveness. Usually, proper planning in architechtual design of building, form reuse scheme, resource allocation (modular form sets, cranes, workers, etc.), and construction sequence is required to ensure the success use of a modular formwork system. Many real world cases prove that application of modular formwork systems for building construction is almost deemed to be unsuccessful without proper planning. Computer simulation is a valuable management tool well suited to the study of resource driven operations. It gives the analyst an insight into resource interaction and assists in identifying the non value-adding tasks in a process. Different scenarios can be evaluated for better construction planning and analysis. Simulation is employed in this research to study the productivity and cost effectiveness of different form construction schemes for the use of gang forming systems. Five form construction schemes are identified and the CYCLONE modeling methodology is employed for the development of computer models for each of them. Sensitivity analysis on different numbers of form sets, cranes, and crews is then conducted using a real-world case to analyze their respective impacts on the productivity as well as the cost effectiveness of the operation. The objective is to better understand the characteristics of the different form construction schemes and to achieve better plans for gang forming construction. Thus, the application of the modular formwork systems can be Facilitated.