From Minimum To Zero :A Sustainable Transition In Formwork Management
- Vol.34(2), April-June
- Pune NICMAR 2019
- 46-52p.
The construction sector is fraught with materials that have adverse effects on sustainability in almost all major stages ofits lifecycle viz., its sourcing, usage and disposal. In construction, the three such main raw materials that form the backbone are cement (concrete), wood (formwork) and steel (structural and reinforcement steel). Fortunately, there are sustained efforts to make concrete production and disposal more sustainable. Though steel production may not be environment-friendly, its usage and disposal does not create any major wastage or disposal issues. Formwork in the form oftimber or plywood, on the other hand, is a material that is not consumed in the process ofconstruction, thereby ultimately resulting in a near 100% wastage upon its complete usage. The paper adopts the Waste Hierarchy Principle (WHP) framework for analyzing the various alternatives available in order to make the formwork activity sustainable. Under this framework, the paper reviews the existing formwork practices that can best replace the traditional wood and timber based formwork systems. It was observed that the 3D printing technology has the potential to completely eliminate the usage offormwork and could be the best alternative to the conventional formwork systems. The author opines that the analysis ofthe formwork systems from the sustainability point ofview under an accepted framework (WHP) is the main contribution to the body ofknowledge