الوصف

Traditionally, timber and plywood are used for formwork fabrication for the construction of concrete structures. It is still the most widely used medium as it is the most versatile since they can form the most intricate shapes and forms of the structures. However, it needs many skilled and unskilled workers besides being very time consuming. In today's competitive market, speed and efficiency is of primary importance. 

In view of this, many various construction systems have been introduced over the years such as the "Tunnel" formwork system, the "Grace" formworks system and the "Table" formwork used by various parties. However, all these systems are not "complete" systems in that they are able to form only parts of the building structures such as the wall or lift core, etc. 

The **0 System was introduced into the market about ten (*0) years ago and has been successful in gaining market acceptance from the local and overseas construction industry. Among the key success factors of this system are:-

• Speed
  The system allows **0% of the building structural elements to be constructed or formed at the rate of 4 days per floor as against the traditional approach which will take at least *0 to *5 days a floor. Even then, the latter can only do for columns, beams and slabs only and the infill walls have to be built and plastered later.
• Quality
  The flat, wall finish produced by the **0 System simply requires a thin layer of skin coat, before decoration, thus eliminating the need for plastering. In addition, all the elements of the building are accurately dimensioned and are vertical, horizontal and square in plan and section as intended, so that remedial works to correct inaccuracies are eliminated.
  
  As service collars for M & E can be accurately located and cast-in as the slab concrete is being poured, leaks are eliminated. This is a major hidden saving, as builders are very reluctant to admit the true costs of locating and remedying leaks – these costs get swept into the "contingency" figure. In addition, the bad publicity that a "leaky building" attracts has a very damaging effect on a Developer’s reputation. 
• Safety 
  The system provides an inherent safety features in the use of props which need not be removed to release the slab forms. Overlooking of re-propping in one of the commonest causes of fatal accidents on building sites.
   
• Independence from Scarcity of Skilled Tradesmen 
  The **0 System eliminates the need for skilled plasterers as noted above, but it also eliminates the need for skilled carpenters and brick layers. Projects have often been seriously delayed because of the unavailability of these skilled trades.
   
• Scaffolding 
  The need to carry the cost of scaffolding for the construction of the structure is eliminated, as the **0 System provides its own work platform brackets, which ascend the building as it being constructed. There is the added advantage that the infrastructure can now proceed in parallel with the building construction, as the contractor has unimpeded access to the base of the building.
   
• Cranage 
  The crane is not required for the movement of the forms up the building as the construction proceeds. Thus the crane is available for concrete and steel placing and other materials movement. The crane is only required for moving the forms down from the top of the completed building.
   
• Structure 
  The **0 System allows consideration of a "load bearing walls" structural design approach. A LBW design will always be more structurally efficient than a traditional "reinforced concrete frame" approach and will give a very much stronger building. It will therefore be less expensive to construct and to provide foundations for.
   
  Because the **0 System is modular, it can be fitted to any architectural or structural layout. Thus, the designers can be as creative as they like and yet be confident that advantage can be taken of the system approach to construction. In this regard, the **0 System is quite different to Tunnel Forming or systems based on the use of Flying Forms - both of which require the designers to modify the design the building to suit their particular system.
   
• Reliability 
  Not only does the **0 System give a remarkable construction speed, it gives the speed reliably. We will contractually undertake to complete 6 floors per month (i.e. 6 floors at 4 days per floor, plus approx 6 days to spare for items outside control e.g. crane breakdown, access problems, access for ready mix trucks, etc. etc.) and would be confident of exceeding that rate. This allows the Developer to plan accurately and with confidence and streamline his own organization for handover of apartments or commercial space to Clients. 
   
• Overall Financial Advantage 
  When all of the above are taken into consideration over the construction period of a suitable project (i.e. one where there are more than about *0 repeats of a typical layout), the overall profit to the Developer can be increased by a factor of from *0 to *0%. The overall advantage is the cost and time savings to the developer.

In view of the above, **0 System Formwork has a very competitive state-of-the-art technology which has gained market acceptance over a relatively short period of time as evidenced from the major projects completed and new projects secured to-date. Some of the **0 System's clients are established and reputable developers and contractors themselves such as C.A. Goh (Green Lane Park Penang and University Place Penang) which lend much credence to the **0 System Formwork . The fact that the **0 System Formwork has made inroads in the highly competitive and advanced countries such as Taiwan and Hong Kong as well the Middle East such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Other countries which include India, Sri Lanka, Brunei and Singapore within such a relatively short time is sufficient of **0's superior formwork technology.

With the revival in the local construction industry, in particular that of low and low-medium cost houses, as well as massive demand for speedy social housing development in the countries in the Asian region and other parts of the world, **0 System Formworkforesees a tremendous growth potential in its business over the medium term. **0 System Formwork's strategy of market penetration to overseas will also mitigate any possible major downturn in the local construction industry.