A case productivity model for automatic climbing system

Abstract

Purpose

Tight schedules in high-rise building construction force project managers to use the formwork even in a bad weather condition. Insufficient craning, which is typically the bottleneck in construction activities, and lack of space in confined sites make it hard to install the formwork on the ground. The Automatic Climbing System (ACS), a type of jump forms, solves these problems enabling the formwork to climb in various weather and height conditions. The aim of this paper is to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Current research focusses on the ACS, its application, and productivity assessment. Productivity and construction data are collected from a specialized company in such type of forms. A bracket productivity model has been developed to estimate floor construction cycle time and productivity.

Findings

Results show that average productivity is four days/floor. The developed model is validated, which shows robust results 97.80 percent.

Research limitations/implications

The implementation of the developed models are limited to only two projects. However, the developed models and framework is sound for future improvement.

Practical implications

The developed methodology and model play essential roles in decision-making process.

Originality/value

The developed methodology and model are beneficial to researchers, practitioners, and planners of construction projects. It provides practitioners with charts that assist in scheduling and managing resources for jump form application. In addition, it provides researchers with a floor cycle time model and framework of implementing jump forms to high-rise buildings.

Citation

Zayed, T. and Mohamed, E. (2014), "A case productivity model for automatic climbing system", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-02-2012-0015