Location: Ireland
Client: Dunne Building & Civil Engineering Ltd
The RMD Kwikform Ireland team certainly weren’t sleeping on the job when it came to the construction of the landmark 60 million Euros Jurys Inn Hotel and Apartment complex in Western Road, Cork. As the largest major lifestyle project in Ireland to benefit from using a combination of RMD Kwikform’s new Alshor Plus and Airodek aluminum shoring and decking systems, the six story, 27,000 square metre complex is on schedule to be erected in just 15 months.
Since work commenced on site in June 2005, Aidan McGurn, the formwork subcontractor appointed by developer Bowen Construction has erected more than 4500 sq metres of Alshor Plus shoring, just to support the construction of the first story 300mm slab, some 4.5m high from floor to soffit.
With a completion date of September 2006 the programme time for the six storey hotel and adjoining apartment section was extremely tight. For Contractor, Aidan McGurn, the profitability of the job was dependant on the capabilities of the shoring and decking systems used and the reliance on the labour costs associated with its erection and dismantling times.
Having worked on projects using numerous formwork and shoring systems, Aidan approached RMD Kwikform Sales Manager, Joe Sheehan, for a solution that was both cost effective and easy to use. Commenting on the selection of Alshor Plus and Airodek, Joe said: “When Aidan asked me to quote for the job, I recognised that the construction was one of the first major opportunities we had in the Cork office to utilise the benefits of recently arrived stocks of Alshor Plus and Airodek. Having been successfully used on similar projects in the UK and Australia, I knew that the cost and ease of use concerns that Aidan had were both tackled by the two systems. By using the solution we provided, Aidan was able to take advantage of a product that was both lightweight and capable of withstanding pressures up to 120kN/leg.”
Aidan: “On this particular job we were challenged with supplying a shoring solution that could support the formation of five 300mm thick slabs spanning 2,500 square metres each for the hotel section of the construction, and a further five 275mm thick slabs spanning 2,000 square metres for the construction of the apartment section.
“With such a vast area to contend with and varying slab thicknesses, we needed a falsework solution that was generic in the sense we could use it throughout the project, precise due to varying levels and easy to install so that we were not held up.”
Commenting on the use of the system Joe said: “By using the Airodek system Aidan and his team were able to strike the sections soon after concrete was poured, preparing and reusing the panels for the next floor slab. Due to the high performance of the panels, unlike using a plywood method, where the opportunity to reuse the material is limited, Aidan and his team were able to use the same panels for the entirety of the job, without worrying about the quality of the finish.”
Concluding Aidan said: “I managed to save at least 30% on my labour costs and more than 40% on the construction programme time per floor, using the Alshor Plus and Airodec products. This in turn had a positive knock-on effect for the overall programme time of the project, an unforeseen bonus for my customer Bowen Construction.
