PRECAST CONCRETE: A ROBUST DEBATE

Michael: Welcome. I’d like to start today’s discussion by asking the panel for their perspective in terms of the various types of precast panels available. Peter if you’d like to speak to that first?

Peter: We design and construct precast concrete structures. We’ve been in business now over 30 years and we’ve completed just under 2000 projects. We work for commercial infrastructure and residential projects right across the board.

Michael: Can you describe the various types of concrete products that are generally used?

Peter: Well it’s more than just precast panels, it’s really total precast, and that could be precast columns, precast beams, and prestressed beams; the advantage of prestressed beams is they do not require temporary support. And then we go into precast flooring, and again, no formwork, no support structure is required. And then there’s the fifth product, precast panels, and they could be insulated panels, they could be straight structural panels. And then various finishes evolve from there.

Michael: Debbie, how do you describe what you do at Ramsetreid?

Debbie: In our business we assist the precaster in terms of how they make the panels and we also then lift the panels and put them on site. There are a lot of different types of panels. They might be structural panels used in the building; they help hold up the building; so they might be columns or walls or beams or floors. You can also have facade panels, and you tend to have facade panels where you might have window openings and other elements in them. We assist in determining for example how to lift a panel, because the panel might be a straight rectangular panel or one that’s an unusual shape; you might have volumetric panels which have round shapes or a range of other shapes as well.

Michael: With regard to Nawkaw, Glenn, how do you work with your colleagues in terms of supplying specialist finishes?

Glenn: We work closely with precasters, offering form-liners and various specialised finishes. Our specialist coating is typically specified by the architects or the builders, but we do have liaison with a lot of precasters for specialist finishes. A lot of the work is also concrete corrective; in other words when they’re trying to get concrete to look like concrete, we can apply our technology to any patching and repairs to still give it that concrete aesthetic look.

“We work closely with precasters, offering form-liners and various specialised finishes. Our specialist coating is typically specified by the architects or the builders, but we do have liaison with a lot of precasters for specialist finishes. A lot of it the work is also concrete corrective; in other words when they’re trying to get concrete to look like concrete, we can apply our technology to any patching and repairs to still give it that concrete aesthetic look.”

Glenn Birthisel, Managing Director, Nawkaw.

Michael: Is there a building typology for which precast is best suited, or are there specific market opportunities in terms of where work is sourced?

Peter: It varies across the board, and it depends on the experience of the client, the engineer, or the architect. What we find is we need a project champion to really give the project impetus.

Michael: So there’s no one specific building or residential development that you’d be in a position to cater for; so really it’s about the collaborative relationship that you have with that particular architect or maybe potential developer.

Peter: Correct. We often get involved with irregular shaped buildings, extremely difficult projects, that require innovation, and because we have a design team we can facilitate that process. It needs experience, both from the precaster and the client team, to make it work.

“We often get involved with irregular shaped buildings, extremely difficult projects, that require innovation, and because we have a design team we can facilitate that process. It needs experience, both from the precaster and the client team, to make it work.”

Peter Healy, Managing Director, Hollow Core Concrete.

Michael: Debbie, in terms of Ramsetreid, are you seeing the use of precast evolve over the last decade or two?

Debbie: I think people are being bolder in the way they use precast. They’re looking at opportunities around how they use precast, because they can see the advantages down the line in terms of the construction times. So where in the past we didn’t see that many columns in precast for example, we’re now seeing a lot more application of columns as precast, as well as beams or floors as precast; looking at the whole building in its entirety rather than simply putting a couple of precast walls inside the building. We’re also looking at facade system.

Michael: So that speaks to the idea that Peter mentioned in terms of product champions; it’s really about education. Glenn, do you find that reflected at Nawkaw in terms of surface applications?

Glenn: Very much so, particularly with regard to architects. If they can get a solution that’s tailored to their requirements and what they’re after we can tailor make that solution.

Michael: One obvious question is that timber has been the flavour of the month over the past few years, and in some respects precast has lagged in terms of communication about its benefits. Do you find that you are being compared to timber in some respects nowadays, as a structural material? And if so, how do you educate that person around the benefits of what precast brings to your construction?

Peter: You look at timber and it does require a lightweight façade, whereas concrete is the structure itself. So I think we’ve got to market ourselves on that. We’ve also got the advantage of durability, acoustics and speed of installation. I’ve recently seen buildings in the United States, where they’re incorporating the windows in the panels in the factory, with huge advantages on the building site.

Nick: What are some of the other benefits of precast aside from time?

Peter: Durability, aesthetics; you look at precast flooring, environmentally we can have airflow through the cores of the planks, creating thermal mass within the structure, which then on-sells as less capital cost for the building and natural airflow into the building envelope.

Debbie: Concrete is a stronger material, so you’re always going to see benefits, particularly when you’re talking about larger scale buildings, or large scale infrastructure projects where concrete is the material that’s going to give you certain scale of structure.

“I think people are being bolder in the way they use precast. They’re looking at opportunities around how they use precast, because they can see the advantages down the line in terms of the construction times. So where in the past we didn’t see that many columns in precast for example, we’re now seeing a lot more application of columns as precast, as well as beams or floors as precast.”

Debbie West, Business Manager ANZ, Ramsetreid.

Timber is always going to be limited by the fact that it’s got limited strength. There are only so many additives you can include, and then you start questioning how sustainable is timber if you’re putting in all these synthetic substances to make it stronger. And the coordination between services, penetrations, the architect and other players doesn’t always happen up front, whereas we’ve got that experience. We can help right up front with architectural consultants and structural engineers and services engineers, in terms of the considerations that you need to think about up front to make precast easy to use. There is a perception that precast is hard to use, and that’s often because of a lack of upfront planning.

“We can help right up front with architectural consultants and structural engineers and services engineers, in terms of the considerations that you need to think about up front to make precast easy to use. There is a perception that precast is hard to use, and that’s often because of a lack of upfront planning.”

Debbie West, Business Manager ANZ, Ramsetreid.

Michael: On the sustainability of precast, I think that encompasses insulated panels. I’d be particularly interested in terms of the technology that Ramsetreid has – called Nirvana.

Debbie: Nirvana offers you the opportunity to create an insulated panel, whereby the panel will come to site already complete with all the insulating properties that you’re going to need. So you don’t have to then add on your extra layer of plastering and insulation on the inside of the building. We’re currently looking at new technology that allows us to create composite panels. So whereas prior technology entailed the outside part of the panel as just a facade, now it can be part of the structure if required. This can actually help reduce the size of insulator panels as well.

Michael: Glenn, I think I’ve seen a product from Nawkaw, ecotio2; a photo-catalytic coating which I believe is self-cleaning?

Glenn: Yes, that’s correct.

Michael: Has anyone adopted that level of technology at this stage?

Glenn: The uptake is probably largest in Sydney. The photocatalytic reaction is a chemical reaction, with UV and light, and also titanium oxide. That reaction forms a self-cleaning methodology. So it has the potential to reduce maintenance costs.

Michael: In terms of barriers to uptake of precast solutions, if you were to think of a couple of key issues that you find in the course of your work, what are they?

Peter: One of the issues with any innovative product, like precast, is that it requires a bit of design input. I find with the engineering groups, their price to do the work is driven down by the client in a very competitive market, and they then concentrate on what may be not so innovative to the building project or not so beneficial to the client, the end user. The result is repetitive drawings, repetitive in situ work, which is very cheap to design, but the end result does not give verifiable benefit to the client.

“One of the issues with any innovative product, like precast, is that it requires a bit of design input. I find with the engineering groups, their price to do the work is driven down by the client in a very competitive market, and they then concentrate on what may be not so innovative to the building project or not so beneficial to the client, the end user.”

Peter Healy, Managing Director, Hollow Core Concrete.

Michael: Nick, in terms of your project management and your contracts with various government departments, what percentage of your work is precast at the moment?

Nick: It’s probably limited at the moment, mainly because of the need to educate the market. I think the client needs to understand what their outcome is and what their initial brief is, and needs to specify it. All the projects we do for government are based around speed. So precast is a good opportunity.

Michael: Debbie, it seems one of the common threads here is just a basic lack of understanding of the technical and creative opportunities that precast offers.

Debbie: I think the end client doesn’t understand giving the consultants, both architects and engineers, more scope to plan and design a building around precast. It means they don’t understand the end benefit, which is cheaper construction. Where you might pay a little bit more upfront, you do get a massive benefit.

Michael: Peter, can you share some really good solid examples of a good client relationship, good architectural relationship, and / or a good builder relationship?

Peter: Okay. One significant project we completed last year was the Bendigo Hospital Stage 2. We constructed that project in 12 weeks; a convention centre and six-level car park, just under 20,000 square metres of flooring. If you compare that to an in situ structure it would have taken at least double that, if not longer than the 12 week construction period.

Nick: So for that project, who was the precast champion?

Peter: Really the whole team: Lendlease, Irwinconsult, the architect and ourselves; we all worked together.

Nick: So at what point in the project was it determined that they would go with precast?

Peter: Really 18 months before.

Nick: Driven by the architect?

Peter: Driven by the builder; Lendlease in this case.

Michael: Could I ask you all to comment on how the Australian precast industry compares globally?

Peter: In terms of innovation I think we’re up there with the rest of the world. Volume-wise in conventional precast walls, I think we are one of the largest users across the world; we probably link in with the United States.

In precast flooring, I think we’re innovative there, but the demand is not as great as in Europe. But for conventional precast infrastructure work, we’re up there with the world.

“In terms of innovation I think we’re up there with the rest of the world. Volume-wise in conventional precast walls, I think we are one of the largest users across the world; we probably link in with the United States. In precast flooring, I think we’re innovative there, but the demand is not as great as in Europe. But for conventional precast infrastructure work, we’re up there with the world.”

Peter Healy, Managing Director, Hollow Core Concrete.

Debbie: I would agree with that, and I would say that we see a lot more use of architectural finishes that are precast in Australia, and therefore more bespoke and more complicated precast, which leads to more innovation. So you do see a lot, in Europe and in America, of standard rectangular precast, whereas we in Australia see a lot of nonstandard precast because it is used in facades. That’s what leads to that push to say precast is more difficult; you have to plan it up front because it’s used in a facade application.

Michael: I’d like to ask for the panel’s final thoughts in relation to where would they like to see precast evolve or grow to?

Glenn: We work at the end of the chain in precast. Part of the challenge, looking into the future, is keeping ahead of the curve and looking at innovative ways to add value to precast through our solutions in the painting and staining field.

Peter: Look I think over the years it’s continually grown, and will continue to grow. With the experience of the precaster, the engineering team and the client, there are fantastic opportunities.

Debbie: Assuming the education part happens, I think the next challenge for precast is really making it simple for it to be connected to the rest of the building when it gets to site. At the moment connections are still an area where it’s time-consuming; you’re doing onsite welding among other things. The next innovation for precast would be almost a click-and-connect solution rather than having to do more work when you get to site.

Michael: Nick, do you envisage a role for increased usage in precast in terms of the school and health care sectors?

Nick: Yes, and also in the correction space. At Lara Prison in Victoria, we’ll look at doing 700 cells, and I think that’s a great application of the product. We’re big believers that there isn’t a silver bullet material that is going to solve all of the issues in construction and the right material and application needs to be provided to the right projects. We’re open to precast and I think it’s a really good innovation.

Michael: Thank you very much to the panel members for being here today.■