Precast can help reduce unskilled labour: exec

Bashar Abou-Mayaleh, general manager.

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The expertise needed to make precast concrete means that its use in construction can reduce the reliance on unskilled labour, according to an executive in the sector.

Bashar Abou Mayaleh, general manager at Hard Precast Building Systems in Dubai, said that the swelling numbers of labourers in the emirates means there are always safety and expertise issues of complex projects.

Precast concrete, manufactured in a controlled environment and then sent to sites, would reduce the reliance on a non-specialist workforce – at the same time that markets such as Saudi Arabia make steps to reduce the number of unskilled workers.

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“The UAE currently has a huge number of labourers, around 3.9 million,” he said in a CW interview. “Around 47% of these work in construction, and about half of this amount are workers who are unskilled, including those who are producing concrete on site.

“Precast concrete can give contractors the precision from concrete produced in a tightly controlled environment. The men in the factory are specialised in their work and overall the process is able to deliver sophisticated projects.

Precast concrete is the manufacture of hollow-core slabs, beams and walls in reusable molds (or ‘forms) in a factory that are then transported to the site and placed into the correct position. This allows greater control of the curing process, which otherwise must be completed on site in often-soaring temperatures.

Pre-cast is perceived as quicker because all elements needed between each wall are able to be assembled in the factory, to create a complete wall. This includes the steel frame, cables and insulation, which will be procured by the manufacturer.

Despite the logistical costs of transport, advocates say contractors save when there on large projects that require identical concrete structures in a short time period, such as villa projects.

Hard Precast Building Systems is one of the largest precast manufacturers in the country, and has contributed to the construction of Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai and the Al Falah villa project in Abu Dhabi. The method of construction – offering a total system for precast structures that allows construction of higher than a few floors – sets the company apart, he said.

“Before, you just had the conventional system of table and formwork. We’re the first company to have automated production lines in the Middle East. The plant operation is efficient, we believe we’re highly efficient in using technology,” he said.

The company has seen revenue slip to around 85% of that of 2008, he added, with a shift over that period to Abu Dhabi, which now dominates the current portfolio. But the company has also made adjustments to production levels and sales to help make up the shortfall.

Other precast companies have also highlighted the labourer issue with the adoption of precast. “The reason that pre-cast had not been used compared with casting in situ is because it would mean that for many contractors that their labourers would be idle on site,”  B. S. Pillai, executive sales manager at United Precast Concrete, said in an interview in February.