HOLLOW-CORE SLAB SEMINARS TO BE HELD NATIONALLY:

Aimed principally at civil engineers, architects and property developers, the seminars will be held in: Durban in June; Bloemfontein in September, and Cape Town in October. 

They are being used as a forum to launch the CMA’s hollow-core slab information manual and to promote hollow-core slab technology as an alternative flooring material for multi-storey buildings. They will also demonstrate how to design insitu columns and beams in combination with precast hollow-core flooring and still achieve a monolithic, structural sound building, a process which is common to many parts of the world.

Presenters will include: John Cairns, CMA director; Monique Eggebeen, managing director, Echo Prestress;  Daniel Petrov, technical director, Echo Prestress; Victor Booth, consulting engineer; and Kgomotso Modise, operations manager, Echo Prestress.

The identical seminar was successfully presented to over 120 delegates at the Bytes Conference Centre in Midrand, on March 31st . Topics covered: history and design philosophy; general design; composite floors; case studies; health and safety aspects; and alternative applications such as, foundation systems, security and retaining walls, attenuation tanks and reservoir roofs. 

Cairns observes that hollow-core slabs were originally developed as South Africa’s alternative to insitu concrete floor panels for multi-story buildings some 25 years ago.

“In many instances the hollow-core slab is a preferable alternative to more conventional building methods. Besides the obvious advantage of simpler, faster construction, not to mention a more durable end product, the secret of applying the material successfully is in the pre-planning. Get one of our member companies involved at the conceptual stage and their advice and input comes at no charge.

“The system was recently used in the construction of two medium-rise apartment block developments in Gauteng. Hollow-core slabs are widely used in Europe and North America on buildings as high as 40 storeys.

“Ignorance as to its true potential and the fear of using something unfamiliar has led to a reluctance to specify precast slab technology locally, whereas insitu construction is perceived by some engineers as more effective, mainly  because labour is considered ‘cheap’. However, no contractor currently places a value on the lack of productivity and re-work required due to a lack of skills. Likewise, no value is placed on using time-saving products such as precast panels. Some of the advantages of precast flooring include speed, quality of manufacture to the SANS 1879:2001 standard, a solution to the skills shortage and cost-effectiveness.

“Running to 36 pages, the CMA’s manual addresses typical concerns about the use of hollow-core slabs in medium-rise buildings and demonstrates the flexibility of hollow-core slabs as a flooring material. It covers aspects such as recommended design loads for common classes of buildings and includes various load span tables and prestressed concrete design details. Other items such as structural topping, and down-lighting are included. 

“Some of the alternative uses of hollow-core panels such as security walling, warehouse walling, retaining walls, suspended ground floor slabs, as well as walls and roofing for reservoirs, are also covered,” observes Cairns.
 
The manual includes brief company profiles on those CMA member companies which produce hollow-core slabs. These are; Echo Floors; Echo Prestress; Echo Prestress Durban; Fastfloor Botswana; Shukuma Flooring Systems; Stabilan; and Topfloor.

The seminars have been registered with SAICE for CPD points.

Anyone interested in attending the seminars should contact Pam Zukor on (011) 805 6742 or on main.cma@gmail.com .

The presenters of the CMA’s upcoming hollow-core slab seminars seen here during the first seminar at the Bytes Centre in Midrand. They are from left: John Cairns, CMA director; Kgomotso Modise, operations manager of Echo Prestress; Victor Booth, consulting engineer; Monique Eggebeen, managing director of Echo Prestress; and Daniel Petrov, technical director of Echo Prestress.
 

The Meridian, a 488 unit high density townhouse complex in Bedfordview, Gauteng, has demonstrated that pleasing and innovative architectural concepts can be both economical and simple to construct. Hollow-core concrete floor panels, manufactured by Echo Floors, were used to speed up construction. The developers, Baldwin Properties, broke their own records for construction speed with the first half of Phase 2 being completed three months ahead of the original target date.

DATE               April, 2009
ISSUED BY     David Beer Communication Consultants
FOR                 Concrete Manufacturers Association 
ENQUIRIES    John Cairns (011) 805 6742
                         David Beer (011) 478 0239 or 082 880 6726.  Email: bigsky@ibi.co.za