The Civil Engineering Contractor November 2018 | Page 25

TECHNOLOGY
T
he cost of formwork
for reinforced concrete
constructions accounts for
a significant share of the cost for
the building shell. Studies show that
between 30% and 40% of the cost
for the overall shell construction
of a reinforced concrete building is
spent on formwork (Müller, 1972;
Rathfelder, 1992; Hoffmann, 1999;
Reichle, 2002; Girmscheid, 2011).
Dirk Odendaal, a director of RMD
Kwikform, says a noticeable trend for
larger companies is to bid for smaller
jobs than what would have interested
them in the past — such is the dearth
of projects. “RMD has traditionally
had a greater footprint in the civils
space, but in recent times we have
seen the building sector of formwork
outperforming.”
The increased number of
formwork companies tendering for
a decreasing number of available
projects has driven down the price
— and margins. RMD Kwikform
has always tendered for both small
and large projects but has responded
to the downturn in construction and
the economy by addressing the skills
shortage in the country. “The skills
level at contractor level is declining,
as smaller contractors cannot afford
to retain highly skilled people and
so subcontract the labour. They have
essentially become more project
managers than contractors. In South
Africa, most people do not have
access to trade schools and most
people learn on-the-job. Therefore,
retaining skills when skills are not
retained in the business is a challenge.
We offer training to erect our own
products, and we make it as easy as
possible for unskilled workers,” says
Odendaal. “We have also established
a pre-assembly factory where we do
www.civilsonline.co.za
pre-assembly for contractors so that
it can be sent on site pre-assembled.”
He explains that the drive for
formwork is found in easy-to-
assemble products. “These may
appear to be more expensive, but
when one factors in the time and
labour saved in assembly, they are in
fact cheaper.”
Louis Pieterse, MD of specialist
formwork company Staluform,
explains that it was for that very
reason that he opted to specialise,
as the barriers to entry were much
greater. “Any man with a garage and
three welders can really do formwork
— but in our niche, the margins
are much higher and the need for
skills creates an enormous barrier
to entry.” It is, for instance, the only
company in the country that makes
Dolos moulds for breakwater and
harbours, which it sells worldwide, as
well as being the only South African
company to make heavy-duty 30kg
Newton props.
That doesn’t make it easy. Much of
his work is in making forms for bridges
and road barriers, and the lack of
tenders from Sanral has reverberated
throughout the construction industry
this year. He has noticed a slight
pick-up in work recently and is
confident that a considerable amount
of work remains that must eventually
be undertaken — this backlog of
work is likely to come to market
during 2019.
Private sector work has dried
up for several reasons: two years
of political uncertainty has taken its
toll on investor confidence, and land
expropriation without compensation
has been the final straw. Businesses are
holding back on developments until
they have certainty about their land
title. “Because 90% of our work is in
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