Fast Forward by Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun

Speed of construction is vital in view of the urgency involved in providing affordable housing to masses in the country. Developers have all along felt the need and have been in constant search of modern and cost-effective method of construction to achieve their goals. Out of several systems, the aluminum shuttering system developed by Malaysian company Mivan is considered to be the most effective and economical

The real estate industry is one of the largest industries and the contribution of this industry towards the GDP is enormous. Due to an ever increasing population, there is an overgrowing demand for housing. Keeping in view the gigantic task of providing affordable shelter to the masses, adoption of modern and cost effective technology assumes greater significance.

Today there is a growing realisation that the speed of construction needs to be given greater importance especially for large housing projects. For undertaking mass housing works, it is necessary to have innovative technologies which are capable of fast rate construction and are able to deliver good quality and durable structures in a cost effective manner. The construction projects are getting more complex in nature due to growing human endeavor and the real estate industry needs to respond to the unique challenges presented in front in terms of time, cost and quality.

Developers have overcome these issues today by using modern methods of construction like Mivan system at their project sites. Out of several systems adopted all over the world, Mivan shuttering system has proved to be reasonably economical and capable of fast rate construction of mass housing.

Mivan is an aluminum formwork system developed by a European construction company. In 1990, the Mivan Company Ltd. from Malaysia started manufacturing these formwork systems. The system is faster than the traditional beam and column construction as a part of conventional construction methods. The Mivan system has proven economical as well as satisfactory for the overall Indian construction environment. It is an entirely pre-engineered system where in complete methodology is planned to the finest details.

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In this system of formwork construction, cast-in-situ concrete wall and floor slabs are casted monolithically in one continuous pour. Large room sized forms for walls and floors slabs are erected at site. These forms are strong, easy to handle and are fabricated with accuracy and can be used repetitively around 250 times.

This system of aluminum forms is fast, durable, cost-effective and also produces quality work which requires minimum maintenance when durability is the prime consideration. It comes with its fair share of advantages. High quality Mivan form work panels ensure consistency of dimensions. On the removal of the form work mould a high quality concrete finish is produced to accurate tolerances and verticality. The high tolerance of the finish means that, no further plastering is required. The structure is completed much faster than the traditional formwork and there is no need for brick laying and plastering. The project can be completed in a shorter time due to fast production methods which save onsite running, operating and financing costs.

The task of housing due to the rising population of the country is becoming increasingly monumental. In terms of technical capabilities to face this challenge, the potential is enormous; and it only needs to be judiciously exploited. Rethinking construction as a commitment from developers and the real estate industry is the only way forward to create and sustain the environment that is needed for significant improvement in performance, efficiency and quality of construction. In conclusion it can be said that such methods of construction are the key to meeting the demand for an efficient and sustainable housing.