The UK construction workforce is more than 15% smaller than it was twenty years ago, according to the Office for National Statistics. Much of this stems from a skills shortage, given the fact that Places for People recently reported 140,000 unfilled positions within the sector. What’s more, in less than ten year’s time, it is estimated that a third of the current workforce will retire.
This, at a time when the UK is pushing to overcome a housing shortage and generate sufficient infrastructure for the private sector job demand, poses a real challenge to the future of the industry. How can sites remain safe, efficient, productive and profitable when skilled labour is becoming increasingly difficult to find?
There’s no single solution to this problem, and stabilising our future depends on a holistic view of the entire industry, from incentivising apprenticeships and trade courses to investment in upskilling opportunities.
For many sites across the country, one solution is to use precast concrete systems as an alternative to cast-in-place concrete. Here’s why.
Versatility
Off-site, it is much easier for manufacturers to create unique moulds for precast concrete retaining walls and other modular systems to meet tight specifications. These moulds can then be reused for as many modular pieces as the site requires. On-site, workers are restricted by space and the availability of personnel, and are rarely able to replicate the level of precision produced in a factory.
Smoother project progression
As soon as the specifications are received by the manufacturer, work can begin – often in tandem with the preliminary stages of the build, such as site clearance and foundation digging. By the time the site is ready for the concrete, the concrete is ready.
On-site, concrete pours can only take place once the site has been cleared and prepped, and the curing process itself takes weeks to reach full durability.
Weather doesn’t interfere with curing
One of the biggest bugbears for anyone who has ever worked with concrete in situ is curing. In more predictable climates, this isn’t such a problem, although very few parts of the world consistently offer the ideal conditions for concrete curing. Whether it’s too hot, too cold, too humid, or pouring with rain, there’s almost always at least one factor impacting curing times.
But it isn’t just the timeline that is under threat. The concrete itself can’t reach its maximum potential in terms of strength and durability if it is curing in bad weather conditions. In the UK, many months of the year are prone to heavy rainfall, extreme cold or extreme heat, so moving curing off-site is the obvious choice.
Better results
Factory conditions don’t just mean curing happens according to schedule; it also means that the quality of the final product is consistently much higher. Since manufacturers can control everything down to an incredibly fine level of detail, from the temperature to the humidity, the end result meets a much higher standard than concrete cured on site.
Precast concrete is far more resistant to mould and moisture, and far more durable as a result.
