The slip form formwork system has quickly become one of the fastest and most economical construction methods available for high-rise concrete buildings. On average, the slip formwork method offers a rate of 4-8 m per 24 h, which is around 6 times faster compared to conventional construction methods.
Due to this, it has skyrocketed in popularity during the last few years. Another reason is that it’s also a very safe construction method since there’s no need for continuous dismantling and reassembly of the slip formwork by crane during the construction phase – a much-appreciated fact by many of the workers. Instead, the complete setup is assembled only once at ground level before the construction begins.
Benefits of concrete slip formwork
Slip formwork provides a multitude of benefits, helping you save time, money, and effort while increasing safety. The technique is flexible where it can be used to construct everything from apartments and skyscrapers to roads and bridges. Here are the main benefits of using the slip form formwork system:
- Easy set up: The concrete foundation is fully prepared and placed at a ground level before the construction process can start immediately. The liquid concrete hardens immediately, allowing for maximum efficiency.
- Reduced construction time: The speed of slip formwork construction is surprising to many. As various elements can be reused without causing any delays or affecting the construction schedule, it allows for very fast construction.
- High-quality finish: Slip formwork provides a superior quality finish where no form fins need to be cleaned up. This allows for surface treatments to be easily applied to the work platform.
- Safe: The setup of a slip form formwork system is very safe, and it provides a good working environment. The work area remains unchanged where no climbing or excessive physical labour is required. And since slipforms only climb in small boosts they are always connected to the structure under construction, ensuring that it never has to leave the structure during climbing, hence ensuring the system is safe.
- Easy to start and stop: However easy the initial set up and starting process is, so is it to stop. It can be stopped and restarted at any time at the will of the contractor. It can be suspended for small intervals during the day or over the weekend (if required), giving the concrete time to set.
- Cost-effective: Since the initial setup does not require the aid of a crane to reach the work point, the slip formwork method is considered very cost-effective. It does not also require too much manual work, thus reducing the physical labour required for the same.
- Flexible: The setting using a slip form formwork system can be easily modified where the handling is rather simple and is very compact. This reduces any efforts of heavy lifting. And since slip formwork construction are connected to the structure, they can easily withstand strong winds and rainstorms, ensuring there’s no hindrance during the construction process.
