Formwork for dummies: The buyers guide

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When it comes to buying formwork we can't be too hasty. Construction Week has lined up industry professionals to give their advice on what to look for when purchasing these systems and the dangers buyers need to avoid.

Formwork - a term that describes the temporary or permanent moulds into which materials are poured to form structural elements of a building - sounds simple enough. Formwork makes up about 1.2% of the total costs of the entire structural work of a building -a minimal percentage one might say. But, simple and insignificant as it may seem, formwork is not to be taken lightly.

Buy the right formwork system and the construction of a building could be a complete success. Buy the wrong formwork system and the building could literally tumble down.

Devastating accidents have happened when forms were removed too soon before the building material was set. Poor and under-designed formwork has also been known to bend or even break during the filling process because it had a minimal load capacity.

Just over a year ago, a bridge under construction on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed road collapsed injuring five workers. In a statement, the RTA said that the accident was caused by the collapse of pillars and scaffolding supporting the bridge. A similar accident occurred the previous year in Dubai Marina, killing seven workers.

The use of counterfeit products is one main reason why such accidents occur and therefore it is important to know the difference between a genuine product that will give your clients peace of mind and a faulty product, which could have dangerous consequences.

According to Brand Owners Protection Group (BPG) chairman and regional intellectual property advisor for Nestlé Middle East Omar Shteiwi the Middle East is a target for counterfeiters due to the high number of importation and exportation that goes on in the region.

The BPG and the Intellectual Property Forum work towards protecting companies own brands and designs, which are often copied by counterfeiters, produced in China and brought to international parts of the world like the Middle East.

Last week the BPG signed an agreement with China's Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC) and the BPG and the International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF) of Japan to fight for the protection of intellectual property rights.

"Both our companies are seeking full implementation of intellectual property protection laws and regulations in the region," Shteiwi explained. QBPC was established nine years ago. We have only been in business since 2006, so we want to work together to share information with them."

Shteiwi urged buyers and developers who come across a counterfeit product to complain straight away, and said that they need to be aware of the difference between counterfeit and non-counterfeit systems.

"There are lots of toll free numbers within the law enforcement authorities out there; we have the ministry of economy, the department of economic development; we have the police and customs who are all willing to help," he said. "Using counterfeit products to construct a building would be a huge disaster."

He explained that buyers need to look for difference in price: "If the product is more than 20% cheaper than other systems they [buyers] have looked, at they should question it," he added. "They should buy from reputable companies and there will be no mistakes made."

Whether a system is a counterfeit product or not it is always important to know how to spot the most reliable, safe, easy to use and a positive investment for the client.

To guide buyers through this challenge, six formwork companies have given their advice on what to look for when buying and leasing formwork as well as some of the top products in the industry.

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