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Out of place ferrules are the bug bear of precast or tilt up concrete panel construction. Remedial works include drilling a hole and epoxy casting a new ferrule in the correct location, increasing costs, the project’s duration, and the Project manager’s frustration. There are two ways to avoid this issue: have the tilt-up/precast contractor cast ferrules perfectly in position within a tolerance of ±1mm, or use OrbiPlateTM.
The Townsville Marine Precinct project began in 2009 by Laing O’Rourke. Divided into two stages, the establishment of civil works and wharf infrastructure would be followed by the construction of five tilt-up structures. This later “Topside Infrastructure” section would house Marine Engineering and some cold storage units, with the works overseen by Laing O’Rourke’s Project Manager John Galloway.
STP Consultants’ Anthony Florence worked on design of the structures and included specifications for Reid Construction System’s new “OrbiplateTM” bolted connection into the structural connections in four of the structures.
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Due to increased structural delays from the Tilt-up Contractor (who eventually ceased involvement in the project), the number of structures was reduced from five to three. BM Webb manufactured the panels from precast concrete for the three buildings, with Thomas Steel completing the structural package. The salty marine air provides a highly corrosive environment, so Thomas Steel requested galvanizing of the “OrbiplateTM” connection washers to counter this.
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In the final wash-up, there were over 200 ferrules cast in panels as connection points and only one fell outside the 20mm tolerance permitted by OrbiPlateTM.
John Galloway was very impressed with OrbiplateTM, recognizing the savings of two to three days crane hire per building during installation, not to mention the costs of remedial works mentioned above. The tilt-up contractor constructing the first building broke specification and did not use OrbiPlateTM, resulting in an additional three days of crane hire which translates into sizeable losses.
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| With the Townsville Marine Precinct Project delivered successfully, Laing O’Rourke’s John Galloway & STP Consultants highly recommend the use of “OrbiplateTM”. STP Consultants now specify OrbiPlateTM as a standard in all of their designs. The revolutionary design drastically increases the tolerance to inaccurately placed ferrules, allowing faster and secure connection of panels without messy and time-consuming ferrule replacement. |