Comparison of retaining wall construction at Kuster construction company using traditional methods versus offsite construction

Over the past decade, we have witnessed significant progress in the field of robotic construction, ** software, and much greater synchronisation of all factors involved in building construction. When we decide to build using the offsite construction method, we must determine the distance of the factory that manufactures the prefabricated concrete elements we need for the construction of the structure. In the future, we can expect ** global electrification of transport vehicles, which will drastically reduce the cost of transporting elements to the construction site location.

Solution and method

Over the past decade, we have witnessed significant progress in the field of robotic construction, ** software**, and much greater synchronisation of all factors involved in building construction. Just a few centuries ago, the inhabitants of that time communicated over greater distances using smoke signals. The tremendous development of technology in all fields has enabled humanity to achieve instant communication and a much greater degree of construction coordination that was never possible in the past.

In this way, the construction industry has begun to achieve significant time savings, reduced costs, reduced quantities of materials used, and above all gained safety and health for employed workers. Just a few decades ago, when we did not yet have mobile phones, advanced GPS systems, and precise mechanisation in construction, emerging problems on tall New York skyscrapers were solved by physical workers themselves, as they had no other option, because highly qualified designers did not wish to expose themselves to the dangers of construction at these heights.

In offsite construction of a retaining wall, built from ** prefabricated concrete elements** that are completed in a ** factory environment **, we use a much smaller quantity of materials (approximately 86% less), yet it withstands the same loads as a traditionally constructed retaining wall. A significant cost of offsite construction can be the transport of prefabricated elements to the construction site location if the factory where they are manufactured is quite distant. One of the important factors of offsite construction is the mass production of prefabricated elements that will be executed.

The construction of a factory where they will be produced is often only sensible in cases where the production of concrete elements is mass-scale. In offsite construction, we use seven times less material than if we were building using traditional construction methods. Less material means less transport on the road, less environmental pollution, and consequently sustainable use of planet Earth's resources, as with the quantity of material from traditional construction, we could build more than seven retaining walls using offsite construction instead of one.

Results

When we decide to build using the offsite construction method, we must determine the distance of the factory that manufactures the prefabricated concrete elements we need for the construction of the structure. In the future, we can expect global electrification of transport vehicles, which will drastically reduce the cost of transporting elements to the construction site location. The distance from the prefabrication factory to the construction site location will thus become increasingly less important, as electric vehicles have much better efficiency (consequently lower transport costs) than traditional fossil fuel vehicles.

One of the most important factors of offsite construction is high coordination of product manufacturing, timely transport, and assembly at the construction site location. All these processes are enabled by advanced software, high computer processing capacity, and ** continuous interaction of construction workers** who use this technology. Internet connectivity and ongoing communication between different construction sectors are crucial for predicting traffic congestion, quickly resolving construction errors, and precisely planning each of the following steps, which enables smooth, safe, and quality offsite construction.

Prefabricated reinforced concrete elements appeared as early as 1900, but only in the 21st century have they begun to gain much greater significance due to the tremendous progress in technology that enables them. If the factory manufacturing the prefabricated concrete elements for the retaining wall were in Slovenia, she would certainly recommend that investors obtain a cost estimate for the complete offsite construction. According to her calculations, offsite construction of a retaining wall in Slovenia would be cheaper than traditional construction, more environmentally friendly, faster, and the safety of construction workers would be increased.

Because natural resources on Earth are limited, with offsite construction we use much less material and thereby enable ** better sustainable development of the planet**. Offsite construction can reduce the number of employees at the construction site.

As a solution, she would suggest to contracting companies the requalification of employed physical workers at the construction site into mobile crane operators, work organisers, designers, inventors, and developers. We currently live in the information age, which brings an even greater degree of robotisation, automation, and elimination of people as physical labour from the construction environment. She believes that rather than resisting development, it is better to start thinking about how many more projects we can complete due to time savings in offsite construction, how we can educate employees to become flexible users of software, good communicators, and learn how best to integrate computer capacity, software, and human resources.

The destruction of machines during the industrial revolution did not stop the development of industry, nor did it create job vacancies. The information age can be their golden age if they, as humanity, keep pace with technology in time.