Cost benefits of steel compared to In-situ concrete in Sri Lankan building construction

Abstract

Ever increasing building construction activities involve high technologies and innovations to overcome the challenges in front of the process. Among the key challenges of building construction, cost of construction is prominent. However the construction industry constantly experiment innovative solutions which may offer favorable cost benefits for building construction. Most of developed countries draw attention on materialwise solution together with better administration and co-ordination within construction environment. Concerns on steel as a cost effective material for construction is one of an ideal example which suggested having the ability to offer better answers for future construction challenges. Steel buildings are designed, fabricated and constructed to meet the needs of the customer and to be cost effective. With steel construction, delays in construction are less, and unexpected costs that often associated in traditional constructions are reduced or eliminated. Properties of steel and vantages of steel construction also have been influenced in erection of steel structures such as skyscrapers, high-rise building and other small buildings in the developed countries. Future adaptability with easy connection systems, minimum waste, long life, reduced disruption at sites, suitability for confined sites are some benefits of using of steel as the main construction material. Eventually, above-mentioned benefits of steel will be afforded indirect cost benefits of steel building construction. The aim of this research is set as to identify the cost benefits of steel building construction in terms of factors of production in Sri Lankan construction industry. In achieving the above aim the method followed comprises of a comprehensive literature survey followed by a questionnaire survey. Data collection was done through the questionnaire survey to gather expertise knowledge and experiences of professionals in the industry. Through the questionnaire, related cost influence factors of production were compared between steel and in-situ concrete construction. Questionnaires were distributed among 44 construction industry professional and received 30 responses. The collected data was analyzed using RII, binomial test and median and approach to two major outcomes. Cost factors were identified which were offered cost beneficial and not cost beneficial separately in steel building construction compared to in-situ concrete building construction. It was found out that labour, material related costs are beneficial factors of steel construction over in-situ construction. In-situ construction is ahead of steel in terms of cost benefits in the areas of land, standards and technologies related cost factors whereas maintenance cost shows no significant difference. Therefore it can be concluded that steel construction offers cost benefits over in-situ construction as labour and material contributes to a higher proportion of project cost.