Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 2: Concept Design 2 - 11 2 BENEFITS OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION In the multi-storey building sector, the benefits of steel construction are largely related to th e ‘f ast tr ack’ nature of the construction process, which leads to a wide range of financial and process benefits. Many innovations associated with the construction process have further im proved these inherent benefits and have increased efficiency and productivity. This is very important in inner city projects wh ere lack of space for storag e of m aterials and other facilities, limitations on delive ries and logistics, a nd planning constraint s, mean that a higher proportion of work should be done in the factory and less on site. The benef its of stee l in m ulti-storey cons truction arise m ainly f rom its prefabricated nature, its lightweight and the ability to phase the vario us activities in series rath er than in pa rallel. These benef its ar e explored in the following sections. 2.1 Speed of construction Speed of construc tion is the m ost important benefit offered by steel construction, which le ads to f inancial, m anagement and other logistical benefits, many of which can be e xperienced in econom ic as we ll as sustainability terms. For an eight-storey office building, it is found that steel construction is up to 20% faster than re inforced concrete, but, importantly, the construction of the primary frame and floors is up to 40% faster and allows for early sta rt in build ing services, installation, cladding and ot her activities. The fast construction process is based on a synergistic us e of steel fram es, steel decking and in som e cases, concrete or braced steel cores, as illustrated in Figure 2.1. The financial benefits of speed of construction may be expressed as:  Early completion, which leads to reduced interest charges on the borrowed capital and to early return in terms of revenue  Lower cash flow  Reduced m anagement costs on-site , due prim arily to the sho rter construction period, but also due to the fewer personnel employed  Reduced hire costs of site facilities  Greater certainty and less risk in the construction process.