Hollow Core Concrete in application.

http://www.hollowcore.com.au/news/winner07.pdf

The Core Centre Torquay is an office and retail space that also contains car parking space. It is made up of two suspended concrete floors.

Precast hollow core concrete was used to allow for complexities in design including:

- Cantilevered beams and floor to accommodate large glass panels.
- Irregular floor-to-floor heights.
- Ramps.
- Central stair void.

Hollow core concrete allowed for the required 16 metre spans which gave the site flexibility and also saved costs.

Hollow Core Concrete Slab

http://www.infolink.com.au/articles/Concrete-floor-slabs-and-floor-voids-from-Hollow-Core-Concrete_z149210.htm

Hollow core concrete slabs provide an efficient and reliable solution to many different types of building structural systems.

Major benefit is its ability to span great distances without propping or columns.

Slab depths of 200, 220, 300 and 320mm currently available.

Portal Frame Crane

While not all that recent, I thought this article was very interesting.

http://www.bluescopesteel.com.au/go/case-study/western-australian-firm-makes-light-work-of-heavy-lifting

A contract to build the largest portal frame was won in Western Australia by a local firm Vector Lifting. Multiplex had issued the challenge (worth $8 million) to a worldwide audience.

The crane can lift up to 200 tonnes on its two crabs.

The major beam of the crane weighs 155 tonnes, and there is a total of 650 tonnes of steel in the entire crane.

Concrete Pre-Cast Panel #2

Click image for enlarged view.

Article Summary

The two articles posted both represent negative views pertaining to the construction industry. The major issues are:

• MBA says Victoria needs 40,000 extra skilled workers over the next five years.
• Skills shortage is likely to push up housing costs and further reduce housing affordability.
• Interest rates are having a negative impact on all facets of construction.
• Further weakness is likely, due to a lack of new orders.
  

Construction Industry Posts Losses

Construction 'in negative territory'

"The Australian construction industry has posted its first contraction in seven months in the wake of back-to-back interest rate rises, a survey has found.

The Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association performance of construction index (Australian PCI) fell 5.5 points in March to 48.4, to be 2.7 points lower than its level in the corresponding month of 2007.

The number is under the 50 level which separates expansion from contraction, for the first time since August 2007.

The house building measure slipped 7.7 points to 41.1 while the volatile apartment building sector was down 3.4 points to 40.

Commercial construction suffered a 14 point fall to 48.2 but engineering construction rose 2.8 points to a three-month high of 58.3.

Australian Industry Group associate director of economics and research Tony Pensabene said higher interest rates and falling consumer sentiment had hurt the construction industry.

"Interest rate hikes, the rise in the cost of funds and falling consumer sentiment are clearly taking their toll on the industry, and with new orders now at their lowest level in ten months, we are likely to see further weakness ahead," he said.

"While engineering construction is benefiting from an expanding investment pipeline, particularly in infrastructure projects, house building, apartments and commercial construction all fell in March, dragging overall construction activity into negative territory for the first time in six months."

New orders were down 7.9 points to 44.4.

Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said the gap between housing supply and demand was likely to widen.

"The decline in the Australian PCI is consistent with other indicators of new home building which have all deteriorated in recent months," he said."

http://news.theage.com.au/construction-in-negative-territory/20080407-247b.html

Skilled Worker Shortage Threatens Commercial and Resedential Construction Industry

Construction Threatened

"Construction activity in Victoria is being threatened by an acute shortage of skilled workers, which is pushing up the costs of commercial and residential projects and exacerbating the housing affordability crisis.

The Master Builders Association of Victoria (MBA) believes that to keep pace with the industry's growth, Victoria needs 40,000 more skilled workers over the next five years.

A survey of commercial builders by the peak body has found that recruiting a skilled workforce was the biggest issue preventing the sector from reaching its potential.

The MBA is supporting calls for more State Government action to address skills shortages.
Executive director Brian Welch said the survey highlighted the need for Victoria not only to retain its skilled professionals but also to attract new workers.

"With an ageing workforce and many of our senior building professionals close to retirement age, the situation is expected to worsen," Mr Welch said.

He said the problem was forcing up the costs for builders, and that this would feed into property prices for consumers.

"The fewer trades contractors there are to do work, then clearly prices will rise as shortages become imminent, so we are underbuilding as it stands and there are a lot of people over the next five years who will retire from the building industry."

Housing affordability in Australia has worsened over the past few years with home owners and renters spending more of their income on mortgage or rent payments.

According to figures collected by the Reserve Bank and the Bureau of Statistics, housing affordability fell to a 20-year low at the end of 2007.

Mr Welch said to address the skills shortage, the State Government should introduce several measures, including retraining skilled workers at retirement age so their skills and experience can be kept as "registered trainers".

"Master Builders is (also) calling on the Government to fund a study into why apprentices are bailing out of apprenticeships before completion," he said.

According to the Office of Training and Tertiary Education, in 2006 there was an increase of just 2% in apprenticeship commencements, but a 5.3% increase in cancellations and withdrawals.

Other key findings of the survey showed that 46% of those polled said it was very difficult to recruit highly skilled workers such as project managers and site managers.

More than half said the greatest difficulty was found in recruiting shop draftsmen."

http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/starting/finance/construction-threatened-906243996.html