GEWO plant expansion

Precision as a success factor

Precision is the name of the game at GEWO Feinmechanik GmbH in the Bavarian town of Wörth, where the family-run high-tech company specialises in the development and production of highly complex components. Precision and cutting-edge technology are also crucial to the success of the project to expand the plant with a new production hall and administration building. This starts with the planning of the formwork and safety technology, which the contractor, Glass GmbH Bauunternehmung, carries out itself. And with walls up to 13 metres high, not only does the use of materials need to be meticulously calculated in advance, but a reliable solution is also required to allow the team to work safely on the formwork and pour concrete at great heights. The decision was made in favour of the economical Framax Xlife plus wall formwork, ideally complemented by the XSafe plus platform system.

Good training is key

To ensure that everything runs smoothly on the site, the contractor is taking advantage of Doka's tailor-made training courses, with Doka foremen training them in the efficient planning and handling of the two systems in the run-up to the project. In a tailor-made practical workshop in the Doka training hall in Maisach, the Glass site crew have ample opportunity to practise time- and resource-saving handling of the formwork material "on the live system". And the numerous best-practice tips the team took away from the training proved to be a real benefit on the site. Or, as Markus Höld, work preparation at Glass, puts it: The intensive training at Doka enabled us to deepen our knowledge considerably. That’s half the battle when it comes to optimally preparing the site.

For the construction of an 8-metre-high fair-faced concrete wall in the administration building, the Glass team also opted for "next level" precision and used digital concrete pressure monitoring with DokaXact for the first time. The challenge: as the formwork height increases, so does the pressure exerted on the formwork as the concrete is poured. The lower areas in particular are subjected to enormous forces until the concrete has set. To prevent deformation and ensure a perfect finish, it is therefore essential to keep an eye on the development of the concrete pressure and to control the rate of rise accordingly.

Speed control on the next level

DokaXact enables sensor-controlled, data-driven monitoring of the concreting process in real time, simply by means of a mobile device. The wireless sensors, which can be mounted in the formwork face in just a few simple steps, measure the current fresh-concrete pressure precisely at all times and send the information collected to the smartphone, where it can be conveniently read out and analysed using an app.

"Based on the data provided, the optimum concreting speed can be determined using the maximum allowable fresh concrete pressure and the actual pouring speed can be adjusted accordingly. This enables both efficient and safe construction with high-quality concrete results - and gives a whole new meaning to the term speed control," says foreman Kevin Matje.