Page 21 - Demo

AAC WORLDWIDE %u2022 2.2025 NEWS & MARKET 21For construction projects commissioned by private investors, estimates are rarely based on bill of quantities and are most often a lump sum for a specified scope of work. This means that the costs of building construction are not proportional to the labor intensity. Despite this, the labor costs for partitions in the modular AAC panels system constitute about 40 to 60% of the costs of constructing partitions using standard technology.The technology of modular AAC wall panels fits into the mechanization of construction work, which still has a small share in masonry work in Poland. In countries where labor costs are higher, the mechanization of masonry work is already significantly developed. According to estimates, even 95% of partitions in multi-family buildings in the Netherlands are constructed using lifting equipment.There are many research studies worldwide on the robotization of masonry work. Three directions can be distinguished in the development of construction robotization: printing walls on-site and in production plants, using cable robots to erect walls from smallsized elements, and using a mobile crane (Hadrian X) for autonomous masonry with masonry elements.In practice, each of these solutions has drawbacks. On-site printing [29] and cable robots [30] require setting up temporary structures, which for small constructions like single-family houses, will likely take longer than the process of installing AAC panels. The mobile robot requires continuous replenishment of material in the loading area [31], so it is not maintenance-free. In practice, only prefabricated structures can have a significant advantage in installation time. The real advantage is not in the installation time but in the ability to deliver the partition together with fitted electrical and sanitary installations, which are prepared not on-site but in the production hall. This allows workers performing tasks at fixed workstations to achieve better efficiency compared to construction conditions.According to the authors%u00b4 opinion the installation time of AAC panels at the level of one working day per single floor will no longer require optimization for projects involving up to several residential buildings. The issue of installing electrical and sanitary installations and potentially finishing the walls remains to be resolved. It is worth noting that setting up panels requires significantly fewer qualifications than masonry walls, and the partitions are significantly more even and easier to construct. In some projects in Poland, due to the lack of available masons, panels were installed by people inexperienced in working with heavy building materials. Setting up panels for partition walls requires slightly more qualifications. In this case, achieving the assumed efficiency usually requires about a month of practical work on the construction site. Full efficiency in installing panels for structural walls using a crane can be achieved by workers after a short training and installing just a few elements.Benefits of including BIM technologyAAC modular panels can be used even more effectively after including BIM technology in design and assembly phase.The architect, having developed a preliminary design, sends his design to manufacturers design department, which is then saturated with more detailed information regarding the chosen material. At this stage, manufacturer creates a preliminary model with a layout of specific elements, and also analyzes the construction or fitting of openings to adjust the structure to modular panels. The goal here is to make the most efficient use of materials on site, planned Table 4: Comparison of the labor intensity of constructing partitions of a 135 m2 building using different technologies [24-28]Parameter unit AAC 6.5 cmAAC 24 cmCSU 18 cmClay 25 cmAAC panels 36.5 cmAAC panels 24 cmWorkload for construction of partitions [man-hours] 221 187 335 364 66 66Construction time [days] 11 9 17 18 3 3Workload for construction of partitions and fa%u00e7ade [man-hours] 320 593 761 789 165 473Construction time of partitions and fa%u00e7ade [days] 16 30 38 39 8 24Weight of manual assembled units [tons] 40.5 43.1 68.6 52.9 4.6 4.6