“Off the pallet, straight onto the wall” ethos saves time, cost and improves quality, says Vivalda survey Research undertaken by Vivalda Group, the UK’s largest supplier of non-combustible cladding, suggests that sub-contractors could reduce their fabrication costs by up to 50% by outsourcing the process. Vivalda contacted 15 specialist cladding
Pura Facades, the specialist distributor of natural cladding solutions, has successfully completed a project to supply 8,000m2 formed and flat panels to the Hallsville Quarter in Canning Town, London. Worth in the region of £2.8m the contract demonstrates the complete cladding solution provided by Pura, from panel designs and fixing
“Off the pallet, straight onto the wall” ethos saves time, cost and improves quality, says Vivalda survey Research undertaken by Vivalda Group, the UK’s largest supplier of non-combustible cladding, suggests that sub-contractors could reduce their fabrication costs by up to 50% by outsourcing the process. Vivalda contacted 15 specialist cladding contractors across the UK and asked them to provide their hourly rates for three specific processes; standard board drilling, specialist drilling, and fixing of brackets to boards. The differences between quoted sub-contractor rates and those charged by Vivalda were surprising. Here are the key findings: Standard drill holes for rivet and screw fix. Assuming 12 holes per m2, average sub-contractor labour rates quoted were up to 50% higher than those charged by Vivalda. Specialist ‘secret fix’ drill holes. The price difference between specialist off-site fabrication and on-site labour rates quoted was equally remarkable. Overall, prices quoted for this more complex procedure were approximately 20% higher compared to the cost of standard drilling. Sub-contractor labour rates for this work came out at approximately 40% more expensive when compared to prices quoted by off-site, high precision material engineers such as Vivalda. Fixing brackets / secret fixings to board. This too came out at around 35-40% higher compared to rates typically charged by third party suppliers. Commenting on the findings, Chris Meyerhoff, branch manager at Vivalda’s Hull branch said: “We are seeing a major trend towards off-site fabrication, with contractors increasingly turning to us to cut boards to size, drill holes and even fix brackets so that facades can be installed as soon as they arrive on site. Despite the proven cost savings and quality guarantees offered by outsourcing, we wanted to understand why a hardcore of contractors continue to do this job in-house. After all, it’s a notoriously time-consuming job that a lot of subbies don’t like doing on-site. That’s why we undertook this research into the relative costs quoted for this activity. “Given the very clear savings contractors could make by outsourcing elements of their cladding fabrication process, we have to ask why aren’t all sub-contractors using third party specialists to prepare boards ready for on-site installation? Is it about control and quality? With damaged and poorly cut boards as the likely outcome, I cannot imagine this is good reason. Also, our use of CNC technology ensures boards are cut to within the tightest tolerances, with brackets fixed using the right tools in well lit, warm surroundings as opposed to rainswept, building sites with restricted space and strict on-site working regulations. “Perhaps some sub-contractors don’t consider the cost of fixings as being that significant? Well, for a project comprising 5,000m2 of cladding, our investigation suggests that this could cost anywhere from £300,000 to £600,000 in fixing labour costs – depending on the location and complexity of the project. That’s not chicken feed in anyone’s book. I’d urge any contractors out there to reconsider this part of their supply chain as it could improve quality, reduce accidents and boost profits in one fell swoop.” Based on its recent survey, Vivalda Group’s UK-wide fabrication facilities could save sub-contractors between 35 and 50% on labour costs, while significantly improving the accuracy and quality of the cladding systems prior to installation.
Pura Facades, the specialist distributor of natural cladding solutions, has successfully completed a project to supply 8,000m2 formed and flat panels to the Hallsville Quarter in Canning Town, London. Worth in the region of £2.8m the contract demonstrates the complete cladding solution provided by Pura, from panel designs and fixing system drawings to logistics, and aftercare such as snagging resolution and O&M manual document preparation. Working closely with main contractor Bouygues, Pura supplied non-flammable Rieder GRC (glass reinforced concrete) panels, which were an expedient and lightweight alternative to traditional pre-cast or traditional GRC concrete facades. Consulting with the project architects also enabled Pura to consider innovative ways of achieving their visual intent with large format shaped panels spanning floor to floor. James Butler, director of Pura Facades, explains: “While it was originally proposed that traditional GRC or pre-cast concrete should be used on the vertical columns of the building, we suggested using lightweight, thinner-formed GRC panels, which were easier to transport (lowering carbon emissions) and far simpler to erect. Our ability to cut and shape panels to exact tolerances meant that no heavy lifting equipment was needed on site as every panel was lifted into position.” While each panel is cut to size and delivered with its own fixing system, one of the most demanding challenges of the project lay in the logistics. Given the fact that inner city construction projects now need to operate from a ‘postage stamp’ building site footprint, Pura’s experience in sequencing, labelling, palletising and batching to deliver according to build sequence was invaluable. Butler continues: “With such tightly controlled arrival hours – with no option for trucks to park up and wait for their delivery slot – we needed to make sure our logistics operation was up to scratch. Ensuring the correct batches of formed cut-to-size panels arrived at just the right time, every time, was a tough challenge, but one that we met using our Birmingham and North London based hubs and the right type of transport.” The project was not completely over for Pura, even once the cladding was fixed, as the team provided the contractor with complete data sheets and instructions on the products used, cleaning kits and repair toolkits. “We don’t just walk away once the cladding is up,” says Butler. “We take project completion very seriously and want to provide the contractor and architect with the confidence that the vision for the building is fully delivered.” Pura Facades is part of the Vivalda Group plc and provides a fully made to order service to architects, specifiers and contractors, supplying natural cladding products from respected brands including Rieder, Faveton. Laudescher and Veta France.
