LOSS BY USE OF POOR-QUALITY CONSTRUCTION STEEL

1. Chennai, India (July 2014): An under-construction multi-story building collapsed which 68 laborers including men and women died. The State Government of Tamilnadu has found on initial investigation that inferior quality raw materials like Steel, Cement, bricks, etc. were used in the construction.

2. Bangladesh (May 2013): A garment factory collapsed causing loss of lives for more than 1000 workers.  The Bangladesh Government has concluded after thorough investigations that poor-quality of construction materials like steel, and cement have been used for construction.

3. Thane Mumbai (April 2013): An under-construction building site fell down resulting in the death of 74 people including 18 children and 23 women. Investigations have revealed,  use of poor quality of construction materials like steel, and cement, which are responsible for this loss.

The above 3 incidents raise a few serious questions:-

1. Why such type of accidents are occurring so often?
2. Can we not even construct a safe building in this technological era?
3. Are we making compromises in the quality of the raw material being used?

Researchers have analyzed and found the following main reasons for the failure in construction:-

1. Use of poor quality of construction materials like Steel, Cement, Stone Chips, Bricks, etc
2. Architecture and Structure design parameters, beyond design parameters
3. Poor construction practices of laborers and workers

Among the prime reasons mentioned above, the purchase of good quality construction materials like Steel, and cement lies in the domain of any customer and no compromise should be made in the purchase of the same.  Small compromises in the purchase of good quality raw materials can cause irreparable loss, grief, and pain in the future.

Steel is an important constituent of any construction and therefore we shall discuss about it in this edition.

Steel bar provides the following benefits to any construction:-

1. Strength
2. Long-lasting
3. Load bearing capacity
4. Bonding with cement concrete
5. Resistance to earthquake, fire etc.

Any good quality Steel Bar has the following properties:-

1. Uniformity
2. High strength
3. High elongation
4. Higher bendability
5. Strong bonding with cement concrete

All these properties are available in a few good branded TMT Bars manufacturing companies having :-

1. Right technology
2. Strong and robust rolling machinery
3. Trained and efficient Engineers
4. Good quality raw material
5. World-class Laboratory
6. Customer-centric after-sales service
7. Ethical Management

Every home builder wants to make his construction strong, durable and economical.

We should thoroughly evaluate the TMT Bars available in the market and select good quality TMT / branded TMT from manufacturers fulfilling the above parameters and should not make any compromise in the purchase of the same.

The use of good quality steel in construction not only makes it strong and long-lasting but also reduces its consumption cost.  A careful and thorough evaluation should be made that any good quality steel may look expensive per unit cost but is highly economical in long run.  Steel is an essential component that remains with any construction till the end of its life.

By Girish Somani

Director, RHL Profiles Limited

(Makers of RHL GOLD TMT Bars)