The future of FBR in a parallel universe, page-8

Hi Syadyppah,

I have over 20 years experience in the construction industry on the commercial/contractual side. My past ten years have been spent advising governments in the middle east on commercial/contractual issues for the construction of airports, and implementing their commercial strategies.

I've posted a few assessments of the benefits of Hadrian over the past few months. Some examples, including a posting this morning, are here (hoping I've figured out how to link these):

https://hotcopper.com.au/posts/37100869/single
https://hotcopper.com.au/posts/34238415/single
https://hotcopper.com.au/posts/34191465/single

There are four key considerations for the successful completion of a construction project:
1. Safety
2. Cost
3. Time
4. Quality

I don't have much time to go into a lot of detail here. Also, being nationally important projects, many details are sensitive so I cannot describe much about my recent experiences. The following, however, is my brief summary of the benefits Hadrian may bring to our industry if it works as the Pivacs expect:

1. Safety: Less workers in harm's way means less accidents and less injuries. Manual blocklaying is also physically hard, especially on the lower back. Automating this work will prevent many future disabilities and lengthen people's careers.

2. Cost: Automation has proven a far more cost efficient means of production over the past two centuries. While there will be the cost of a machine, both capital and operating, there will be a major reduction in labour costs and all the overheads that go with employing people, especially in construction. The machine can work around the clock whereas to do so with people needs three crews (acknowledging 3 operators will be needed). There will also be less financial losses from accidents, OH&S, delays and quality problems.

3. Time: For me, this is the greatest benefit of Hadrian. If it works as advertised, there will be greater certainty in the time taken to build the walls on a project. While there are many people who can estimate how long it will take to manually build block walls, they can only apply their knowledge as an average of projects. They can never know exactly how many wet days, time lost due to injuries and time lost due to rejected substandard works will actually occur. Sure, a Hadrian might break down occasionally or the operator take sick, but the time taken to lay a given quantity of block wall with a Hadrian can be calculated mathematically with far greater certainty. This will vastly improve scheduling on projects.

4. Quality: On a large construction project, the standard of blocklaying can vary considerably. Workmanship can be very poor, especially if supervision is not as vigilant as it should be. I've seen some shocking work and welcome the day block wall construction is automated. If Hadrian works we can have more certainty that walls will be consistently in accordance with the design and specifications. This will reduce costs, losses and delays.

I trust this helps. All IMHO, DYOR, GLTAH, etc and best regards.