FERROVIAL has revealed it has taken another step forward in the digitalisation of the company’s construction projects with the introduction of a smart formwork system.
The system is described as making it possible to monitor pressure and temperature in real time so as to ‘optimise work cycles and achieve greater safety’ when concreting.
Ferrovial explained that the SmartFormwork project provides pressure and temperature information using sensors. The idea, which has already been implemented in major schemes including the Thames Tideway Tunnel, can optimise concreting speed and avoid overpressure that might jeopardise structural stability during construction.
The business revealed the initiative offers ‘more exhaustive oversight’, allowing for ‘safer, evidence-based’ decisions.
SmartFormwork came about as part of the Zuritanken awards, the company’s internal innovation programme, and was implemented through Ferrovial’s construction subsidiary, which designed the entire project.
Teams from Spain, the UK and Portugal participated in its development, in partnership with the innovation departments.
Ferrovial said the system was successfully validated in the construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the UK water industry. It is now expected to be rolled out in the company’s other projects around the world.
SmartFormwork also represents an advance in Ferrovial Construction’s Abacus project, which pursues digital transformation by integrating conventional technologies with new digital systems.
