Assessment of Construction Time and Cost Savings Using Ferro-cement Technology

Abstract

The construction industry continuously seeks economical, sustainable, and efficient construction techniques to reduce project cost, construction duration, and material consumption. Conventional Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) construction involves high material usage, increased labor requirements, longer execution periods, and considerable construction waste. Ferro-cement technology has emerged as a lightweight and cost-effective alternative for selected structural applications such as wall panels, roofing systems, prefabricated components, and low-cost housing. The present study focuses on the comparative assessment of construction time and cost savings achieved using Ferro-cement technology in comparison with conventional RCC construction. A comparative analysis of RCC and Ferro-cement wall panels was carried out based on quantity estimation, cost analysis, and construction duration evaluation. The study considered material consumption, reinforcement requirement, labor involvement, curing duration, and formwork requirements for both construction techniques. The results obtained from the analysis indicated that Ferro-cement construction achieved approximately 56.48% reduction in construction cost and 36.36% reduction in construction duration compared to RCC construction. Significant reduction in cement consumption, reinforcement usage, and formwork requirement was also observed due to the lightweight and thin structural sections of Ferro-cement. The study demonstrates that Ferro-cement construction improves material efficiency, reduces overall project expenditure, and enhances construction speed. Therefore, Ferro-cement technology can serve as an economical and sustainable alternative to RCC construction for low-cost housing and selected structural applications.

Introduction

The text discusses a comparative study between Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) and Ferro-cement construction to evaluate cost, time, and material efficiency in building wall panels.

The construction industry faces rising costs, material shortages, and environmental concerns, which encourage the use of alternative methods. Ferro-cement, made of thin mortar reinforced with wire mesh, is presented as a lightweight, economical, and durable alternative to conventional RCC. It is widely used in low-cost housing, prefabricated panels, water tanks, and repair works due to its reduced material usage and improved crack resistance.

The study compares RCC and Ferro-cement wall panels of the same size and analyzes material quantities, cost, and construction time. Results show that Ferro-cement uses significantly less material (no coarse aggregate, reduced cement and steel) and simpler construction processes.

Cost analysis reveals that Ferro-cement reduces construction cost by about 56.48%, while time analysis shows a 36.36% reduction in construction duration compared to RCC. These savings are mainly due to lighter materials, minimal formwork, and faster application methods.

Conclusion

Based on the comparative analysis carried out in the study, the following conclusions are drawn: 1) Ferro-cement construction is more economical than conventional RCC construction due to reduced material consumption and lower labor requirement. 2) Ferro-cement technology achieved approximately 56.48% reduction in construction cost compared to RCC wall panel construction. 3) Construction duration was reduced by approximately 36.36% due to simplified construction operations and reduced formwork requirement. 4) Ferro-cement construction significantly improves material efficiency and reduces structural dead load. 5) The technology is highly suitable for low-cost housing, lightweight structures, and prefabricated construction systems. 6) Ferro-cement can serve as an effective alternative to RCC construction for selected structural applications where economy and faster execution are important considerations.

References

[1] Kavita V. Desai and Dr. Deepa A. Joshi, “Review on Ferro-cement: An Effective Alternative for Construction Industry,” International Journal of Innovation in Engineering and Technology, 2015. [2] Lakhan Murari and Elson John, “Study on Performance of Prefabricated Ferro-cement Elements,” IJERST, 2016. [3] Ganesh A. Choughule and N. N. Morey, “Study and Cost Analysis of Ferro-cement Panel for Affordable Housing,” Journal of Basic and Applied Engineering Research, 2016. [4] A.S. Burakale, P.M. Attarde and Mayuri D. Patil, “Ferro-cement Construction Technology and Its Applications,” IRJET, 2020. [5] Naaman, A.E., “Ferrocement and Laminated Cementitious Composites,” 2000. [6] ACI Committee 549, “State-of-the-Art Report on Ferrocement,” American Concrete Institute, 1997. [7] Shah and Kumar, “Sustainable Construction Using Ferro-cement Technology,” 2018. [8] Rao and Ramaswamy, “Seismic Behavior of Ferro-cement Structural Elements,” 2005.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Rohit Shinde, Dr. Sushma Awad, Dr. Pratibha Alandkar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.