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| Q | 3.2 Is it proposed that the IHI system is used above ground only? Will the groundwork's be carried out in the traditional method? |
| A | Basements can be made out utilizing the IHI panels for walls and floors. However, this will depend on the nature and location of the project and the nature of the soil. Half of the area of the basement in IHI showhouse in Vancouver was made out of IHI panels as a test to see the advantages compared to cast-in-situ concrete. We encountered many errors made by the contractor with the cast-in-situ concrete and the walls were not perfectlysmooth. Whereas it took less than a day to erect the other half with the IHI panels. The time saving was considerable besides the perfect execution. |
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| Q | 3.3 Can the IHI system be used successfully as part of the groundwork's or are there too many risks involved? |
| A | Definitely yes. This was demonstrated at IHI's show home in Vancouver where the water table is 2.5 meters above the foundations. No problems were encountered and there is no risk whatsoever. Moreover, there is no smell of concrete in the basement due to the fact that our concretre is innert and does not require curing. The panels are perfectly dry before they leave the factory. |
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| Q | 3.4 Is there any degree of flexibility in modifying the scheme once the panels are made? How late in the process can client brief changes be made? |
| A | The Hi-Tech panels will be designed to accommodate present and future requirements before the panels are produced. As demonstrated at IHI's show home in Vancouver, any future changes are possible, but they will vary according to the level of complexity of these changes. |
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| Q | 3.5 Is there any degree of flexibility in modifying the layout once constructed? Modifications are required after the Olympic games are completed. |
| A | Please see above answers. Panels can be cut, moved (if not load bearing) as needed. It would be useful to know the nature of planned modifications in advance so that we can design the system to most easily accommodate such changes. |
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| Q | 3.6 What type of foundations are proposed? |
| A | IHI has a patent on pre-cast strip foundations, However, the type and design of foundations will vary according to the nature and design of every project like in traditional concrete or steel construction. |
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| Q | 3.7 How are the differences in factory and site tolerances accommodated? |
| A | IHI will provide embedment plates to be installed by the local contractors under IHI's supervision. |
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| Q | 3.8 What are the transportation needs? What size vehicles are required and does the road system impact on this? Is there a maximum and minimum limit of delivery vehicles? How is cost and construction time affected by the size of delivery vehicles? |
| A | Does the size of panels affect quality of product?
The required transportation vehicles are flat-bed trucks either 20 or 40 foot long. Prior to designing the Hi-Tech panels, IHI will require information pertaining to transportation limitations as far as weight, height and length restrictions in a particular Country as well as road constraints between the port and the site of the project. Logically, the number of trips will be determined by the size of the delivery vehicles, however, the transportation cost should only be somehow higher proportionally with smaller vehicles. There should be no increase in time with smaller panels and there is no difference in quality. |
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| Q | 3.9 What are the cranage needs? Size and number of cranes required and their efficiency/effectiveness. |
| A | An optimal size mobile crane will be between 50 and 80 tons. As mentioned earlier, the optimal crew will consist of one crane with operator and 4 steel erectors since panels will be fit in place and bolted together. |
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| Q | 4.1 What is the life expectancy of the system under different climatic and environmental conditions? |
| A | In hot climates it will be higher than in Canada since the concrete is by far better in quality than conventional and less permeable. Moreover, since the steel used in the Hi-Tech panels is well treated and not exposed and has no thermal bridging and most importantly since the Hi-Tech system altogether including the connectors is virtually seismic-proof, the life expectancy is by far greater than conventional construction (comparing apples to apples) and should exceed the useful life of the structures. |
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| Q | 4.2 Can the local thermal and acoustic requirements be met? |
| A | Yes, although we believe that these are already met with current design. |
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