Formwork Failure Study Case: Cultural Center Santa Teresita, Argentina.

Introduction.
The formwork system (FWS) provides the
geometry and strength required for the
reinforced concrete structure to produce the
desired form and structural design
characteristics of the cured concrete. In
addition, formwork-related operations such as
erecting the FWS, installing the rebar, pouring
the concrete, and disassembling the FWS are
performed continuously for the life of the Figure 1. Before Formwork Collapsed. Photo Guillermo Villareal

building construction process. Consequently,

the FWS may have a substantial impact on the time, cost, and quality performance of a construction
project. Due to the time-consuming and sophisticated nature of FWS planning and development, it
may provide a substantial challenge for construction specialists. Inadequate FWS planning may also
result in considerable material and time losses during later phases of a construction project. Based on
the inadequate FWS planning, the study case presented is Cultural Center Santa Teresita, Argentina.

Background.
The Cultural Center Santa Teresita is located on
Costanera Avenue, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The
Multicultural Space will have more than 3,200
square meters and will be the largest space for
culture on the coast and throughout the region. Its
facilities will have a recording room, theater, and
specific rooms for different artistic expressions
that will be taught through the Municipal School Figure 2. After Formwork Collapsed. Photo: Guillermo
Villlareal
of Art.
The structure was a slab 20 meters wide by 30 meters long. It was more than 12 meters tall at the
point of the accident. On the afternoon of 2 March 2008 workers were ready to start pouring concrete.
Twelve workers were over the formwork slab when the temporary structure failed. Six workers died
in this engineering mistake. According to the site personnel, the slab formwork could not be used
because it was not totally stable. The base ground was too unstable, the soil was soft and the 12 m tall
had critical criteria to successfully do the labor.

The Causes of the incidents.

During concrete building, formwork
failure typically happens as the concrete is
being poured. In this instance, an
unanticipated occurrence causes a piece of
the formwork to fail, overloading or
misaligning the entire formwork structure
until its eventual collapse.
First, inadequate design. The majority of Figure 3. Structure Collapsed. Photo Courtesy of Guillermo Villareal
design-related failures are connected to
lateral forces and the stability of the temporary structure. Due to the absence of a bracing mechanism
to deal with lateral forces, such as wind and building loads, the formwork system fails when an
excessive load is applied. Next, insufficient support. Many formwork foundations are either built on
poor subsoil or are unable to transfer the weight to the ground. These foundations are frequently made
of sill plates, concrete pads, and piles, which can lead to differential formwork settling and shore
overloading, which in turn can lead to collapse. Evidently, the support used for vertical formwork
elements was not enough according to the load combination cases. Additionally, a weak foundation
may have a negative impact on the formwork's bearing capacity. Another important aspect to consider
is improper shoring. When vertical beaches collapse during the concreting process, impact loads from
concrete debris and other factors are major contributing factors to formwork failure. Finally, Lack of
inspection/attention during formwork placement and construction. This is the responsibility of the
resident engineering team. Many failures happen because of insufficient inspection or unskilled or
untrained crew members.

Conclusion.
Construction work will always be constrained by many factors like time, cost, and space. It will be
more effective if hazards are considered upstream during design so that inherently safer methods of
work can be implemented during construction. All stakeholders must see safety as an important
aspect of their work. If not, safety regulations, risk assessment, and safety measures will have no
effect at all.