Engineering Challenges in Technology and Construction of a PEB

The sheer USP of PEBS Pennar is, that we are an end to end solution provider of pre-engineered steel buildings. We design, supply, manufacture and install the buildings using our resources and capabilities.

Industrial buildings are normally used for steel plants, automobile industries, light utility and process industries, thermal power stations, warehouses, assembly plants, storage, garages, small scale industries, etc. These buildings require large column free areas. Hence interior columns, walls and partitions are often eliminated or kept to a minimum. Most of these buildings may require adequate headroom for use of an overhead traveling crane. The planning and design of these units require the knowledge of the following items

·         Site information

·         Soil conditions

·         Plant layout and work flow

·          Preferred bay sizes

·         Future expansion plans

·         Loading docks

·         Collateral Load like dust from existing units, wind etc.

·         Crane types and capacity

·         Roofing, side cladding and wall material preferences

·         Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning

·         (HVAC) equipments loads

·         Availability of raw materials

·         Availability of waste disposal and sanitary facilities

·         Parking facilities

·         Budget and project schedule

Therefore the foremost challenge in the design of a steel building is optimizing the steel consumption. We have to ensure the wastage of steel is nil or minimal.

We have to be at our creative best to design complex buildings with long span, high rise and multi storeyed. Computer aided design are fast evolving, however it is a challenge to find an industrial grade software which is updated to incorporate the various codes and norms to be adhered to. Indian building codes, American Codes, European Codes have to be integrated in modern software’s for flexibility in meeting diverse consumer demand. Updates to software are an essential challenge the industry faces today.

Geographic location and Atmospheric considerations, offer unique challenges to engineers since steel is a corrosive metal. Engineers have to keep the humidity, end use of the facility, chemicals emitting from the adjoining structures while designing and installation. Paint erosion has to be considered before deciding on the thickness of paint coating.

Any industrial product has to be environmentally sustainable and PEB’s are no different. Modern times have resulted in drastic changes in the way energy is consumed for manufacturing and installation of steel buildings. Engineers have to face touch challenges to come up with innovative solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of the structure. Recyclable material has to be locally sourced at a price which is lesser than the conventional raw materials.

Green field projects pose challenges in their own characteristic ways, scarcity of land means most of the projects come up at remote locations where transportation of raw or finished product is an issue, basic utilities like storage of finished goods and amenities for the manpower is a challenge.

Human resources are the single biggest challenge the PEB industry in particular and the infrastructure industry in general faces today. PEB being a new and niche segment skilled and trained manpower availability is scarce. Retaining talent is a concern to organizations with high overheads and poaching by competition being huge challenge.

Government policy inaction also poses a challenge and risk for the PEB industry. Promoting the industry by reducing the tax burden would help usher growth of steel consumption which is essentially a recyclable metal there by encouraging sustainable practices in the infrastructure development industry.

PEB has received wide acceptability among diverse sectors however there is a lacuna in awareness of the advantages of PEB compared to conventional buildings. Per capita consumption of steel in India is about 40kgs, where as it is more than 200kgs in countries like USA, Japan, China, Australia. Awareness on the benefits of steel construction has to broaden.