Precasters
Complete with stainless steel spacers, all that the precaster has to do is place the assembly into the form and pour the concrete. There are no additional steps, and theprecaster is assured that the specified concrete cover over the reinforcement has been engineered into the design of the assemblies. Pre-assembled reinforcing often contributes to net cost savings for a precaster by reducing labour costs, cost of materials, storage space, and other overhead expenses such as technical upgrades for welding staff and certifications. In addition, precasters may discover additional business opportunities, quality control is assured through the QC program of the company delivering the pre-welded assemblies, floor space requirements for fabricating cages are reduced, cages are delivered when required, fabricators of reinforcing assemblies may have steel purchasing advantages that may be able to be passed on to precasters, and there should be a reduction in plant injuries for theprecaster with reduced fabricating and welding activity.
Contractors
The use of stainless steel in construction has been steadily increasing since the 1960s in North America. Today it has secured a favorable position as a rebar and mesh reinforcing material, despite its higher capital cost. In an era where sustainable development and the importance to match service life with design life on major public works to conserve resources and to construct assets that hold their value for prolonged periods, stainless steel reinforcing products must be considered in any life cycle or life cycle costing analysis. Elements that must be factored into a life cycle or life cycle cost analysis are maintenance, material and labor costs, additional costs associated with traffic congestion, disruption to services and detours, economic and environmental impacts, and impact on the quality of life of the people affected by the construction and use of the project. Stainless steel rebar will perform for 75 to 100 years in concrete structures.