Standardisation of a product or technology is a very important step in its wide spread popularisation and acceptance amongst people. In the absence of defined standard size, shape and other characteristics the promotion of the product at a large scale becomes difficult or in many cases, next to impossible. This is because the product is not clearly defined in terms of its characteristics. A product may not be standardised at the time of its market launch, it would, however, have to set up parameters of quality and performance very quickly in order that product definition gets well established in the market.

This is applicable to building products also. Take the example of steel reinforcement bars. You can buy steel bars in diameters ranging from 6,8,10,12,16 mm and so on. You do not get 13 mm diameter. Why ? Because the bar sizes are standardised. Only then can it be marketed in a big way. Similarly take the case of panels or boards. You can buy these only in standard sizes. It becomes simpler to mass market a product when it is well defined in terms of its size, weight, strength etc.

Development Alternatives, has been working on the Ferrocement Technology especially for Roofing applications since the past 6 years. With a view to promote the product and the technology in India, Development Alternatives has standardised the product and the technology package with support of the Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC).

The standardisation is in response to the market needs of rural and peri-urban Bundelkhand region for the rural housing and institutional market segments. The shape, curvature, thickness, reinforcement etc. and even the length of roofing channels is standardised for achieving cost effectiveness, which is necessary for the purpose of large scale dissemination of Ferrocement technology. The product is available in standard length of 4.6m, 5.4m and 6.1m. The channels have very high acceptability in institutional buildings and are particularly suited for ease of construction. Experience has shown that the Ferrocement Roofing Channels are highly suited for mass housing; albeit.

Customisation for Mass housing
CARE, India has initiated a mass housing program for the rehabilitation of cyclone affected families in coastal Orissa. In order to guarantee safety of human life, the buildings are required to be cyclone resistant and offer protection against accompanying floods. The standard response of commercial contractors has been to resort to prolific use of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures and roofing. This entails high costs and is contingent upon supply of stone aggregate from regions on the Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border.

The scale of the project, initially 1400 houses, warranted a search for innovative solutions for roofing. A flat roof was needed for access with adequate resistance to damage under cyclonic conditions. Ferrocement roofing channels with a shallow profile were specially designed to be prefabricated. The production equipment was customised to mass produce roofing channels using locally available sand and cement. The roofing channels are specially anchored to be superstructure for providing stability. The length of the product has been standardised and is 3.0 m. This ensures economy in manufacture, handling and transportation.

Customisation for Special Applications
A unique requirement was furnished by the Ladakh Buddhist Association for providing a roofing solutions applicable in Leh.

A light roofing product, which should be precastabale (prefabricated), cement based, cheaper than conventional roofing systems and provide savings in resource consumption were the criteria for design. A rectangular shape was required to blend with the architectural tradition of Leh, Ladakh. The product namely, Ferrocement rectangular channels have been custom-designed with the above requirements for a very large shopping complex in Laddakh district. The product customisation was done in association with M/s Sanjay Prakash Associates who are the consultants to the clients.

The product was designed and tested and the complete production system has been fabricated and shipped to Leh. Production and installation will be managed by members of the Association.

These examples are used to illustrate the tremendous potential of Sustainable Building Technologies in responding to a wide variety of customised needs for mass roofing. Being cement based, they can be produced in the vicinity of their use.  q

The author Coordinates Technology 
and Product Design and Development 
activities at Development Alternatives, 
Email: tara_gram@yahoo.com