Long Line Production of Building Elements in United States

The trend in the production of prestressed building elements in the United States is toward wider, deeper, and longer members. The pursuit of this concept requires larger plants, heavier equipment, and greater investment. The objective is to reduce labor and material costs. Longer spans and wider members have been introduced, without increasing the material quantities required per square foot, by improving and updating all designs. Even where material quantities are increased slightly by the use of longer wider members the reduction in labor costs for production and erection results in overall economy. The present trend toward larger units probably will continue until a method is developed for the mass production and assembly of small elements into compact building units.