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Precast concrete

Precast concrete: wall panels, hollowcore planks, beams, stairs cast in a factory then craned in. AS 3850 governs lifting anchors and the HRCW safety regime.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 11 June 2026. Verified 11 June 2026.

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Precast concrete is concrete cast into structural elements at a factory, then transported to site and craned into their final position. Wall panels, hollowcore floor planks, beams, columns, stairs, culverts, and house stumps are all common precast products. Factory casting gives tighter dimensional control and finish consistency than in-situ pours, and removes most formwork from the critical path.

Site interface

Lifting hardware is cast into each element at the factory. AS 3850.1:2015 (Prefabricated concrete elements) governs the design, rating, and certification of lifting inserts, which must support at least four times the maximum design load and require a minimum concrete strength of 25 MPa before a lift is made (verified 2026-06-11). Connections are typically grouted dowels, corbels, or bolted cast-in ferrules. Levelling shims and grout tubes allow the element to be set to level before the connection is made permanent. Temporary propping stays in place until structural ties are complete and the engineer signs off.

Coordination discipline

Cast-in services, penetrations, and inserts are fixed at the factory: what is on the shop drawings is what gets cast. Late-design changes become angle grinder or core drill work on site, and both weaken the element or void the lifting certifications. Shop drawing approval for precast mirrors the process for structural steel, and the same lead-time discipline applies. From shop-drawing sign-off to delivery, allow eight to twelve weeks on most Australian precast programs (verified 2026-06-11).

Safety and licensing

Precast and tilt-up erection is HRCW category 14 under model WHS Regulation reg 291: a SWMS is mandatory before any lifting begins (verified 2026-06-11). An exclusion zone must be maintained around any suspended load. The person directing and controlling the lift must hold at minimum an Intermediate Rigging licence (RI), which covers tilt-up and precast work under the national high-risk work licence scheme (verified 2026-06-11). See rigging for licence levels.

Tilt-up is a related method where panels are cast flat on the floor slab, then tilted up by crane. Precast is the factory counterpart: the panels arrive from off site, not from the slab beneath them.

Also known as: precast, off-site concrete, prefabricated concrete.

Category: Materials / Concrete.

See also

References

Last updated: 2026-06-11. Verified: 2026-06-11. Quarterly review for currency.

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