Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (FOSTEM) BCEGI

CVE 4216 Construction Technology

ASSIGNMENT 1

Ahmed Zuhal Zaeem I07006326 BCEGI 6 01 - 2014

Question 1 (a) State and explain work process in all stages of construction.
Construction stage comprises of; 1- Site preparation 2- Structural basic amenities work Work involved in construction stage can easily be classified using the figure shown below.
Construction Stage

Structural Work

Installation of Facilities

-Preliminary Work -Earth work -Substructure -Superstructure work

-Installation of plumbing system

-Installation of electrical system

-Installation of communication system -Installation of air conditioning system

1-

Structural Work

Structural work is divided into four parts and they are: a. Preliminary work b. Earth work c. Substructure work d. Superstructure work a. Preliminary work Once the permission is granted to enter a construction site, the following work need to be carried out: Clearing of site, this may involve the demolition of existing buildings, the grubbing out of bushes and trees, and the removal of soil to reduce levels.

Preparing entrance and exit passages to the construction site so that the personals concerned can have a safe passage way in and out of the site. Preparing temporary road Preparing temporary building such as site office, material and equipment store, guard house, accommodation and canteen. Preparing storage for materials such as reinforcing bars, structural steel, sheet pile and others. Preparing fences and hoardings. This prevents unauthorized personals from entering and leaving the site. Preventing animals from entering the site and also it sets out the boundary of the building. This also acts as a protection for the passerby. Also protection against theft. Preparing signboard Preparing project signboard Basic needs such as water supply, electric supply telephone lines, sanitary and others are to be provided for the workers convenience. Then site surveying work is carried out to determine the requirement formation level. This also included the determination of finish floor level and the gradient for drainage using staffs survey and staff level.

b. Earthwork Earthwork involves the process of preparation of the required formation level as in the working drawing. Cut and fill works are carried out with reference to the base level line and datum that had been set-up. Cutting and filling work are carried out until the site level is exactly at the formation level. For area that has higher ground level than the site formation level, cutting of earth is carried out, while earth filling is carried out to the area when the ground level is lower than the formation level. It also involved the excavation of ditches and trenches for drainage and foundation.

c. Substructure Work Groundwork and subsurface works form an essential part of any build, whether it be private dwelling, railway line or new road. Most groundwork and substructure works are undertaken to prepare the site for the proposed structure and to create foundations necessary for its support. Substructure refers to all parts of construction members that are built below the ground level or below the water proofing layer. This includes; - piling works (if needed). - Foundation, - Column stump, - Underground floor (lower floor and wall) - Foundation base floor.

On sloping sites retaining walls may have to be constructed to make a level development platform to enable the best usage of the site area to be achieved.

Before the substructure can be built, it is required to carry out a ground investigation at the site, once planning permission has been granted. enable geotechnical data to be gathered for foundation design purposes to allow cost effective and efficient development of the site. The construction of a substructure begins after the setting out of the area has being carried out. The setting out area usually includes pegging, set ranging poles, setting up level. Normally, once the positions of the foundation and wall have been identified, the excavation works begins. If the condition of the excavated soil is soft and loose, temporary trench support will be constructed to prevent any collapse of soil. For the large construction with heavy load, pile driving work is carried out before the construction of the foundation. The work has to be done based on the working drawing and work specifications that have been specified. Piles are driven at specific points. Once the piling work completed, excavation work around the piles will be carried out for the construction of pile cap. Concrete at the pile head will then be hacked and removed until to the marked point at the base of the pile cap. The exposed reinforcement will be bent and casted together with the pile cap to provide structural continuity. Next formwork for the foundation is prepared and then reinforcement is placed inside the formwork. This is followed by the fabrication of reinforcement for the stump. Concrete is then poured into the formwork and is left to harden before ground beam and solid ground floor slab work begin. Area surrounding and above the hardened substructure are covered back with the original soil. Once the substructure work has been completed, the construction of superstructure work begins.

d. Superstructure Work Superstructure building consists of all parts of the structure that are built above the substructure, which is above the ground level. Superstructure work for building are built in stages and it begins with the construction of structural members such as column, ground beam, first floor beam, solid ground floor, upper floor beam, roof beam, and roof frame. This is followed by the other superstructure members such as wall, door, window, stairs, ceiling, roof, ceiling, roof covering and finishing work.

2) Installation of Facilities While structural work is in progress, basic building facilities such as mechanical and electrical work for plumbing system, clean water supply, electrical supply, communication, and telecommunication system as well multimedia system, air conditioning, fire prevention system and sanitary system are to be prepared.

Other than the above, basic facilities outside the building such as preparing name signage for construction area, entrance and exit signboard, drainage, landscape, and others are prepared for convenience of all party. On the top of that, the cleaning work of the construction site must be done before handling over the project to the client.

b) Elaborate work process during analysis and design stage.

Analysis and Design Stage Information gathered from the site investigation is analyzed before carrying out the design work of the project. The analysis and design stage involved works such as selection of site, site surveying, soil investigation, construction design, prepare drawings, work specifications, preparation of detail drawings and work schedules as well as bill of quantities to estimate the project cost. 1. Selection of the site Information needs to be analyzed, studied and obtained before making any selection of the construction site. All consultant involved have to visit the construction site to choose and decide on the most suitable orientation for the project. Some of the factors to be considered when selecting a construction site are as follows: a. Location and area of the construction site b. Ground topography and beautiful scenery c. Existing infrastructures and public facilities such as road entrance to the construction site, electricity, source of water supply, drainage system and telephone. 2. Site surveying The position and location of a construction site are identified by surveyors from the data obtained from site surveying work as well as data and information from survey and geological map produced by the Survey and Mapping Department. Based on the data and information obtained, the position and location of the construction site can be determined. Thereafter, surveying work is carried out to determine the actual location of the site boundary markers. Based on the boundary markers, the area of the site, ground level and grid level of the site can be identified to determine the ground profile of the site. Information gathered from the survey work is used to prepare the formation level of the formation site. 3. Site investigation Soil investigation is one of the work processes being carried out in a construction process. The objectives of soil investigation are to identify soil strata and determine the soil

strength as well as to validate and to gather more information. Information obtained is used to prepare a safe and economical foundation design. Things that need to be done during the soil investigation are: a. Obtain information on the condition of every soil layer including types of soil and properties, bearing strength, description and depth of bedrock at various locations and depth of proposed base for the design of foundation. b. Determine the ground water level in the soil, water pressure at that area and identify suitable techniques to decrease the ground water level. 4. Designing work During the construction design, it involves 3 stages, namely Architectural, Structural and Civil Engineering Design. Architectural design consists of arrangement of site plan, building plan with an emphasis on aesthetics and space requirement of a construction. In this design stage, detail drawings are prepared for work items required in the structural design. Structural design is prepared based on architectural site plan and building plan. The purpose is to determine the size and type of foundation for the sub-structure and super structure of the construction. Civil engineering design is prepared based on site plan to determine the path for water supply, sewage, road, drain and infrastructure facilities. The design must meet the requirements of the Fire and Rescue Department and the Uniform Building By Law 1984. At the same time, electrical and mechanical designs are prepared based on the architectural site and building plan. 5. Preparing the Drawings and Work Specifications Information obtained from the construction design is used to prepare working drawings. The working drawing consists of design structural, and service drawings. At the same time, standard specifications for construction work are prepared. Specification documents consist of written work items that explain the building specifications and construction work that need to be done. Building specifications include construction materials, type, and grade of material used. If there are any changes or amendments to the standard Specifications, it must be done through Addendum to the specification. In addition, if there are important descriptions which affect the value and cost of project which cannot be described in the working drawings, it will be specified in the Standard Work Specification. 6. Cost Estimation Project cost estimation is prepared based on working drawings and standard specifications, whether in the form of bill of quantities or lump sum. Based on the project cost estimation, progress cost and overall project cost can be determined

Question 2 a) Describe the principles and factors of construction plant selections. (7 marks)
There are 3 principles; 1) Technical efficiency This is its ability to meet the requirement and demand of the construction site. The specification of the plant should fit into the correct time frame required for the job. For the plant to achieve technical efficiency, the plant should be able to produce the required output within the time frame. 2) Commercial and financial ability It should be able to fit into the cost of the construction that has been set for the machinery. If the cost of the machinery is too high, it may not be feasible to use the machinery. 3) Availability The plant of machinery should fit into the time frame of the construction and also be available. Availability depends on the location and the number of suppliers. An excavator being delivered from Kuala Lumpur to a site in Johor Baharu may not be practical, if there are enough suppliers willing to supply the same excavator in Johor Baharu.

Factors Selecting Equipment; - The function to be carried out - Standard or special types of equipment - Capacity of the equipment - Method of operation - Replacement of parts - Maintenance and repairs - Investment costs - Operating cost For example, for a demolition work of 8 storey building, to reach out to level 8, high reach excavator that has a boom ranging from 21-25 meters is required. It should have demolition guarding to safe guard the driver, high-visibility cabs and smooth, confident hydraulics, should be able to attach 2tons. For this, Volvo EC380D HR has the capability to reach up to 35m, attachable up to 3.5tonnes pulverizers, severe-duty grapples, crushers, hammers and

shears. It is stable on un even ground. The cost for heavy load excavator will be high, but this gets the job done faster. Therefore it is suitable as it reduces the work time hence reducing the cost.

b) Identify & compare various types of construction equipment in terms of functions, capabilities & selections.
Item 1. Type Moving Machine Machines Backhoe loader Functions Backhoe loaders are very common and can be used for a wide variety of tasks: construction, small demolitions, and light transportation of building materials, powering building equipment, digging holes/excavation, landscaping, breaking asphalt, and paving roads. Capabilities With smallest backhoe in the range of just 1.4m wide, with the ability to turn at its own axis due to its skid steer design, it can operate virtually at any environment. Selections Backhoe is very common in urban engineering and small construction projects such as building a small house, fixing urban roads, etc.

2.

Moving Machine

Backpusher/Farm Tractor

It is used for levelling the land to the required level.

Tractors can be fitted with engineering tools such as dozer blades, buckets hoes, and ripper, etc. When attached to engineering tools, the tractor is called as engineering vehicle.

The durability and engine power of tractors make them very suitable for engineering tasks.

Item 3.

Type Stationery Machines

Machines Position Machines: Dragline

Functions Suitable in excavating and soft soil below the level of soil.

Capabilities May only be used as a rope operated machine, a comparable hydraulic system is not available.

Selections It is chosen when the bucket is needed to cast out long from a boom, so that wide apart of excavation and dumping is possible. For example, river bottom, channels, canals, ditches and trench.

4.

Stationery Machines

Tower Crane

Crane is commonly used to transport the materials within the area of site.

Maximum unsupported height: 80 meters. The crane can have a total height much greater than 265 feet if it is tied into the building. Maximum reach: 70 meters. Maximum lifting power: 19.8 tons Counter weights: 20 tons

Crane is commonly used to transport the materials within the area of site because of its high accessibility within the site without any obstacles problem.

Question 3 Assuming that you have been appointed as safety manager for the construction of 3 blocks of high rise condominium
(a) Discuss how would you institute and manage the job site safety so as to comply with the OSHA requirements.

Understand the federal government policies concerning safety in the workspace. Assign safety and health responsibilities. This includes assigning safety officers for the construction site. As the site in huge, it may be necessary to employ more than one safety officer. The safety officers should be a certified and experience safety officers. The safety officers should have the authority to correct any safety and health related hazard in the construction site. Give safety and health educative presentations to all employers. Ensure that all employers go through the safety induction program before they can start work in the site. All employers should be informed of the construction hazards. Conduct OSHA based health training. Keeping a record of these trainings. Giving assurance to all employers that they have the right to complain to the safety officer or the project manager in case they feel that there is a threat to their safety inside the construction site. Weekly conduction of supervisor safety and training. Conduct regular walk through inspections of construction sites Provide guidance to supervisors for conducting safety training of their personnel Implement Hazard Communication Program & oversee industrial hygiene activities Issue various work permits (i.e. to confined space) as required Ensure medical preparedness, assistance and supplies are readily available

(b) Identify the 5 major construction hazards and suggest preventive measures for these hazards.
1) Housekeeping Good housekeeping prevents accidents from happening. For good housekeeping, - Provide safe access to the job site. - Keep walking/working surfaces clear and clean. - Keep stairways, passageways, and gangways free of material, supplies, and obstructions. - Pick-up and place all debris or trash in its proper container to prevent from tripping. - Hammer in, bend, or remove any nails protruding from scrap lumber from a worker stepping on them. - Besides that, stored materials are stacked neatly and away from work areas. All workers must be encouraged to keep the construction site clean and accident free.

2) Slippery Surfaces Make sure sand or some other slip resistant material is applied to icy walking surfaces. Clean up oil and water spills immediately. Clean any objects that can cause a slip when stepped on. Typical ones include: welding rod ends, stubs from conduit and small diameter pipe. Put up sign boards where necessary to indicate where the surface maybe slippery. Make sure that the workers wear footwear with a good grip.

3) Hearing protection Noise can be damaging to your workers. If noise is continuous at a level of 85-90 decibels it can seriously impair hearing. Workers should be encouraged and made to wear, earmuffs or ear plugs. They should be provided for all workers in site. Such essential gear does not impede speech or any warning signals, but will reduce unwanted noise. Hearing protection should be regularly checked and maintained to ensure it remains effective.

4) Scaffolding Elevated working surfaces must be fully planked with toe boards, handrails and mid rails installed. Scaffolds must be erected with vertical members resting on a solid base with the scaffold level. Never climb the outside of scaffold. Ladders are always required. Never climb a ladder while carrying tools or materials. Instead, use a hoist line.

5) Ladders Step ladders are a major source for construction accidents. Make sure they are used properly and maintained in good condition. Damaged or broken ladders should be removed from service immediately. Never lean step ladders against a wall or work surface. Never separate extension ladders. Always make sure extension ladders are tied off.

Question 4 Site preparations and temporary works are important aspects for every construction sites. (a) Discuss the preparations that need to be carried out at site before the construction begins
i) Clearing the site This may involve the demolition of existing buildings, the grubbing out of bushes and trees, and the removal of soil to reduce levels. The method chosen for conducting the site clearance work will be determined by the scale of development, and by consideration for any adjacent buildings. Only trees and plants to be retained are as part of the property. During clearing of trees, it is good to check whether the trees belong to any endangered species. This will be done during the environment assessment stage.

ii) Setting out the site Establishing baseline from which the whole of building can be set out. The position of this line must be clearly marked on site so that it can be re-established at any time. For on-site measuring a steel tape should be used (30 m would be a suitable length). Linen and plasticcoated tapes are also available. The disadvantage with linen tapes is that they are liable to stretch. After the baseline has been set out, marked and checked, the main lines of the building can be set out, each corner being marked with a stout peg. A check should now be made of the setting-out lines for right angles and correct lengths. There are several methods of checking whether a right angle has been established, and in fact the setting out would have been carried out by one of these methods. A check must still be made, and it is advisable to check by a different method to that used for the setting out. The setting-out procedure and the methods of checking the right angles as the figure below. After the setting out of the main building lines has been completed and checked, profile boards are set up. These are set up

clear of the foundation trench positions to locate the trench, foundations and walls. Profile boards are required at all trench and wall intersections.

Figure showing typical builders square

iii)

Establishing a Datum level

Datum is defined a horizontal plane of known height to which the elevation of all other points is referenced. The mean sea level is the level generally adopted as a datum. The datum point should be a stable position on, or close to, the site such as the top of a concrete curb or the road. It is important that all levels in a building are taken from this fixed point (datum). This point should be now be established whenever it should be related to an ordnance benchmark. Once the benchmark has been set, leveling work, accurate measurement of the site angles can be carried out.

Figure showing common types of benchmarks

b) Briefly explain the advantages of using Scaffoldings and Shoring in construction sites
Shoring The American National Standards Institute describes shoring as The vertical supporting members in a formwork system. Shoring in construction is a process for giving temporary support to a structure in order to prevent it from collapsing while part of the building is being removed or replaced. In general it gives support to; Walls which are dangerous or are likely to become unstable due to subsidence, bulging or leaning.

To avoid failure of sound walls caused by the removal of sub-adjacent support such as where a basement is being constructed near to a sound wall. During demolition works to give support an adjacent building or structure. Support the upper part of wall during formation of a large opening in the lower section of the wall. Give support to a floor or roof thus enabling a support wall to be removed and replaced with a beam. Tempory and will be removed once the work has been completed. Safety factor for shoring varies from 2 to 4 the maximum design load.

Scalfolding The American National Standards Institute describes scaffolding as a temporary elevated or suspended work unit and its supporting structure used for supporting worker(s) or materials, or both, Advantages of using scaffolding are; temporary structure from which persons can gain access to a place of work in order to carry out building operations. scaffolding offers is that it provides reach above arms length, for work on higher walls or ceilings It provides a firm platform for workers to stand, sit and work from. It can be made of a variety of strong, lightweight materials such as aluminium, which enables it to stay even steadier.

Common practice to use a factor of safety of 4, hence it is able to support 4 times the maximum design load without experiencing failure. Tube and coupler scaffolds can be assembled in many different ways because of the flexibility of their assembly dimensions in the horizontal and vertical planes. Tube and coupler scaffolds are more adaptable since they are not restricted by frame width in the transverse direction or by brace length in the longitudinal direction or by frame height in the vertical direction

Figure showing tube and coupler scaffolds

c) Elaborate on the general design and requirements of the formwork installation at site.
According to Australian code- Formwork is the surface, supports and framing used to define the shape of concrete until the concrete is self-supporting. General design for formwork; Sufficiently rigid to prevent undue deflection during the placing of the concrete Sufficient strength to carry the working load and the weight or pressure of the wet concrete and to withstand incidental loading and vibration of the concrete Set to line and level within the specified tolerance and include any camber (bend) which may be required Joints should be sufficiently tight to prevent loss of mortar from the concrete. For this a sealant may be used. Size of panels or units should permit easy handling Design should permit and orderly and simple method of erection and striking Arrangement of panels should be such that they are not trapped during striking and it should be possible to strike side from beams without disturbing the soffit formwork

General requirements for formwork are; Should be strong enough to support the load of wet concrete which is generally considered to be approximately 24kN/m3 It must not be able to deflect under load which would include the loading of wet concrete, self-weight and any superimposed loads such as operatives and barrow runs over the formwork. Normally the deflect limit is 1/270th of the individual span of the formwork member. It must be accurately set out. Concrete being a fluid when placed, it will take up the shape of the formwork which must therefore be of the correct shape, size and in the right position It must have grout-tight joints.

Grout leakage can cause honey-combing of the surface or produce fins which have to be removed. The making good of defective concrete surfaces is both time consuming and costly. Grout leakage can be prevented by using sheet materials and sealing the joints with flexible foamed polyurethane strip or by using a special self-adhesive tape

Reference
1- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (OSHA 3150:2002) Home A Guide to Scaffold Use in the Construction Industry 2- American National Standards Institute (ANSI/ASSE A10.8-2011). Scaffolding Safety Requirements 3- Standards Australia (AS 3610- 1995) Formwork for Concrete 4- British Standard Institute. (BS 5975:2008) Code of practice for temporary works procedures and the permissible stress design of falsework 5- Roy Chudley, Roger Greeno (2005). Construction Technology, Education Limited 4th Ed. Pearsions

6- David Doran (2004). Site Engineers Manual, 2nd Ed. Whittles Publishing 7- Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Safety requirements for scaffolding. [Online] Available from : https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=9720&p_table=S TANDARDS 8- Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Site clearing. [Online] Available from : https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS &p_id=10771 9- Jackson Building Centre. Site Clearing. [Online] Available from :
http://www.jacksonbc.com/Self-Build/Site-Clearing/

10- Volvo. Volvo Construction Equipment. [Online] Available from : http://www.volvoce.com/dealers/engb/vcegb/products/demolitionequipment/highreachdemolition/EC380DHR_EC480DH R_EC700CHR/Pages/featuresandbenefits.aspx