Methods of Construction

Construction Activities
Most construction projects are divided into specific activities of
work, each with a specific objective and length of time to accomplish.
Each activity generally has a specific beginning and ending point and
may require a specific trade classification.

Example: The construction of a reinforced concrete retaining wall

can be divided into following activities:

1 - Layout (planning) of site.

2 - Excavating of earth mechanically.

3 - Excavating of earth manually.

4 - Building and erecting of forms.

5 - Erection of reinforcing steel.

6 - Pouring (Casting) of concrete.

7 - Curing of the concrete.

8 - Removing of forms.

9 - Finishing the concrete surface.

10- Clean up of the site.

The following steps should be followed before commencing the

work program:

 Preparing a list of the project activities.

 Estimating the time required to complete each activity.

 Specifying the time of performing each activity and the sequence

of the activities.

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Site Planning
Job Layout

One of the first duties of the supervisor engineer is to prepare a job

layout for the project.

On this layout a plan should be drawn to scale the area available

for: Offices, Warehouses, Storage of materials, Equipment, Construction
forms and Workshops for fabricating reinforcing steel.

Steps should be considered when preparing the layout

1. Arrange all areas to reduce the time consumed in carrying

materials from storage areas to the project.

2. Materials that are similar in use should be stored, close together,

where possible.

3. The general office and warehouse should be located near the main
entrance in order to avoid travelling around the construction areas
to reach the office.

4. The general warehouse should be near the entrance in order to

facilitate the delivery of materials to be stored in the warehouse.

5. If a warehouse is needed to store heavy materials, such as

machines that will be incorporated into the project, it may be
desirable to consider using additional warehouses, located near
the project.

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 Methods of Construction

The figure shown below illustrates a job layout for a

multistorey reinforced concrete frame building.

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 Methods of Construction

Project Control
Once the process of construction started, controlling the progress of
construction is important. The project must be monitored from beginning
to end to ensure that all of the following targets are met.

Time

Cost Quality

Project control requires continuous monitoring and evaluation of

actual performance relative to the estimated performance for all aspects
of the job that have an impact on cost, time and quality.

1. Quality Control

The plans and specifications are the primary tools used to verify
project quality. The best way to track quality performance on a project is
to prepare and implement a complete quality plan.

The project manager and superintendent usually team up to put this

plan together and use it to monitor the project from start to finish. The
fundamental purpose of the plan is to verify that all materials and
workmanship comply with the requirements spelled out in the plans and
specifications prepared by the designer.

There are some points that should be taken into account for
Quality Control Inspection Program

 Organization and Staffing Responsibilities

 Responsibilities of various organizations
 Number of staff and availability required
 Lines of communication and authority
 Approval and rejection of work
 Authority to stop work

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 Methods of Construction

 Inspection Plan and Field Practices

 Knowledge of contract plans and specifications
 Inspection equipment and resources
 Coordination with contractor's schedule

 Documentation
 Daily inspection reports
 Nonconformance reports

 Material Testing
 Testing schedule
 Testing standards
 Adequacy of on-site laboratory
 Adequacy of off-site laboratory
 Evaluation of testing data and actions required

2. Controlling Cost

The original estimate used for bidding purposes is converted to a

project budget and establishes the benchmark from which project costs
are monitored. During this conversion process, which usually takes
place right after the contract award, quoted prices are confirmed with
purchase orders and subcontracts.

Sometimes there are minor adjustments made in the budget

because of price fluctuations between the time when the job was bid
and when the work begins, but generally the budget contains the same
work packages developed in the estimate.

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3. Time Control

Time controlling is done through scheduling which is a time

phased plan Schedules are used as guides during the performance of
an operation in order to control the pace of activities and to permit
completion of the operation at the desired or required time.
There are a number of different forms of schedules that may be used,
including written schedules:

 The Bar Graph Schedule:

The bar graph schedule or the bar chart schedule is a
graphical relating progress of items of works to time schedule; it
took several forms according to their applications.

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 Methods of Construction

Cumulative progress can be calculated as follows:

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 Methods of Construction

The figure below shows another example of bar graph schedule

for constructing a building:

Deficiencies in Bar Graph Schedules:

 Failure to show relationships between project activities
 Failure to identify those activities which actually control the
project duration
 Failure to show the effect of delay or change in one activity on
the entire project

 The Network Diagram

A network graphically portrays major project activities and their
relationships. There are basically two method of drawing such
diagram: The activity-on-arrow diagram, and the activity-on-node
diagram.

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Methods of Construction

The activity-on-arrow

The activity-on-node

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