Lecture 1:

Construction Industry
Sectors
CED-304
Construction Planning & Management

Engr. Adnan Shah

Department of Civil engineering
There are four basic sectors of the
industry:
 Residential Construction
 Commercial/Building Construction
 Industrial Construction
 Heavy/Engineering construction
1. Residential Construction
1. Residential Construction
• This sector represents the largest of all the
construction sectors.
• Housing construction takes many forms:
individual homes,
 apartments,
 condominiums,
 town-houses,
 prefabricated units such as modular
manufactured homes.
• Residential construction is funded by private
individuals or developers or financial
institutions.

• Small firms account for approximately 70 to

80 percent of all residential builders, but they
produce only about 20 percent of the homes.

• Although some custom homes may be

designed by an architect.

• In some cases, the contractor may provide

the design for the customer.
• Engineering services are rarely required.
• Construction techniques are relatively simple.
• The project duration for a typical single-
family home is in the three- to six-month
range.

• Even high-end custom homes can be built in

one year or less.
2. Commercial/Building
Construction
Commercial/Building Construction
 Includes buildings that are erected for
institutional, educational , light industrial,
commercial, social, religious, governmental and
recreational purposes.
 The building costs are significantly higher than
with residential construction.
 Commercial construction accounts for 25-35
percent of new construction during a year.
 Project duration is much longer. It is not
uncommon for a commercial project to last three
years or more.
• Funding for these types of building projects
may be private, public, or combined in a
special private-public partnership.

• Commercial projects are very wide-ranging in

scope and it’s difficult to develop expertise in
all areas.

• Additional consultants may also be brought in

for unique requirements of the project.
3. Industrial Construction
Industrial Construction

• This sector is highly specialized and requires

firms with vast resources and significant
construction and engineering expertise.

• Industrial construction accounts for 5-10

percent of new construction during a year.
• The number of contractors qualified to work
within the industrial sector is limited.
• The project types included in this category
are defined primarily by the production
activities that occur within the facility.

• Manufacturing plants, electrical generating

facilities, oil refineries, pipelines, steel mills,
and chemical processing plants are all
examples of industrial construction projects.
4. Heavy/Engineering
construction
Heavy/Engineering construction

• Often referred to as horizontal construction,.

• Heavy civil sector includes roadways, bridges,
tunnels, dams, airports, and railways.

• Heavy Civil construction accounts for 15-20

percent of new construction during a year.
• Heavy civil projects are complex, usually high-
dollar endeavors that take special engineering
know-how.
• This market is huge and growing larger every
day. The need for building and rebuilding of
our nation’s roadways, airports, sewage
plants, and bridges is great.

• Projects are designed by civil engineers and

often the construction management team has
a strong background in civil engineering as
well.