Rich Text Editor File : construction types

7/22/2019 Rich Text Editor File : construction types

1/6

The 3 Types of Construction Projects: Building, Heavy/Highway and Industrial

In general, there are three types of construction: building, heavy/highway, and industrial. Eachtype of construction requires a unique team to plan, design, construct, and maintain the project

Building constructionBuilding construction for several apartment blocks. The blue material is insulation cladding,which will be covered later.

Building construction is the process of adding structure to real property. The vast majority ofbuilding construction projects are small renovations, such as addition of a room, or renovation ofa bathroom. Often, the owner of the property acts as laborer, paymaster, and design team for theentire project. However, all building construction projects include some elements in common -design, financial, and legal considerations. Many projects of varying sizes reach undesirable endresults, such as structural collapse, cost overruns, and/or litigatios reason, those with experiencein the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure apositive outcome.

Building construction is procured privately or publicly utilizing various delivery methodologies,including hard bid, negotiated price, traditional, management contracting, constructionmanagement-at-risk, design & build and design-build bridging.

The Main systems of Procurement are:-

Procurement describes the merging of activities undertaken by the client to obtain a building.There are many different methods of construction procurement, however the three main typesare: -

1 Traditional 2 Design and Build 3 Management Contracting

Traditional

This is the most common method of construction procurement; is well established andrecognised throughout. Here, the Architect or Building Surveyor usually acts as the projectManager. His or her role will be to administer the contract, prepare the specification, tender theworks and manage the works from inception to completion. There are direct contractual linksbetween the client and the main contractor. Any subcontractor will have a direct contractualrelationship with the main contractor. There is no direct contract with the client. This means thereis only one point of contact on the contractual side and a single point of responsibility.

Design and Build

This is probably the second most common method of construction procurement and one that caninclude an entire completed package such as fixtures and fittings and equipment wherenecessary, to produce a completed fully functional building. In some cases, the Design and Build(D & B) package can also include to find the site, arranging funding and applying for allnecessary statutory consents.

The client will produce a list of clients requirements for a project, for which the D & B contractorwill translate into a set of contactors proposals. The latter will then be altered and adapted untilthe client is satisfied that the D & B contractor knows exactly what the client wants from his or hercompleted building.

D & B is usually used for less complicated projects such as office or industrial buildings, althoughit has been known to have been used successfully on some more complicated projects.

The advantages D & B has over some other methods of construction procurement is that it can


2/6

lead to decrease design and construction costs and a reduction in the overall project time.Projects procured by this method have a better chance of being completed on time and withinbudget.

However disadvantages often include blandness of a design, clients expectations not being met,and poorer technical ability of the D & B contractor and, in some cases, inflexibil ity of the design.

The client has a direct contractual relationship with the D & B contractor but can also have a

direct contractual relationship with the architectural if input is required in this regard as anadditional service.

Management Procurement Systems

Here, unlike the other two roles briefly described above, the client plays an active role in theprocurement system by entering into separate contracts with the Designer, the ConstructionManager and individual work contractors. The client takes on the active roles of managing allthese separate contracts, ensuring that they all work smoothly and effectively together. Becausethe client is involved in key decision making processes he or she must retain complete controlover the works at all times. Sometimes a Project Manager is employed to aid the client.

Management procurement systems are often used to speed up the procurement processes, allowthe client greater flexibility in design variation throughout the contract, the ability to appointindividual work contractors, separate contractual responsibility on each individual throughout thecontract and a greater client control.

Residential construction

More and more families are looking into building their own homes, or contracting to have thembuilt. Construction practices, technologies, and resources conform to state and local buildingcodes.

Heavy/Highway construction

Heavy/Highway construction is the process of adding infrastructure to our built environment.Owners of these projects are usually government agencies, either at the national or local level.

As in building construction, heavy/highway construction has design, financial, and legalconsiderations, however these projects are not usually undertaken for-profit, but to service thepublic interest. However, heavy/highway construction projects are also undertaken by largeprivate corporations, including, among others, the golf courses, harbors, power companies,railroads, and mines, who undertake the construction of access roads, dams, railroads, generalsite grading, and massive earthwork projects. As in building construction, the owner will

assemble a team to create an overall plan to ensure that the goals of the project are met.

Authority having jurisdiction

In construction, the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) is the governmental agency or subagencywhich regulates the construction process. In most cases, this is the municipality in which thebuilding is located. However, construction performed for supra-municipal authorities are usuallyregulated directly by the owning authority, which becomes the AHJ.

During the planning of a building, the zoning and planning boards of the AHJ will review theoverall compliance of the proposed building with the municipal General Plan and zoning

regulations. Once the proposed building has been approved, detailed civil , architectural, andstructural plans must be submitted to the municipal building department (and sometimes thepublic works department) to determine compliance with the building code and sometimes for fitwith existing infrastructure. Often, the municipal fire department will review the plans forcompliance with fire-safety ordinances and regulations.Construction on a building in Kansas City


3/6

Before the foundation can be dug, contractors are typically required to notify utility companies,either directly or through a company such as Dig Safe to ensure that underground utility lines canbe marked. This lessens the likelihood of damage to the existing electrical, water, sewage,phone, and cable facilities, which could cause outages and potentially hazardous situations.During the construction of a building, the municipal building inspector inspects the buildingperiodically to ensure that the construction adheres to the approved plans and the local buildingcode. Once construction is complete and a final inspection has been passed, an occupancy

permit may be issued.

An operating building must remain in compliance with the fire code. The fire code is enforced bythe local fire department.

Any changes made to a building including its use, expansion, its structural integrity, and fireprotection items, require acceptance by the AHJ. Anything affecting basic safety functions, nomatter how small they may appear, may require the owner to apply for a building permit, toensure proper review of the contemplated changes against the building code.

Routes into construction careers

There are several routes to the different careers within the construction industry. Craft industriesoffer jobs where employees train while they work through apprenticeships and other trainingschemes.

Technical occupations in the UK require GCSE qualifications or vocational equivalents, eitherinitially or through on the job apprenticeship training. One example is that of Quantity Surveying.Quantity Surveyors are effectively cost managers within the construction industry and may be:employed by Chartered Surveyor practices (referred to often as "PQS" derived from the termPrivate Quantity Surveyor) who normally represent the client's interest and liaise with the

Architect on the client's team, preparing cost plans, preparing tender documentation, giving cost

advice on variations, preparing monthly valuation payments to the contractor, agreeing the finalaccount with the contractor, generally looking after the client's interests (although the role can bereferred to within some standard forms of contract as being a neutral role to value 'the' costs ofthe project), in practice it tends to be looking after the client's interests primarily; or employed byMain Contractors, in which role they manage the contractor's costs, place subcontract orders,make payments to subcontractors, claim monthly valuations from the client's surveyor (PrivateQS or "PQS"), cost manage variations, prepare internal cost reports to senior management anddirectors, generally managing the project commercially and protect the contractor's interestscontractually. Contractual aspects such as delays and extensions of time issues are also withinthe remit of the Quantity Surveyor (QS); or employed by Subcontractors, in which role they carryout a similar function to Main Contractor's QS's. The main difference is that they are normally

submitting monthly valuation claims for payment to the Main Contractor, whereas the ManinContractor claims from the client's Surveyor (usually a Chartered Surveyor practice or Private QS"PQS"). Large subcontractors may also employ sub-subcontractors, thereby making the QS rolesimilar in the cost management role, including placing sub-contract orders (to sub-subcontractors), valuing and claiming variations, preparing cost reports to senior management,etc; or employed by Local Authorities (local Councils, etc), whereby the role is broadly similar tothat of private practice surveyors in cost managing project from the funding client's perspective (inthis case the Local Authority council within which they are employed), dealing usually with maincontractors; or employed by Developers; whereby the role may be a mixture of the role of aclient's surveyor (the funding client being the developer in this case) mixed with that of a maincontractor in possibly employing package sub-contractors directly Other information: The most

recognised body for surveyors in construction is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (the'RICS'). It is more common for a private practice surveyor or local authority employed surveyor tobe a member of the RICS, though RICS qualified surveyors do work within main contractors andsub-contractors (the writer of this Quantity Surveyor segment qualified RICS within privatepractice working on the client's side, then migrated over to work for a large sub-contractor. Such


4/6

cross-overs are quite common between client's side and contracting). Quantity Surveying offers agreat diversity of roles and in career path, working on a variety of projects and within differentareas and facets of the construction industry. The qualification of "Chartered Quantity Surveyor"has been superseded as the RICS rules have replaced this with simply "Chartered Surveyor"(except those existing Chartered QS's who registered to keep the Chartered QS title by a datenow passed), and Chartered Quantity Surveyor practices have now largely adopted the title of"Construction Cost Consultants" and having the right to call themselves simply "CharteredSurveyors" - though still often referred to in the UK construction industry as "PQS's". It is also

possible for Construction Cost Consultant practices to be occasionally employed by localauthorities, contractors or subcontractors, on a particular construction project although not if theyare already employed as surveyors for the same construction project.

As well as the role of Quantity Surveyor, other professions within the UK construction industry arefor example: Architect, Engineer, Project Manager, Planner, Safety Officer. These roles may be in'Building' (buildings such as Offices, Shopping Centres, Housing); or 'Civil Engineering'(structures such as Bridges, Dams, Motorways/Roads/Highways, Harbours/Ferry Terminals).While projects such as construction of new Power Stations or Naval Bases may comprise acombination of both 'building' and 'civil engineering'.

Graduate roles in the construction industry are filled by people with at least a foundation degreein subjects such as civil engineering, building and construction management. Graduates oftenreceive specialised positions and gain qualifications such as chartered status.

[edit] Tender requirements

[edit] Industrial construction

Industrial construction, though a relatively small part of the entire construction industry, is a veryimportant component. Owners of these projects are usually large, for-profit, industrialcorporations. These corporations can be found in such industries as medicine, petroleum,

chemical, power generation, manufacturing, etc. Processes in these industries require highlyspecialized expertise in planning, design, and construction. As in building and heavy/highwayconstruction, this type of construction requires a team of individuals to ensure a successfulproject.Design team

A construction crew

In the modern industrialized world, construction usually involves the translation of paper orcomputer based designs into reality. A formal design team may be assembled to plan thephysical proceedings, and to integrate those proceedings with the other parts. The design

usually consists of drawings and specifications, usually prepared by a design team includingarchitects, interior designers, surveyors, civil engineers, cost engineers (or quantity surveyors),mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, structural engineers, and fire protection engineers.The design team is most commonly employed by (i.e. in contract with) the property owner. Underthis system, once the design is completed by the design team, a number of constructioncompanies or construction management companies may then be asked to make a bid for thework, either based directly on the design, or on the basis of drawings and a bill of quantitiesprovided by a quantity surveyor. Following evaluation of bids, the owner will typically award acontract to the lowest responsible bidder.

The modern trend in design is toward integration of previously separated specialties, especially

among large firms. In the past, architects, interior designers, engineers, developers, constructionmanagers, and general contractors were more likely to be entirely separate companies, even inthe larger firms. Presently, a firm that is nominally an "architecture" or "construction management"firm may have experts from all related fields as employees, or to have an associated companythat provides each necessary skill. Thus, each such firm may offer itself as "one-stop shopping"


5/6

for a construction project, from beginning to end. This is designated as a "design Build" contractwhere the contractor is given a performance specification, and must undertake the project fromdesign to construction, while adhering to the performance specifications.Construction of a pre-fab house

Several project structures can assist the owner in this integration, including design-build,partnering, and construction management. In general, each of these project structures allows theowner to integrate the services of architects, interior designers, engineers, and constructors

throughout design and construction. In response, many companies are growing beyondtraditional offerings of design or construction services alone, and are placing more emphasis onestablishing relationships with other necessary participants through the design-build process.

The increasing complexity of construction projects creates the need for design professionalstrained in all phases of the project's life-cycle and develop an appreciation of the building as anadvanced technological system requiring close integration of many sub-systems and theirindividual components, including sustainability. Building engineering is an emerging disciplinethat attempts to meet this new challenge.

Financial advisors

Many construction projects suffer from preventable financial problems. Underbids ask for too littlemoney to complete the project. Cash flow problems exist when the present amount of fundingcannot cover the current costs for labor and materials, and because they are a matter of havingsufficient funds at a specific time, can arise even when the overall total is enough. Fraud is aproblem in many fields, but is notoriously prevalent in the construction field. Financial planningfor the project is intended to ensure that a solid plan, with adequate safeguards and contingencyplans, is in place before the project is started, and is required to ensure that the plan is properlyexecuted over the life of the project.

Mortgage bankers, accountants, and cost engineers are likely participants in creating an overall

plan for the financial management of the building construction project. The presence of themortgage banker is highly likely even in relatively small projects, since the owner's equity in theproperty is the most obvious source of funding for a building project. Accountants act to study theexpected monetary flow over the life of the project, and to monitor the payouts throughout theprocess. Cost engineers apply expertise to relate the work and materials involved to a propervaluation. Cost overruns with government projects have occurred when the contractor was ableto identify change orders or changes in the project resulting in large increases in cost, which arenot subject to competition by other firm as they have already been eliminated from considerationafter the initial bid.

Large projects can involve highly complex financial plans. As portions of a project are completed,

they may be sold, supplanting one lender or owner for another, while the logistical requirementsof having the right trades and materials available for each stage of the building constructionproject carries forward. In many English speaking countries, but not the United States, projectstypically use quantity surveyors.

Legal considerationsThis article does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.This article has been tagged since October 2006.The construction of Federation Tower in Moscow, Russia, the tallest building in Europe. Turner

construction is the general contractor for the project.The construction of Federation Tower in Moscow, Russia, the tallest building in Europe. Turnerconstruction is the general contractor for the project.

A construction project must fit into the legal framework governing the property. These include


6/6

governmental regulations on the use of property, and obligations that are created in the processof construction.

The project must adhere to zoning and building code requirements. Constructing a project thatfails to adhere to codes will not benefit the owner. Some legal requirements come from malum inse considerations, or the desire to prevent things that are indisputably bad - bridge collapses orexplosions. Other legal requirements come from malum prohibitum considerations, or things thatare a matter of custom or expectation, such as isolating businesses to a business district and

residences to a residential district. An attorney may seek changes or exemptions in the lawgoverning the land where the building will be built, either by arguing that a rule is inapplicable(the bridge design won't collapse), or that the custom is no longer needed (acceptance of live-work spaces has grown in the community).

A construction project is a complex net of contracts and other legal obligations, each of whichmust be carefully considered. A contract is the exchange of a set of obligations between two ormore parties, but it is not so simple a matter as trying to get the other side to agree to as much aspossible in exchange for as little as possible. The time element in construction means that adelay costs money, and in cases of bottlenecks, the delay can be extremely expensive. Thus, thecontracts must be designed to ensure that each side is capable of performing the obligations set

out. Contracts that set out clear expectations and clear paths to accomplishing thoseexpectations are far more likely to result in the project flowing smoothly, whereas poorly draftedcontracts lead to confusion and collapse.

Legal advisors in the beginning of a construction project seek to identify ambiguities and otherpotential sources of trouble in the contract structure, and to present options for preventingproblems. Throughout the process of the project, they work to avoid and resolve conflicts thatarise. In each case, the lawyer facilitates an exchange of obligations that matches the reality ofthe project.

Interaction of expertise

Design, finance, and legal aspects overlap and interrelate. The design must be not onlystructurally sound and appropriate for the use and location, but must also be financially possibleto build, and legal to use. The financial structure must accommodate the need for building thedesign provided, and must pay amounts that are legally owed. The legal structure must integratethe design into the surrounding legal framework, and enforces the financial consequences of theconstruction process.

Rich Text Editor File : construction types

Documents

Transcript of Rich Text Editor File : construction types