Roles and Experiences in Construction and Building Procurement | Desklib

This reflective essay showcases the roles and experiences in construction and building procurement. It covers the design of an isolated footing column, construction contracts evaluation, and more. The essay also discusses various types of contracts such as lump sum contract, cost plus percentage, project management, and more. The author also shares their preference for the use of lump sum contract with the subject of rise and fall as specifications. Get access to solved assignments, essays, dissertations and more at Desklib.

CIVIL- CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING PROCUREMENT
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

Introduction
This particular reflective essay is an exhibition of the roles and experiences which I embarked on while working with Taka
Construction Consultancy Company. I considered this particular time as the perfect opportunity for developing my employability
skills while handling the consultancy project. Joining the company as a junior engineer and cognizant of the fact engineering ethics
demand that I participate only in my areas of competence, I joined the industrial procurement department engineering wing. As a
consultancy firm, the company had rolled out a program meant to ensure that clients are as satisfied as possible . One of the strategies
included shedding light on the types of contracts and other related terms of contracts related to construction industry. As a junior
engineer I was tasked to deliver and provide assistance in several occasions. In this particular piece of writing I have only captured
three scenarios which I considered to be outstanding .In any of the scenario that I played a role, I would be later required to keep the
records for future references.
SCENARIO 1: Design of the isolated footing column
Taka has been very active construction company in the previous 18 years. During the period that I was joining the company, it was
involved in at least five different projects in various locations. These projects were at different stages/phases of construction based on
the briefings that I got from my colleagues. As a junior engineer I was tasked with the roles of an engineer as a designer. In this case I
was to design an isolated footing column measuring 400mmx400mm with the diameter of 12-20mm as longitudinal bars. The service
load which was expected to be handled was 1500kN M20 as well as having Fe415. In this design I was to assume the safe bearing

capacity of the soil as 250kN/m2 at a depth of 1m below the level of the ground. In this case, I deliberately took M20 and Fe415 in
order to have minimized errors of the design.
Step1: Obtaining the size of the footing.
Using AutoCAD software, I quickly designed the basic components of the entire footing column. This was the easiest way to get the
size of the footing.

Considering that the value of P= 1500 kN, qc = 250 kN/m2 at a depth of 1 m below the ground level. Taking the weight of the footing
and backfill as 10 per cent of the load, the required base area was obtained as follows
= 1500(1.1)/250 = 6.6 m2 .
This meant that Provide= 2.6 m x 2.6 m, area = 6.76 m2
Step 2: Footing slab thickness determination based on one-way shear
In this case, I considered the factored soil pressure as = 1500(1.5)/(2.6)(2.6) = 0.3328 N/mm2 , say, 0.333 N/mm2 .In this case I
assumed that p = 0.25% in the footing slab, for M 20 concrete c τ = 0.36 N/mm2. Vu = 0.36(2600)d and Vu (actual) = 0.333(2600)
(1100 - d). The condition which I intended to create was that Vu should be more than or equal to the actual Vu.: 0.36(2600)d ≥
0.333(2600) (1100 – d) So, d ≥ 528.57 mm. As from this calculation, I obtained the value of Provide d = 536 mm. I did the summation
of all the respects unit lengths in order to get the total depth 536 + 50 + 16 + 8 (with 50 mm diameter and cover of reinforcing bars =
16 mm) = 610 mm.
In order to obtained a properly balanced structure, I consider having or checking for the value of two-way shear and this became step
3.
Step 3: Two-way shear checking

It is known that the critical section will be at a distance of d/2 from the periphery of the column. The value of shear force factored
would be
= 0.333{(2600)2 – (400 + d) 2 }(10)-3 = 1959.34 kN.
I calculated the Shear resistance with the shear strength
= ks c τ = ks(0.25) (fck) 1/2; where ks = 0.5 + β c (cl. 31.6.3 of IS 456).
Here β c = 1.0, ks = 1.5 >/ 1; so ks = 1.0.
The concrete’s strength thus became;
= 0.25 (fck) 1/2 = 1.118 N/mm2 .
Hence the value of shear resistance obtained ;
= (1.118) 4 (936)(536) = 2243.58 kN > 1959.34 kN.
Hence, ok. This was an indication that the depth of the footing is under one-way shear.
Step 4: It involved determination of the gross bearing Capacity
I assumed the weights of concrete and soil as 24 kN/m3 and 20 kN/m3,respectively:

Since the service load = 1500 kN
Footing load = 2.6(2.6)(0.61)(24) = 98.967 kN
Weight of soil = 2.6(2.6)(1.0-0.61)(20) = 52.728 kN ;(Taking the depth of the footing as 1.0 m).
Totaling = 1635.2 kN.
The Gross bearing pressure = 1635.2/(2.6)(2.6) = 241.893 kN/m2 < 250 kN/m2 .
This range implies that it is O.K
Step 5: Determination of Bending moment
In this case I assumed that the critical section will be at the face of the column.
Mu = 0.333(2600)(1100)(550)
Nmm = 523.809 kNm
The footing moment of resistance = Rbd2 in which R = 2.76 .
Moment of resistance = 2.76(2600)(536)(536) = 2061.636 kNm > 523.809 kNm.
The steel area thus was obtained as : Mu = 0.87 fy Ast d {1 – (Ast fy/fck bd)}

Substitution gives Mu = 523.809 kNm,
fy = 415 N/mm2
fck = 20 N/mm2
d = 536 mm,
b = 2600 mm,
But the designed equation was: - 67161.44578 A 2 Ast st + 181.7861758 (105 ) = 6
Upon solution it becomes Ast = 2825.5805 mm2 .
Also it can be solved by Mu/bd2 = 523.809(106 )/(2600)(536)(536) = 0.7013 N/mm2. When SP-16 generates p = 0.2034.
Ast = 0.2034(2600)(536)/100
= 2834.58 mm2 .
The area obtained was close to = 2825.5805 mm2 .
Pu = 1500(1.5) = 2250 kN
The compression value of bearing resistance = 0.45 fck(A1/A2) 1/2.

In the case of column face A1/A2 = 1
For the other face A1/A2 > 2 though it should be taken as 2.
The force transferred to the base thus becomes = 0.45(20)(400)(400) = 1440 kN < 2250 kN.
The force of balance 2250 – 1440 = 810 kN
This has to be transferred by the longitudinal reinforcements, mechanical connectors or dowels. I considered this to be convenient. I
therefore proposed to continue having the longitudinal bars with the dimensions (12-20 mm diameter) into the footing. The required
length of development thus will fall in the range 12-20 mm diameter bars. The assumed level of stress =0.87fy(810/2250) = 129.978
N/mm2 , is 129.978(20)/4(1.6)(1.2)(1.25) = 270.8 mm. In this case bd τ for M 20 = 1.2 N/mm2 .The increased factor of 1.6 was due to
deformation within bars .Also the increased factor of 1.25 was set for the compression effects. The available length = 610 – 50 – 16 –
16 – 16 = 512 mm > 270.8 mm. I considered this value to be O.K I used this values and dimensions to complete the column work will
was assigned to me.
SCENERIO 2 : Construction Contracts Evaluation
As a consultancy firm, the company had rolled out a program meant to ensure that clients are as satisfied as possible (Hoque and Azad
2017). One of the strategies included shedding light on the types of contracts and other related terms of contracts related to
construction industry. As a junior engineer I was tasked to prepare brochures (Small leaflet papers) with detailed explanation of types

of contract that the company would wish to advise clients on. I would be later required to persuade the clients to choose one type of
the contract which Taka Construction Consultancy Company has specialized in.
Lump sum Contract
This is a kind of contract that has a fixed price for all the activities that are related to the construction. The contact is normally known
to include the penalties for the late termination or the incentives for the early termination. The application of the Lump sum contract
can be done in the cases where the project of the construction has a clear scope, a drawing of the construction and a proper outlined
schedule. This is common in the case of small and simple projects. In some cases, the owner could possibly have the orders changed
for work that is unspecified while at the same time take very high risks for taking back the credit for the work that is not completed.
Lump sum subject to rise and fall specifications.
A contract of the lump sum that has a rise and fall clause is that type of contact in which the risk of varying the cost can be possibly
shared with the client as opposed to being borne solely by the construction team who is the builder. This is different from the cases of
industrial practices whereby changes in the cost of the building cannot be passed to the buyer (Sullivan 2016). It is, however,
important to note that under S13 (1) of contracts of home building Act. The clauses of rise and fall are outlawed for those specific
contracts that are valued at $ 20000. The present value of this figure is roughly $500000.The liability of tye builder who enters into
such an agreement is equivalent to $ 10000 as a fine. The clauses of rise and fall can be used for those contracts that are over the
threshold.

Cost plus percentage
The actual purchases, costs and other expenses that are known to stern from the construction operations should be incorporated into
this particular type of the contract. The contract is known to have very clear information about a specific percentage of the labor as
well as the material costs. The contract can be treated both as direct and indirect to cover the profits and the overheads of the
contractor. This particular type of contract is known to be very popular in the cases where the definition of the scope is not clear
(Jankowski, Prokocki and Krzemiński 2015). The attention of the owner should, therefore, be focused on how much the owner will be
billed in order to have the interest of the owner protected. This will also help to avoid other charges that are unnecessary. Meanwhile,
the owner should take lots of risk on the supervision and tracking of the process of building while the contractor takes less risk.
Project management
The management of the project is all about using the skills and tools to meet the quality costs, specific time and the objectives of the
resources for a particular project. The builder is more likely to succeed by taking to planning, defining, monitoring, executing the
whole program of building as a strategy.
Schedule of rates
This is actually a self-explanatory term in which there is a provision of the hourly rates for every discipline. The billing of the client is
as per the hours worked. This can be for every week, month, year etc. This can be one of the best options as a contract where the scope

has not been understood fully or there has been no finalized program on the same. There is no risk involved from a contractor's point
of view when working on rates that have been scheduled. All the payments are made on hourly basis in some cases. The final costs of
the projects are cheaper upon completion while using the rates that have been set previously.
Sub-contract
A sub-contractor: A business or a person who has a contract not as an employer but as an independent contractor may decide to
dedicate part of the work of the services to another contractor to be performed. That kind of the individually who takes a portion of the
work is called sub-contractor. The participation or the involvement of sub-contractor is common for the case of the bigger projects.
The type of contract that is signed by the sub-contractor is called a sub-contract. Some of the activities that are involved in the sub-
contracting include plumbing work, painting, electrical roofing, cement work etc.
In the case of project, if I were to react as a builder, I would prefer the use of Lump sum contract with the subject of rise and fall as
specifications. Considering that these are construction projects, it will basically take a period of more than 2 years to have it
completed. Lump sum contract projects have detailed specifications and drawings which make the estimation of the cost to be quite
easy. Also in the clauses of the fall and rise contract in such project are already outlawed. This is common for contracts that are less
than $500000.The stated value meets the requirements that have a connection with the law itself (Trinkūnienė et al 2017).
After completion of this task, I presented the soft copy to my supervisors for review before the printing could be done. The printed
copies were placed on the customer’s information desks.

SCENARIO 3 : Drafting of the progress claim for one of the construction progress
In one of the busy weeks I was approached by the head of the department to prepare a progress claim for one of the Company’s client.
Preparation of the progress claim is considered to be one of the aspects of tender document handling in civil engineering. I was
actually very happy that another opportunity had presented itself for me to show case my intellectual muscles on a particular
engineering problem and real- life situation involving tender document handling. The specific task was to obtain the exact value of the
progress claim based on the details which were provided by the clients (Du et al.2016).
The problem presented by the client had the following information: “While considering the work done on the construction project by
the contractor; the contractor will be paid the total sum of $275,000.00 by the owner. The payment will be done as per the milestone
that has been set below and will be subjected to changes on the basis of scope work. Terms and condition of the contract of
construction would be followed. The period of construction would be limited to 26 weeks. Partial payments would be made by the
owner to the contractor after receiving a 10-day notice of the milestones. Proceed and generate the progress claim”

In order to ensure that the solution generated was logical and could easily be verified, I chose to summarize my workings in the table
form. I used simple concepts in the calculation with the scientific calculator so that the client could easily understand and follow
accordingly.
TRADE VALUE
($)
MONTH
1
MONT
H 1
MONTH
2
MONT
H 2
MONTH
3
MONT
H 3
MONTH
4
MONT
H 4
MONTH
5
MONT
H 5
MONTH
6
MONTH
6
MONTH
7
MONT
H 7
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
%
COMPLE
TE
CLAIM
Preliminaries $
25,000
3
5
$
8,750
4
5
$
2,500
6
0
$
3,750
7
5
$
3,750
9
0
$
3,750
9
5
$
1,250
10
0
$
1,250
Excavator $
5,000
10
0
$
5,000
10
0
$
-
10
0
$
-
10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Concreter $
19,000
6
0
$
11,400
10
0
$
7,600
10
0
$
-
10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Bricklayer $
24,000
2
0
$
4,800
7
0
$
12,000
10
0
$
7,200
10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Carpenter $
43,000 - $
-
3
0
$
12,900
7
5
$
19,350
10
0
$
10,750
10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Joiner $
15,000 - $
- - $
- - $
-
2
0
$
3,000
5
0
$
4,500
9
5
$
6,750
10
0
$
750
Doors and
Windows
$
26,000
1
0
$
2,600
6
0
$
13,000
8
0
$
5,200
10
0
$
5,200
10
0 $ - 10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Roofer $
16,000 - $
- - $
-
7
0
$
11,200
9
5
$
4,000
10
0
$
800
10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Linings/Insulati
on
$
20,000 5
$
1,000 5
$
-
1
0
$
1,000
6
0
$
10,000
10
0
$
8,000
10
0 $ - 10
0
$
-
Electrician
(Provisional
Sum)
$
24,000
1
0
$
2,400
1
8
$
1,920
2
8
$
2,400
6
0
$
7,680
7
5
$
3,600
8
5
$
2,400
10
0
$
3,600

Plumber and
Drainer
(Provisional
sum)
$
24,000 - $
-
1
8
$
4,320
1
8
$
-
6
0
$
10,080
7
5
$
3,600
8
5
$
2,400
10
0
$
3,600
Tiler $
12,000 - $
- - $
- - $
-
1
5
$
1,800
5
0
$
4,200
10
0
$
6,000
10
0
$
-
Painter $
10,000 - $
- - $
- - $
- - $ - 3
0
$
3,000
7
5
$
4,500
10
0
$
2,500
Landscaper
(Provisional
sum)
$
12,000 - $
- - $
- - $
- - $ - - $ - 1
0
$
1,200
10
0
$
10,800
CONTRACT
SUM
$
275,000
$
35,950
$
54,240
$
50,100
$
56,260
$
31,450
$
24,500
$
22,500
. There will be taking off 10% as retention for every progress claim. Claim.
TRADE VALUE ($) MONTH 1 MONTH 2 MONTH 3 MONTH 4 MONTH 5 MONTH 6 MONTH 7
CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM CLAIM
CONTRACT
SUM
$
275,000 $ 35,950 $ 54,240 $ 50,100 $ 56,260 $ 31,450 $ 24,500 $ 22,500
Retention 10% $ 3,595 $ 5,424 $ 5,010 $ 5,626 $ 3,145 $ 2,450 $ 2,250
Other than generating the actual figures as per the data provided by the client, I was expected to comment on the values as part of
advisory to the client. From the calculation that I obtained, it was arguable that the release of 50% will be done at the practical
completion while the other 50% will be given out at the end of period of defects liability. It was important to note that DLP for this
particular project is 13 weeks (Ballesteros et al 2015).

It will be within the rights of the contractor to keep the project idle and stop working in case due payments are not made. In case the
work is stopped for this particular reason and for a period of 13 weeks without any payment made, the client will be de deemed to be
in default and the contractor may decide to make request for full payment. Also if after 30 days no payments are made so far, there is
entitlement by the contractor to legal remedies. I considered this kind of problem solvent approach to be one of the enjoyable parts of
my work in the company as a junior engineer. In fact I felt uplifted when I saw that what I had been doing as theory while crunching
numbers on the computers were being brought into real life. I became appreciative on the importance of each and every stage of the
project in any construction industry.

REFERENCES
Ballesteros-Pérez, P., del Campo-Hitschfeld, M.L., Mora-Melià, D. and Domínguez, D., 2015. Modeling bidding competitiveness and
position performance in multi-attribute construction auctions. Operations Research Perspectives, 2, pp.24-35.
Du, L., Tang, W., Liu, C., Wang, S., Wang, T., Shen, W., Huang, M. and Zhou, Y., 2016. Enhancing engineer–procure–construct
project performance by partnering in international markets: Perspective from Chinese construction companies. International Journal
of Project Management, 34(1), pp.30-43.
Dziadosz, A., Tomczyk, A. and Kapliński, O., 2015. Financial risk estimation in construction contracts. Procedia Engineering, 122,
pp.120-128.
Hoque, R. and Azad, E., 2017. Judicial Review of State Contracts: Piercing the Narrow Divide between ‘Pure and Simple’and
‘Statutory or Sovereign’Contracts. Dhaka University Law Journal (The Dhaka University Studies Part-F), 28, pp.35-54.
Jankowski, B., Prokocki, J. and Krzemiński, M., 2015. Functional assessment of BIM methodology based on implementation in
design and construction company. Procedia Engineering, 111, pp.351-355.
Lukichev, S. and Romanovich, M., 2016. The quality management system as a key factor for sustainable development of the
construction companies. Procedia Engineering, 165, pp.1717-1721.

Ramachandra, T. and Rotimi, J.O., 2015. The Construction Contracts Act and Its Implications for Payment Defaults in New
Zealand. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, 8(1), p.C4515006.
Trinkūnienė, E., Podvezko, V., Zavadskas, E.K., Jokšienė, I., Vinogradova, I. and Trinkūnas, V., 2017. Evaluation of quality
assurance in contractor contracts by multi-attribute decision-making methods. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 30(1),
pp.1152-1180.