Construction Industry Report: Processes, Planning & Health Safety

This civil engineering report provides a comprehensive overview of the construction industry, detailing its evolution, professional structure, and the interconnectedness of various parties involved. It examines different types of contractual work, modern company structures, and critical evaluations of operational developments. The report further explores various construction industry sectors, the relationships between companies working on a project, and the differences between tenders and contracts. Modern construction processes, including off-site construction, contract planning techniques such as macro and micro planning, and the impact of Building Information Modeling (BIM) are also discussed. Finally, the report emphasizes the integral role of health and safety in construction processes, highlighting the importance of planning to prevent accidents and ensure project success. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study tools and solved assignments for students.

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Task 1
Part a
How the construction industry has developed and encompassed professionalism in its
structure
Prior to the advanced steps in the construction industries, several operations were being carried
out by a few individuals. These individuals used to do almost more than one task. The result was
poorly done projects with cost overruns and delays1. The advanced methods of constructions and
the complexities of demands of the clients have since changed the situations. The current
Construction management is regarded as a challenging and also demanding profession. In order
for the project to be complete as per the client’s perspective, there will be a need for the
assistance of very many professionals. These construction professionals basically include interior
designers, architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, and structural engineers. These
individuals have different specialties to be offered for example the structural engineer will ensure
that the project is structurally stable while the financial aspect of the project will be considered
by the quantity surveyors. The structure of the construction industries has, therefore, fore been
transformed from a linear flow of operation to a complex and web-based network of activities
Part b
Linkage of the parties in the construction industry
1 A. Petroski, To an engineer, is human: The role of failure in successful design(4th end,
OUP2016.

The connection of different parties in the construction industries will be dependent on the role
that each and every party will be playing. In general, the structure below will illustrate the type
of linkage
In the case scenario that was provided, the company had already won tender in the bidding
process. The linkage operation will begin from the section after the tender award.

Part C
Types of contractual work tendered by the contractors
The construction processes will be driven by different parties that will be subcontracted for
various works. Some of the works that will be subcontracted will include the following:
 Labour supply
 Construction materials supply
 Construction tools and equipment supply
In order to make the tendering process very competitive, there should be the adoption of the
selective tendering process2. This kind of tendering would be preferred since it will allow the
2 A. Hughes, Networks of power: electrification in Western society(6th edn, OUP 2013)

employers to properly select on those contractors that have enough experience, have resources,
financially sound and possess basic skills to do the work.
Part d
The modern structure of the construction companies
In general, the structure of the companies has become so complex due to the increased cases of
the task demands. Unlike what used to be the case before where the only technical department
was involved, the recent type of construction company structure includes several logistics.

In order to ensure that the project is completed on time with all the requirements met as per the
desires of the clients, the above structure should be adopted as a whole.
Part e
Critical evaluation of the development of the structure of the company
Taking a sample of the information delivery in the horizontal direction, there are 3 foremen
marked S1, S2 and finally S3. The plant manager, for example, will give the instruction
regarding a task to be carried out. Instead of just one foreman carrying the entire task although
capable, the task is distributed3. This kind of delegation of duties will proceed as the task
3 B. Jerry, Discrete event system simulation(3rd edn, OUP 2015)

progresses downwards. Adoption of this kind of business ethos in the given scenario will ensure
timely completion of the project. It will also enhance quality since the issue of fatigue is
adequately addressed.
Task 2
Part a
Types of the construction industries
There are various construction companies although the most commonly known one is four. They
include the following:
Industrial companies:
This sector includes the construction of the buildings, equipment, and facilities that are attached
to these buildings. This kind of companies is preferred for the activities of the exploitation of the
minerals, production of goods and raw material transformation4
Commercial and institutional sectors or companies
4 D. Feisel and M. Rosa, The role of the laboratory in undergraduate engineering education, (2nd
edn, OUP 2015)

They involve in the construction of the buildings, equipment, and facilities attached to the
buildings. The buildings any are used necessarily for commercial purposes.
Road sectors and civil engineering
These companies are concerned with the construction works in general. They are used for both
public and private facilities management. They handle the construction of the sewers, bridges,
natural gas pipelines, and roads.
Residential sectors
Such companies are concerned with the construction of the buildings and equipment's which are
attached to these buildings5. The buildings that are under constructions, in this case, do not
exceed six. In order to have effective construction in the scenario that is illustrated, the
combination of the civil engineering and road construction section together with the industrial
sector will be best suited. The industrial sector will facilitate the establishment of the 20
industrial units while installation of the other equipment's like sewer will be facilitated by the
civil engineering sectors
Part b
Relationships between companies working on a construction project
In any construction projects, there are minimum requirements that must be met regardless of the
resources available in for the final project to be accepted for utility by the clients. Contractors
and sub-contractors will always relate in terms of the equipment available. Supplying companies
5 K. Parsons, The professions and social structure: Social forces(3rd edn, OUP 2014)

will strive to ensure that the necessary materials and requirements are availed in time to allow for
the process of construction. Transportation companies will facilitate the movement of materials
in and out of the company. Communication companies will always ensure that there is proper
flow of information's and instructions as required. Payments of the workers will be facilitated by
the companies offering banking services6. This basically implies that there are interrelationships
among different companies in the construction sector.
Part C
Assuming that the construction management had the following personal, the links in the
construction would be established as shown below
6 K. Parsons, The professions and social structure: Social forces(3rd edn, OUP 2014)

Part d
Difference between construction company tenders and contracts
A tender refers to an offer which is normally in writing to the contractors instructing the
contractor to execute specific work or supply specific materials within the specified time
duration. The framing of the contract is normally as per the conditions of the agreement and
contract between the owner of the project and the contractor7. Bill of Quantities are normally
found within the tender documents, the specifications of the work that is to be carried out, the
completion time frame of the work, plans of the drawing and the conditions of the contracts8.
These particular documents are provided to the contractor on payment of certain fees. Contract
documents, on the other hand, are the agreements between the department and the contractor to
execute the specified work in the document of the tender as per the rates of the condition do the
contracts.
Task 3
Part a
Modern construction processes and sequences
Modern methods of construction have been in use for quite sometimes and they involve several
techniques. On of such modern method s of construction include off-site construction. Off-site
7 M. Latour, Science in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society,(4th edn,
OUP 2017).

construction refers to the application of the modern methods of construction of MMC which
entails fusion between manufacturing and building. Off-site construction is where any
component of the building is produced or undergoes manufacturing process in the factories that
are located far away from the real sites where the building is located. In simple terms, the
construction sites are different from the sites of the building. In the project scenario, the client
needs 20 industrial units. Off-site construction can help the construction industry to achieve this
goal and ensure that fast delivery is given. Speedier delivery has been regarded as one of the
benefits of off-site construction. Actually, research has indicated that it can reduce the
construction process time by half. The sustainability of this process is anchored on the reduced
waste to landfill, an improvement on the energy performance, fewer deliveries that are associated
with less disruption in the traffic and finally precision off-site engineering.
Part b
Contract planning techniques
In all the construction industries, there is normally a need to generate schedules of the activities
at every level or stages. Such planning will determine the manner in which the operations will be
carried out to ensure that the main goal or the key objectives of the project are met. A macro plan
is known to cover the entire project from the drawing board to the opening day8. The creation of
such plans will be done in terms of the board brush without the inclusion of many details and
probably with scales of months or weeks. A micro plan, on the other hand, is known to cover the
8 S. Callon, The social construction of technological systems: New directions in the sociology
and history of technology, (4th edn, OUP 2013)

specific parts of the project but with specific details. Such plans are fixed within a matter of
weeks or days. Using the project scheduling of the modern terms, the combination of the two
techniques will be a better deal for the construction of the 20 industrial units. This will enhance
the timely delivery. Macro planning will be best suitable as it will ensure management of the
whole projects while micro planning will ensure that specific details like the location of the best
methods of man agent structure are done within a matter of days.
Part C
Where BIM impacts upon operations and construction companies
BIM presents various opportunities and benefits for the industries of the constructions. Actually,
it brings together all the ideas and information about the building together in one collective point.
This allows almost everyone to get access to the information for whatever purpose. The
integration of the various aspects of the design can be done more efficiently. In the current
scenario, the BIM software can be used for virtual trials of the potentially difficult projects of
construction like erection of the industrial units9. The testing of the manufacturing spots of
perfumes and soaps can also be done or tried virtually using BIM software. The design of the
construction of the scenario will be possibly viewed in great 3D using BIM.
Part d
How the construction industry has developed in terms of innovation
9 W. Leckie, M. Pettigrew, and B. Sylvain, The Library Quarterly(2nd edn, OUP 2016)