Engineering - Report Example

Integrated project Department Submitted to Table of Contents Introduction 4 Program of Works 8 Buildability 9 Project Management 11 The construction process 13 Design of the building. 13 Site preparation 15 Site Investigation 15 Site surveying 16 Environmental Impact 16 Land use and Materials 17 Construction Wastes 18 Recommendations to Reduce Construction Wastes 19 Energy Consumption of the Building 19 Embodied Energy 20 Operating Energy 20 Recommendations to Minimize Energy Consumption 21 Waste water Treatment 22 Waste water Collection 22 Waste water treatment 23 Sustainability 23 Health and Safety 24 Recommendations 27 Conclusion 27 References 28 Summary The integrated project is about the engineering services provided to the IDA. In the report, the construction aspect of each of the processes involved in the construction of a residential building are outlined. These include the development of the site plan, construction process, interior finishing, permitting and work schedule. In the report, there is development of the cost and time schedule. The report also includes all floors of the building, elevations, site investigations, rear elevations and the general geology of the area used for the construction process. Introduction The report is produced as part of the integrated project module that required description of the engineering services provided to the client. In the description, the design choices made has to be critically analysed. The execution of the project is divided into five fundamental parts. The breaking of the execution in parts was arrived at by setting goals to achieve certain goals during the execution of the project. In the first part, there is development of the site plan and acquisition of permits. Secondly, there is explanation of the basic fundamentals of the building basing on the type of residents to occupy the buildings. The third process in the execution involves the application of the construction basics in the design of the building. The second last part involves the development of the estimates that are projected to be the total cost of the building. In this project, it is assumed that the site location and the design has been approved by the local authority. The project is overseen by the client, IDA, aided by the project management team. The project entails construction of a concrete building. The building consists of three floors that are identical in orientation and the number of rooms. The building floors orientation are as highlighted below Figure 1. Ground floor Figure 2; First Floor Figure 3: second Floor Figure 4: Third Floor The main goal of the project is the application of theoretical knowledge learnt to real life activities. Program of Works The project was scheduled to be done within a period of five months. There were three classes of the project; the preconstruction stage, the construction stage and the post construction stage. The preconstruction stage was scheduled to be done in a period of three weeks. The preconstruction stage involved architect consultations which involved the preparation of the building drawings, ordering of blocks and/or stones, construction of temporary drainage systems which included excavation of drainage channels, and fitting of the drainage. Also, in the preconstruction stage, engineering consultations were made and these included spoil removal, excavation of footings, and shuttering. The construction process was immediately done after the preconstruction process. The construction process was scheduled to be done within a period of 4 weeks. In the first weeks of the construction stage, materials were delivered and the first concrete pour made. The second week of the construction process involved construction of steel fixing and soil pipe positioning. The second week in the construction process involved the second concrete pouring, construction of foundation blocks and laying out of the drainage. The construction process was immediately followed by the post construction process which entails fitting wall plaster boards, fitting of necessary appliances, electrical and plumbing finishing. Buildability Constructions of civil engineering projects is a very complex process. The processes of designing and constructing any project are separated from each other and executed separately and in some instances, the execution is done using different companies. In recent times, this has led to defective designs that causes delay in the construction process or overrun of the budget. Constructability is a corresponding term used synonymously with buildability. All these aim at the optimization of building knowledge in the development of a project plan, designing the project, procurement and carrying out field operations to achieve the project’s set objectives. It has been found that buildability and constructability is the best recipe for best construction quality and productivity. The concepts of buildability has been used in the project to ensure quality productivity. In these regard, buildability principles were employed. One aspect considered to ensure good buildability of the project is the heuristic design principles. The heuristic design principles were achieved by following the below principles Carry out thorough investigation before and after the design Planning for the basic requirements of the site Scheduling for practical sequences for all the building activities Provision of details for maximum standardization and repetition Provision of details showing achievable tolerances Specifying suitable materials to be used on the project. Using the above stated principles, recommendations regarding the productivity of the project were made. For good buildability, the recommendations for the projects reinforced concrete were that they should be constructed in a manner that will facilitate the re –use of the formwork. The buildability of the project was designed with a goal of achieving clear communication, simplicity in the design and construction processes, and finally standardization of all the procedures used. Generally, the following details were considered to ensure good buildability and constructability of the project. The number of components used were chosen such that the number of different components were minimized. And as a result, the onsite sorting process was simplified and the process of reprocess was also made attractive due to the use of large amounts of similar components in the project. The building system used was such that it was an open building system that allows the interchangeable use of building parts freely. This was advantageous since it is easy to carry out alterations in the layout of the building and relocation without necessary having making significant modification. Pre-assembled subassemblies and components were chosen basing on the fact that they supported use of modular design. These ensured compatibility of both functionally and dimensionally. Assembly techniques used were such that they were compatible with the standard construction technology. Specialist technologies were avoided, and in cases where they were used, they were standardized. This is due to the fact that there use resulted in difficulty in perfuming disassembly. Access to parts and components of the building was provided to ease access thus allowing disassembly. Also, it was advantageous since it provided easy recovery of components from the building without necessarily requiring special equipment. Components used were such that they provided means of handling during their disassembly. Realistic tolerance was provided to give room for movement during disassembly Project Management The preliminary stages of the project involved the identification of the goal of the project. In this case, the goal of the project was to construct a residential house using locally available materials at minimized costs. The identification of the goal of the project was then followed by the acquisition of the land onto which the project will be built on. The choice of the land onto which the project is to be built is dependent on various factors. This include climate, hydrology, topography and geology. Together with the aforementioned factors, market research was done to determine the feasible cost of the land. Market research is paramount since it helps the researcher in in determining the fundamental requirements for the project. Using the research, information about existing buildings is gathered. The road map of the selected are is as shown the figure below The selection and acquisition of the land was followed by the project design and the review process. In this process, layouts, roadmaps, creation of paths, drainage consideration, utility considerations, sewers, water among others were done. This was done in the second week after the acquisition of the land. The catchment of the selected area where the project is undertaken is shown in the figure below The construction process The preliminary process was followed by the construction process. The construction process was done on the third week after the preliminary process. The initial stage in this project is the development of the project schedule and the cost estimates. The construction process is divided into several phases phase. These phases entails the site preparation, development of the foundations, and creation of framings, roofing’s, mechanical work, electrical interiors, and exteriors. Design of the building. In the preliminary process, there is the design process. This involved the design of the building which includes all the elevations, orientation, roofing and selection of materials to be used for the roofing process. The elevations of the buildings is as shown in the diagrams below The roof plan is shown the diagram below Site preparation Site preparation was done on the fourth week after preliminary process. In site preparation, several activities are carried out which are dictated upon by the project design. The site preparation process is one of vital process in this construction project since it greatly determines the success of the project. Site preparation in the project entailed the process of preparing the infrastructure onto which the construction process will take on. Site preparation activities included cleaning of the site i.e. clearing, grading drainage swells roughly, grubbing, and laying down of construction ways together with laydown areas, development of erosion control and management measures and construction of parking lots for construction vehicles. The site preparation process also incorporated site investigation. Site Investigation The aim of the site investigation was investigation and determination of the underground conditions to facilitate use of viable construction method. The process also entailed the obtaining of the information sufficient enough to facilitate economic and feasibility studies. Site investigation in the project was aimed to achieve the following i. Determination of the ground level ii. Harness of sufficient information to be used in the determination of the foundation type required, either shallow foundation or deep foundation. iii. Gain required information to be used in the determination and predication of swellings and settlements iv. To get information to be used in the determination of the allowable bearing capacity of the soil on the construction site v. To determine if there exist excavation problems and there solution vi. Determination of the compaction properties and permeability of the soil on the construction site vii. Determination of geological weaknesses in the area. Site investigation also entails site surveying. Site surveying Site surveying entails pre-construction survey and post – construction survey. In the pre-construction survey, the review of the surrounding properties was done. This is vital since it helps determine visual identification of structural settlement. Also, the site surveying included mapping of the area and the resultant mapping is shown in the figure below Environmental Impact Buildings impact on the environment in numerous ways. The designs consume a lot of resources such as construction materials, capital and energy during erection, maintenance and lifespan use. Current building approaches tend to use high technology with the purpose of substantially reducing environmental impacts over its full life cycle. Construction of buildings, whether residential or commercial has significant direct or indirect environmental impacts. Materials used in construction, land use and energy are some of the direct impacts, that in turn leads to emission of greenhouse gases and other wastes. Indirect environmental impacts on the other hand depend on a variety of factors that include the building location, lifespan usability of the building and its construction form. The layout of cities and towns can also lead to extended environmental impacts resulting from activities like transportation of the building materials. Most of these impacts are rarely visible at the point of use, making it difficult for builders to timely take them into account during the selection process of construction materials. Appropriate choice of materials to build residential houses requires the need to take into account the location and climate in order to lower costs and the overall effects to the environment, as well as increasing thermal comfort of habitable rooms. Using more land and more construction materials, with increased construction activity can subsequently lead to high production of waste, generation of greenhouse gas emissions and increased use of energy. Land use and Materials The resources that will be used in the construction of the story building will lead to direct impacts to the environment. These impacts will depend on the types and quantities of the materials that will be used. The size of the building, including the floor area, also has a consequent on the resources used. Selection of the building materials used will significantly influence the impacts of the implemented design to the environment. Factors such as source and material processing will affect the level of impacts. The selection of materials used for construction of residential units is based on their lifecycle energy consumption, expected life span, recycling potential, distance for component transportation and the impact of process of materials on the environment. The materials to be used in the construction of the story dwelling unit will have to be sourced from where they are available. Harvesting of these materials to be used in construction of such a building can result to adverse effects on biodiversity, such as, extinction of species and destruction or degradation of natural habitat and ecosystems. For instance, the harvesting of timber to be used in some portions of the three-story building will lead to possible reduction of the habitat and population native species. In summary, the following assessment parameters have to be taken in to consideration before making a choice of using a given construction material: a) The extent of damage to the environment during harvesting or extraction of the construction material. b) The relation of damage to the quantity of basic material, and any other affected environmental condition. c) The source, renewability and size of the construction material. d) The recyclable content of the material e) The amount of waste residue, liquid or solid that is produced in the process of preparing the material f) The extend of water or air pollution that is likely to be caused by the Construction Wastes Disposal of construction wastes in landfill will have a secondary impact added to the impacts caused by the landfill such as unnecessary use of land space that could have been put to more economical use and increased release of methane. Transportation of the wastes to the landfill location for disposal will also cause release of greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere. Other environmental implications that are likely to be related to disposal of construction wastes to the environment include wastage of energy that is needed in production of materials and depletion of natural resources. The main types of wastes that will result in the construction of the three story building are soil rubbles, concrete masonry, and clay wastes such as tiles and bricks. The waste materials have varied impact magnitudes to the environment dependent on their composition and quantities. For instance, using gypsum plasterboards and depositing the remains in landfill will lead to production of poisonous hydrogen sulphide gas into the atmosphere. The following assessment parameters have to be taken in to consideration before making a choice of using a given construction material to minimize the amount of wastes generated: a) Packaging and on-site waste. b) Recyclability and re-use of the material. c) The nature and kind of materials needed in the life-cycle maintenance of the building. d) The impact of the waste on the environment during the life-cycle of the building such as emission of toxic gases. Recommendations to Reduce Construction Wastes Consumption of construction materials should be reduced where possible. It is encouraged to use existing materials, or use other buildings where appropriate. It is also advisable to recycle resources that can still be reused after their useful life. All parties involved in the design, construction and operation of the residential house should agree on the effective strategies to be implemented in attempt to minimize waste. These decisions should be made early enough so as to accommodate the strategies during implementation and actual construction of the building. Energy Consumption of the Building Production of greenhouse gases and depletion of non-renewable energy sources are some of the environmental impacts expected to result from erection of the three story residential unit. These effects will largely depend on the sources of energy, even though energy consumption in residential developments is relatively low. However, it is worth noting that, the building will consume more energy on completion, during the operation phase. To understand energy consumption and the related emission of greenhouse gas emissions, both embodied energy and the operating energy have been taken into account. Embodied Energy Embodied energy refers to the energy to be consumed by processes related to the production of the building; from the initial acquisition of resources to be used, to consumption of the resources including the mining, processing, transportation and other functions. The issue of embodied energy is a very significant consideration as part of lifetime energy consumption of the residential building. The embodied energy in a building varies widely per unit mass of the materials used. Concrete contain embodied energy of about two gigajoules per tonne. Factors such as lifetime of materials used and their quantities, and design requirements will play an important role in determining the magnitude of impacts that will result in to the environment. Concrete and timber have low intensities of embodied energy, but will be largely consumed in the building. High energy steel materials will not be required in large quantities, hence will end up with low energy consumption into the building, even though they have high content of embodied energy. Brick veneer for outside walls of the dwelling unit will have high amounts of embodied energy. Fibre cement, which is a lighter weight material, will comparatively have low quantities of embodied energy. Operating Energy Operating energy refers to the energy to be consumed during the maintenance and usability lifespan of the dwelling unit i.e. the operational phase. The operation energy is commonly influenced by the building design and the construction materials initially used. The main sources of energy to be used in the residential building are natural gas, electricity and wood. Use of firewood, both for timber and heating source will pose a direct threat to the immediate habitat and forest diversity. Heating and cooling of space in the three story building will account for about 40% of the total operational energy. The following assessment parameters have to be taken in to consideration before making a choice of using a given construction material to take care of energy in the process of constructing the residential unit: a) The embodied energy b) Energy consumption during the process of materials to the site. c) On-site energy consumption for assembling or erection d) Energy requirement for the building maintenance during its life-cycle Recommendations to Minimize Energy Consumption It is encouraged that recycling should be done on building materials, especially those that contain high amounts of embodied energy like steel and aluminium. Recycling steel and aluminium will reduce embodied energy to up to 72% and 95% respectively. Technologies developed for reduction of operating energy, such as use of devices such as photovoltaic, should be incorporated in the design of the building. This is meant to encourage construction of energy independent building, as a foreseen future trend in the construction industry. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Greenhouse emission is the cause of the current world issue of global warming. Global warming has direct or indirect impacts to the environment, not necessarily the immediate environment, but to the globe as a whole. Building construction consumes energy, and as such, this impacts global climate change through greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2. Building materials which contain high quantities of embodied energy induce large amounts of greenhouse gases during the process of extraction, processing, manufacturing and transportation of these materials. Emissions in the residential building will result from ventilation, space cooling and lighting. Climate change leads to distinction of some animal species, meltdown of ice, unpredictable local climate changes among many other effects. Recommendations to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions The design of the dwelling unit should be designed in such a way that the amount of sunlight entering a home is well controlled to reduce greenhouse emissions. This has to do with the direction-based siting of building portioning. The building design should take into account the insulation requirements for heat transfer. This will greatly reduce the energy needed in cooling and heating of the dwelling unit. Using better quality insulation of the residential building will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and this will have an overall effect towards achieving the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets globally. Waste water Treatment Once the building becomes operational, there will be production of waste water mainly from the residential areas. This will be topped up with storm water running as runoff. Thus to be able to facilitate waste water management, an efficient waste water collection and treatment system is vital. The wastewater treatment is thus divided into two parts, the waste water collection and the waste water treatment. Waste water Collection The area is made up of industrial area, residential area and commercial areas. From the site investigation, it was determined that the area receives a substantial amount of storm resulting into surface runoff. Thus in the design of the waste collection system, this has to be considered. To determine the most effective waste water collection system to be used in the area, several considerations were made. The criterion used in the section of the best sewer system entailed deep analysis of the following; simplicity, adaptability, expandability economics and adaptability. Considering the above sated factors, the best choice in the collection of waste in the area is the construction of the construction of the convectional gravity sewers. These sewer system is chosen since it is simple, less costly, adaptable and easily expandable. Convectional gravity sewers is a type of sewer system in which waste water is transported from high points to low points by use of gravity. Thus no source of energy is required hence conserving the environment. In the design of the convectional gravity sewers, the design is made such that size of the pipe used and the slope of the pipe are in such a way that a constant flow of waste water is maintained only towards the discharge points from the area of production. Since the construction of sewers depends on gravity, the velocity is maintained at a minimum level. The maintaining of velocity at minimum level is vital since it prevents scouring the pipe used and most importantly, reduces production of methane and hydrogen sulphide. In some occasion, lift station can be introduced. Waste water treatment The collected waste water is transported to a central point where it is treated by a waste water treatment plant before being discharged. The waste water treatment was constructed independently and the plant was designed with an aim of removing solids in the waters, reduce of pollutants and organic matter, and finally, to restore oxygen into the treated waste water. Quality taste is done on then treated water and if the water meets the set standard of the environmental management agency, it is discharged. Sustainability To achieve sustainability in the building, the focuses placed on the following i. Minimization of energy requirements ii. Reduction of water consumption iii. Efficient waste water managements iv. Enhancement of natural environment and its safeguarding In this regard, the project focused on the following to achieve sustainable construction i. To conserve the environment, enhancement of the environment and its conservation was done to encourage site ecology and biodiversity ii. Energy consumption was minimized by providing high level of insulation in the design of the buildings, maximization of solar gains by considering the orientation of the building, maximization of day lighting, use of energy efficient lighting systems and appliances. iii. To conserve water, systems to conserve rain water were constructed, attenuation and immunization of surface runoff, and appliances that minimize water usage are used. Health and Safety A dwelling unit should be in acceptable standards before it can be deemed safe to be occupied. Health and safety is one of the major considerations that must be carefully looked in to before a building can be certified for public use. This is necessary in order to safeguard the welfare of the public and the safety of the building occupants as well. First and foremost, the aspect of structural safety has been considered to be of significance, as this is the root cause of structural hazards, and can compromise the safety of a building. In regard to this dwelling unit, adequate foundations have been laid down. The flooring and floor supports are effective and of sufficient size to support imposed loads. The wall members, roofs supports, ceilings, vertical supports and partitions are well designed with adequate load factor of safety. The fire places and chimneys are of sufficient strength and good material, that can support imposed loads, to avoid bulging or deterioration. The dwelling unit is designed with adequate sanitation facilities. This will involve installation of proper water closets, bathtub or shower, lavatory and Kitchen sinks. There should be plumbing fixtures with cold and hot running water in the dwelling unit as well. All pipes that carry waste water from the kitchen sinks, closets and bathtubs should be connected to a sewage disposal system. Proper facilities for garbage and rubbish collection will be adequately stationed within the building. The residential building is also intended to have adequate heating, with properly operating ventilations with adequate amounts of natural light. All this is taken care of in the initial design of the building. The room spaces should be adequate as for the use preferred with good electrical lighting. This is to avoid dampness and infestation of rodents, vermin or insects in the habitable rooms. Sanitation facilities will have to be regularly maintained to ensure that they are always in good condition. Proper electrical wiring and plumbing is to be installed, and should be in good and safe condition. These installations should be properly maintained for them to always be in good working conditions. The plumbing is to be free of siphon age between fixtures and cross connections. Faulty weather can also pose a safety danger to the building and its occupants. The building is to be made of properly consolidated waterproof plaster on the exterior foundations, floors, doors, windows and walls to prevent damage by extreme weather conditions. The walls will be painted or covered with any other approved cover to protect them from weathering or other adverse weather effects. The building is also designed to safeguard the occupants against fire. Portions of the building, apparatus, devices, equipment and materials to be used in the construction of the building are of approved standards. This is meant to adequately protect the building from spread of fire and explosions. Conditions that may constitute fire, safety or health hazards are taken care of as part of the overall duty to ensure safety and health for the building and its occupants. Another aspect of safety that will be considered is the provision of adequate exit facilities at the time of construction. This is incorporated in the initial design of the building to enable smooth and easy exit in times of disasters, unsafe conditions or during emergencies. The materials used in construction should be of well approved fire resistance integrity. Adequate Fire extinguisher equipment and systems should be properly and strategically installed in the residential building to help in times of fire break-outs. Automatic sprinklers may also be installed alongside fire extinguishers to supplement each other depending on the situation that may arise. Construction workers to work at the building site are also faced with the risk of exposure to health and safety hazards. The hazards depend on the type of occupation that one is expected of. The type of hazards ranges from cement dermatitis, vapour from bonding agents, solvent vapours, wood dust, heavy metals, welding emissions to noise, heat and stress, among many other risks. The nature of hazards may be physical, chemical, biological or social as well. The extend of exposure is dependent on the duration, frequency and concentration of exposure. Control and management of these hazards is the responsibility of the construction company that is charged with the mandate to implement the building design. This is done through their effective safety programs and organizations. The dwelling premises will be rained, graded and made free from standing water that would otherwise be a conducive environment for mosquito breeding. The doors and windows will be supplied with screens to prevent entry of insects. Openings and windows that are close to the ground will be provided with screens as well to prevent entry of rodents in to the dwelling rooms. The perimeter wall or fence should be constructed around the dwelling unit and be well maintained. All the building foundation, floor, roof, ceiling interior and exterior walls, porch and stare cases should be in sound condition, safe to use and be regularly repaired. The kitchen and bathroom surfaces are to be constructed using reasonably impervious material, and should be easy to keep clean and in good sanitary conditions. Recommendations The construction project involves, massive excavations that uses heavy machineries. Thus, the use of the machineries should sustainable in that there is employment of techniques to minimize energy conservation. Cost of the project should be minimized. Cost minimization can be achieved by using only locally available materials, maximizing use of concrete and using cheaper materials alternatives. Conclusion Construction process, though in some instances appears to be a simple process, entails a lot of planning and management. Theoretical planning differs from the actual implementation of the project. Since the process is a complex process, its execution in steps eases the whole process of construction. It is important for the construction process to be completed within the planned time to minimize extra costs and inconveniences. References Chena, L. et al., 2014. A state-impact-state methodology for assessing environmental impact in land use planning. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 46, pp. 1-12. Chitkara, K. K., 1998. Construction Project Management. 1st ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. DIANE Publishing, 1994. Alternative Wastewater Collection Systems Manual. 1st ed. Washington D.C: DIANE Publishing. Dykstra, A., 2011. Construction Project Management: A Complete Introduction. s.l.:Kirshner Publishing Company. Dykstra, A., 2011. Construction Project Management: A Complete Introduction. 1st ed. Carlifornia: Kirshner Publishing Company. Loosemore, M., 2003. Essentials of Construction Project Management. 2nd ed. Sydney: UNSW Press. Naylor, H. F. W., 1995. Construction project management: planning and scheduling. 1st ed. s.l.:Delmar Publishers. Naylor, H. F. W., 1995. Construction project management: planning and scheduling. 1st ed. s.l.:Construction project management: planning and scheduling. SÖDERMAN, T., 2012. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN URBAN REGIONS. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 14(02), pp. 1-48. Water Environment Federation, 2002. Wastewater Collection System Operator Certification Studybook. 1st ed. Alexandria: Water Environment Federation. Read More