Railway construction: Feasibility study - Essay Example

? Railway construction: Feasibility study Feasibility study This is the process of uncovering the weaknesses and the strengths of an existing business venture. It expounds on the opportunities and threats present in the environment. From this, we learn that a feasibility study provides a historical background of the project or business, product or service description, management and operations, among others. In reference to crossing routes and methods, the study has impacts on how different key activities take place in the construction of the railways. This is a discussion of the impacts in relation to the activities (Bos, 2001). Choice of materials, methods and a justification in relation to sustainability and building sustainability There are particularly many considerations in the choice of materials, as they all affect the ultimate goal which is to ensure that the materials are sustainable and of quality. These considerations include the budget, the location, materials availability, the intended use of the airport, and the objectives among others. There should be enough caution to avoid counter fits or sub-standard materials. The aim is to enhance the railway class and its internationally renowned beauty. All in all, when we discuss the matters of sustainability, we tend to focus on durability, competitive, cost, and maintenance of materials. The implementers of the project should be competent; they should have a clear reputation in construction and funds management. The awarding of the employees should be fair enough to enhance quality output (Broek, 2009). Budget Railway construction materials should be of minimum cost. The cost should be in line with the cost in the project development. This is to ensure that the budget remains as it is outlined in the project. Poor budget may lead to incomplete projects. It is discouraging to drop a project as a result of poor planning. This is one of the tools of emphasis in project management. This will also reduce the extent of borrowing funds in the construction process. Project managers should always ensure that there is timely delivery of materials to avoid distracting the construction process. They should also go for the most quality as they are going to enhance the durability of the infrastructure (Clough and Penzien, 2010). Location The international railway such as Thames should be in a sustainable and competitive location. This is in reference to both long term and short term impacts of the project. In the choice, of location, risk management should have an allowance; this is to make sure that it is situated in a low risk environment. The location should aim at maximum benefit; this is the reason the behind the location of Thames gateway. This is to ensure that the majority gain from the construction projects. This includes both locals and the internationals. The location should also be economical. Such a location can be in the outskirts of cities, where the cost of living living and land are cost-effective. Material Availability Material availability is one of the key considerations in any construction project. This is because it is a factor that affects the overall cost of the project. Material availability also has impacts on the time used to complete the construction task. All in all, these materials should be cost-effective to enhance sustainability; they should also be quality enough to ensure that the final products are competitive. When we about discuss material availability, human resources should be put into consideration. This is because they come along with the availability of resources. The supply of human resources has a significant effect on implementation of any task. This is because it is the duty of human resources to convert labour to resources. Its availability depends on many factors, which include illiteracy level, education system, educational culture, level of industrialization, and the demographic pattern among other. From this valuation, it is considerate to target a location whose endowment is denominated by the elite. This has two way impacts. One is that there will be ready labour, while the other is that there will be a ready local market. The project will primarily benefit the local other than the internationals. With these ideologies, automatic sustainability will be foreseen as a result of the ready market (Broek, 2009). Choice of Materials This is a process that may affect the ultimate outcome. This is because it holds the key blocks of the construction project. The materials should be of high quality, and have modern aesthetics to ensure that the airport meets world class standards. The architectural design and materials need specialists to ensure the selection process proceeds with caution. This is to ensure that the outlines of the architectures, as well as those of the engineers, are followed to the letter. The project implementers should ensure that these materials are the most economical. This is to reduce the overall cost of constructions. They should also be of a high standard in reference to the standards of the railway. Materials are key players of the standard. Most individual make prejudgments by the look of the construction materials to dictate the quality of a product, it calls for caution in selecting these materials (Cox, 2006). The above will enhance the construction process; the projects also need competent contractors who will implement the ideas into action. They must have enough experience in the field to increase the level of certainty. Risk assessment is also crucial in project implementation. This will enhance the implementation, as it will facilitate coming up with workable suggestion to cope with the risky areas. It will also offer alternatives which have fewer risks than the outlined options. This will also enhance the justification of the project and other processes. The contactor must keep tract with the schedule to ensure the projects is complete in time. Project programme This is a highly crucial tool in project management and implementation. This is because it outlines all processes and the procedure to undertake them. The program can be either manual or use automated tools, such as software. In reference to the level of information technology, automated programmes would work better than the manual programmes. They will also reduce human labour assigned to the task. The efficiency in manning the progress will be high, as it is free from biases. There is keen evaluation of deliberate misrepresentations, as well as errors. It will also assist the construction crew to stick within the limit of the project. This will enhance time saving and resources (Clough and Penzien, 2010). Identifying Critical Activities Design review processes Constructions in the tunnels will not begin until there is approval by the areas safety and building authorities. The parties making these constructions must consult the project engineers, so as to ensure that they have a full cop of areas that need construction (Cox, 2006). In reference to common law, the engineers will be responsible for any losses and damages of the structure under construction. This will result in construction of the new structures, as well as compensations. With this in mind, these parties will proceed with caution as they will aim at both the quality of the airport and its suitability and competitiveness. It will also ensure that there is an observation of time and other parameters. After completion of implementation of the project, there should not be any disruptions from concessionaire construction. In case there are any, they should request for permission from the authorities. Off peak hour will be assigned for such activities (Cox, 2006). Resource Smoothing Opportunities This is the process of reducing resource allocation on various tasks. This is a process whose objective is to ensure that there is proper utilization of resources. An ideal example is where the project developers suggest that 25% of the overall cost of the project is going to purchase metals. The engineers can decide that they will utilize 18% of the budget on the same. This will ensure that the construction crew is keen on material usage and time allotments (Cox, 2006). In reference to this project, resource smoothing opportunities are the location of the airport, cost of labour, and materials. The railway will be located in the countryside to ensure that there is enough room for future expansion. This will reduce the cost of buying the land and cheap labour will be in high supply. This is a process that will reduce overall total cost of the project by over 27%. Project implementers will also aim at purchasing materials from the sellers with the best offers. Other materials may be produced locally to reduce the cost associate with importing. The construction company may enter into a contract with such companies where it will offer the project with subsidized products. In one way or the other, time saving is also part of resource smoothing opportunities; it will minimize the cost of casual labour. There will also be a reduction of losses associated with fluctuation of currency. The measures used to minimizing construction waste, embodied energy and carbon emissions for the construction of the project For the three driving forces that designers structure the plan around to be achieved, construction waste, carbon emissions, and embodied energy must be minimized. This will generate a positive change in the Gateway that the plan manifests through improvement in quality of life for communities and creation of a strong economy. Thomas Gateway is an excellent place to invest, live, and work. The Gateway is in a sustainable and stunning environmental setting. This implies that in order to maintain the normal environmental setting during construction, environmental pollution has to be kept at a minimum (Broek, 2009). The contractor has to ensure that he keeps waste products at a minimum during the construction process. As a world-class and new deep-water port and business park, it has to attain various standards concerning being environmental friendly. The major components of construction waste are soils, masonry, concrete, metal, brickwork; glass, stone, bituminous materials, and architectural features. Most of this waste has been land filed in the past, but holes to be filled have diminished. This has facilitated the contractors to come up with ways of minimizing construction waste. Re-using the waste materials is one way of controlling and minimizing construction waste. This refers to using the product again without modifying it (Bos, 2001). Recycling is a valuable method of disposal of waste products during road construction. Recycling implies that a product undergoes processing before using it again. Waste minimization begins during the early stages of development of the project inception. When choosing the site to be purchased, the Department of Transport should consider topography of the site, the soil type, and the contamination level. These factors will affect the volume of soil that has to be excavated from the site. Hilly areas should be avoided since a large amount of excavation has to be made. For a contractor to secure a strong foundation for the road, the soil will affect the amount of excavation that has to be made. Contractors should avoid contaminated sites since they may demand soil to be removed. These factors will help reduce the construction waste that the contractors will encounter during construction of the road (Broek, 2009). Embodied energy refers to the sum of energy inputs that are necessary to make a product. Embodied energy includes fuels, human resources, and materials. The process is a methodology which finds the energy necessary for the entire construction of the road and, hence, ensures minimized cost of the project. Contractor should come up with appropriate methods of eliminating the products which are large consumers of energy. For instance, they can implement technologies that will offset the content of cement during construction since it is responsible for an exceptionally large percentage of energy. These include the use of cementation materials like blast-furnace slag, hydrated lime, natural cements, and natural pozzolans. In asphalt production, the processes that demand a lot of energy include mixing in the asphalt plant and drying of aggregates. People control the energy used by using improved drying practices. Asphalt can be mixed at a low temperature by incorporating warm-mix asphalt technologies. Warm-mix asphalt production makes use of chemical and physical processes with an aim of increasing the fluidity of the asphalt at low temperatures. This allows for reduction of energy requirement by 20%. Adoption of technologies, like concrete additives and warm-mix asphalt, makes roadway construction energy efficient. To ensure that the implementation of the project is achievable and economical, the above measures of reducing the embodied energy must be adopted. This will make sure that the cost of implementing the project is much lower or equal to the value that the designers budget during the planning process. Cost control is particularly essential during construction and must be given priority when implementing a project. Reduction of embodied energy and waste products will play a significant role in ensuring that the process of implementation is low. Minimization of carbon emission during construction of the road is tremendously valuable. Carbon compound causes various adverse effects, for example, global warming. This is a global issue that affects every person in the world due to the warming of the atmosphere that has taken place. All the people in the society have a role to ensure that emission of carbon compounds does not occur. This is because it leads to effects that are harmful to human life. Contractors during construction of both railway and road should ensure that emission of carbon it kept at a minimum. The construction should take place in a manner that is environmentally friendly which does not affect the ecosystem (Clough and Penzien, 2010). The construction company should be socially responsible to the communities around by ensuring that it keeps environmental pollution at a minimum. Construction emissions are in small proportions when compared to the operations emission. Construction of this road should be planned to avoid extensive tunneling and elevated structures since they require structural steel and concrete in large amounts. These two are carbon-intensive and, hence, emit a lot of carbon dioxide. The contractors should ensure that this is a metro rail transport project that has underground stations and tracks. This will reduce carbon dioxide produced by modal shift and people use it to benefit transport oriented developments (Clough and Penzien, 2010). Road engineers should carry out a sufficient analysis of environmental impacts, and road projects feasibility study on reduction of carbon emissions. This will enhance them to come up with the appropriate proportion of carbon emission that this road and rail project will emit. This will enable them to adopt low carbon transport development systems. Analysis of carbon emission is particularly significant since it is a threat to the environment, to the public health, and economic development. The department of transport should ensure that this project is environmentally friendly and sustainable by reducing carbon dioxide emission and, thus, addressing climate change (Bos, 2001). The fact that the location of London Gateway is in town is a fundamental issue with regard to carbon emission. It will play a vital role in ensuring that carbon emission into the environment is in small quantities. Health and economic development have priority in this area; hence, issues like environmental pollution are critical issues that people take into consideration. The health of the society is particularly valuable when compared with the development of infrastructure. Adherence to environmental regulations may lead to termination of contracts. This is a potent factor that determines the behavior of contractors during implementation of various plans that fall under their assignment (Broek, 2009). The best Procurement method Procurement is the process of purchasing services, works, or goods at the most economical cost in accordance with requirements. The process involves the acquisition of services, goods, or works which people require as raw materials for the operation of a company. The main objective of procurement is to achieve value for money and accountability for outcomes. During construction of this road and railway project, procurement is particularly vital to ensure that the contractor controls the costs related factors and transaction costs of acquisition, holding, use, maintenance, and disposal. The Transport Board has to ensure that procurement takes place with utmost probity (Clough and Penzien, 2010). Procurement is extremely vital since it takes into consideration non cost factors for instance meeting the community expectations and fostering innovation. It also reduces contractual disputes and claims during construction. These will contribute towards an investment that is worth and meaningful to the society. There are various methods of procurement that a company can adopt. These include traditional method, design and build public, private partnerships, management contracting, construction management, two stage tendering methods. The best procurement method in terms of contractual obligations that should be adopted for this project is management contracting. This is a procurement strategy that overlaps both the design and construction stages to allow elements of the construction process to start before completion of the design. The management contractor has the responsibility of managing the overall contract. He earns a fee in exchange for the management of the contract. The investors appoint a contractor early during design so that they advice on programming and build ability. This procurement method is the most appropriate for the Thames Gateway regeneration program. The fact that it extends 40 miles along the estuary makes it deserve absolute analysis during and before construction. This gateway links London and Essex are busy places and, hence, demands quality means of transport. For the planned investment to take place this procurement method is essential to ensure that road and railway construction is of high quality (Broek, 2009). This method will ensure close analysis of the project implementation and proper expenditure of the resources that the government has provided. Management contracting makes use of a cost plan to control developments costs. This will ensure that the contractor utilizes the budget of ?500 scheduled for regeneration and ?100 for improvement of local transport in the most appropriate manner. This project will ensure that the plan realizes a strong economy, development of the Gateway as an eco-region, and improve the standard of living for the local communities in the country. When an investor assigns the manager the role of controlling the implementation of the project, he will put into consideration what the public and the governments expect as the output of the plan. He has to ensure that it achieves the world class new deep-water port and business park status that the community expects. In case of any errors during construction, he will ensure that he corrects them to attain the recommended standards. Professionals recommend innovative and alternative practices of contracting to gain efficiency during implementation of this project. The contractors responsible for implementation of the project should utilize the Design-Build and its iterations in order to procure the infrastructure needs for rail and public roads. Procurement services in the road and rail projects have boasted time efficiency and enhanced cost saving and, thus, availing numerous benefits to society. Procurement will ensure that it analyzes the advantages and weaknesses of the Gateway. The procurement officer addresses the weaknesses, thus, creating the right conditions for economic growth (Broek, 2009). References Broek, D., 2009. ’Elementary engineering fracture mechanics’, Noordhoff International publishing’: Leiden. Clough, R.W. and Penzien J., 2010. ‘Dynamics of Structures’, London: Mc Graw-Hill. Bos, J.A., 2001. Deck Track: Foundation for the railways of the Future: Holland Railconsult. Cox, S.J. and Grassie S.L., 2006. ‘Understanding Dynamics as an Aid to Developing Track’, Pandrol International Ltd. Read More