Construction Industry

Importance of construction Industry in nation building

Construction industry plays a very important role in nation building. Construction industry
has its foot print in all developmental activities in sectors like;

• Agriculture
• Food production and processing
• Textile
• Housing
• Infrastructure
• Industry
• Commerce
• Premier Infrastructure
• Defence
• Research & Development

Agricultural sector gets services related to irrigation through construction industry.

Construction is in every stage of irrigation project. Water conservation and effective utilization of
water for agriculture involves construction.

Food production & processing industry needs infrastructure for processing units, storage and
marketing which are dependent on construction industry for development and maintenance.

Textile industry needs production units, processing units and marketing facilities developed
through construction.

Housing is a basic need of society which is mainly dependent on construction. Mass housing,
economic housing, luxurious housing, grand housing, monumental housing are all dependent on
construction industry.

Infrastructure of a nation involves communication facilities like roads, railways, waterways

and airways. Construction industry contributes to development of roads, railways, in land and over
seas navigation routes, ports harbours, airports and similar structures.
 Infrastructure also includes water supply, waste management and pollution control.
Construction industry facilitates development of water intakes, treatment, storage, distribution,
collection and conveyance of wastes (sewage, sullage, solid wastes), treatment and disposal.

Infrastructure also involves;

➢ Health facilities (Hospitals and administrative setups).

➢ Administrative setups comprising of structures for administration.
➢ Educational sector comprising of structures for schools, colleges, higher education
centres, universities.
➢ Security facilities like strategic setups for security of society.

Industrial development needs huge infrastructure which is facilitated through construction

industry.

Commerce sector needs show rooms, markets, go downs, ware houses etc. which are
provided through construction industry.

Premier infrastructure includes lavish / luxurious structures, monumental structures etc.

These structures represent the pride of the nation. Construction industry offers solution to the
creation of premier structures.

Defence sector involves many strategic infrastructures like roads / bridges / tunnels in
difficult terrains. Defense sector also needs specialized structures for strategic installation and
storage of weapons, armoury and such important things. Construction industry fulfills all needs of
defence sector in the permitted time schedule.

Research and development sectors like space research, nuclear research, power sectors
need specialized infrastructure facilities for their working. Construction industry caters to the
needs of this sector by developing customized infrastructure.

The discussion as above emphasizes the fact that construction industry plays a vital role
in nation building by contributing all sectors from basic needs to highly advanced and specialized
needs. In fact, construction industry contributes to 7.74% of GDP of India. Construction industry
offers employment on a very large scale in both organized as well as un organized sector.
Special characteristics of Civil Engineering works

Civil engineering works stand out as special in comparison to other works like production
or service sector owing to the following characteristics;

• Each construction site is unique having its own features. Hence there is very little chance
for repeatability of work.
• Civil Engineering works are exposed to severe actions of nature like extreme weather,
hazards etc.
• Civil Engineering woks in majority cases do not have facility of trial and analysis.
• Civil engineering works are exposed to unexpected twists and turns of events.
• The activities in civil engineering works are not completely standardized owing to
variation in work conditions.
• Variable factors in civil engineering works are large in number resulting in
unpredictable outcomes.

Classification and types of construction works

Construction works are classified on a number of criteria as under;

1. Based on the nature of work, the construction is classified as original work or repair /
maintenance work.
2. Based on the magnitude, the construction is classified as micro, mini, medium, large and
mega scale works.
3. Based on the sector, construction is classified as buildings, transportation structures,
industrial structures, irrigation structures, environmental structures, marine structures,
specialized structures, defence structures etc.
4. Based on nature of execution, the construction works are classified as departmentally
executed work, contractually executed work etc.

Agencies involved with construction work

A large number of agencies are involved in construction work. Some of the important
agencies and their roles are highlighted as under;
 • Promoter: The agency which takes up the responsibility of undertaking the project is the
promoter. Promoter has to role to arrange for the resources like finance, materials, services etc.
Promoter may be an Owner, Government Department. Company etc.
• Financer: The agency through which promoter raises finance. Financers may be banks,
financial institutes, insurance companies, government (State/Union), international sources like
world bank / international monetary fund, investments/ aids / loans by friendly foreign countries.
• Sanctioning authorities: Construction projects need a number of sanctions and approvals.
Local bodies like Municipal corporation / Municipality / town planning, departments like forest,
pollution control board, environmental engineering are involved in various clearances and
approvals.
• Consultants: A number of consultants are involved in construction projects to offer
professional services. The major consultants are;
➢ Architect: Architect prepare the entire architectural detailing of the project and
also takes up the responsibility of supervision to inspect the conformity of progress of work as
per the details.
➢ Structural consultant: Structural consultant addresses the services pertaining to
structural designs involved in the project.
➢ Project management consultant: Project management consultancy addresses all
issues pertaining to preparing proposals, securing approvals, floating tenders, selecting the
contractor, monitoring the execution of project etc.
➢ Legal Consultant: Infrastructure projects and Civil Engineering works involve
many legal issues pertaining to land acquisition, contracts, Sanctions, Taxes, rebates etc. Legal
experts have a significant role is settling the legal obligations and saving precious time for the
projects.
➢ Financial experts: Construction projects involve huge finance. Raising finance,
utilizing finance prudently and maintaining necessary cash flow are important tasks which are
handled efficiently by finance consultants.
• Contractor: Contractor is the agency which executes the work of te projects as per the
conditions of contract.
• Vendors / suppliers: Construction projects involve use of a variety of materials and
services. Vendors and suppliers of the materials and services form a group of agencies involved
in the project.
 • Marketing and propaganda: Construction projects with commercial outlook need
propaganda and marketing strategies. Agencies with experience in marketing and propaganda
become part of such construction projects.

Resources of construction projects

The major resources involved in the construction projects are;

• Material: Construction projects involve large quantities of variety of materials. On an

approximate estimate, materials account for about 40 to 50 % cost of the project.
• Finance: All activities involved in construction project need expenditure of money. Hence
finance is the most important resource.
• Machinery: Construction projects need deployment of equipment and machinery on a
large scale.
• Human resources: Execution of construction project needs human resource for direct
execution / supervision / monitoring / services.
• Time: Success of a construction project depends on the timely completion of the project.
Hence time is also an important resource.

Stages of construction project

A construction project involves many stages in it. The stages can be broadly classified as ;

• Pre-construction stage
• Construction stage
• Post construction stage

Pre-construction stage can be further divided as;

➢ Project conceptualization stage: where the idea of taking up a project evolves.

➢ Project feasibility analysis stage: involves all studies which deliberate about the feasibility
of the project planned.
➢ Proposal stage: Proposal for approval by competent authorities is prepared and the
necessary approvals are taken.
➢ Project investigation stage: All surveys and investigations needed for planning and
designing of project are carried out.
➢ Planning stage: The detailed plan for the execution of the project is prepared.
 ➢ Project detailing stage: All drawings and designs pertaining to the project are prepared.
➢ Tendering stage: Tendering of the work and agency fixation are completed.

Construction stage of a project involves further sub stages like;

➢ Site mobilization: where, the contractor takes the possession of the site and mobilizes
resources to start the execution.
➢ Execution stage: The actual execution of the project is carried out by the contractor.
➢ Quality assurance and quality control: The quality of wok as per the contract conditions is
monitored.
➢ Evaluation/measurement and billing: The progress of the project is ensured, work done is
measured and the periodic payments to the contractor are done.

Post construction stage involves activities as under;

➢ Handing over stage: wherein the completed project is handed over to the promoter as per
the conditions of contract.
➢ Defect liability mitigation stage: It is the stage where any defects in the project are noticed
are corrected by the contractor in own expenditure.
➢ Maintenance stage: The projects need maintenance to operate at its full potential.
Maintenance includes up-keep, replacements, repairs etc.
➢ Structural audit stage: With aging, a project starts showing signs of deterioration. Structural
audit helps to ascertain the fitness of project. Decision on strengthening for continuance or
replacement can be taken after structural audit.
➢ Replacement stage: At the end of useful life of project is over, the project is discarded and
replaced with better equipped project anew.

Objectives of construction management

Construction management involves application of principles of management to

construction industry. Till recent past, bulk of construction activities are categorized to work in an
unorganized manner. Applying principles of management facilitates construction industry to
evolved as an organized industry. The main objectives of construction management are;

• Completing the work within specified time and budget: Time and cost over shoots in
construction works are common happenings owing to adverse working conditions,
 unpredictable outcomes and unorganized nature of the industry. By applying principles of
management, working can be smoothened resulting in meeting time and budget targets.
• Evolving a reputation of high quality workmanship: The construction management
grooms the work force to accomplish quality. Quality consciousness is a continuously
evolving trend which keeps on further improvement. Such a trend results in stamping of
organization for quality and improves good perception in the minds of the clients.
• Providing safe working conditions for workers and staff: Construction management
enhances emphasis on safety. Safety results in reduction of accidents and hazards resulting
in confidence in the minds of workers and staff which in turn is reflected in output.
• Taking sound decisions at lowest levels of management through delegation of
authority: Construction management introduces the principle of delegation of authority
and responsibility. It also introduces the concept of training managers & engineers in
decision making. Such a concept promotes good coordination and productivity.
• Motivating people to give their best: The principle of motivation promotes acts of
motivation at the work place thereby encouraging the work force.
• Creating an organization that works as a team: Construction management encourages
working in team with proper coordination. Teamwork brings effective work output.

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