Notes Level 2 CMSE All Modules
Notes Level 2 CMSE All Modules
Construction Management
Construction Management is defined as the process of effective utilisation of human and material
resources to accomplish a construction project with pre-defined quality within the estimate and
stipulated time. It is the overall planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to
completion. Its objectives are:
• Completing the work within estimated budget and specified time.
• Maintaining high quality workmanship.
• Providing safe and satisfactory working conditions for all persons and workers in the
organisation.
• Avoiding any negative environmental impact.
• Taking sound decisions and delegation of authority.
• Developing an organization that works as a team.
Functions of Construction Management
Planning
• Planning is deciding in advance – “what to do” and “how to do”.
• Planning is determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals.
• It is the process of selecting a particular method and the order of work to be adopted for a
project from all the possible ways and sequences in which it could be done.
• It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be.
Scheduling
• Scheduling deals with the aspect of “when to do”.
• It is the fitting of the final work plan to a time scale.
• It is a vital tool in both the daily management and reporting of the project progress.
• A schedule shows the duration and the order of various construction activities.
Organising
• It involves division of the total construction work into departments/sections and
systematically managing various operations by giving specific tasks to individuals.
• It involves:
– Identification of activities.
– Classification and grouping of activities.
– Assignment of duties.
Staffing
Industrial Construction
• Real Estate Construction: Residential and commercial building construction, Institutions etc.
• Infrastructure Building: Roads, Irrigation structures, railway, power etc.
• Industrial Construction: It requires special technologies, plants and equipments.
Eg: Textiles, Steel plants, Refineries, Atomic, Power thermal stations, Air craft , Automobile,
Chemical and fertilisers etc.
• Light construction:-It does not require heavy machineries and equipments.
Eg: Light structures of Residential, commercial, water tanks, culverts, small bridges etc.
Operation &
Decommissioning
Maintenance
Superintending Superintending
Engineer (SE) Engineer (SE)
Circle Circle
A small project consisting of six activities has the following characteristics. Draw the network.
i. G is the first activity to be performed.
ii. H and I can be done concurrently and must follow G
iii. H must precede J
iv. K must succeed I, but it cannot start until H is completed.
v. The last operation L is dependent upon the completion of both J and K
The step-by step development of the network is shown below:
Moving from start to finish by adding activity Moving from finish to start by subtracting activity
duration to the occurrence time at tail node duration from the occurrence time at head node
Calculates the earliest occurrence times of all Calculates the latest occurrence times of all
events as the maximum of the values at a node events as the minimum of the values at a node
E j=Max [ Ei +t ij ] Ei =Min[E j−t ij ]
Resource smoothening is used when the resources has to be optimized without extending the
project duration. It is also called ‘Time constrained scheduling’. Critical path should not be allowed to
change.
Job layout is a scaled drawing of proposed construction. Layout of the construction site must be
carefully planned keeping in view the various requirements to construction activities and the specific
constraints in terms of its size, shape, topography, traffic and other restrictions, in public interest. A
well-planned site layout would enable safe smooth and efficient construction operations. The site
layout shall take into considerations the following factors:
• Easy entry and exit, with proper parking of vehicle and equipments during construction.
• Properly located material stores for easy handling and storage.
• Adequate stack areas for bulk construction materials.
Work Study
Work study is the analytical study of a job or operation. It is aimed
at improving the method of doing a work by optimum usage of
resources. It involves time study and motion study.
Time Study
Time study determines the ideal time taken to complete a job.
Motion Study
Motion study is the analysis of human work, to find out the best method of doing it which involves
least efforts.
Tender
A tender is a written offer to execute a specified work within a certain time under certain conditions
of contract between the contractor and the client for a certain amount of money.
Tendering is the process to generate competing offers from different bidders.
Bids are usually invited in two parts – technical and financial, which are opened separately
– Technical bid containing:
• Company profile;
• Proof of eligibility – experience & turn over;
• Earnest money deposit;
– Financial bid containing:
• Offer price
Financial bids are usually opened for only those bidders which qualify technically
Objectives of tendering
• Lower bid due to competition
• Selection of right contractors
• Provides legal cover for the contract through agreement
• Ensures equal opportunities to all eligible contractors
• Ensures transparency in public works
• Gives publicity to the project
Steps in tendering
1. Preparation of tender documents
2. Issue of notice inviting tender
3. Submission of tenders
4. Opening of tenders and their scrutiny
5. Acceptance of tender and award of contract
Tender notice
A notice inviting tender (NIT) is a public document announcing a work and inviting interested parties
to submit their ‘bids’. The details of the condition of the work are also either indicated, or, the
method of obtaining them is given. [The sealed offers including company information, project
outline & a price quoted, are called bids.]
Execution of
Global tender Manual tender Limited tender
services
Goods/Materials
Regular tender Single tender
Supply
Short tender
Quotation
• Name of work
• Authority
• Tender notice number
Govt. Polytechnic College Chelakkara Construction Management & Safety
Engineering 30
• Tender opening date & time
• Tenders sold; offers received
• Tender opened by
• Earnest money details
• Validity of tenders
• Eligibility/Credentials of tenderers
• Special conditions by tenderers
• Comparative Statement.
Firm period
The firm period of a tender is the period from, the date of opening of the tender to the date upto
which the offer given in the tender is binding on the bidder. The firm period is fixed as the maximum
time required within which a decision can be taken on the tender and order of acceptance is issued
in writing to the bidder (which shall not exceed two months in the normal course).
Negotiations
Official discussion held by the designated officer with the contractors if some clarifications are
required or when the rates quoted by them are very high or differs only marginally from others.
• Negotiation is conducted with the lowest tenderer only and has to be completed within the
firm period
• Negotiations should not be resorted to unless substantial financial gain is expected.
• If the variation in quoted rates is less, other tenderers may also be included in negotiation.
Selection of contractor
• H1 or L1 to be decided on the basis of quoted amount tabulated in the comparative
statement
• H1 – for revenue contracts,
• L1 – for expenditure contracts
After it is decided to accept a tender, selection notice in the form of letter of acceptance as per
bidding documents shall be issued to the bidder by the tendering authority before the expiry of firm
period. In case of failure to execute the agreement within this period, tendering authority shall
cancel the offer of contract forfeiting the EMD. EMD of unsuccessful candidates is to be returned.
Quality control
Quality is an attribute to excellence. It involves ‘do it right the first time’ and with ‘zero defects’.
Following are the aspects of quality:
– Fitness for purpose.
– Conformance to specification.
– Meeting or exceeding customer needs.
– Value for money.
Govt. Polytechnic College Chelakkara Construction Management & Safety
Engineering 36
– Consistency - lack of variability.
Need and objectives of quality control
Quality Control includes “the techniques/tests for controlling quality”. It involves systematic
measurement, comparison with standards, monitoring of processes and adopting corrective
measures to ensure quality. Quality control ensures safety, serviceability and durability.
• There are two types of quality control
– Process control includes control at every stage specifically;
– End Control based on end results
QC aims to identify defects in a product before it is released. Construction sector is highly variable in
quality since it depends on the quality of materials and workmanship. Hence it is essential to
maintain the quality of these factors for a quality construction. A good design is supplemented with
‘specifications’ which stipulates the materials and workmanship. ‘Supervision’ and ‘inspection’ keeps
check on the malpractices and minimizes error. Proper ‘sampling’ and ‘testing’ measures the quality
of raw materials and finished products. Construction contractors are responsible for the quality
control of their constructed work product as well as the necessary inspections and tests required to
ensure that their work complies with the contract documents.
Role of specification
Specification includes the description of items of work, details regarding the materials to be used
and the workmanship. It is a statement listing the details of the job to be carried out. Specification is
included in the tender documents along with the drawings and form part of the contract and hence,
it is a legal document. Unit cost of a work depends largely on the specifications. Drawings and
specifications form two important contract documents. Following are the types of specifications.
– General specification - short specification
– Detailed specification – long specification
• Specification defines the quality of materials and workmanship. Hence the contractor will be
able to put correct rates for the different items of the work in the tender form.
• It serves as a guide to the contractor and supervisors during execution of the work.
• It helps the owner to check and satisfy with the quality of works, during execution.
• In case of any disputes between the owner and contractor (with respect to the method of
construction, quality and quantity of materials used, equipments and machineries used etc.),
the specification plays the major role in solving the disputes and arriving at a settlement.
• It gives detailed information regarding the equipment, tool and plants to complete the
project, enabling its timely procurement.
Measurement of works
Rules for taking measurement
• Measurements are recorded at various stages of the work by the Overseer/ Assistant
Engineer as the case may be and duly checked by superior officers.
• The contractor or his authorised agent shall be present at the time of recording of each set
of measurements and shall sign the measurement book and/or level field book in token of
his acceptance.
• If the contractor fails to be present at the time of taking measurements either in person or
through his authorised agent, the measurements taken by the Engineer / Overseer shall be
deemed to be correct subject to check measurements.
• The measurements shall be checked by an officer higher in rank to the officer who has
recorded the measurement, but not by an officer below the rank of an Assistant Engineer.
M-book
A numbered book, with all pages machine-numbered, issued to record the measurements of work. It is a
legal document and to be kept under the safe custody of the officer in charge of the work.
Imprest money
Fixed advance amount given to the project engineers to meet the petty and urgent payments
needed at site like
• Petty repairs
• Local purchases
• Miscellaneous expenses like coolie or labour charges
Guidelines to be followed in maintaining imprest account:
• Payments should be entered daily as and when incurred
• Account should be balanced from time to time
• One copy of imprest form should be sent to the disbursing officer and the counterfoil
retained by the imprest holder
• Account should be supported with vouchers for payment
Recruitment
Recruitment is a process of evoking interest and response among probable candidates to apply for
the vacant position. It is a positive process. Recruitment includes identification of the sources of
manpower availability and securing applicants for the various job positions in the organisation.
Selection
Selection process is an elimination process with a view to select the most suitable candidate
amongst all the applicants. It is also known as negative exercise because of its elimination process.
Unlike recruitment wherein more and more candidates are encouraged to apply for the vacancies, in
selection process through its various stages, candidates are rejected with a view to find out the most
suitable candidate. It includes receiving and screening of applications, employment tests, interview
and medical examination of candidates.
Appointment
To place ‘right person doing the right job’
Appointment is the process of placing the individual employee into a job, matching his skills,
potential, ability and interest with the challenges offered by it, with a view to optimise the individual
as well as organisational performance. Each individual has a unique blend of characteristics which
determines his adjustment in a work situation. Depending upon the built-in strength and weakness
of individual employee, his appointment to a particular post in the organisation is determined.
Increasing productivity
Productivity is the measure of time or effort that’s spent to get things done. It is a yardstick of
efficiency. When employees have high productivity, operations become more efficient, sales targets
Issue to
USR /
Indent / contractor with
unstamped Transportation Delivery challan
requisition invoice after
receipt from to site from site
letter from AE recording in
contractor
stock register
Stock Register
Stock register is a register where issue and receipt of items to and from the store is recorded. It
shows the stock status after every transaction.
– If the total supply is not equal to the total demand then the problem is called
unbalanced transportation problem.
• Solution :
– If the total supply is more than the total demand, then we add a new column, with
transportation cost 0
– If the total demand is more than the total supply, then we add a new row, with
transportation cost 0
Total Supply = 235, Total Demand = 215; Supply > Demand; Hence an unbalanced problem
Add a dummy demand column for a demand of 235-215= 20
[If supply = 215 and demand = 235, a dummy source column of supply 20 has to be added]
Construction Equipments
• Earth moving equipments
• Dozer, grader, power shovel, back hoe, JCB, ripper, dragline, clam shell etc.
• Hoisting equipments
• Construction lift, tower crane, gantry crane, jib crane, winch & pulley, chain block
etc.
• Transporting vehicles
• Tractor trailer, dumpers, tippers, trucks etc.
• Concreting equipments
• Concrete mixing machine, batching plant, concrete pump, vibrators, etc
• Miscellaneous equipments
• Water pump, compressors, pneumatic/electric driller, Jack hammer,
Hydraulic/screw jack etc.
Procurement of Equipments
Methods of procuring equipments
• Outright purchase: Equipment is purchased
– Buying is preferred if the equipment is essential for the key operations and is
expected to provide service for a long time
– Long term basis
– Advantages:
• It is economical if the equipment is used sufficiently,
• It is more likely to be available for use when needed.
• As ownership ensures better maintenance and care, purchased equipment
will be in better mechanical condition.
– Disadvantages:
• It may prove more expensive than renting.
• The purchase of equipment may require a substantial investment of money
that may be needed for other purposes.
• The ownership of equipment may influence a contractor to continue using
obsolete equipment even after superior equipment has been introduced.
• The ownership of equipment designed primarily for a given type of work
may induce a contractor to continue doing that type of work, while other
works are available at a higher profit.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is a process of designing, launching and running a new business. It is an activity of
setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. An entrepreneur is
somebody who sees a new opportunity and creates a business to exploit it. Entrepreneurs have the
following characteristics: open-minded, confident, disciplined, optimistic, self-starters, determined,
creative, competitive, fast-learners, adaptable, friendly.
Factors promoting entrepreneurship
• Self-employed
• Complete freedom of job
• Employer to many employees
Quality management
Quality concepts
Quality is an attribute to excellence. Aspects of quality: