Project report on construction

Project report on aspectCHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION1.0 emphasize INFORMATIONThe per constructance of the construction industry has a major tempt on the sparing, infrastructure, agricultural and technological development of a country (R. Chudley, 1995). aspect is change magnitudely becoming advancedly technical and sophisticated with high well-worn of quality and specification. These coupled with clients demand for value-for-m nonpargonily craves the efficient employment of equipment which bay window more practic altogethery than non improve productivity in the construction industry. The general aim of every(prenominal) construction is to produce a structure that stick let out provide the acceptful functions at the roughly reasonable cost, deep d experience a given m frame and at the required level of quality. Mechanization is unity of the shipway by which these could be earnd. The fast developing construction industry right rack up intemperately depends on equ ipment to achieve the high demands of quality draw delivery.Equipment implies the machinery, tools ( some other than craftsmens personalized tools) employ in the contractors yard, hammershop or rank. frequently, equipment atomic number 18 introduced to contracts to subjoin the roam of output, reduce over completely mental synthesis cost, achieve high output regulars often propagation required by present day designs and specifications, eliminate heavy manual(a) dress thence reducing fatigue and simple machinery out activities which discharge non be done manually or do them more economically ( R. Chudley, 1995).The origin of equipment to a contract does non however necessarily result in economic savings unless the contract bet is so organized that machines ar bountifuly utilized or cash in ones chips for continuous degrees at full capacity that is close 85% of its on- situate time, their enjoyment will non be economical. To be economic, equipment essenti al be fully utilized and not left stand up idle since equipment, whether filld or induceed, will stomach to be paid for even if it is non-productive (R. Chudley, 1995).Heavy equipment will be involve for digging, draw poker, lifting and merchant marine of materials and people during the construction of a project in battle array to meet all the clients specifications. Contractors stand to gain from the use of equipment in the form of increased output per employee, increased productivity from equipment leading to overall cyberspace.Unfortunately, consummation of construction firms in the industry has been affected by several constraints with lose of access to finance arguably the about critical of these constraints. At least, it prevents contractors from procuring all needed resources for their construction works including equipment (Eyiah A and Cook P, two hundred3).It is against this background that this probe has been conducted to find the equipment acquisition met hods being utilise by gold coastian contractors as well as the paradoxs the contractors encounter when acquiring equipment for their construction.1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMThe highly technical and standardized nature of current construction designs and high demands in terms of quality coupled with often short contract durations undeniably demands the use of equipment. They play an increasingly cracking(prenominal) role in building as well as complaisant engineer functions and whatever(prenominal) time and a lot of money female genitals be protected by acquiring and using them. Heavy equipment argon needed for slam, haulage, lifting and transferral of materials and people during the construction of a project so performing an operation faster, more economically, safely and with a better quality and finish.Not wearing such(prenominal) great achievable benefits, it requires substantial roof to procure equipment, set up full treatment management departments and even use the equipment. It often requires very epic bank guarantees, collaterals, high interest rates on bank loans, more or lesstimes cumbersome bureaucratic procedures to acquire funds to acquire plant or equipment. This is probably why near Ghanaian contractors still depend heavily on manual labour to exe data atomic number 82e their projects.On outsized and multiform projects of long durations, it whitethorn be practical to purchase plant or equipment for a specific job and resell at the end of the contract. The problem hither is that fluctuations in prices on our current market whitethorn support it difficult to forecast costs with certainty. Equipment holding firms often do not offer favorable and attractive conditions for the acquisition of equipment to encourage contractors to use equipment on the projects. Very a few(prenominal) of the contractors crapper meet the required conditions out introductory procuring well-nigh needed equipment. Again, equipment holding firms at omic number 18 usually found in the urban atomic number 18as of our country which ar almost always far away from most of the construction settles warranting high haulage costs from the plant depot.Purchasing a plant or equipment could also tell greatly on the pay of the firm as a very braggy sum of money whitethorn be locked up in purchasing the plant which and then has to be worked at a good utilization level to keep back coronations made into it. Finally, purchasing equipment is sound investment if on that point is enough work ahead to keep it fully occupied. Some estimates rede the equipment essential(prenominal) be working regularly for three to five age to recover the capital outlay. However the situation in Ghana is that of many contractors competing for very few projects. Construction firms cannot be assured of regular projects to fully utilize their investment in equipment therefore they rather do not invest in it all or when they do, it is very minimal. All t he aforementioned problems collectively supply to the reason why most of the contractors be unable to acquire the prerequisite equipment for construction works and thus leaving construction in Ghana still very labour intensive.1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThe main aim of this study is to analyze the existing equipment acquisition methods in use in the Ghanaian construction industry as well as the problems that the contractors encounter when acquiring equipment with the run across to recommending better and more effective practices in the construction industry.Specific objectives of the probe argon to* Find out existing equipment acquisition options use by the Ghanaian contractor.* Identify problems faced by the Ghanaian contractor in acquiring equipment for construction works.* Examine existing ar grazements (if any) made amid equipment strike and manufacturing companies and the construction companies.* Recommending better acquisition options as well as solutions to some of the m ajor problems the contractors face when they try to acquire equipment.1.3 SCOPE OF WORKA number of firms inwardly the D1 and D2 of contractors by the Ministry of Water, Works and Housing and the Ministry of Roads and re run short in the Kumasi Metropolis will be identified, selected and studied.The equipment items that will be cover chthonic the study will let in general equipments, earth pitiable, lifting, transporting and excavation equipments.CHAPTER TWOLITERATURE REVIEW2.1 INTRODUCTION CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTEquipment plays an increasingly important role in building as well as civil engineering operations, and both time and money can be saved by the efficient use of mechanistic aids. Equipment implies the machinery, tools (other than craftsmens personal tools) and other equipment used in the contractors yard, workshop or site. These whitethorn flow from small progress held index finger tools to jumbor and more expensive equipment such as mechanical excavators and genus Gruss. The aim of any construction activity or project is to produce a structure of the right quality and standard at an optimum cost within an acceptable time frame. The use of equipment for construction bugger offs needed where using manual labour will not help achieve the projects objectives. Generally, equipment are introduced to contracts for one of the undermentioned reasons* Increased production.* Reduction in overall construction costs.* Carry out activities which cannot be carried out by the traditionalistic manual methods in the context of economics.* Eliminate heavy manual work thus reducing fatigue and as a consequence increasing productivity.* Replacing labour where there is a shortage of personnel with the obligatory skills.* Maintain the high standards required particularly in the context of geomorphological engineering works (R. Chudley, 1997).2.1.2 SOME COMMON CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT USED DURING CONSTRUCTION.Presented here is a outline description of some of t he important construction equipment that may be used during the construction of a building project.2.1.2.1 EARTH move MACHINESThe equipment described here include the bulldozers, graders, trumperypers and so onthat are used to move coarse volumes of comprehendd materials during construction.BULLDOZERThe primary earth-moving machine is the heavy-duty tractor, which when fitted with tracks to grip the ground and with a large movable blade attached in front, is called a bulldozer. The bulldozer as shown in fig 2.1 infra may be used to clear brush, small trees, debris, remove boulders, and level ground. They may even be used as towing tractor or a pusher to a scrapper. They rest essentially of a track or wheel mount condition building block with a mould blade at the front. umteen bulldozers give way the capacity to adjust the mould blade to form an angledozer which can incline the mould blade about a central swivel point. They become even very useful especially in civil en gineering projects, which often require the moving of millions of cubic meters of earth. These bulldozers are however not curb for final leveling and cannot be used for pointing thus requiring other equipment to load.TRACTOR SHOVELThese are sometimes called loaders or loader shovels and primary function is to scoop up loose materials in the front attach pailful, elevate the bucket and deposit the material into an confederate transport vehicle. Tractor shovels are driven towards the pile of loose material with the lowered bucket. The speed and the power of the machine will then enable the bucket to be filled. To increase their versatility, the tractor shovels can be fitted with a 4 in 1 bucket enabling them to mail out bulldozing, excavating, lifting and fill up activities.Like the scrapper, the tractor shovel is not fitting for work in rocks and waterlogged areas and will require a crawler tractor to work in the latter condition. GRADERSSomewhat quasi(prenominal) to scraper s are graders which are self-propelled, wheeled machines with a long, inclined or goodly adjustable steel blade. Graders are primarily finishing equipment they level earth already moved into position by bulldozers and scrapers. They are similar to the bulldozers in that they book a long slender adjustable mould blade, which is usually slung to a lower place the centre of the machine. The mould blade can be suitably change in both the even and just planes through an angle of three hundred the latter enabling it to be used for grading sloping banks. This prat Deere grader seen in Fig 2.2a below has a laser leveling unit mounted on its blade which constantly adjusts the height of the blade to stop that the ground is made precisely flat.The low motive power of a grader does not generally allow for use in excavations. A grader cannot load nor move teases of significant quantity over a long distance. It is massive in size and therefore not suitable for work in small and/or con fined areas and corners.SCRAPERSA scraper is a machine that may be pulled by a tractor or may be self-powered and consists of a blade and a bowl or container. The bowl is lowered to cut and collect soil where site denudation and leveling operations are required involving large volume of earth. The soil may then be released so as to form an even layer of a predetermined thickness or be carried off for disposal elsewhere.To obtain upper limit efficiency, scrappers should endure downhill and as much as possible remove smooth haul passageways and hard surfaces mazed up before scraping. Scrappers are not suitable for use in waterlogged areas and in rocky grounds. They cannot be used in loading and also would need transportation amongst sites. Microsoft Encarta 2006 R. Chudley, 19972.1.2.2 EXCAVATORSThese form part of the main equipment items that are often used in construction. They are primarily used to excavate as well as load different typefaces of soil. Each different type of excavator has specific soil conditions where it works best. Below is a brief description of some of the familiar excavating equipment found in construction. All of them can easily be classified under one of the following categories Multi intend, General or Universal and Purpose Made excavators.MULTI-PURPOSE EXCAVATORMulti-purpose excavators like the one shown if fig. 2.4 are fitted with a loading and excavating front bucket and a stooge backactor bucket. When in operation using the backactor bucket, the machine is raised off its axels by rear mounted hydraulic outriggers or jacks and in some models by placing the front bucket on the ground. TRENCHERA trencher is designed to excavate trenches at constant width with a high point in time of the true and speed. It can cut trenches of widths between 250 and 450mm and up to 4.00m deep. It consists of a number of excavating buckets mounted on a continuous mechanism on a vertical boom. The boom is lowered into the ground to the require d depth to be excavated. The bedevil is then transferred along a cross conveyor to deposit the fellate along the side of the trench.A trencher as shown in fig 2.5 is most suitable for long and deep trench excavation and it also gives a fairly accurate and clean trench width and would therefore not require further trimmings to sides of trenches it excavates.A trencher cannot load materials it excavates and also unable to work in rock.SKIMMERSkimmers are used for surface stripping and shallow excavation work up to 300mm deep where a high degree of accuracy is required. They usually requires sequent haulage vehicles to remove the spoil and they also give birth to be transported between sites on a low-loader.The qualified nature of the bucket movement does not allow high output rates as compared with other over site excavating equipment. A sailor requires a large operational area and is therefore not recommended for work in small and restricted areas.BACKACTORBackactors are about the most common excavating equipment used in construction. They are suitable for trench, foundation and basement excavations especially in restricted areas. They can be used with or without attendant haulage vehicles since the spoil can be set alongside the excavation for use in backfilling. Unlike the face shovel, they excavate by moving the bucket towards the chassis of the machine. It then raises the bucket in a shut in position to discharge the excavated material through the front outspoken bucket. They can also be used to load hard but broken down materials. They require a low-loader transportation between sites and trenches excavated using the backactor may need other equipment for trimming to obtain desired smooth edges. Shown below in fig 2.6a and b are pictures of a John Deere and cat backactors respectively.FACE SHOVEL The primary function of this machine is to excavate against a face or a bank above its own track or wheel level. It is suitable for clay and can be used in excavating and even rock which needs to be loosened, usually by blasting prior to the excavation. A face shovel has the added advantage of loading materials excavated into dump trucks. It can also be used extensively for relocating spoils within a given radius or short distance and for heaping spoils for futurity use.Face shovels like the one shown in fig. 2.7 above usually require attendant haulage vehicles for the removal of the spoil and a low-loader transportation between sites most especially in developed areas. They are also not suitable for deep excavations.2.1.2.3 TRANSPORTING EQUIPMENTThese are mainly used for the transportation of personnel, materials, machines and equipment from one site to the other or from one location to the other within a relatively large site. They range from conventional saloon car to the large low loader lorries designed to transport other items of builders equipment between construction sites and the equipment yard or depot.VANSThese transpor t vehicles range from the small twain person plus a limited amount of materials to the large vans with purpose designed bodies such as those designed to carry sheets of glass. The vans can be supplied with an uncovered tipping or non-tipping container mounted behind the passenger cab for use as a pick-up truck.LORRIESLorries which are usually referred to as haul vehicles are available as road or site scarcely vehicles. The road haulage vehicles bind to comply with all the requirements of the concerning vehicle usage which among other requirements limits size and axle loads. The site only vehicles are not so restricted and can be designed to carry two to three times the axle load allowed on the public highways. They are also designed to withstand the rough terrain encountered on many construction sites.Lorries specifically designed for the transportation of large items of equipment are called low loaders and are usually fitted with integral or removal ramps to facilitate loading e quipment onto the carrier platform. PASSENGER VEHICLESThese can range from a simple framed cabin which can be situated in the container of a small lorry or pick-up truck to a conventional bus or coach. These vans can also be designed to carry a limited number of seated passengers by having obstinate or removable seating together with windows fitted in the van sides thus giving the vehicle a dual function. DUMPERSDumpers are used for horizontal transportation of materials ranging from aggregates to wet concrete on and off construction sites generally by means of an integral tipping skip.Highways dumpers or dumper trucks are similar but larger design and can be used to carry materials such as excavated spoil along the roads. A wide range of dumpers are available with variuos carrying capacities with hydraulic see for either a side, front or elevted tipping. They are designed to traverse rough terrain but they are not desinged to carry passengers. Shown above in fig. 2.8a and 2.8b a re shown a standard site dumper and a dumper truck respectively.FORK LIFTSThese are used for horizontal and limited vertical transportation of mterials positioned on pallets or banded together such as brick packs. They are generally suitable for construction sites where the building height does not exceed three storeys. They are available in three basic forms namely staright mast, overhead and telescopic boom (shown in fig. 2.9a-c) with various height, reach and lifting capacities.HOISTSHoists are designed for vertical transportation of materials, passengers or both. Material hoists are usually mobile and they can be dismantled, folded onto the chassis and moved to another position or site under their own power or towed by a haulage vehicle.Passenger hoists are designed to carry passenger passengers although they most can be suitable of carrying the load of passengers as well as materials. 2.1.2.4 CRANESCranes are lifting devices designed to raise materials by means of rope operati on and move the load horizontally. Crane types can range from simple rope and auction block to complex tower cranes but most can be placed within one of three groups namely static (operate from a mend position), mobile (operating position can be changed by cran under its own power) and tower (can be operated from a fixed position or check mounted to become mobile) cranes.Several forms of cranes can be identified. Some of these are listed below* Self propelled cranes* Lorry Mounted cranes* Track mounted cranes* gantry/Portal cranes* Tower cranesBelow in fig. 2.10 is shown the different types of cranes used in the construction industry.2.1.2.5 Concreting equipmentthese equipment perhaps fall among the group of equipment that may be readily found on most constrction sites since concrete usually forms a large propotion of the materials used in construction.Concreting equipment can simply as classified under the following headings mixed bag, transportation and placing.CONCRETE MIXER SThese are used in mixing concrete especially in large volumes. Apart from the very large output socials most concrete socials in general use have a rotating drum designed to produce concrete without segregation of the mix. intimately small batch mixers are of tilting drum type with outputs up to 200 lit/batch. They are generally hand loaded which makes the quality control of successive mixes difficult to regulate.Medium batch mixers can achieve outputs up to about 750lit/batch and may be designed with a tilting drum mixer or as a non-tilting drum mixer with a reversable drum. These mixers usually have integral weight bacthing loading hoppers, scrapper shovels and water armoured combat vehicle thus giving better qualtity control than the small batch mixers.The pictures shown in fig. 2.11 and 2.12 are the very common 10/7 concrete mixer and 6m3 capacity ready mix concrete machine. EQUIPMENT FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE.Wheel barrows are the most common form of transporting concrete i n small volumes. However for large volumes of up to about 600 litres, dumpers are more appropriate. Ready mixed concrete trucks are used to transport mixed concrete of volumes between 4-6m3 from a mixing equipment or depot to the site. Discharge can be localize into placing position via a chute or into some form of site dumper such as a dumper, crane skip or dumper.VIBRATOR After placing concrete in its formwork, excavated area or mould, the concrete must be properly worked around any insets or reinforcement and ultimately compacting the concrete to the required consolidation. This can be done to some degree satisfaction using tamping boards or rods but most appropritely using vibrators. fire hook vibrators consist of a hollow steel tube casing in which is a rotating impellar which generates vibrations as its heard comes into contact with the casing.Microsoft Encarta 2006 R. Chudley, 19972.2 EQUIPMENT ACQUISITIONGenerally, a construction company has two options in acquiring equipm ent it may either own machinery and equipment or utilise it. Management must decide early on whether the equipment needed on site is to be employ or purchased straightaway, if it is not already available within the company. Purchasing equipment is sound investment if there is enough work ahead to keep it fully employed. Some estimates suggest the equipment must be working regularly for three to five years to recover the capital outlay J.E. Johnston, 1981. The decision to purchase will incessantly have important financial consequences for the firm, since considerable capital sums will be locked up in plant, which must then be operated at an economic utilization level to produce a profitable rate of save on the investment .In recent years however, the growth of the independent equipment hire sector of the construction industry has greatly facilitated this latter option and roughly 50-60% of equipment presently used on projects is hired. Many firms however prefer to hire only tho se items of equipment which are required to meet peak demand or specialized duties F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 2001. 2.2.1 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONSThe introduction of equipment to a project does not necessarily result in economic savings since extra temporary site works such as road works, foundations, hard standings and anchorages may have to be provided at a cost which may be in excess of the savings made by using the equipment. The site layout and circulation may have to be planned around equipment positions and accommodation. The full advantage of employing the equipment can only be realized if the equipment is well managed, both on and off the site, and this requires a thorough understanding of the economic aspects of using equipment and vehicles. For example, a crane will become expensive if the design does not allow a fairly continuous programme of work whilst it is on the site.To be economic, plant must be fully utilized and not left standing idle since equipment, whether hire d or owned, will have to be paid for even if it is non-productive. Full utilisation of equipment is usually considered to be in the sphere of 85% of on site time, thus making an allowance for operation daily and planned maintenance which needs to be carried out to rid of as far as practicable equipment breakdowns which could disrupt the construction programme. Many pieces of equipment work in conjunction with other items of equipment such as excavators and their attendant haulage vehicles therefore a correct sense of balance of such equipment items must be obtained to achieve an economic result (R. Chudley, 1995 R.E Calvert et al, 1996).2.2.3 EQUIPMENT POLICY2.2.3.1 OWN only EQUIPMENTThe policy practiced by many enterprises is to purchase, or lease long term, most of the equipment needs and thereby provide availability at all times, with the added advantage of the prestige attached to demonstrating the use of owned equipment. However, much capital will be locked up in the equip ment, which must become capable of generating a sufficient rate of return. A major evil of this dodge is the problem of maintaining adequate levels of utilisation. Equipment holdings are usually built up to religious service a growing demand, and will become a heavy financial obligation in the case of an economic recession. Any available work may then subsequently need to be undertaken to sustain the fleet, since equipment cannot easily be exchange in a declining market.2.2.3.2 HIRE ALL EQUIPMENTMany specialiser hire/rental firms offer the supply of equipment now on the open market. To take advantage of this facility avoids both the responsibility of maintenance and the ligature up of capital. The equipment may be hired for a specified period and often times the equipment operator also is provided by the equipment supplier.The main disadvantage of hiring is that the hire rate depends on market forces and suppliers are largely beyond the control of the hire, except for limited ne gotiation between competing firms.2.2.3.3 A compounding OF HIRE AND OWNA mixed policy of owning and hiring equipment may be the preferred option. For example, regularly required items might be purchased and hiring adopted only to smooth out demand (Edwards D.J, 2003).F.T. Edum-Fotwe (1990) writes that serious consideration should also be given to the extent to which the equipment is to be operated before an acquisition decision is made. He outlines the following factors concerning the level of operation of a equipment1. Acquire equipment new and operate to a down value and sell it.2. Acquire second-hand equipment and operate to scrap value.3. Acquire equipment new and operate to scrap value.4. Acquire a second-hand equipment and operate to a down value and resell. 2.2.4 FINANCING OF EQUIPMENTA firm, having decided to defile a equipment instead of hiring, has the following methods of paying for the equipment.1. Cash or outright purchase2. Hire Purchase3. Credit Sales4. Leasing5. H iring2.2.4.1 CASH OR OUTRIGHT PURCHASEWhen using this option, the buyer pays cash or now at the time of purchase, thereby providing tangible asset on the balance sheet. Obviously, this option is only possible if cash is available and therefore presupposes that profits have been built up from investors such as shareholder, bank loans, etc. Also, some large or technically unusual contracts sometimes include monies to permit the contractor to purchase the necessary equipment at the start of the project F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 2001. R. Chudley, 1997 simply identifies some of the advantages of outright purchase as1. Equipment availability is wholly within the control of the contractor.2. Hourly cost of equipment is generally less than hired equipment.3. Owner has choice of costing method used.J.E. Johnston, 1981 however advices that besides the purchase price of a equipment, consideration should be given to the following points1. keen outlay and interest charges2. The cost of mainte nance and repairs3. The cost of transporting equipment between sites4. indemnification premium and5. Standing time on site.When examining the need to own equipment, the following points must be considered 1. Will the item of equipment generate sufficient disorder to provide an adequate rate of return on the capital employed?2. Is ownership of the equipment, rather than obtaining it by some other method, absolutely necessary for the business?3. Is outright purchase the only way of acquiring the equipment? F. Harris and R. McCaffer, 20012.2.4.1.1 equal OF OWNING AN EQUIPMENTThe cost of owning and operating construction equipment is affected by factors such as the cost of the equipment delivered to the owner, the severity of the conditions under which it is used, the attentions with which the owner maintains and repairs it and the demand for used equipment when it is sold which will affect the salvage value. In his report, Effects of equipment breakdown on civil and building constr uction works, Markus S. Clarke (2001) identified the costs involved in owning and operating equipment asi. DepreciationWhen a unit of equipment is placed in operation, it begins to wear out. Regardless of the care in maintaining and repairing it, the equipment will wear out or become obsolete and has to be replaced. The owner of the equipment has to provide a reserve fund to replace it when it is worn out. Where the contractor fails to include an appropriate allowance for depreciation of his equipment in his estimate, there will be no funds available to replace the equipment when they become aged or obsolete.ii. alimentation and repairsThe cost of maintenance and repairs varies considerably with the type of equipment, the service to which it is assigned and the care it receives. The annual costs of maintenance and repairs is expressed as a piece of the annual cost of depreciation or independent of depreciation and it must also be sufficient to cover the cost of keeping the equipme nt operating.