12 minute read
Construction Industry (Technical)
Procurement in Construction
Mohammed Elaida MCIOB
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An Introduction to Procurement in Construction
A project may be considered successful if the building is delivered at the stipulated time, to budget, as per specifications, and built in a safe environment (Lester, 2007); these criteria, and others, are, usually, carefully considered when choosing the right procurement route
Project Triangle
Time
• Types: Re-measurement Contract with approximate Bill of Quantities, schedule of rates or cost reimbursement
2. Integrated or Design & Build (D&B)
• known as design-and-build, design and construct or one-stop-shop • integration of the design and construction at the same time • the contractor assumes full responsibility for the design and construction under one single financial transaction • Types: Conventional D&B, Novation D&B, Develop & Construct, package deal, and Turnkey
3. Management Oriented
Cost
S
Safety
Quality Performance
(Lester, 2007)
The procurement process is the method used to acquire goods and/or services, which must, carefully, be managed to ensure that good value is obtained; the correct goods or services are purchased, a high level of quality is obtained, timescales are met and good relationships are maintained between the Client and the Contractor.
The selected route should follow a strategy which fits the objectives of the client's business plan. Considerations are likely to include: • Originated in Sweden and developed in the USA • The Contractor is appointed on a professional basis as an equal member of the design team providing construc- tion expertise. • The Contractor manages and coordinates the inception, design, and construction phases of the project, through the entire project process. • Reimbursement is based on Lump Sum or percentage fee for the management services plus the prime cost of construction • Types are: Management Contracting, Construction Man agement and Design and manage.
• Speed • Cost • Quality • Specific project constraints • Risk • Asset ownership • Financing
Masterman (2002) classified construction procurement into four systems: Separated, Integrated, Management Oriented and Discretionary.
1. Separated or ‘Design-Bid-Build method’
• Based on a linear and sequential process with little or no parallel working • The design is the responsibility of the Client, and the implementation is that of the contractor • Client prepares the brief, followed by the appointment of a consultant/designer as project’s leader, who develops and finalises the detailed design • Competitive tendering starts once detail design is complete • Tender is based on full detailed but approximate Bill of Quantities
4. Discretionary
• Administrative and cultural framework • Client imposes very specific management style or culture • Any optional means of controlling the project by the Client • A strategy that satisfies client’s development and/or operational needs • Types are: Partnering, PPP and PFI
An in-depth into the various categories and types may be addressed in the next article.
Industrial Heritage in Malta:
Ruben Paul Borg
PART 1
Prof. Perit Ruben Paul Borg is Leader of the Water Tower Restoration Project and Principal Investigator of the ReSHEALience Horizon 2020 Research Project. He is a consultant Materials and Structural Engineer, Academic and Coordinator of the Industrial Heritage Platform at the University of Malta.
The article reviews the conservation of the unique Reinforced Concrete Water Tower at the Public Abattoir in Marsa, Malta. The restoration was based on research and development of innovative high-performance materials together with their application, new advanced techniques in restoration of reinforced concrete and the development of a smart sensor network system for the durability and structural health monitoring of the structure. The two-part article, reviews the challenges encountered in the recovery of this unique industrial heritage monument and the complexity of the restoration process. The project led to a wider appreciation of industrial heritage in the Maltese Islands and set the bar for future interventions.
The reinforced concrete water tower was constructed in the 1930s to serve the needs of the Public Abattoir. It is the only structure of its type and size in the Maltese Islands and is considered as an important Industrial Heritage monument. The Water Tower consists of a reinforced concrete structure c.15 m high with a c. 10m diameter tank having a capacity of 400 cubic m. The tank consists of a shell structure with a cylindrical drum resting on a truncated conical structure with a dome at the base and ring beams, supported on 12 slender reinforced concrete columns. The structure had been considered for demolition in 2010 as a result of severe degradation and significant loss of section particularly of the shell structure of the tank. The case for the conservation of the unique water tower was made by the University of Malta, leading to a strategic conservation programme. The project required the development of new methodologies in the emerging field of reinforced concrete conservation, which had to be designed for the complex structure whilst effectively addressing the severe degradation.
The complexity of the conservation project and innovative solutions which had to be developed, required a comprehensive Management Framework, which could ensure the recovery of the industrial heritage monument.
The intervention was conducted on the basis of scientific restoration methodology and included key strategic steps: archival research and documentation, the appraisal of the industrial heritage structural through mapping of deterioration, research campaigns in the assessment of the materials and the structure including, materials non-destructive assessment, materials testing, structural microtremor analysis and numerical structural modelling and scenario testing to optimise repair and strengthening interventions.
The methodologies for restoration were planned depending on specific needs of the structure. New complex techniques for restoration were developed and applied in the restoration project including electro-chemical chloride extraction, re-alkalisation of reinforced concrete, epoxy injection and polymer concrete patch repair and the use of corrosion inhibitors, re-integration of the structure and improvement of bond between materials, using specialist techniques. _______________________________________________
The conservation project, completed in 2021, was led by the Materials Engineering and Structrual Monitoring Group at the Universtiy of Malta. [Project funded through the University of Malta, the Research Project ReSHEALience in Ultra High Durability Concrete at the University of Malta (supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 760824), the Public Abattoir and the Planning Authority].
Health & Safety
WORKING AT HEIGHT WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?
Michael Spiteri
A few weeks ago, a minimum wage worker at a construction site was instructed byhis supervisor to assist another worker to dismantle a four lift scaffold structure.The supervisor threw a couple of harnesses and said, “Put these on and get upon the scaffold” When one worker told him that he is incapable for this task, hissupervisor told him to obey instructions or otherwise he’d be fired.
But are you as an employer really allowing such a thing? No. You aren’t. You’resimply doing the best you can. This is one of those situations where you need toput the onus of responsibility where it belongs: squarely on your shoulders as anemployer.
I enforced workplace health and safety law for almost two decades now, and thiscase stands out to me, because it so clearly exemplifies why all of us should careabout workers’ rights - the right to provide information and training . But whathappens if you don't? What are the consequences of not ensuring people workingat height are trained?
By way of context it is helpful to start by considering how the Courts approachemployers or directors who fail to comply with the OHSA and the Regulations.
On February 2019,the directors of a construction company and a foreman werefined almost €35,000 between them after they were found responsible for thedeath of a man who fell from height of nine storeys. The Legal Notice 88 of 2018defines working at heights to be where any person may fall to a lower level liableto cause personal injury. The distances involved do not need to be great as ninestoreys since injuries can also be sustained should an individual fall a relativelyshort distance .
So it stands to reason that working at heights adds an element of risk to what mayalready be a dangerous job. Gravity has a habit of punishing even the slightestmistake and the fact of construction deaths from falls is surprisingly high. It mustbe repeated that one death is too many, as every death represents the loss of aloved one.
Given the seriousness of the issue, what is the underlying cause? These eventsare usually due to poor management control rather than equipmentfailure. Working at heights will involve a level of supervision and ongoingtraining and instruction, as well as regular review of the effectiveness of thesystems and procedures that you might have put in place. There is an awesome amount of information available on the internet related toworking at height, including the risks, injuries and the safe method systems forworking at heights. You can also find court sentences when self employed,contractors or companies are fined; what we cannot find are the feelings ofdevastation and mental cost that workers and companies who have been involvedin a fall incur.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
The most important element of occupational health and safety is prevention. The danger of falling at height is real,and can bring devastating consequences.
So, if you are self-employed, it is your responsibility to ensure you havecompleted all the necessary training to do your job. If you're contracted to abuilding project and using access platforms for your operatives, it is up to you to make sure you have the appropriate equipment and training certification. If you are the main contractor or client, you should never hire external contractors whodo not have the relevant qualifications if working at height is part of the job.
With over 25 years of safety experience, Michael is an accredited occupational health and safetycompetent person. He has seen and experienced the challenges faced by the building andmanufacturing industries, port operations and service providers. – where his knowledge,experience and expertise in the field of event health & safety is un-paralleled.He has devised and written a number of training courses aimed specifically for the buildingindustry and these courses have provided industry professionals with the necessary knowledgeto confidently dispense their duties with both moral and legislative compliance.Michael is graduated in Social Studies and Industrial Relations. He is currently a traininginstructor at BICC.
SCAFFOLDING IN MALTA
WHAT A DEVELOPER NEEDS TO KNOW?
Authors: Jesmond Chetcuti & Marc V. Spiteri
PART 1
It would be difficult for anybody to refute the current state of the construction industry in Malta at the moment. The case of Jaiteh Lamin and the most recent incident which resulted in the death of another construction worker, this time of Eastern European descent, are only the latest in a marred and chequered history that the local industry has had with a lackadaisical and amateurish approach towards safety, welfare and responsibility.
Dangers on site are utterly non-biased and indiscriminate. Tragedy and accidents can befall anybody, any time – site owner, site worker, illegal immigrant, or even an experienced and trained professional. This series will intend to raise awareness of all parties in the industry and also of the first-time buyer intent on doing some plastering or painting work themselves, the DIY enthusiast and anybody who considers themselves fit and able to undertake works. We will begin with the most evident lesion on the face of it all. An element right there, standing tall and visible for all to see. The rising towers which we sometimes see around our buildings.
Definition of scaffolding and its use
Scaffolding may be defined as, ‘’a temporary structure intended to facilitate working at heights, used by workmen while building, repairing, or cleaning the building”.
By its very definition it is a temporary structure, therefore intended to be mountable and demountable, easily moved and also, lightweight. Technically, these are referred to as dynamic structures, which are quite complex in their own right, susceptible to minute vibrations, including the effects of heavy winds, and are designed with little margin for additional loading. They are generally intended for exterior use and for access to workers and need to be fit for purpose. While a simple paint job might not be too complicated, a paint job three storeys high brings about a fair share of intricacies. A scaffold structure has various purposes, but the main one is to create a safe system of work for working at height, intended to provide safety for either those using it, or for those passing beneath it.
Are the scaffold structures in Malta being built the right way?
Currently, the regulations pertaining to scaffolding seem to be a well-guarded secret within the local context. A quick Google search yields links to a number of reputable suppliers and a strew of articles documenting political promises to reform the health and safety regulations locally.
In depth delving is necessary to refer to the existing legislation that regulates the local Occupational Health and Safety Authority and to find reference being made to ‘works at height’ and ‘scaffold and ladders’ in subsidiary legislation to the OHSA Act (S.L.424.36). This legislation correctly points out that all scaffolding must be, amongst other things, properly designed, constructed and maintained to ensure that it does not collapse or move accidentally, and that work at height must be properly planned and carried out on the basis of the requirements of a separate subsidiary legislation, which in turn refers to the importance of preparing risk assessments, the obligations of employers and workers, and the requirement of training, with regards to occupational health and safety at the work place, in general.
Further digging eventually leads one to guidance notes with regards to scaffolding and temporary structures, however, all the existing legislation cannot be considered ‘design standards’ or ‘minimum specifications’ for the erection of scaffolding. The regretful situation is that one need only look around anywhere on the island at the state of some of the visible scaffolds that speaks for itself. While there are some enterprises who try and actually succeed to implement safe and well erected scaffolds, they are oftentimes overlooked with the excuse of budget limitation as well as a possible lack of developer knowledge.
Cases arise where an uninitiated developer, your everyday Joe undertaking to build his home or their first block of flats, reasons out that they have paid for a service, and that should include for all necessities, failing to have sufficient knowledge of the industry to know the relevance of costs or their own responsibility. The onus is put on a developer to ensure a competent person has certified the scaffolding, however, it is rarely the case that a private developer is aware of such persons or requirements, let alone having access to them.
In such situations, a simple plank of wood or a hastily erected frame, being the most readily available solution to the inexperienced, becomes more of ‘a death trap’ than a safe system of work. This is because such a “structure” gives a false sense of security for those making use of it- and this applies also to any passers-by if the structure is built on a public footpath- when in reality, there is no security and safety actually being offered.
Continued in the next edition.
