Page 136 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

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Starting the construction work
• The programme for construction which the contractor is to produce within
21 days of award of contract, and the consequent needs of the contractor in
respect of further information and drawings to prevent delay.
• The contractor’s health and safety plan and how this will work in con-
junction with the employer’s and engineer’s responsibilities for safety.
• Provisions for access to the site the employer may require for his own staff.
Other matters which it might be important to consider include the siting of the
resident engineer’s offices, the services the contractor is to provide him with, and
the layout of forms for monthly statements. This may not cover all the matters
that may have to be discussed, and a further meeting may be needed to con-
sider certain matters in more detail.
The success of this meeting in establishing good working relationships can
make an important contribution in setting the tone for subsequent co-operation.

11.2 The contractor’s initial work

The contractor’s agent will probably come to site with a small nucleus of per-
manent employees, and his main aim will be to get started on the actual work
of construction as soon as possible. He will have to visit the local employment
office or employment agencies to make arrangements for taking men on site.
The agent will find it necessary to have some clerical assistance on site from the
start; for preference his site co-ordinator and office manager will accompany
him and will start getting to site a wide variety of equipment, machinery and
materials. Some of this will be sent out from the plant and equipment depot of
the contractor’s head office, but a large amount of supplementary equipment
may be required from local sources. Consumables will be required: a term
meaning all those things – picks, shovels, tools, fuel, timber, office stationery,
protective clothing, lighting equipment, temporary fencing, furniture, canteen
equipment and a legion of other items – which are not plant nor large items of
re-usable equipment. A visit to the local bank manager may be necessary to
make arrangements for withdrawing money for cash payments.
Plant may have to be hired for the work of digging trenches to lay water
supply and drainage, and a dozer for site clearance. Agang of men may have to
be set fencing off the site area, another gang on making foundations for huts,
and a third gang on access road requirements. A site engineer will quickly be
necessary for the setting out of levels and for producing sketches so as to direct
the foremen and gangers what to do.
The agent will need to start arranging for delivery to site some of the mater-
ials required for early incorporation in the works, particularly the aggregates
proposed for concrete, or samples of ready-mix from local suppliers. Such
samples will have to be made into cubes and tested. This sampling and test-
ing can take a long time, so must be started early if good quality concrete is
required early on the job. The agent may visit – probably with the resident