Page 137 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

Civil Engineering Project Management
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engineer – local suppliers of ready-mix concrete to observe their quality con-
trol, and to discuss rates of supply and qualities of concrete required.
It depends on the location of the site, the standing of the agent, and the
policy of the contractor, how far materials for use in the works are ordered by
the agent or by the contractor’s head office. The supply of major materials for
which head office already possess quotations would probably be ordered by
head office. But the agent may need to order some supplies locally. He will prob-
ably seek to avoid entering long-term supply agreements with a new supplier
for materials until he is confident the supplier will not default on deliveries or
on quality of materials supplied.
It sometimes requires the combined efforts of the agent and resident engin-
eer to get early installation of services such as telephones, power lines, sewer
connections and water supply. On overseas projects the procurement of local
materials, and the checking and steering of imported materials through cus-
toms often forms a major departmental function within the contractor’s local
organization.

11.3 The resident engineer’s work

The engineer who finds himself newly appointed to take up the position of
resident engineer and who has previously had little experience outside may well
feel somewhat alarmed at the prospect before him. He has no doubt been told
he ‘will manage all right’, but this seems small comfort as he thinks of all the
things he does not know about the job and all the unknown questions likely to
arise. He may also feel uneasy at the prospect of having to tell everyone what
to do (instead of deciding action within a team) and may wonder how he is likely
to match up to the contractor’s agent who appears a tough and forceful charac-
ter considerably older than himself. However it is unlikely that problems of any
engineering magnitude will be immediately encountered, for there are many
organizational details to deal with first.

Work before going to site

The resident engineer should have spent some time before he goes to site exam-
ining the contract drawings and specifications, and there should have been an
opportunity for him to have conversations with the designers. He should get to
know how the job has been designed, so that he is able to make intelligent
suggestions if the conditions revealed during the course of construction differ
from those expected. He should make a file of all information which is basic to
the job, such as:
• soil test data on which the design has been based;
• geological information;
• levels and benchmarks used;