Page 98 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

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The contractor’s site organization
of formwork carpenters, steel erectors or reinforcement fixers are taken on.
Hand excavation of tunnels was almost always undertaken by an experienced
gang under a leader, because the work demands close teamwork. Once a gang
proves its worth, an agent will endeavour to use the same gang on his next job
if he has similar work to do. Such gangs of tunnellers, formwork carpenters, or
steel fixers are employed as a whole, so any unsettled dispute arising between
the gang leader and the agent – usually about pay or conditions – may lead to
the gang leaving en bloc bringing the job to a standstill.
On overseas jobs in the less developed countries much manual labour is still
used, not only because of low rates of pay and the cost or difficulty of getting
machinery, but because it is the traditional way of undertaking construction
which suits the local economy and workpeople. In some countries women are
widely used to undertake manual labour. If machines are brought in to do most
of the work, this can deprive the local economy of a benefit. For projects in
underdeveloped countries, an international funding agency will often require
that as much use as possible is made of local labour to reduce offshore costs. It
is important to recognize that this inexperienced labour may require tuition
before they can be expected to reach an acceptable level of output. Also provi-
sion of adequate living conditions and canteen services, plus training in safety,
may be essential to improve the well being and output of such employees.

7.4 Site office personnel

An office manager is needed on all but the smallest sites. He deals with getting
all the miscellaneous requirements for the job, that is, the ‘consumables’ such as
picks and shovels, protective clothing, small tools, minor repairs, fuel deliver-
ies, electricity supplies and telephone, etc. He will be in control of storekeepers,
messengers, teaboys, staff car drivers and night watchmen. On small projects he
may order materials for the construction, as instructed by the agent, so will have
to deal with the invoices for such materials, checking invoices against mater-
ials delivered, signing and sending them to head office for payment. On larger
sites he will have an ordering clerk to do this for him.
A site accountant, often assisted by a pay clerk, handles all cash transactions
on site and the local bank account. It is essential to employ experienced persons
on this type of work. Even taking the sealed pay packets around to the workers
is best done by an experienced pay clerk who knows what care is needed to
avoid the upset which occurs if a pay packet ‘goes missing’.
For the supply of materials in regular use, such as concrete aggregates,
ready-mix concrete, cement, bricks, timber, etc. the agent will seek out local
suppliers, get quotations from them and pass them to the head office buyer
with recommendations. The head office buyer may then set up standard agree-
ments with the local suppliers recommended by the agent, or he may discuss
with the agent, use of some alternative supplier. Actual requisitions for deliv-
ery can then be placed by the agent direct with the supplier, with copies sent to