Construction

Prerequisites

Prior knowledge of building technology, construction management, legislation, safety requirements in construction, and building physics will be useful in completing the task. 

Learning outcomes

A person who has completed this part:

1. knows the most common technology for the production of timber elements;

2. knows the main risk factors, mechanisms and technology for the transportation and installation of timber elements;

3. can draw up a general plan of a construction site and a fragment of a calendar schedule for the installation of timber elements.

Observation task based on videos

Watch the videos to answer the following questions. Use reduced speed or pauses, if necessary.

1. What is the factory equipment and machinery used to produce the elements?

2. In what order do the production operations take place?

3. What are the materials and fasteners used in production?

4. How is the logistics of materials, semi-finished products and finished products organized within the factory?

5. What tasks do the workers perform in the factory?

6. What is the organization for ensuring the quality of materials and products?

7. What personal safety equipment is used in production?

Watch the videos to answer the following questions. Use reduced speed or pauses, if necessary.

1. What construction works must be done before the installation of timber elements can begin?

2. How are the timber elements protected from the effects of weather conditions when transport to the construction site?

3. What lifting mechanism and lifting equipment are used when installing the elements?

4. How is the temporary storage of the elements on the site organized?

5. In what order are the elements installed and is temporary fastening used?

6. What machines, tools and aids, including scaffolding and work platforms, are used when installing the elements?

7. How are the assembled timber elements protected from further weather effects?

8. What personal safety equipment is used during assembly work?

Assignment overview

Description of the work technology and drawings based on a specific construction site and timber elements.

This task can be completed both in the form of group work and individually. For group work, the recommended number of students is 3-4.

The assignment consists of the following sub-parts:

1. familiarization with the content of the tasks and the requirements for the complete and presentation of the work;

2. selection of the object and work complex that will form the basis of the technological map;

3. preparation of the writing part of the technological map. Recommended volume 7-10 pages A4 format;

4. preparation of the graphic part of the technological map in the volume of one page in A1 format;

5. presentation of the work.

Tasks

Choose one of the installation technologies for timber elements (posts, walls, suspended ceilings, modules, etc.) and prepare description of the manufacturing technology of selected timber elements and installation instructions for it on the site, which include, among other things:

• Description of the manufacturing technology of selected timber elements in a referential form. Recommended volume 1-2 pages A4 format.

• A detailed description of the work, special attention should be paid to preventing the wooden elements from getting wet and ensuring the quality of the work. The quality requirements established for the work process and materials must be presented with references to the relevant standards and instruction materials.

• Work quantities; Table of technological data on labor intensity, crew composition, and machines used. If necessary, work distribution schedules by operations and organization schemes for key workplaces are added.

• Duration of the work, prepare a calendar schedule showing the work, their time sequence and the number of workers per timber elements assembly work. A calendar schedule and a labor requirement schedule are prepared, which should be consistent, avoiding large fluctuations. It should also be ensured that the tasks on the schedule are not disproportionately long or short. The composition of the brigades must be logical. 

• Need for machines, mechanisms and work tools. A suitable truck, crane, hoists, tools must be selected. A list of these with the corresponding technical specifications, if necessary, add photos, graphs (e.g. crane lifting graph). Special attention must be paid to the weight of the element, dimensions, turning radius of temporary roads, crane lifting graph and placement on the site. Horizontal and vertical workplace diagrams justify the choice of machines and lifting equipment, and show work and danger zones. Make sure that the selected lifting mechanism can perform lifts from the selected position. When drawing the diagram, make sure that the entire building is covered by lifting zones.

• Quality requirements for the work . The quality requirements established for the work process and materials must also be presented, along with references to the relevant standards and guidance materials.

• Safety requirements for specific works. When addressing safety, fire safety and environmental protection issues, one should refrain from mechanically writing down general construction rules, but rather analyze the hazards of individual timber elements assembly processes at different construction stages on a specific site by type of work and provide the necessary safety recommendations. 

• Compile a fragment of the general plan of the construction site, which depicts the building under construction, temporary roads and areas, lifting mechanisms (crane, hoists), scaffolding if necessary, material storage and assembly areas, etc., which is important when installing timber elements on the construction site.

• Compile a section of the assembly work, showing the element to be assembled, the lifting mechanism, workers, etc.

Deliverables

Students must compile a report containing a written and graphical part combined into one PDF file. The structure of the report should look like this:

1. title page;

2. table of contents;

3. introduction: this chapter provides an overview of the construction project and site conditions; it describes the location and condition of the construction site, transportation conditions, and other relevant factors; it highlights any specific or complex aspects of the project; students use the existing drawings of the specific construction project in question as the source material; the length of the overview should, depending on the complexity of the project, be about 1–2 pages. 

4. main part (chapters and sub-chapters): this part includes calculations, methods and techniques used in the specified timber elements assembly process; the initial data and calculations of work volumes and technological calculations, the need for machinery, materials and tools, and the duration of the work based on technical parameters should be presented; recommended composition of the main part:

   • description of the manufacturing technology of selected timber elements;

   • list of works and descriptions;

   • calculation of work volumes;

   • composition of brigades (workers`groups);

   • calculation of time consumption of works;

   • determination of machines required for works;

   • calendar schedule;

   • safety requirements according to works;

   • quality requirements for the corresponding works;

5. conclusion: the conclusion must provide a comprehensive overview of the work. 

6. references: the list of references includes sources used and cited in the preparation of the work; these include, in particular, books, articles from magazines, videos, newspapers and collections, research reports, theses, legislation, guidelines, regulations, methodological materials etc.

7. graphical part (drawing): general plan of the construction site for assembly timber elements including calendar schedule; generally formatted in A1 format (594x841 mm); all drawings are provided with frame lines and a margin; when formatting the drawing, you must consider the readability of the drawings; all the data necessary for the actual implementation of the assembly technology should be presented here, such as showing work areas, elevations, machines, equipment and work objects; the arrangement of machines and work and danger zones should be shown both horizontally and vertically; if necessary, diagrams provided for different stages of the process; recommended composition of the graphical part:

   • general plan of the construction site during the installation of timber elements;

   • calendar schedule for installing timber elements;

   • view and vertical section/view the assembly of a timber element;

The report should be presented to other students and teachers. For this, a presentation must be compiled summarizing the report. Each group will have approx. 10-15 min for presenting, answering questions and discussion.