Engineering and Construction. Four Categories of Construction - Research Paper Example

? Engineering and Construction of Introduction Construction refers to the processes by which structures, buildings, and their components are erected, constructed, altered, or extended to serve various purposes. In addition to these processes, construction also entails structure repair, refurbishment, renovation, commissioning, and conversion. Therefore, construction would encompass activities such as site clearance and preparation, excavation, and landscaping that are related to the construction work. Among the structures that are often constructed are buildings, walls, masts, towers, structural cable, bridges, highways, and telecommunication structures (Hornbostel, 1991). Moreover, public facilities, infrastructures, and underground works such as tunnels and pipelines are also some of the structures that are constructed. Depending on the activities and processes involved and the type of structure developed, construction is categorized into residential, industrial, engineering, and building construction (Auer et al., 2007). For instance, the industrial category of construction entails the installation of industrial plants and facilities such as oil refineries and sugar factories. On the other hand, the residential category of construction refers to the construction of family homes and other family projects. However, there are other minor categories of construction such as infrastructure, institutional, and pre-engineered categories of construction. A vital point to note is that each category of construction has specific requirements in terms of plans, designs, materials, and funding. This paper explores the four main categories of construction, which are residential, industrial, engineering, and building construction. Building Construction Building construction refers to the construction processes and activities that add structures to a real property. Therefore, building construction involves activities such as renovations on bathrooms or addition of more rooms in a building. The common characteristics or elements of building construction include its unique legal, financial, and design considerations. A common practice in building construction, which is quite unfortunate, is the tendency of property owners be the laborers, designers, and paymasters on these construction projects, resulting in collapsed building, cost overruns, and litigations. Nevertheless, in situations where property owners are experienced and conversant with building construction, careful and detailed planning has always ensured positive outcome of building construction projects. In the building construction of commercial buildings, private or public procurement methodologies such as cost estimation, price negotiation, management contracting and design-build bridging are applied (Hornbostel, 1991). An important characteristic of building construction is that it entails the assembly of structures for the provision of shelters. The construction of building is in fact, an ancient activity that man has undertaken since time immemorial. The adverse effects of harsh climates on man are perhaps the origin of building construction since man had to moderate or eliminate these effects of climate. Building construction is thus a means by which man seeks to adapt to the environment. The different climatic zones that people inhabit on earth have led to the designing of different buildings by man. In addition, there are the economic aspects of building construction and design that have greatly influenced the building construction industry in the world. Just like any other economic products, building construction materials and products command certain ranges of prices/costs and values to customers or clients. The other economic or cost-related elements of building construction are the security systems and protection requirements. Most important in this regard is the physical security of a property. In recent times, it has become a necessity, due to the increased security technologies, for property owners and constructors to install the best and latest physical security gadgets in their buildings. The two main components of physical security considered in building construction are building architecture and appurtenances; equipment and devices. Residential Construction Residential construction refers to the category of construction that builds homes and involves either general or specialty sub-contractors who apply various construction management techniques in implementing their operations. However, the processes by which constructors build residential areas are rather standardized and methodical. In other words, there is a single path method by which contractors build residential buildings, whether they are single-family, one-story, or a group of apartments. Important in this methodology are the basic guides and requirements/tasks necessary to construct a residential building. Importantly, there must be a logical relationship among the tasks involved in residential construction. Various models have thus been developed by engineers and designers for use at every stage of residential construction. Among the basic information contained in these design templates are project duration, resource requirements, labor/non-labor costs, and information. The primary factors to be considered in residential construction are the general conditions such as plan finalization and the estimation of costs. Besides planning and cost estimation, site work such as clearing the land and the installation of underground utilities and temporary construction utilities are also crucial and mandatory stages in residential construction. After the site work, the next stage is foundation work, which includes excavation and the clearing and formation of concrete basement. Assuming the residential building under construction is wooden, framing the rough carpentry necessary for the basic wooden structure of the building is necessary. The building plan or design used notwithstanding, the practices, technologies, and resources used in any residential construction must comply with and meet the standards, regulations, and codes of practice set by the relevant authorities. However, the materials used on residential buildings are often determined by the availability of resources such as timber, stones, and bricks in the local area (American Institute of CPAs, 2011). Depending on material availability and other factors such as transport and labor, the cost of residential construction varies from one region or country to another. The other factors on which the cost of residential construction hinges are local regulations, site conditions, economies of scale, and the availability of skilled labor. By economies of scale, it is implied that certain homes such as custom-designed homes are always more expensive to build compared to non-custom designed residential buildings (American Institute of CPAs, 2011). All the factors upon which residential construction depends should be thoroughly and carefully planned given that residential and other types of construction generate a lot of wastes. The other category of construction is the industrial construction. Industrial Construction Quite distinct from residential construction, industrial construction is the other category of construction worth mentioning. Its importance in driving the economies of many countries is the reason industrial construction has realized tremendous growth in recent times. An important aspect of industrial construction is that it is always owned and undertaken by large industrial corporations, which are mostly for-profit organizations. Among the industries in which industrial construction is majorly practiced are power transmission and distribution, petroleum and chemical generation, infrastructure, and manufacturing industry among others. The processes involved in industrial construction require highly specialized expertise in construction planning, cost estimation, and designing (Tonchia & Cozzi, 2010). As in the other categories of construction, the industrial type of construction also requires a team of highly skilled personnel to ensure successful project completion. For this reason and the financial aspects, such huge projects are often undertaken by big financially stable construction companies. From the above list of industries in which industrial construction is fundamental, it is clear that industrial construction encompasses the processes and activities by which the structural and mechanical parts or segments of factories and other industrial plants are designed, installed, and maintained. Being a rather special category of construction, industrial construction calls for expertise, skills, and specific training of constructors and engineers that ply the trade (Tonchia & Cozzi, 2010). Among the activities that industrial construction companies indulge in include construction maintenance and installation. While an industrial construction company may be in a position to carry out all these activities on its own, depending on the availability of equipment and skilled personnel, other industrial construction companies hire others that are specialized industrial installers, designers, and contractors. Regardless of the size and the type of industry that requires industrial construction services, the competitive advantage and the success of an industrial construction company depends on how well the specific skills of the company matches the needs of the projects concerned. However, in most cases, an industrial construction company that offers all or most of the services needed by a client is chosen. The latter type of industrial Construction Company is sometimes referred to as ‘design-build’ Company and it has the advantage of enabling the quick and efficient construction of industrial structures due to the in-house availability of special skills and expertise. The fact that these specialized and highly skilled personnel have worked together and know one another makes the work even easier. In situations involving these ‘design-build’ construction firms, a client has the option of giving construction guidelines to one firm on the expected structure and construction designs. The other option available for clients is to hire separate sub-constructors for the various segments into which an industrial construction project may be divided. The type of industrial constructors and sub-constructors contracted notwithstanding, it is imperative that all the government regulations, laws, and standards are adhered to while undertaking an industrial construction project (Prashant, 2011). Fortunately, for some industrial construction clients such as well-established industries, they already have in-house industrial construction staff ready to handle any industrial construction jobs. In such scenarios, a constructor only hires the contractor whose services may be lacking in the in-house industrial construction staff. The fact that the client is the manager of the industrial construction project in this case makes the work easier since the client already knows what needs to be done in a project. Regardless whether an in-house or external industrial constructor is used, government monitoring, evaluation, and assessment are always integral parts of any industrial construction project. In fact, the monitoring and evaluation begins at the onset of a project. In addition, for larger and more important industrial construction projects such as larger power plants and factories, safety concerns such as sewer/water, fire, and safety regulations are dealt with at length before, during, and after construction activities. Although industrial, residential, and commercial construction share quite a number of aspects, industrial construction guarantees contractors and engineers more space to do their jobs than the latter two categories. Moreover, there are more government monitoring and evaluation in industrial construction because of the environmental hazards and land issues that accompany such kind of projects. Engineering Construction The other important category of construction, engineering construction, refers to the construction activities and processes which design, plan, and manage property and infrastructures such as airports, highways, bridges, dams, and other utilities. The uniqueness of engineering construction however lies in its combination of both civil construction and engineering. Therefore, engineers and civil construction managers are the two important participants in engineering construction (Matthys & Panchyk, 2000). While construction engineers have the construction design as their main focus area, construction managers focus on the construction processes and operations during an engineering construction project. In addition, construction managers would be responsible for the management of people and work methods at the site of an engineering construction. Like in any other category of construction, construction managers at an engineering construction site would be also responsible for ensuring that projects are completed and delivered in time, within the budget, and that the finished product is of the desired quality. Among the core activities of construction engineers include the creation and the provision of concepts relating to designs, cost estimates of planned and approved designs/projects, and work scopes. Project or assistant project engineers are also vital in construction engineering sites where they are assigned duties and responsibilities such as the purchase of requisitions, preparation of monthly budget reports, and processing of orders among other duties (Matthys & Panchyk, 2000). The other important responsibility of construction engineers is to solve any problems that may be encountered at a construction site. This duty is quite important given that every construction site/environment has its unique problems and demands. Besides the need to understand the life cycles of the different infrastructures, construction engineers must be competent and skilled enough to solve the technical challenges associated with their work. In this regard, they must approach these technical problems and aspects of their work with clarity of mind and imagination. A strong understanding of the math and science of the engineering aspects of a construction project is thus of utmost importance for construction engineers. In addition, skills such as critical and analytical thinking and appropriate communication skills are also vital in assisting construction engineers in managing time and resources (Matthys & Panchyk, 2000). Therefore, of importance to construction engineers are the various engineering disciplines such as engineering designs, mechanics, and construction management. Unfortunately for construction engineers, the job prospect has not been all that promising. This situation has particularly been occasioned by the fact that the construction industry has experienced a sharp decrease in demand in recent times. In addition, most construction professionals have been forced into engineering construction due to the declining demands in the other categories of construction (Prashant, 2011). The consequent is an increased competition coupled with an increasing number of established and new construction engineers. Moreover, there is a trend in which most clients opt for the automated engineering procedures, leaving construction engineers jobless. There is thus a high unemployment rate in the construction engineering subsector. Challenges Facing the Categories of Construction Just like the other industries and sectors of a country’s economy, the construction industry faces a lot of challenges, both internal and external-oriented. Although every category of construction has its unique challenges and obstacles, most of the challenges faced in the industry affect all the discussed categories. Nonetheless, these challenges have been the real source of motivation in the industry that has resulted in the development of new and more innovative designs, building processes, operations, and structure maintenance. While most of the recent developments and technologies have benefitted the construction aspect of the industry, the maintenance and operations of the same structures has been adversely affected (Hornbostel, 1991). Moreover, emergency planning, urban planning, and responses to emergency cases have also bee affected in one way or the other. The first major challenge for the categories of construction discussed is the global climate change where buildings are accused of contributing a sizable proportion of the amount of energy consumed in form of electricity and other fossil fuels (Dahl, 2009). Second, there is a challenge on the shoulder of the construction industry to reduce or eliminate the environmental impacts it causes by replacing or renovating buildings and other structures. The industry faces a dilemma in this regard since the buildings and structures have to remain in a state that still yields returns for the owners despite the renovations (Dahl, 2009). The other challenge to the construction industry is the aging infrastructure such as roads and highways. Many a report has revealed that most of the fatal and non-fatal highway and road accidents are a result of outdated and substandard roads and bridge designs, poor pavement conditions, and other unsafe structural features. As stated earlier, the competitive nature of the construction industry is the other challenge that needs to be addressed adequately. Construction firms are constantly required to up their game and improve their productivity to stay afloat in the market. Conclusion Construction entails processes such as structure repair, refurbishment, renovation, commissioning, and conversion by which structures, buildings, and their components are erected, constructed, altered, or extended to serve various purposes. There are numerous categories into which construction is divided. These classes include industrial, residential, engineering, and building construction. While building construction are the construction processes and activities that add structures to a real property, engineering construction, refers to the construction activities and processes which design, plan, and manage property and infrastructures such as airports, highways, bridges, dams, and other utilities. On the other hand, industrial construction encompasses the processes and activities by which the structural and mechanical parts or segments of factories and other industrial plants are designed, installed, and maintained. References American Institute of CPAs. (2011). Construction contractors - AICPA audit and accounting guide. AICPA. Auer, T. et al. (2007). Facades: principles of construction, first edition. Birkhauser Architecture. Dahl, T. (2009). Climate and architecture, first edition. Routledge. Hornbostel, C. (1991). Construction materials: types, uses and applications, second edition. Wiley-Interscience. Matthys, L., and Panchyk, R. (2000). Engineering the city: how infrastructure works, projects and principles for beginners edition. Chicago Review Press. Prashant, C. T. (2011). The Construction Industry is Starved of Finance. Retrieved on November 10, 2011 from http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=7234. Tonchia, S., and Cozzi, F. (2010). Industrial project management: planning, design, and construction, first edition. Springer. Read More