Maltese Islands Demolition and Construction - Assignment Example

Demolition construction What contractual issues should be considered by the contractor before signing the demolition contract? Considerable and complicated demolition works predate the formation of the projected developmental property on the Malta islands. Nevertheless, the construction division in Malta is overwhelmed by numerous problems and restrictions, making the country acutely incapable to carry out the demolition via local efforts. In the Maltese island, the biggest contractor has 20 employees, and they lack major equipments that can be used in the project. As a result, the demolition work will be conducted by a foreign contractor that employ adequate capital and also has to solidify its name as a professional. Bids for the contract have been invited from major players in Italy, Russia, UK and Egypt. The requirement of the demolition contracts is taxing and intricate. Hence it creates numerous important points that the prospect contractors must review expansively and cautiously prior to signing any contract. These contractual issues that must be given diligent consideration have been elaborated (Cakmak and Elcin 124). Firstly, the demolition budget is pre-determined at US $10 million. Within the constraint of these figures, the destruction contractors will be contractually tasked to do the given responsibilities. The tasks which include the main demolition, construction of temporary sites for workers, creating stringent protocol and mechanisms to ensure adherence of health standards as well as exhaustive site preparation to make the area completely ready for the construction work. Therefore, a thorough cost check becomes imperative for any potential contractor. The contractor must strategize and plan carefully on how to allocate funds so as to avoid any misuse. The engineer must be informed on the type of building structure, sewage and water lines. Drawings and specifications should be prepared by the architect and issued as part of contraction bid package. The architects should be aware of the buildings program in the Maltese islands; this will enable them to prepare a demolition work plan to describe how work will be accomplished (Nathalie and Camille 45). In reviewing the plan and subsequent submittals, the client and the architect have the opportunity to understand the contractor’s approach for performing the work safely and efficiently. The review will help to determine any contractual problems or misunderstanding that can arise, how and when they can be corrected. The contractor should understand and ascertain the location of potential dangers facilities adjacent and close to the demolition site such as underground cables, live cables and telephone lines, before commencing the work. Therefore, before signing the contract the contractor should ensure that they are appointed an engineer by the Maltese islands government who shall advise them the contents and locations of tanks, underground cables and fibers and other equipment adjacent to the site. The above measure is paramount as it will help to avoid hazardous areas avoid damaging of such facilities and prevent any risks that may arise from the demolition (Bernardie-Tahir and Camille 44). Construction and engineering companies in the Maltese islands don’t have enough machinery that can be used in the demolitions; therefore, the contractor shall to his own expense provide the equipments and anything else that is required to carry out the contract. The contractor should be aware that they are responsible for any damages caused to properties and people and other public utilities while they are using their machinery and any other tools. 2. Discuss some of the fundamental issues that must be considered by any demolition contractor bidding for the work. Any company that is interested in the demolition contract in the Maltese islands should understand the history of the country and its historical sites within the region to demolish. The contractors interested in bidding the contract should be aware of geographical location of the Maltese islands. Before bidding, the contractors must visit the place and decide on how they will access the area and how they will transport their machinery to the place since Maltese islands don’t have most of the machinery and tools needed on the demolition. The site of demolitions is also an important issue that contractors bidding for the contract should consider before thinking of applying the tender. Important historical sites are close to the site to be demolished, therefore, the contractors interested in the bid should be aware of this issue. They should work to preserve the heritage and antiquities which will be discovered during demolition. On the other hand, the contractors should be aware of the benefits that the Maltese government will achieve out of the demolitions, for instance, the residential houses that will be built after the demolition will attract tourists and other investors. The contractors should be aware of cost issues which are related to the demolition (Cakmak and Elcin 125). For instance, the demolition project has a timeline of 20 weeks; therefore companies who are bidding for the contract should adhere to the timelines. If a company fails to meet the deadline, it will have to be charged US$ 100,000 per day. Since the area has several historical buildings on the site and proximity of existing residential buildings, the contractor will have to spend a lot of money to conserve the heritage. The demolition process should be taken with a lot of care since the site has a lot archeological items and antiquities. The contractors should build a place where they can store the antiquities that are discovered in the excavation work. The companies should also inquire on the amount of money they should pay for all necessary consents for access required for the works. The contractors who must consider safety issues are interested in the contract. The demolition process should guarantee the wellbeing of the people, employees and nearby building. The contractors should have a demolition planner who will work together with a representative engineer from Maltese government to address any special considerations of the occupants of the buildings to be demolished and nearby and activities which will cause a safety hazard during demolitions. The contractor should identify all mandated local and federal regulations that are set by the Maltese government, and also, they should work with the government official so as to be introduced to the safety submittal issue before they begin working, or submitting any plans or other documents. Contractors interested in bidding the Maltase islands demolition contract should be concerned on payment (Rajendran, Clarke, and Michael 57). The climate in the Maltase islands shifts with time, during the summer period the country is sun baked. Therefore, before a contractor company applies for the contract they should be aware of the harsh climatic conditions in the area. Also, the some parts of the region are polluted because of the chemicals from the industries. The contractor should, therefore, know about these environmental issues in the site and if they work for some time and decide to cancel the contract due to the problems they should be ready to incur the expenses involved. 3. The client has requested a detailed health and safety plan to be submitted when bidding. Describe items included in such a plan. In the Maltese demolition contract, health and safety are prioritized. Therefore, any company that bids should include a plan that entails how they will tackle the issues. This will help avoid any accidents and enhance environmental friendly workplace. Each company should submit their bids accompanied by a health and safety for the project which establishes personnel protection standards and mandatory safety procedures and practices that protect both workers and the general public at large. Also, the health and safety plan should assign responsibilities, establish standard operating procedures, and describes how unplanned incidents and events will be handled (Othman 181). The first element that must be included in the health and safety plan is a statement of commitment from the management. A commitment statement from the management that regards the health and well-being of all staff are the first essential component of any Occupational Health and Safety Plan (OHSP). It should show the ultimate accountability for implementing and regular assessment of the project. It must indicate to the employees that health and safety is a significant main concern within the company. The statement should also extend to other people who may enter the workplace, for example, the clients and may recognize the health and safety needs of special groups within the company as a consequence of cultural diversity or physical capacity of individuals. The subsequent element is the project’s aim. The purpose should give a clear and measurable statement of the overall aim of the project. The aim should help to avoid accidents, sickness and injury that result from predictable place of work hazard and risk and also be able to react swiftly and suitably during the occurrences of these issues. Noise pollution is also a security issue which should be addressed at this point, the type of noise that can be experienced in the demolition should be indicated and measures on how to reduce or prevent it. The third component that should be included in the safety and health program is the objectives of the project. These are particular and considerable goals responsible for attaining the aim. Objectives that can be included are: to provide and maintain safe working procedures and operations; to ensure all the workplace potential risks hazards and risks and to formulate preventive strategies against the risks that can develop; to train all the workers to enable them work safely and effectively; to maintain a steady and continues interest in the improvement of health and safety performance, and to provide the resources that are necessary for the implementation and maintenance of the health and safety plan. The final component in the safety and health program is the actions for achieving these goals. This part should mention significant activities through which these objectives can be achieved. The principal activities include the management’s written commitment which supports planning, implementing and maintaining the health and safety policy; as the other policies in the company, the plan should have the same importance; active participation of all the employees in the health and safety activities should be encouraged; information concerning the HSP activities should be communicated to the employees, and to ensure that all the members of the staff are registered with appropriate national body or authority in charge for workplace accident insurance. In order for all the above activities to remain effective, the healthy and safety plan should be kept up to date, and the goal of the place of work health and safety formed into all aspects of the workplace (Farquhar and Amy 57). 4. What actions should be taken to ensure the recycling requirements are met? Recycling of excavated material on-site during the construction projects is a common practice of all the contractors. Some actions ought to be implemented to make sure that the contractors meet the recycling requirements. The activities include: the client to provide waste management regulation which permit and control the action of contractors. The set of laws are issued under the EPA, and then give the lawful common structure that permits and controls ravage supervision in Malta. The law will ensure that each person who undertakes waste disposal operations must keep a record for the amount and nature of waste that he/she disposes, their origin and frequency of collection. For the purposes of monitoring, the records that are needed under the Regulation 16 must be kept by the organization responsible for at least 12 months and 3 years by the waste managers. The company responsible for waste collection should be able to provide this information on the request of the authority. The regulations are also applicable for hazardous waste; therefore, the waste carriers and managers should not try to mix the hazardous waste and nonhazardous waste. Another action that can be taken to ensure that the recycling requirements are met is the severe penalties that have been implemented on the waste carriers and managers. The penalties include paying by the expenses that are incurred by the Competent Authority, revocation of the consent and taking away of substances together with the vehicle if it was used to commit a mistake. A person can be found guilty if he/she conspires, attempts, aids another individual to infringe the mentioned regulations. A company responsible for waste disposal and recycle should ensure they are compelled to pay the real cost for disposal of the waste generated; this will help and encourage the waste handlers and carriers to reduce the volume of the construction and demolition waste. The Maltese government should implement development permission through the MEPA, channel waste via the waste disposal hierarchy, increase law enforcement to advance compliance rates, make sure that contractors abide and follow to construction and demolition management plans, and enforce measures and rules to ensure that proper procedures are followed by the private sector. In order to enhance sustainable waste management, the Malta government should reduce taxes on recycled materials and raise the cost of disposal to the construction and demolitions landfills. Authorities should categories the waste materials, for instance, the waste should be separated into concrete and steel. Another action to be taken is increasing awareness of use amongst clients and users. This is marketing policies that show the benefits of using recycled materials; this will increase the product’s market demand hence act as an incentive. The Malta government should enforce registration which should be implemented to make sure people abide by the laws of construction and demolition waste management (Arulrajah et al. 1078). 5. What programming tools and techniques could be used to plan the demolition duration and to remove the risk of non‐completion within the stipulated time frame? In order to meet the time frame of stipulated demolition, there are certain programming tools and techniques that can be employed (Cha, Ki Hyun and Chan 295). The foremost tool used to plan the duration scheduling is ‘site inventories. The contractor can acquire the site inventory from the internet and then develop it to meet the set deadlines. The second tool to be used is ‘right to build for a limited time. This tool was established in Germany and is referred to as Brecht auf Zeiit. It can be used in those projects that have the time limit such as the Maltese islands demolition project. The device protects both the long-term and short-time use of the site, also in the possibility of an increasingly more rigorous use of the site. The third tool that can be applied in planning demolition duration is dedicated staff. This is a fundamental tool because, without staffs who are dedicated, the project can stall or even collapse. The workforces are from the company who will be given a contract to demolish the specified buildings in the Maltase islands. These workforces are the one who work on the project and get the process going. Therefore, they should be focused and committed so as to work hard and meet the set time frames (Anderson, Jennifer and Cliff 378). Apart from the programming tools, there are other techniques which can be used to plan demolition duration. The foremost technique is communication; this is accomplished by bringing the customer and the users together. This is important since it ensures the project designs are well understood by both the client and contractor. For instance, if there is a change of design or there is a particular constraint, this should communicate to the client as soon as possible to avoid stopping or suspension of the project. Communication between the workers should be enhanced this will ensure each worker understands his/her mandated and roles (Anumba, Abdullah and Ruikar 140) Another essential technique is monitoring. The demolition task should have managers whose job is to monitor the advancement of the work. The managers must develop a working program and development phasing plan. The plan will indicate the phases to be completed and the specific timeline each phase must take. When monitoring the project the manager should also ensure that each phase is completed in specified time slice. For instance, if a certain stage looks like it will take more time than stipulated, the managers can authorize the engineers and other employees to work overtime or employ more people so as to remove the risk of non‐completion within the stipulated time frame. During the period of the demolition project, the Maltese government may decide to change the design or conditions of the contract. In such situations, moderation method can be used. The technique is significant when the client and the contractor have differed. If some differences emerge, the demolition process can stop. Therefore, to avoid this, moderation technique can be used to help shape a health discussion so as to reach a conclusion within a limited time. Works cited Anumba, C. J., A. Abdullah, and K. Ruikar. 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"Evaluation of The Conditions Of The Contract Used In The Turkish Construction Industry." International Journal Of Academic Research 6.2 (2014): 123-129. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014. Cha, Hee Sung, Ki Hyun Kim, and Chan Kyu Kim. "Case Study on Selective Demolition Method for Refurbishing Deteriorated Residential Apartments." Journal of Construction Engineering & Management 138.2 (2012): 294-303. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014. Cakmak, Pinar Irlayici, and Elcin Tas. "Evaluation of The Conditions Of The Contract Used In The Turkish Construction Industry." International Journal Of Academic Research 6.2 (2014): 123-129. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014 Farquhar, Doug, and Amy C. Ellis. "2013 Environmental Health Legislation." Journal Of Environmental Health 76.3 (2013): 52-57. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014. Othman, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat. "A Study Of The Causes And Effects Of Contractors Non-Compliance With The Health And Safety Regulations In The South African Construction Industry." Architectural Engineering & Design Management 8.3 (2012): 180-191. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014. Rajendran, Sathy, Brian Clarke, and Michael L. Whelan. "Contract Issues & Construction Safety Management." Professional Safety 58.9 (2013): 56-61. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 July 2014. Read More