Engineering Management - Construction of a Footbridge across Hughes Highway - Case Study Example

Project Management Name Institution Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Project Charter 3 2.1 Reason for undertaking the project 3 2.2 Objectives and Constraints 4 2.3 Directions Concerning the Solution 5 2.4 The Stakeholders 5 2.5 Risk Management 6 2.6 Communication Plan 7 2.7 Target Project Benefits 8 2.8 High level budget and Spending 9 3 Work Breakdown Sstructure (WBS) 13 3.1 Ground Breaking 14 3.2 Excavation 14 3.3 Materials Delivery 15 3.4 Onset of Construction 15 3.5 Construction Process 16 3.6 Commissioning 17 3.7 Gantt chart 18 3.8 Pert chart 18 4 Conclusion 18 5 Problems faced 18 6 Lessons learnt 19 7 Recommendations 19 1.0 Introduction This report is an in depth analysis at the management process in the construction of a footbridge across Hughes Highway. It details the whole process from a management point of view, outlines the challenges involved and the offered solutions as well as suggesting the methods in which the whole construction process could have been made more efficient. The footbridge is located next to Highway Mall and Shell petrol station. The proposal of the footbridge was made in the February of 2013. This was after a sudden increase in the number of pedestrian accidents trying to cross the highway into the mall. The government, as well as private stakeholders therefore thought it was adequate to construct a footbridge across the highway at this section. A study conducted between September of 2012 and February of 2013 showed that a footbridge would bring down the number of accidents by up to 90% and hence the decision to build it was reached. The tender to build it was therefore advertised and was won and awarded to Howard Humphreys Construction Company Ltd. The Company was in charge of the design, construction and maintenance of the footbridge. This report will show in detail the processes involved in the construction and how the management practices were carried out during this construction. 2.0 Project Charter 2.1 Reason for undertaking the project The main reason for undertaking this project was to be able to reduce or completely eliminate the pedestrian accidents occurring at the scene. This was as a result of a study carried out a few months earlier that showed that the construction of a footbridge at this site would greatly aid in curbing the number of accidents at this site. The average number of accidents before the construction of the bridge was one accident every fortnight. This translates to about 26 accidents per year. This footbridge was aimed at reducing the number of accidents by 90 %, which translates to an average of less than 3 accidents per year. 2.2 Objectives and Constraints The objectives of undertaking this project were: i. Reduce the number of accidents at the section ii. Provide safe and efficient crossing for shoppers from the mall. iii. Improve efficiency of movement of the vehicles. The main constraints that would hamper the construction of the bridge included the disturbance of the flow of the motor vehicles during construction. The traffic had to slow down on reaching the section. When a truck was to deliver construction material, it created a backflow of traffic while trying to access the site. During the installation of the beams across the road, traffic movements had to be completely stopped to avoid any accidents. This caused delays in the motorists travel. Financial issues were not a constraint since the project was well funded. The other constraint that would affect the construction was access to the mall. Customers accessing the mall had to endure long traffic snarl ups since one side of the gate access was closed to facilitate for ground for dumping and storage of the construction materials. Traffic therefore into and out of the mall had to use one side of the entrance and had to alternate in turns. As a result of this, sales in the mall went down by up to 30%. This was however only for the period of construction since after the bridge was opened, sales picked up by over 50%. Another constraint was the comfort of the motorists using the road. A few travellers interviewed indicated their discomfort at having to go through a section under construction. This caused fear in most due to the probability of accidents. The whole process however went on from beginning to end without an incident. No highway motorist or shopper was hurt. 2.3 Directions Concerning the Solution The only solution available in curbing the accidents was the construction of a footbridge. All the accidents happening at the section, directly or indirectly involved civilians. Therefore eradicating civilians from the highway would be the best idea. Another solution that was offered was establishment of a bump and a pedestrian crossing, but this was to seen to have the possibility of creating traffic snarl ups on the highway. It also would still have pedestrians dangerously dashing across the road even when traffic is moving. Therefore this was put aside and the pedestrian crossing was chosen as the best and the most effective solution. 2.4 The Stakeholders There were mainly four stakeholders in the project. 1. The Government: This was the main stakeholder in the project and contributed 70% of the cost of construction of the footbridge. The government also gave the permission to the contractor to use part of the road reserve for the project. It also provided the consulting engineer in charge of the project. 2. The Mall: This was one of the minor stakeholders. The owners of the mall, The Al-Shaheem Brothers contributed 20% towards the construction cost. This also earned them the right to use the footbridge for the mall’s advertisements purposes for a period of one year after its opening. The advertisements were to be on the external of the bridge. 3. The petrol Station. The owners of the petrol station, Shell Corporation, contributed the remaining 10% and this earned them the advertising rights on the inside of the footbridge for a period of 6 months after the opening of the footbridge. 2.5 Risk Management There are lots of risks in every construction site. The main and most common risk is accidents. This may involve the workers at the site or sometimes may involve external parties such as the motorists in this case. It is therefore very important to be well prepared for these kinds of events. For the construction site, safety was the main priority for the contractor. The necessary safety equipment was provided to the casual labourers. This included safety helmets, safety glasses, safety boots, reflector jackets as well as adequate and secure harnesses for those working in areas above the ground. The scaffolding was adequately and securely fixed and was up to standard in accordance with the recommendations of the National Construction Authority. The labourers were also adequately briefed every morning on the most appropriate methods of protection depending on the day’s activities. The rules on safety were strictly enforced and at one point led do the dismissal of one of the labourers for going up the scaffolding without a safety helmet. An ambulance was also on call round the clock. It could access the site in less than five minutes. This meant that any accidents in the site would be promptly taken care of. The other risk was financial challenges in case of unfortunate failure of the structure. This has been witnessed in the past especially where strong winds or earthquakes have hit a structure during its construction and it comes down. This risk was taken care of by insuring the whole construction. An insurance cover was bought with one of the local insurers. This cover was comprehensive therefore took care of any unforeseen eventualities. Another risk that would arise was that from the motorists using the road. There was the risk of them hitting the construction site in case of low visibility. This was addressed by putting in place the right signage and warnings. These were visible both during the day and at night. Inside the construction site, There were well laid out and visible warnings and advisories on safety procedures. 2.6 Communication Plan The communication plan in this project was a basic simple functional organisational structure. The workers all worked as a single team, owing to the small size of the project. It consisted of one project manager who was in charge of the design, cost estimation, procurement and construction of the footbridge. The Project manager was only answerable to the government, which in this case acted as the CEO of the project. There was however some direct communication from the purchasing team to the stakeholders, being Shell Corporation and the Al-Shaheem brothers on matters of acquiring some of the material. This was however with the approval of the project manager. The communication chain ran smoothly all through the project and all the orders came from the project manager. The communication process was as depicted below: 2.7 Target Project Benefits The main benefits of the project were safety and financial gain. In terms of safety, all the customers frequenting the mall no longer have to dash across the road with their shopping. Subsequently, the number of accidents has significantly been reduced. In terms of financial gains, it has been noted that the sales in the mall have skyrocketed. The customers now feel safer shopping at the mall with a mode of smooth transition to the other side of the highway. 2.8 High level budget and Spending The budget for the construction of the bridge was done by the estimation team in conjunction with the design team. They were able to determine the cost of the whole project and this was then forwarded to the stakeholders. The bill of quantities is as shown below. BILL OF QUANTITIES FOR THE PROPOSED FOOTBRIDGE ACROSS HUGHES HIGHWAY Item Item description Unit Quantity Rate Amount 1 GENERAL         1.1 MATERIAL TESTING COSTS SUM     150,000 1.2 ENGINEERS OVERHEAD COSTS %   8 120,000 1.3 CONTRACTORS overhead costs %   15 300,000 1.4 MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES SUM     250,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       820,000 2 SITE CLEARANCE         2.1 site clearance both sides of carriageway Ha 0.5 400,000 200,000 2.2 top soil removal costs m3 30 1,500 45,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       245,000             3 EXCAVATION WORKS         3.1 Excavation of material to 1.8 meters m3 170 1,500 255,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       255,000             4 DECK SLAB         4.11 Class 30 concrete m3 38.28 5,500 210,540 4.12 Formwork m^2 224.4 800 179,520 4.13 Reinforcement per weight 258 700 180,600   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       570,660             5 STAIR SLAB(two stair slabs)         5.1 class 30 concrete m3 42.3 5,500 232,650 5.2 Formwork m2 338 800 270,479 5.3 Reinforcement per unit weight 460 700 276,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       779,129             6 BEAMS         6.1 BEAM 1 and 2         6.2 class 30 concrete m3 36.96 5,500 203,280 6.3 formwork m2 274.48 800 219,584 6.4 reinforcement per unit weight 198 700 138,600   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       561,464             6.12 BEAMS 3 and 4         6.121 class 30 concrete m3 3 5,500 16,500 6.122 formwork m2 22.325 800 17,860 6.123 reinforcement per unit weight 17.65 700 12,320   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       46,680             7.1 COLUMNS         7.11 Columns 2 and 4         7.111 class 30 concrete m3 6.48 5,500 35,640 7.112 formwork m2 43.2 800 34,560 7.113 reinforcement kg/weight 38.88 700 27,216   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       97,416             7.12 Columns 1,3 and 5         7.121 class 30 concrete kg/weight 16.2 5,500 89,100 7.122 formwork m2 108 800 86,400 7.123 reinforcement kg/weight 81 700 56,700   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       232,200             8 FOOTINGS         8.1 column 1 and 5 footings         8.11 class 30 concrete m3 2.32 5,500 12,760 8.12 formwork m2 6.24 800 4,992 8.13 reinforcement m3 11.6 700 8,120   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       25,872             8.2 column 3-3, column 5-5         8.21 class 30 concrete m3 3.4 5,500 18,700 8.22 formwork m2 7.7 800 6,160 8.23 reinforcement kg/weight 20.4 700 14,280   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       39,140             9 RAILING m2 60 1,200 72,000               SUM CARRIED FORWARD IN CONCRETE WORKS       2,424,561 MISCELLANEOUS FOOT BRIDGE WORKS                     10.1 Painting of railings m2 60 100 6,000 10.2 waterproofing joints in structure m2 15 120 1,800 10.3 ducts, weep holes     10,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       17,800   PLANT WORKS         11.1 One excavator hr 36 6,000 216,000 11.2 tipper hr 120 1,500 180,000 11.3 wheel loader hr 120 1,500 180,000 11.4 water dowser hr 100 1,500 150,000 11.5 concrete vibrator hr 500 600 300,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       1,026,000             12 LABOUR         12.1 Unskilled Labor hr 500 500 250,000 12.3 artisans hr 400 225 90,000 12.4 plant operator hr 360 240 86,400 12.5 driver hr 600 140 84,000 12.6 Foreman hr 600 300 180,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       690,400 13 MATERIALS         13.1 ordinary Portland cement T 35 20,000 700,000 13.2 aggregates T 120 5,000 600,000 13.3 sand T 50 2,000 100,000 13.4 Timber m2 684 800 547,200 13.5 Reinforcement T 8 800,000 6,400,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       8,347,200               ROAD FURNITURE AND ENVIRONMENT         14.1 informatory road signs m2 2 60,000 120,000 14.3 installation of environmental awareness billboards m2 8 80,000 640,000   SUM CARRIED FORWARD       760,000  SUMMARY OF BILL OF QUANTITIES ITEM DESCRIPTION AMOUNT       1 General expenses 820,000 2 site preparation costs 245,000 3 excavation works 255,000 4 Concrete works 2,424,561 5 miscellaneous footbridge works 17,800 6 plant works 1,026,000 7 labor 690,400 8 Materials 8,347,200 9 Environment and road furniture 760,000   Sub-Total 14,585,961   Add 10% contingency expenses 1,458,596   Sub-Total 16,044,557   Add 16% vat 2,567,129   TOTAL 18,611,686 The ultimate right to purchase all the materials as well as to pay the workers rested entirely with the project manager. All money related transactions had to be authorised by him. This lead to very efficient spending and the whole project overshot the budget by only 3.1%. This was therefore a very well executed project. This was covered by the 10% contingency fund included in the bill of quantities. Therefore the financial issues concerned with the footbridge were very well handled. 3 Work Breakdown Sstructure (WBS) This section details the process of the construction project from a management point of view. This includes the time management, financial management, safety issues and efficiency of communication. It has been divided into several subsections depending on the time of each action. 3.1 Ground Breaking The breaking of the ground ceremony was held on Monday, the 25th of March in the year 2013. The chief guest for this function was the Cabinet Secretary for Development and Infrastructure. The ceremony was attended by among other guests, representatives from the two other stakeholders in the project and members of the public in general. The Cabinet Secretary went ahead to excavate the first section for the construction of the construction of column 1. The ceremony was very timely and there were no management failures. The budget for the ceremony was handled by the government. It went on without a glitch and after the ceremony there was a team meeting between the workmen and the project manager. An agreement was reached for them to report to work the following morning to assist in offloading of the materials. 3.2 Excavation The excavation of the site started on that very day after the ceremony. An excavator ensured that the process of excavation was fast, efficient and took the minimum cost possible. The excavation took two days. The excavated material was stored within the confines of the site since it would be used to fill back the empty space after concreting. In terms of time, the process of excavation was well managed. The safety standards were upheld at all times and no injury was reported during this whole process. The financial aspect of the excavation was also very adequately handled since the project took the minimum cost possible. The excavator was hired on the hour. There was also effective communication between the project manager and the site inspector. This ensured smooth flow of the operations. 3.3 Materials Delivery The delivery of the materials began on the third day. This was a hectic day since long traffic snarl ups were experienced. The trucks delivering the cement, the sand, the ballast, the scaffolding and the formwork formed long queues on the highway. There were a few complaints but these were promptly responded to by the project manager. An apology sign was put up on the side of the road to help cool down any angered drivers. The materials were however smoothly delivered and stored at their designated sites. The funds were wired to the respective materials sources and then the trucks were dispatched. The drivers of the trucks were paid upon delivery of the materials. This went on for the next 12 days. The project manager decided to acquire all the required materials at a go to avoid any inconveniences or delays in the project. And since there was adequate space to store the materials, this was a good enough plan. 3.4 Onset of Construction The construction process began immediately when the delivery of the materials started. This saved on the time since there was the possibility of multitasking. This was a smart decision from the project manager as it helped save on the time. The process would begin with the construction of the columns, and the beams simultaneously, followed by hoisting the beams onto the columns and finally casting the slab section. Casting the beams in situ would require too much time since the columns had to be given enough time to set before the beams could be cast. Therefore casting the beams and hoisting them onto the complete columns was a bright idea. While the material was being delivered and sorted, the construction team began to put up the scaffolding and securing in place the formwork for the first column. 3.5 Construction Process The construction process began with the casting of the first column. The reinforcement cage for the column was secured in place inside the scaffolding. This took 3 days. There was a slight delay in this process due to the weather. On the second day it rained heavily all afternoon and the process had to be delayed for a while. However due to the dedication of the construction team, a lot of effort was put in the following day and the lost time was somewhat recovered. After the casting of the column was completed and the concrete had set, the formwork was removed and the column covered in a fine cloth to facilitate curing. It was left this way for another seven days. During this time the first two beams to go over one side of the highway were cast. They were cast on the ground and would therefore only require to be hoisted onto the columns once finished. The reinforcement of the two beams was prepared simultaneously and the formwork secured in place. The concrete was cast and allowed to set before the formwork was removed and the concrete allowed curing. As the beams were curing, the reinforcement for the second column was already being put in to place. This process ensured that no time was wasted and therefore even the costs were minimized. The process went on in a similar manner for columns number two, three four and five and beams number three and four. After the columns and beams were cured, the beams were placed onto the columns and the reinforcement for the slab section of the footbridge was secured in place. The slab was then cast and allowed to set for 2 days. The formwork was then removed and the slab allowed curing for 8 days. After this the stairs were cast in three days and allowed to set for another 8 days. This was repeated for the stairs on the second side of the It was efficient in terms of time. All the timescales were achieved since there was no other mishap due to the weather. In terms of safety, there was only one injury at the site. This was as a result of miscommunication between the concreting team and one of the casuals. He was hit by the concrete bucket and fell off the scaffolding. Lucky for him, he landed on one of the sand piles and only suffered minor injuries. He was treated and deemed fit to continue working. This however called for a site meeting on safety issues. The injured man was given a citation since it was he who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The remainder of the process however went on without any further glitches. After the stairs had cured, the railings on the sides of the stairs were affixed. This was followed by the electrical works and fixes. After this was finished, the paintwork on the structure was done. The paintwork was then followed by fixing of the advertisements of the other stakeholders. The footbridge was therefore complete and was opened up to the public while awaiting the official opening. 3.6 Commissioning The construction ended on 5th July 2013. This was after all the work had been finished, including the advertisement. The whole process strictly adhered to the specified timeline. The construction was late only by two days. These were caused by the accident that occurred and a day in which the construction was halted due to some foreign heads of state using the highway. In terms of financial matters, the budget was overshot by only 5%. This was as a result of upward revision of fuel costs by the government. The rest of the budget was strictly adhered to. The overshot of the budget was taken care of by the 10% contingency fund included in the budget. Therefore the project was financially sound. In terms of the communication structure, there wasn’t an instance of broken communication. The process went on smoothly and all the communication was smooth. From a project manager’s view, the project was a successful one. The opening ceremony was held on 14th July 2013. The budget for the ceremony again was handled by the government. The public was allowed to access the footbridge officially. 3.7 Gantt chart The Gantt chart is attached with the document. 3.8 Pert chart The PERT chart is also attached with the document. 4 Conclusion From a project manager’s point of view, a project should be able to achieve its given limits. These limits include the time and the costs. Judged on these two parameters, the project can be generally said to be a successful one. Other aspects that are considered from a project manager’s point of view are the communication structure and the safety issues. This project was well coordinated and at no single point was there breakdown of communication between the project manager and his workers. In terms of safety, the construction process may have failed due to the accident that happened. A small project like this one was not expected to have any accidents and it is therefore regrettable that one was reported. Judging from the objectives, the project can be judged a successful one since all the objectives was achieved. 5 Problems faced The main problem faced was establishing the costs of the materials in order to come up with an accurate estimate for the bill of quantities. Other than that, there were no other major problems. 6 Lessons learnt A lot was gained from the production of this report from an engineering management focus. i. The ability to assess a project based on its performance in terms of management. ii. Drafting a bill of quantities. iii. Developing a Gantt chart for a project iv. Developing a PERT chart for an actual existing project. 7 Recommendations I recommend that students be engaged on practical skills in engineering management and also be granted access to project management reports for actual projects from the government as well as the private sector. References Kerzner, H. (2003). Project management workbook to accompany Project management - a systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling, eighth edition (8th ed.). New York: Wiley. Verzuh, E. (2012). The fast forward MBA in project management, fourth edition (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Roberts, P. (2013). Guide to project management getting it right and achieving lasting benefit, second edition (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide), fifth edition (5th ed.). (2013). Newtown Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute Computer Centre and Communication Facility. “How to write a structured project report.” How to write a structured project report. N.p. 1 June 2013. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. Turner, J. (n.d.). Towards a theory of project management: The nature of the project governance and project management. International Journal of Project Management, 93-95 Mir, F., & Pinnington, A. (n.d.). Exploring the value of project management: Linking Project Management Performance and Project Success. International Journal of Project Management, 202-217 Read More