Civil Engineering Foundations Quiz

Construction Industry

• Building Construction involves assembling residential, commercial, civic, educational, religious, and agricultural buildings.
• Heavy Construction refers to larger infrastructure projects.
• Industrial Construction concerns large-scale manufacturing and processing plants or utility generation installations.

Building Information Modeling

• BIMs manage interdisciplinary information in building design and construction.
• Capabilities include drawing, construction estimating, scheduling, coordination, and fabrication protocols generation.
• BIMs enhance efficiency in the construction process.
• BIMs visualize systems integration and coordinate better.
• Construction drawings indicate element relationships
• Specifications detail materials, qualities, properties, installation, and construction processes.

Construction Contractors

• Principal/General Contractors (PCs) are responsible for the entire project construction at a specific cost and date and coordinate subcontractors, while Specialty Contractors perform work in specialized, limited areas such as elevator or communication equipment installation.

Project Delivery Methods

• Design-Bid-Build (DBB) is a sequential and traditional method of dividing project responsibilities among team members. This results in longer project schedules due to the sequential design, bidding, and construction phases.
• Design-build is a single entity that completes all work from design to construction, creating shorter project schedules.
• Construction Management uses a separate management firm to complete traditional general contractor services. The firm is involved early in the design process to ensure proper design, cost, and scheduling.
• Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) aims to bring together diverse participants (design, procurement, and construction) to identify synergies in the process.
• Lean Construction applies lean manufacturing techniques to construction, maximizing value and minimizing waste.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) involve project delivery contracts between a governing body and a private developer, aiming to provide public services or development.

Tendering Process

• The tendering process is a formal invitation for bidding for goods or services.
• Tendering methods include traditional contracts (with clients, consultants, and contractors), design and build contracts (contractor takes design and construction responsibility), management contracts, and contractor-led contracts.
• Tender types include open tendering, offering an opportunity for any contractor interested in the work, ensuring good competition.

Pre-qualification tendering

• The pre-qualification process is crucial for complex projects, often utilizing pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs).

Negotiated tenders

• These involve a client inviting a chosen contractor/supplier to submit prices for a specific project. This method is typically used for specialized work, equipment extension, or emergency works.

When a tender fails

• The lack of detailed and clearer information, inappropriate pricing, or late submission will cause a tender to fail.

Earthwork

• Excavation is critical for foundations, basement construction, and removing contaminated or unstable native soils.
• Machines like bulldozers, backhoes, bucket loaders, scrapers, and trenching machines are used to loosen and lift soil.
• Excavation in rock is slower and more costly.
• Shoring supports the sides of an excavation to prevent collapse. Common types include soldier beams and lagging, and sheet piling.
• Estimating earthwork volume is calculated with different formulas based on the site's characteristics.

Foundations

• Foundations are the main elements of buildings: superstructure (above-ground), substructure (below-ground), and foundation (supports loads and transfers them to the ground).
• Settlement is the sinking of a structure into the ground.
• Shallow foundations rest close to the surface, ideal for stable soil conditions, while deep foundations extend below the surface to reach stronger, more stable layers.

Piles Foundation

• Long, slender columns that transfer building loads from weak surface soil to stronger, deeper soil.
• Can be displacement piles (driven) or non-displacement piles (drilled).

Structures

• These are divided into non-building and building structures each with unique challenges
• The different structural forms used in structural engineering include beams, columns, trusses, arches, frames, shells and catenaries.
• Space frames and membranes are also common forms in structural engineering.

Concrete Reinforcement Types

• Rebar, Mild Steel Bars, Prestressed Concrete, Post-Tensioned Concrete, and Expanded Metal are the common types.

Steel

Steel is used in buildings, frames, beams, columns, trusses, bridges, equipment, machinery, storage facilities, and transportation infrastructure.

Precast Concrete

• Factory-produced concrete elements for structural, architectural, and infrastructure projects.

Scaffolding

• Temporary structures for construction maintenance and repair, supporting materials, workers, and equipment at elevated heights.

Formworks

• Temporary structures used for shaping and supporting concrete.

Brickwork

• Construction process using rectangular blocks of clay, concrete, or other materials, with varied techniques like stretcher bond, header bond, English bond, and Flemish bond.

Roads

• Road construction planning and design involve evaluating environmental effects, geological surveys, road alignment, drainage systems, pavement design, and safety features.
• Considerations in road design include factors like traffic volume, speed, topography, drainage, land use, and aesthetic factors.

Pavement Design

• Creates a durable, safe, and cost-effective road surface, considering factors like traffic loading, soil conditions, climate, weather, materials, and drainage.
• Pavement design utilizes various methods: empirical (experience and historical data), mechanistic-empirical (combines theoretical models with empirical data), and analytical (mathematical models).
• Designs consider surface course, base course, sub-base course, and subgrade, which are essential layers for pavement construction.

Dams

• Safety, water quality, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness are important considerations in dam design and construction.
• Dam technologies include gravity dams, arch dams, embankment dams, buttresses and diversion dams and hydraulic fill dams.

Harbor

• The location, water depth, berthing design, mooring facilities, wave protection, navigation, and environmental impact are considered factors in the design of harbors.
• Construction elements include quay walls, breakwaters, dredging, pavement, and decking for harbors

Bridges

• Bridge design principles focus on efficiency, economy, and elegance.
• Bridges can be classified into types such as Beam Bridges, Arch Bridges, Suspension Bridges, and Cable-Stayed Bridges.

Tunnels

• Tunnel engineering involves geological investigation, design, construction methods (like drilling and blasting, tunnel boring machines, cut-and-cover, and immersed tubes
• Essential factors for tunnel design are: geology, tunnel purpose, alignment and profile, size and shape, materials and linings, safety and risk management.

Airports

• Airport designs focus on master planning, terminal design, and airside planning.
• Key components include runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals, navigation aids, drainage, and pavement systems.
• Considerations for airport design include aircraft performance, weather, safety, regulations, capacity, and environmental impact.
• Pavement types include flexible (asphalt) and rigid (concrete), with specific design steps to determine pavement classification, select materials, design structure, calculate loads, check for deformation, and consider maintenance needs.

Railway Systems

• Railway design considers route selection, alignment, track geometry, track design, noise mitigation, environmental impact, safety, security, maintenance procedures, and materials like tracks, sleepers (ties), ballast, fastenings, rail pads, and track geometry.

Drainage

• Drainage system types include surface drainage (using gutters, downspouts, and storm drains), and subsurface drainage using pipes and culverts.
• Drainage plays a role in managing water flow, preventing erosion, and protecting structures from flooding
• Hydrological and hydraulic studies are essential for proper drainage design and construction.

Material Management

• The general contractor (GC) is responsible for the procurement of materials.
• Major materials require approval and potentially long lead times, requiring submittals like shop drawings, product data sheets, and material samples.
• Purchase orders (POs) are used to track material orders, and managing materials carefully is crucial for project success.
• Submittal management ensures material procurement, delivery, and installation match the project intent.

Plant Management

• Construction plants, including heavy machinery, are used to increase output, reduce costs, and manage tasks that are impractical for manual labor.
• Selecting suitable plants involves considering factors like company policy, budget availability, extent of use, and versatility.
• Material management at the site prioritizes efficient material flow, appropriate storage, proximity to installation, specific delivery routes, and weather/damage protection.

Labour Management

• Labour management encompass planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the workforce for organizational goals; good management boosts productivity, increases employee engagement, and informs decision-making.
• Key functions include recruitment/selection, training and development, performance management, employee relations, and compensation & benefits.
• Organizational structures (entrepreneurial, bureaucratic, and matrix) impact how work is organized and tasks are delegated. Considerations for effective labor management include adaptation to change, clear communication, training and development, fair compensation, and managing diversity effectively.