Posted on November 20, 2011
Workers, owners, as well as customers can benefit well from the construction industry. Yet during while the construction process is still being done, every safety precautions should be done for the process is not as simple as strolling at the park. There are a lot of dangerous situations that could happen if workers as well as the owners are not precautions enough. The good thing is that there are some measures that can be done in order to make sure that workers are safe as well as the workplace itself. In most cases, the safety of everyone should be one of the main focuses of the firm managing the construction work.
First of all, employers should make it sure that all the work area as well as the equipments and structures are placed well and checked to ensure that they will cause no harm to the workers. Traffic in the work site should also one of the considerations. Employers should assign an area where vehicles can pass through and it should be away from dangerous areas. The path should be spacious enough for the vehicle to pass through. The safety of workers is of most important so there should be a path where employees can walk through safely. Hazardous materials such as chemicals should also be stored well to avoid any accidents.
There are also some legal considerations that the firm should check and comply with such as working permits and certifications. These items should be processed and acquired to ensure that the construction project will be done with the slightest possibility of danger to happen. A firm should be able to comply with these requirements in any case.
Before the project is started, another consideration is the danger zones in the site. There might be uneven surfaces which will occur and this should be flattened due to the fact that this can be a cause of danger and this can make the time it takes to finish the job be lengthen. Rain is also inevitable during the construction process which can lead to slippery roads. To ensure everyone's safety, there should be a way for the firm to keep the rain out or the work site should be dry first before trying to resume with the work. Read more...
Posted on November 4, 2011
Construction management is a highly specialized field that covers all aspects of construction. It encapsulates all minute components of the industry. The area covered is the construction of residential buildings, commercial buildings and large scale building projects. Though it is a site superintendent who is looking after a site it is the construction manager who is responsible for the project to the project owner who is the customer.
Qualifications of a construction manager
In order to be a competent manager of construction projects, you need to have at least a four year degree. For some projects having a masters degree is essential. They could be specialists on any of the related subjects such as construction management, architecture, accounting, engineering and any other related field.
As the construction industry is gaining momentum once again the career prospects and the remuneration are very good for those who are engaged in the construction management sector. When it comes to responsibility they are responsible for every aspect of a building starting from the blue print stage. Even the blue print need to be inspected thoroughly by them in order to find flaws and they could be corrected if any is found.
Responsibilities
Construction Manger is responsible for the control of expenditure on a project to stay in a profitable margin after executing the job to the satisfaction of the project owner. Therefore, he should control the construction and labor costs to stay at the optimum in order to make a successful project. He has to collaborate with the architects, project managers and site engineers for the project to go ahead smoothly and efficiently. Read more...
Posted on July 14, 2011
The construction project for the 2012 London Olympics is estimated to be twice the size of Heathrow's Terminal 5 build, but the Olympic build is due to be delivered in half the time, with at peak building time over 12,000 people being employed on site. 98% of the facilities for the Games have been built by British companies, including working with scissor lifts, which has a worth of almost £6bn to the construction industry. An estimated 75,000 firms have won work related to the 2012 Olympics.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has made sure that every trainee who was involved in the build enhanced their own employment opportunities and that value was added to the industry. Figures from the ODA show that more than 1,580 previously unemployed and local people have gained work on the Olympic Park, with more than 3,500 training places being taken up and 457 apprentices gaining valuable experience.
Two cherry pickers have been used in the construction of the 115 meters high Orbit Tower (costing £19 million) in the Olympic Park site. The Orbit Tower is the sculptural centrepiece, designed by world renowned artist Anish Kapoor.
Debate will go on for a long time whether the £9.3bn invested in the Olympics should have been used elsewhere; the spending has provided a stimulus for the construction industry and employment in east London. Read more...