Introduction
The composition of built environment usually includes all the living spaces and environment which have been modified or created by the people. Other than the spaces and the buildings, it is also made up of the elements of infrastructure that are utilized in the transportations, management of wastes as well as transmission of the utility which have actually been put in place to assist in the building space service. This implies that during the process of the built environment evaluation, taking consideration of the broader view that includes communities as well as stakeholders will be very important besides the cases of immediate investors or just the users of the building (Khitab and Tausif 2014).
This particular research work seeks to identify factors which have the potential of influencing the development of the built environment from various perspectives including the supply side, demand side as well as health and safety while using Chelsea Barracks as the case study of the construction project underway.
Demand Side
Types of Sectors in the industry
Despite the fact that construction industry or the built environment is made up of several factors, it will be interesting to note that the study considered a narrowed definition. The sector considered to be narrow consisted solely of the on-site assembly (Rao, Parameshwaran and Ram 2018.). This included the repair work which is characterized by the preparation of the site, building and infrastructural construction, and installations of the buildings and finally completion of the buildings or what is basically refered to as the processes of the decorations. In order to make these sectors in Chelsea Barracks clearly outlined, the schematic framework was as shared below.
Figure 1: Sample framework of Built Environment (Tay 2016).
Just like other industries, Chelsea Barracks construction site was a complex one that possessed several levels of interactions as well as various production levels which were responsible for the creation of various levels of end products. Every stage was made up of specific portion which could actually not be attributed to the processes of the constructions. It was after consideration of the comprehensive stages of interaction that it became possible to ascertain the industry’s full make-up hence what was generated was regarded as a single unit. Through this approach, it was possible to identify the impacts of the clients in the process.
How Client influenced the process of the constructions
Local Authority was the main client in the case of the Chelsea Barracks construction project. As part of the major team in the site of the construction, several roles were played including:
- Ensuring that management arrangement were suitably made for the project
- Selection as well as appointment of very resourceful and competent designer
- Selection as well as appointment of resourceful and competent principal contractor
- Notification of the relevant enforcing authority of specific projects
- Ensuring that there was adequate time as well as resources for the whole levels of the project itself (Tay 2016).
- Responsible for the provision of the pre-construction information which is commonly known as PCI to the contractors as well as designers.
- Ensured co-ordination as well as cooperation between the employees of the clients as well as contractors with the contractors of the project in the cases where there was overlap of the client’s activities hence a smooth flow of tasks
- Ensuring that there was maintenance of up to date information as well as proper access to any person who might be in need of the safety as well as safety upon receipt of the records of health and safety.
Need for the processes of Sustainability in the process
In order to effectively evaluate the dimensions of sustainability of the built environment particularly in the case of Chelsea Barracks, it was worthwhile to have proper understanding of the life processes of the buildings and actors who play both primary as well as secondary roles in the process. The processes ranged from evaluation of the decision of the property in regard to the management as well as occupancy of the same properties.
Need for the Sustainability and Environmental Protection
The industries of construction by nature utilize natural resources. The construction processes of Chelsea Barracks were never exceptional in this particular case. The growing concerns over the changes of the climate as well as the finite nature of the available natural resources were considered to be potential sources of pressure on the firms of the construction to reduce the impacts on the environment. The sustainable methods of construction which were considered in the case of the Chelsea Barrack construction included the following:
- Use of the recyclable as well as renewable natural materials
- Reduction of the wastes as well as energy consumptions
- Creation of healthy as well as environmentally friendly set ups
- Protection of the natural resources
There is usually huge impact of the construction industry right from the usage of the energy to the emissions of the se specific products. Others than considerations of the fact that wild environments are usually targeted for the case of the construction industry, there is usually used of high energy in the case of the construction industry. The heavy machineries which were employed in the site of the construction were basically using fossil fuels (Augiseau and Barles 2017). This implies that they are potentially destructive to the environment. In order to ensure protection to the environment, there was need to adopt sustainable methods of the constructions.
The processes of shipping as well as fabrication of the materials of the construction can have greater impacts on the environment particularly in the case of the carbon emissions. For in case, the use of the concretes was associated with considerable amount of carbon which was responsible for the pollution of the water tables. These were sufficient reasons to practice proper methods of the environmental protections. In the case of the site visited, there was use of insulation and sound proof materials as part of sustainability practice.
Figure 2: Use of the insulation materials as part of the sustainability practice (Suleymanova et al.2014)
Supply Side
The industries of the construction have been booming almost in all parts of the world. This has led to the shortages of the skills besides holding the projects up. The construction project which was considered for the study in this particular case was not spared either by these effects. Sub-contractors were found to be source of proper solutions although this was to be accompanied by very proper management. In this particular case, the sub-contractors assisted the company in sourcing the required skills in a manner considered to be very flexible (Suleymanova et al.2014).
In general, there was existence of poor quality of the construction in the case of the Chelsea Barracks projects. This could be attributed to the current practices of sub-contracting. In order to have proper improvement of the practices or habits of sub-contracting, it is essential to have a collaborative efforts of all stakeholders. Within the case study of the Chelsea Barracks construction project, the following conclusion could be drawn as far as the habits of sub-contracting are concerned:
- There was application of the sub-contracting in the industries of the construction and this partly led to the flow of the activities essentials for the projects like supply of labour as well as materiel as of the constructions.
- The processes of sub-contracting were found to potentially affect the communications between the prime contractors and the clients. In the long run, it was found to affect the dissemination of the information to the so called subcontractors in the industry in general.
- There was however slight cases of the poor management in the cases of the interfaces between subcontractors and the prime contractors. This could be attributed to the unclear division of the responsibilities. Interesting to note was that the occurrence of the multiplier would lead to the cases where the prime contractors were unaware of the existence or the identity of sub-contractors in the lower tier.
- There was no regulation of the practices of sub-contracting through any authority of regulations or just statutory. There were no established criteria for the sub-contractors selection. According to the local authorities, the present system of registration only focused on the prime contractors (Memon 2014).
- There was no common practice involving the use of the standard form contracts between the sub-contractors and the prime contractors. This was the reason why the terms of contracts were generally determined by the prime contractors. The consequences included among others the exploitations of the sub-contractors. The exploitation was up to a certain degree considering that the prime contractors had the power of withholding the work under process from the subcontractors even in the future.
- Although it was practiced in this particular case study, multitier subcontracting made the management quality very difficult. This was due to the profit absorption which was taking place at different levels (Wu et al.2014). Again with the involvement of additional subcontractors as well as shortages of infrastructure and technical training, there were compromised cases as far as efficient operations are concerned.
In summary, the parties which were involved in the processes of construction were satisfied with the activities of subcontracting. This was evident from their strong opposition to the use of direct labor sourced by the prime contractors (Escamilla and Habert 2015). It can therefore be concluded that the use of direct labor in this particular project could not be any practical due to the fact that it was associated with higher degree of uncertainty, fluctuations or variations in the workload of the construction. This could be coupled with very high loads of the administrative overheads.
Use BIM concepts in the construction projects
Building Information Modelling which is commonly refered to as BIM has been regarded as a means of having several parts of the process of construction represented. It can be used in the representations of the utilities, terrain as well as building (Zeng et al.2017). BIM management which was employed in this particular case study refers to the process of managing as well as generating digital representations. It includes both functional as well as physical characteristics of the places. It is important to note that BIM was not building model using a 3D computer model. Instead, it showed how certain buildings as well as materials should hold up over time. Its application in this particular project was therefore characterized by the following benefits:
- Improved detection of clashes as well as coordination
- Reduced cases of risk mitigations and costs
- Improved sequencing or what is commonly refered to as scheduling
- Increased prefabrication or productivity
- Better communications and collaborations
- Project visualizations particularly in the case of the preconstructions
Figure 3: Use of IT or BIM concept for the construction site analysis (Suleymanova et al.2014)
Values of the construction Industry
- In order to enhance productivity in the case of the construction, the following values have been upheld:
- Professional and motivated hence linked to or considered as being problem solvers
- Quality and safety considered as key factors as far as the processes of production is concerned
- There was concept of continuous learning: This implied that there was commitment to achieving excellence all the times (Smith and Augarde 2014).
- Responsible and accountable. This implies that there was intention to achieve results.
- Honesty and Integrity: Things are done or activities carried out as promised to the clients.
Mechanisms of enhancing Efficiency in the production process.
Efficiency in the production process
In order to ensure that the processes of the production are properly managed, the manager of the construction majored on the following activities:
- There was improvement in planning of the activities to ensure that the rate of flow of deliveries was never affected.
- There was use of the Building Information Modelling (Kabir, Al-Shayeb and Khan 2016)
- There was proper investment in the processes of training
- There were improved processes of training as required by various parties in the project
- There was establishment of the performance measurements
Off-site activities
As part of the strategy of avoiding congestion on the site of the construction, the following activities were preferred to be carried on the off-site so that the efficiency of the production could be enhanced:
- Construction materials like bricks were shaped off-sites.
- Cutting as well as management of timber was done off-sites
- Mixing of concretes was also done off-sites.
Contractual Issues
The selection of the type of contracts to be used in this particular project was guided by the following factors:
- The objectives of the project
- Constraints of the project
- The delivery methods of the projects
As per the above highlighted factors, the project utilized a unit price Construction Contract. In this particular contract, the project’s total unit price was based on the price of each and every unit of the item itself. The payment of the contractor was thus done as per the rate of the specified items as illustrated in the bill of quantity (Lasvaux et al.2016). The sharing of risk thus carried out between the contractor and the project owner. It was preferred since it always allow for more flexibility for the changes in the design as opposed to other types of contracts like lump sum.
Health and Safety
Factors leading to the death cases or fatalities in the construction site
Falls
Falls have been considered as the common cases of deaths on the sites of the construction. The incidences include such as falling off the ropes, scaffoldings or even ladders.
Electrocution
When workers come into contact with the overhead power lines particular at the time when the processes of the wiring is being done without considerations of the right appropriate gear. Also in the cases where the workers will be expected to work on the machines, there is likelihood of coming into contact with the unprotected parts of the machines (Hildebrandt, Hagemann, and Thrän 2017). This will definitely lead to the processes of the electrocution. In some cases there is usually lack of the circuit interrupters.
Crush Injuries
This is another common factor which is responsible for the higher cases of deaths in the case of the construction sites. The process involves incidences in which the debris will literally fall from the unexpected heights hence leading to the potential injuries which results to the cases of the deaths. In some cases, the entire slab of the structure has fallen leading to the unexpected injuries in the case of the workers underneath (Bouasker et al.2014).
In the extreme cases, the carelessness of the workers in the site of the construction has led to death when materials of the construction like pieces of metals, cements among others falling from designated heights.
Individuals caught between injuries
In the processes of the construction, the limbs of the workers and other body parts have been caught in unique places. Such kind of the incidences results into main injuries since the victim has his or her movement restricted. Such kinds of the injuries are commonly known as caught in between. Some of the most common examples include using a hammer which has fingernails and in the process the finger will get damage (Sandin, Peters and Svanström 2014). Potential damages to body parts in the case of such accidents as well as the subsequent infection leads to deaths.
Collapse of the Crane
The collapse of the crane has also been identified as one of the factors which is responsible for the cases of the fatalities on the site of the construction. This will always take place in the cases where the installation of the equipment has not been properly or correctly done (Moosazadeh, Kharkovsky and Case 2016).
Site Fires in the construction sites
Carelessness of the supervisors as well as workers on the sites of the construction has been attributed to the fire fatalities (Appiah, Berko-Boateng and Tagbor 2017). The spread of fire is usually as a result of the objects or the items including wood and fuel which can easily catch fire.
Task 2
Part a
Introduction
There was selection of the Premier Modular Limited as the primary supply chain partner in the development of modular accommodation at Chelsea Barracks. This was meant to accommodate at least 600 soldiers upon their return from Italy. As a result of their important capacity, higher innovations as well as quality products that have been brought to the sector, the appointment of the premier was meant to assist in the provision of 6 Junior Ranks Single Living Accommodation blocks.
In every 3-storey block, there were 45 modular bays which were characterized by the provision of at least 72 bedrooms. Also provided were communal areas. This meant that there were a total of 432 bedrooms as well as 270 modular bays for the whole project. Considering that the contracted company employed some of the modern methods of the construction, the rate of the manufacturing of modular building was at the rate of 20 bedrooms per week. This was a perfect offer to the construction programme (Provis 2018). Strength of the structure was achieved through the use of steel rods and concretes( steel reinforced concretes)
Figure 4: Use of reinforced concrete of steels (Suleymanova et al.2014)
Figure 5: Slab structure of the structure under construction process (Suleymanova et al.2014)
As part of alleviating concerns of health and safety, the contracted company (Premier) developed improved as well as innovative lifting frame (Smol et al.2015). This was based on the solution which was already in existence. This would allow the operatives to work with the maximum levels of safety at the standard height during the installation of the modular buildings.
Part b
Compliance with the regulations
As part of compliance with the required standards of such units, the use of such lifting frames was recommended or applauded by the manager of Lend Lease’s European Health and Safety. It was later globally endorsed by Lend Lease (An et al. 2014). There was an approach of high volumetric off site construction by the contracted company and this was suitable for the project. The facilities of the production which were available actually offered real benefits to the programmes of manufacturing (Suleymanova et al.2014).
Figure 6: Safety chart and procedures in the site office (Suleymanova et al.2014)
Conclusion
The sustainability concepts has been regarded as crucial approach in the sector of the construction industry or built environment in general. This is because it has permeated several decisions which are being made by the management in such kind of the organizations. In such kinds of the organizations, the primary driving force has been the possibilities of the business values that are again associated with the sustainability management. The factors identified and presented in this particular study will therefore be regarded as a frame work tool for making decisions which includes the business/ economic, social as well as environmental aspects within the context of the built environment.
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