Assignment Sample on Structural Adaptation and Reuse of Buidings
Question 1
(a) Feasibility assessment and appraisal process
Feasibility assessment: The different aspects of the feasibility assessments for the project such as planning permission, and site appraisals include the soil studies, geotechnical studies and party boundary situations. As cited by Baker et al. (2017), the elements for the efficient feasibility assessments are:
Project scope: refers to define the business opportunities and problems that are required to be addressed. The scope must be to the point and definitive as well as necessary to define the parts of the business which are affected directly or indirectly.
Current analysis: refers to the understanding and defining the method of implementation using currently for the project such as product or a system (Banihashemi et al. 2017).
Requirements: It depends on the objects for the project’s requirements such as specified products that are substantially different from the requirements.
Approaches: refers to the recommendations or the action for satisfying the requirements, however, there various alternatives which are considered and are preferred for the solutions (Skitmore et al. 2017).
Evaluation: defines the examination of the cost-effectiveness of the approach which is selected and begins with the analysis of the total cost estimation of the project.
Review: defines the preceding elements for the feasibility studies and the formal review involved in the project (Sanjayan et al. 2017).
Appraisal process
The steps which must be considered for the appraisal process are:
- Stating the purpose
- Listing the data and its sources
- Gathering, verifying the data and record
- Gathering and recording as well as verifying the data for every approach
- Analyzing and interpreting the data
- Reconciling the data for the final estimation
- Preparation of an appraisal report
(b) Discuss procurement methods
Procurement methods that are typically used for construction projects are:
General contracting: As narrated by Watanabe and Nguyen (2017), it refers to the traditional procurement method in which the contractor agrees on the design for buildings that are provided by the employees.
Benefits of general contracting concerning the structural adaptation project are:
- The hiring of contractors or subcontractors is more flexible with the specific task or jobs.
- Contractors or subcontractors can be used for one-off jobs and jobs which require a fast turnaround and specialist expertise (Ghamdi and Raouf, 2019).
Dis-benefits of general contracting concerning the structural adaptation projects are:
- Contractor or subcontractors costs the business more than the daily equivalent rate for employing the individuals (Sanchez and Haas, 2018).
- Permanent staffs usually resent the contractors for being paid more money while doing the same tasks or jobs.
Design and build: As cited by Pasquire et al. (2018), various forms are typified by the contractors while taking both constructional responsibilities and designs.
Benefits of design and build about the structural adaptation projects are:
- Potential cost savings reduce the overall project cost.
- Faster project completion as there is no dead time in between the start of construction and completion of design.
Dis-benefits of design and build with the structural adaptation projects are:
- Less control as the owner has full control over the project with the specification and details of the plans.
- Compliance with the subcontractors as it requires the bidder’s list for their subcontractors with the bids creates issues for the design-build approach.
Management contracting: refers to the method of procurements where the construction is completed using separate works. As narrated by Schneiderova-Heralova (2018), trade contracts in the series where the main contractor is responsible for managing the project.
Benefits of management contracting with the structural adaptation projects are:
- Save times as well as resources which helps in handling the operating controls of the marketing (Rahman et al. 2017).
- Provide expertise and help with staff responsibilities in more efficient ways.
Dis-benefits of management contracting concerning the structural adaptation projects are:
- Loss of control as the controls are surrendered to the outside company’s while having the freedom for negotiating the level of services (Samali et al. 2018).
- Reputation damages for the project as the project is the responsibility of outside companies and much less transparent for the owners.
Question 2
a) Different costing techniques
There are several costing techniques for the construction projects which can be utilised are:
Analogous estimating: refers to the project manager calculation using the analogous estimation for the expected cost for the project (Skitmore et al. 2017).
Parametric estimating: it determines the underlying unit cost for the project or a particular component and sells the unit cost appropriately.
Bottom-up estimation: refers to the larger project which is broken down into multiple numbers of smaller components (Pasquire et al. 2018).
Three-point estimation: refers to the identification of the three separate estimates associated with the project by the project managers.
The different stages for the construction projects in which the relevance of costing techniques are:
Analogous estimation is under the design stages where the project manager determines the cost concerning other construction projects and estimates the cost for the project.
Parametric estimating falls under the preconstruction stages where the units cost for a project or for the particular component is determined and sales the units appropriately (Sanjayan et al. 2017).
Bottom-up estimation falls under the procurement stage where the contractors break the project into multiple small chunks and allocate them to their subcontractors for completion.
Three-point estimation falls under the design and preconstruction stages where the project manager determines the three-segmented elements for the project and its estimations for the completion of the project (Moncaster et al. 2017).
b) Various sources of cost data
Various sources for the cost data while creating the cost plan during the inception and feasibility stages of a construction project are:
Direct cost: According to the view of Hosseini et al. (2017), it includes the heavy equipment, labour and construction materials costs which can be directly attributed to the production of the physical products on sites.
Benefits for the direct costs associated with the sources of data are:
- Clarity of unpredictable situations provides the opportunities and determines the costs for the valuable exercise, forcing to identify and evaluate the upcoming expenditure (Liu et al. 2017).
- Helps to make the decisions in a rational way for the project and circumvent the impulse for an emotional tie-up with the suppliers.
Dis-benefits for the direct costs associated with the sources of data are:
- All variables are not accounted for creating the illusion of covering the bases and encountering unforeseen costs.
- Remove the instinct while deciding on the necessary approaches to complete the project (Nematollahi et al. 2017).
General conditions: refer to the indirect cost and invisible needs for the project and it is further divided into three types such as construction organization costs, pre-construction costs and project operations costs.
Benefits for the general condition associated with the sources of data are:
- The contractors pricing is fixed and provides the work stand benefits for increasing the profits (Haas and Sanchez, 2018).
- Owners are required to pay the contacts for the work cost as a potential requirement.
Dis-benefits for the general condition associated with the sources of data are:
- Constructors are provided works within the estimated costs and decrease the profit margin.
- Construction knowledge and experience are dependent as well as owners pay for work (Sarhan et al. 2018).
Profit and overhead refer to the operating expenses which are associated with the project and cannot be linked to the specific project. However, the amount earned and amount spent difference for the project are determined and considered.
Benefits for the profits and overhead associated with the sources of data are:
- Overhead costs are mainly the indirect costs, not the direct cost which is related to the construction (Chowdhury et al. 2017).
- The expenses related to the construction overhead are always fixed and the project manager allocates the budget for a clear idea.
Dis-benefits for the profits and overhead associated with the sources of data are:
- Something the wrong budgetary estimate can lead to higher construction overhead.
- Higher construction overhead leads to higher prices for the construction components (Mortazavi et al. 2018).
(c) Value Engineering
Value engineering refers to the systematic and organized approach for providing the function in the project at the lowest cost. It promotes the materials substitution and methods with alternatives for fewer expenses without the functionality. It focuses on the function for the various components instead of physical attributes beside it also known as value analysis. As cited by Mortazavi et al. (2018), the techniques are made use for construction projects for the development of a system and the system modelling with its architecture.
Question 3
a) Linear and circular economy models
The difference between the linear and circular model are:
Linear economy model’s step plans take a make disposal approach however; the circular economy model’s approach is reduce-reuse-recycle.
The linear economy model’s focus on eco-efficiency and the circular model focuses on the eco-effectively approach (Nematollahi et al. 2017).
The linear economy model’s system boundaries are short term from the purchase and sales however, the circular model’s boundaries are long term with multiple life cycles
Linear models focus on the product as the business model and the circular model focus on the service for the business models Chowdhury et al. 2017).
b) Structural material durability
The two most significant materials for durability are:
Physical durability: The ability of construction to resist the building condition is physical durability. Construction concrete refers to the crack during changing the volumes.
Chemical durability: Construction concrete that is resistant to the construction and other chemicals involved in the construction (Banihashemi et al. 2017).
These are relevant for the particular project because durability is considered the vital elements for the construction of a building and the factors may increase the risk of building damages.
Material durability issues
Physical durability can result in issues such as abrasion, freezing and thawing, rain and humidity.
Chemical durability can result in issues such as alkali-silica reaction, chloride and steel, sulphates.
(c) Material testing techniques
One non-destructive testing technique is acoustic emission testing and it is passive techniques that rely on the detection of the short ultrasound which is emitting from the active cracks. As narrated by Rahman et al. (2017), the technique is relevant to this project because it will detect the unseen crack within the walls and will help to rectify the crack with possible solutions.
One distinctive testing technique is corrosion testing where the cracks are covered with non-toxic, with a variety of different environments including sea and freshwater. As cited by Samali et al. (2018), the technique is relevant to this project because it can determine the state of the building during the corrosion with the fresh and seawater, and the operational cost is low.
References
Baker, H., Moncaster, A. and Al-Tabbaa, A., 2017. Decision-making for the demolition or adaptation of buildings. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Forensic Engineering, 170(3), pp.144-156. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jfoen.16.00026
Banihashemi, S., Hosseini, M.R., Golizadeh, H. and Sankaran, S., 2017. Critical success factors (CSFs) for integration of sustainability into construction project management practices in developing countries. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), pp.1103-1119. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786317300856
Liu, J., Jin, F., Xie, Q. and Skitmore, M., 2017. Improving risk assessment in financial feasibility of international engineering projects: A risk driver perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 35(2), pp.204-211. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026378631630360X
Nematollahi, B., Xia, M. and Sanjayan, J., 2017. Current progress of 3D concrete printing technologies. In ISARC. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (Vol. 34). IAARC Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Behzad_Nematollahi/publication/318472250_Current_Progress_of_3D_Concrete_Printing_Technologies/links/5ec7d2df299bf1c09ad30508/Current-Progress-of-3D-Concrete-Printing-Technologies.pdf
Nguyen, L.H. and Watanabe, T., 2017. The impact of project organizational culture on the performance of construction projects. Sustainability, 9(5), p.781. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/781
Raouf, A.M. and Al-Ghamdi, S.G., 2019. Building information modelling and green buildings: challenges and opportunities. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 15(1), pp.1-28. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17452007.2018.1502655
Sanchez, B. and Haas, C., 2018. Capital project planning for a circular economy. Construction Management and Economics, 36(6), pp.303-312. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446193.2018.1435895
Sarhan, S., Pasquire, C., King, A. and Manu, E., 2018. Institutional waste within the UK construction procurement context: A conceptual framework. Engineering Project Organization Journal, 8, pp.36-64. http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/32796/
Schneiderova-Heralova, R., 2018. Importance of life cycle costing for construction projects. Engineering for Rural Development, 17, pp.1223-1227. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/94c6/bc5c979527e58bee6258e7cd040df0749925.pdf
Shah, M.A.R., Rahman, A. and Chowdhury, S.H., 2017. Sustainability assessment of flood mitigation projects: An innovative decision support framework. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 23, pp.53-61. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420916307026
Sharafi, P., Rashidi, M., Samali, B., Ronagh, H. and Mortazavi, M., 2018. Identification of factors and decision analysis of the level of modularization in building construction. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 24(2), p.04018010. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000313
Know more about UniqueSubmission’s other writing services:
