EARTHWORKS RESEARCH TEAM

Fair Mutasa
The Borrowdale Race Course Office Park Construction Site Stanford Mawedze
Tavonga Dhlembeu
(Ques 1a) Obert Femayi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hazel Kunaka
Old Mutual undertook to construct an upmarket office park at the Borrowdale Race
Course area. The office park ranked the best in the country designed with fine, modern
and intriguing architecture occupies an area of 67 hectares . Old Mutual engaged John
Sisk to execute this momentous project as the main contractor, with about twenty other
companies sub contracted to carry out specific work in their respective areas of
specializations. The project started in 2005 and was temporarily suspended during the
2008-2010 hyperinflation era only to commence mid 2011 with an improved design.
Earthworks Front end loader
The construction of the office park involved considerable earthworks from the onset.
The state of the art office park was to incorporate a basement, underground storage
tanks and tunnels, and a road loop around the structure with car parking slots for tenants
of up to 600 vehicles parking capacity. Earthworks for road construction was being done The Road loop being constructed covers an area of 3436m²
by Bitcon. Roadbed and subgrade material (natural gravel) of 1780m³ from a
Road loop borrow pit at Mt Hampden 23km from site were to be compacted to
Road loop 93% ModAASHTO.
Construction of 540m³ subbase to 95% ModAASHTO. Subbase
material comprising of 19mm stones and dust was obtained from
Pomona Stone Crushers.

The Structures
Road loop

Construction of 115m³ crushed stone base 1 to 98%

ModAASHTOO. Base 1 material to be collected from Davis
Road loop

Granite.

EXCAVATION
Road loop

COMPACTION

J.C.B hydraulic excavator

(Ques 1b) Equipment Used

Steel Roller Compactor Excavation Haulage Compaction
SPREADING & EXCAVATING Excavator Lorry Tipper Roller Vibrator
Bulldozer Dump trucks Pneumatic Roller
Backhoe Dumpers Roller Vibrator
Grader Graders 5m³ Trucks
Bobycat 10m³ Trucks
HAULAGE Road Formation
25mm 98% ModAASHTO base 1
150mm 95% ModAASHTO subbase
150mm 93% ModAASHTO subgrade

(Ques 2) Description Unit Plant Plant Rates

10m3 Lorry Tipper PLANT US$ Exchange rate:
Haulage: 10m³ Lorry Tipper (Ques. 2 &3)
Material: Natural gravel from Mt Hampden S/P Bowser hr 15.00 24.00
Swell = 30% Tipper (5m3) hr 15.00 25.00
Cycle time: 70 minutes, operating factor 0.833 Tipper (10m3) hr 30.00 45.00
Loose volume = 10m³ Artic Horse & tipping trailer (16m3) hr 48.00 75.00
Bank volume = 10m³/(1 + 0.30) Motor Grader hr 50.00 85.60
= 7.77m³ S/P Pneumatic Roller (20t) hr 28.00 45.60
Number of trips = (0.833 x 60)/70 S/P Vibratory Roller hr 30.00 52.30
= 0.71 trips per hr D6H Dozer hr 60.00 99.00
Front End Loader hr 32.00 56.00
Output per hour = 0.71 x 7.77m³ Water Pump hr 4.00 5.20
= 5.5m³ per hour
(1.c) Problems faced during execution of work and possible solutions
Cost per m³ = $65.00 The in situ material clay has unfavorable and unstable properties i.e
Hourly rate = 5.5 x $65.00 -Very high plastic index, this type tends to develop crocodile cracks
= $357.50 per hour when dry and moisture increases plasticity.
-Expansive soil type.
Solution -Soil type difficult to compact and had to be excavated to a minimum
depth of 500mm and filled with material from a borrow site.
Certain portions had bed rock under and boulders to be blasted.
Rains affected work progress as it increased moisture content.
Solution:A 3% optimum moisture content had to be achieved and constant
Dumper checks and tests had to be done to ensure this level is reached.
Where moisture had to be increased a bowser was used.
EXCAVATION
JCB hydraulic excavator The steel roller compacter and grader had functional problems and constantly
Bowl capacity 0.2m³ needed to be fixed.
Cycle time 3.5minutes Solution:A separate maintenance department needed to set up for regular
operating factor 0.833 maintenance, checks and servicing of machinery.
loose volume = 0.2m³
Bank volume = 0.2m³/(1+0.30) Lack of adequate machinery for efficiency in execution of work. For example the
= 0.154m³ JCB excavator on site had a very small bucket capacity resulting in delays in
Number of trips = (0.833 x 60)/3.5 execution of work.
= 14.28 trips per hour Haulage was restricted to a 10m³ truck whereas larger trucks would reduce
Output per hour = (14.28 x 0.154)m³ haulage costs on fuel and more volume would be transported per each trip.
= 2.20m³ per hour

Bobycat
 Manual Excavation
Trench for drainage detail (Ques 4)
width = 1m 1m
invert level = 0.45m
gradient = 1: 40

68000mm
Calculations:
Trench longitudinal section = 88.4m²
width of trench = 1m
Total volume excavated = 88.4m³
Number of laborers = 8 plus 1 supervisor
Excavation per laborer per day = 2.5m³
per hour = 2.5m³ ÷ 9 working hours
= 0.28m³ per hour
Time for excavation = (88.4m³ ÷ 0.28m³) per hr
= 315.7hrs per laborer
Time for excavation for the
eight laborers = 315.7hrs ÷ 8
= 39.46hours
Wages (NEC grade 1) = $1.57 per hour
Overhead costs = 10% Stabilising material

Total wages = (40x8x$1.57) + (40x$1.80) Mt Hampden gravel

= $574.40
Total Expenses = ($574.00 + 10%) + 15% profit
= $726.11 In-situ clay soil
Cost per m³ = $726.11÷88.4
= $8.22

Manual Excavation Rates Used on Site for GB & 10 laborers

R A TE B UIL D UP

C le a r s it e o f r u b b is h , g r a s s , t r e e s e t c

(Ques 3)
E x c a va tio n G a n g G .B & 1 0 2 4 4 .9 8 p day / 250m 2 per day
L 0 .9 8
0 .9 8

Exc a v o v e r s it e a v e . 1 5 0 m m f o r v e g e t a b le s o il a n d d e p o s it o n s it e n o t e xc e e d in g 1 0 0 m
Swell factors
Clay = 30%
E x c a va tio n G a n g ( G .B & 1 0 ) ( b u lkin g ) 2 4 4 .9 8 p day / 200 sq m per day 1 .2 2
E x c a va tio n G a n g ( G .B & 1 0 ) ( d e p o s it) - p day / 250 sq m per day -
1 .2 2 sand = 5%
L 1 .2 2

Exc a v a t e o v e r s it e t o r e m o v e v e g e t a b le s o il a n d c a r t a w a y

E x c a va tio n G a n g G .B & 1 0 2 4 4 .9 8 p d a y / 2 0 0 M 2 p d a y b u lkin g 1 .2 2 Sub-base material 19mm stones + dust

E x c a va tio n G a n g G .B & 1 0 - p d a y / 2 5 0 m 2 p d a y d e p o s it -
1 .2 2

L 1 .2 2

gravel = 5%
Exc a v a t e in p ic ka b le m a t .t o r e d u c e d le v e ls n .e 2 m d e e p
E x c a va tio n G a n g G .B & 1 0 2 4 4 .9 8 p day / 22 cu m p day 1 1 .1 4
REFERENCES:
Old Mutual Properties department
L 1 1 .1 4
Ministry of Transport Materials Reference Manual.
Rates Build Up Schedule by Bitcon Quantity Surveyor
Garry Woolsen & Nemhara (Jonh Sisk Site Engineers)
Exc a v a t e in p ic ka b le m a t . f o r t r e n c h e s e xc e e d in g 2 0 0 0 n .e . 4 0 0 0 m m d e e p . Mr. S. Shumba (lecturer Civil Engineering)
E x c a va tio n G a n g G .B & 1 0 2 4 4 .9 8 p day / 12 cu m p day 2 0 .4 2 Field Manual (FM 5-434 USA army)
L 2 0 .4 2 National Employmet Council (NEC) informative
circular no: 002/2012.