A Report on Internship Work At

Yirgalem Construction P.L.C.

By:
Tekalign Behailu ID: RAMIT/T/045/06

Arba Minch University

Arba Minch Institute of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

October 29, 2016

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I truly want to thank GOD for his merciful and endless guidance throughout my
life.
Secondly I would like to sincerely thank Yirgalem Construction plc for giving me this
wonderful opportunity to undergo this internship program, specially thanks for my supervisor,
engineer Muse and project manager engineer Bemnet Gashaw and also the Forman Mr.
Ahmedin. My appreciation for the company would be incomplete without giving credit to the
craftsman’s who has equipped me with essential practical skill.
My appreciation and deepest gratitude is extended to Arba Minch University Institute of
Technology and School of Civil Engineering for providing this internship program. Also my
appreciation goes to other university interns who have undergone this internship program with
me for sharing their ideas.
Finally I would like to thank my beloved family from the bottom of my heart for their endless
support and for being there whenever I needed them.

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List of Tables

Table 1: Take of sheet for concrete work.............................................................6

Table 2: Format for takeoff sheet for reinforcement bars.....................................7
Table 3: Stripping period of form works............................................................12
Table 4: Box size for different types of concrete...............................................28

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List of figures

Figure 1: Organization structure...........................................................................4

Figure 2: Steel and timber formwork..................................................................11
Figure 3: foundation column and footing...........................................................17
Figure 4: elevation column.................................................................................21
Figure 5: Bar arrangement of beam....................................................................23
Figure 6: Reinforcement of grad beam...............................................................24
Figure 7: Bar arrangements of solid slab............................................................25
Figure 8: Stair case.............................................................................................26
Figure 9: 5cm thick lean concrete for preparation of footing.............................30
Figure 10: Concrete cover..................................................................................34
Figure 11: Masonry work...................................................................................34
Figure 12: Hardcore works.................................................................................35
Figure 13: sliding of soil.....................................................................................35

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 Table of content

Contents pages
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................................ii
List of Tables..........................................................................................................................................iii
List of figures.........................................................................................................................................iv
Table of content.....................................................................................................................................v
EXECUTIVE SUMMERY..........................................................................................................................vii
CHAPTER I...............................................................................................................................................1
1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Company Background and Overviews..........................................................................................2
1.2 Objectives of the Firm..................................................................................................................3
1.4 Staff profile...................................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER II..............................................................................................................................................6
2. WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS...................................................................................6
2.1 Task one (Office work)..................................................................................................................6
2.1.1. Take off sheet.......................................................................................................................6
2.1.2. Bar schedule.........................................................................................................................7
2.2 Task Two (Site work).....................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER III.............................................................................................................................................9
3 Technical Aspect of the Internship......................................................................................................9
3.1 Objectives.....................................................................................................................................9
3.2 Methods and procedures.............................................................................................................9
3.3. Technical tasks/products...........................................................................................................10
3.3.1. Formworks..........................................................................................................................10
3.3.2. Foundation work................................................................................................................14
3.3.3. Shear Walls.........................................................................................................................19
3.3.4. Reinforcement work...........................................................................................................19
3.3.5 Column................................................................................................................................22
3.3.6. Beams.................................................................................................................................23
3.3.7. Slabs...................................................................................................................................25
3.3.8. Staircase.............................................................................................................................26

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 3.3.8. Concrete work....................................................................................................................28
3.4. Knowledge and Acquaintances Acquired..................................................................................35
3.4.1.Technical Skills I Gained...........................................................................................................37
3.4.2. Management Skills Gained.................................................................................................38
3.4.3. Acquaintances Acquired.....................................................................................................38
3.5. Contributions.............................................................................................................................39
Chapter IV............................................................................................................................................40
4. General Comments and Conclusions................................................................................................40
4.1. Problems Encountered During the Internship Period................................................................40
4.2 General Suggestions and Comments to the Company................................................................35
4.3. Summary and Conclusion..........................................................................................................36
4.4. Recommendations.....................................................................................................................36
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................38

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMERY
The following report describes the activities carried out during a four month, internship program at
yirgalem construction. The document contains information about the company and experience that
I gathered during internship program on the project (i.e. Arba Minch university teaching and
referral project). On this report I have tried to list the main and most interesting parts of the
experiences that I got from each and every task those were performed by the company workers of
the project including the tasks and responsibilities that I performed. Below I have mentioned what
shall be expected on the next chapters of the report.

The first portion of the report offers an overview of the company. It starts from the back ground of
the company and continues by mentioning the main services those are given by the company, main
customers or end users of the company and the overall organization and work flow.

The second portion of the report is mainly intended to provide information about the work,
responsibility and assignments that I have been done during this practical session stay. It also
includes the duties and responsibilities of mine in my internship stay in hosting company. and
briefly describe the section that I was working, task I used to execute, the procedure that I use to
perform those task.

The third part of the report describes the technical things and engineering tasks that have been
done by us, it also includes methods and procedures of those technical tasks. This part also deals
about the overall knowledge’s and acquaintance which I gained from the internship in terms of
improving my technical skill, management skill, interpersonal communication skill.

The last part of the report is all about the general comments and suggestions with including
problems which encountered and the way how to solve( face) this problems. Finally it
includes about the conclusion of the report and recommendation for the company.

vii
 1

CHAPTER I

1 INTRODUCTION
General
Construction industries play an important and crucial role for development of regional and
national economy and to eradicating poverty. As we know infrastructure and houses are the
causes for regional as well as national levels of one‘s country development. This development
factors can be done and fulfilled by construction industries.
In Construction industries, building Construction is a traditional Science which deals with the
modern methods of sound construction incorporating appropriate use of materials, sufficient
strength and permanence, maximum utility and good proportion and grace.
There are a number of types of buildings depending on their use:-residential building,
educational building: institutional building: assembly building, business buildings mercantile
buildings, industrial buildings, storage buildings, and hazardous building
 2

1.1 Company Background and Overviews

Yirgalem construction PLC is an organization in construction industry that has been engaged
in various civil Engineering Constructions, such as different levels of buildings, roads, bridges
& water works construction.
The organization has been issued a certificate of registration as General contractor in category
one (GC I ) from Ministry of Works and Urban development to participate in all civil
construction works such as buildings and high way roads, by fulfilling all the requirements of
equipments and skilled manpower.
Additionally, the organization has been issued the license as water works general contractor
of category one (WWCC I) from Ministry of Water Resources to participate in all water
works by fulfilling the requirements that was needed at the level.
At past the organization has done various constructions successfully. Some of the projects that
have been constructed in Yirgalem construction PLC are different levels of buildings with
their sanitary accesses, different bridges, Drainages and municipal works at different areas.
Some of the relevant documents that can express the capability of an organization in different
streams of construction of construction industry are attached with this profile. The
organization has enough skilled & non-Skilled working manpower with satisfied machines
and equipments.
Eligibility
An organization has fulfilled the entire criterion to be legal and eligible. Thus Yirgalem
construction PLC is one of the legal organizations in the country in the industry of
construction. This is by requiring various trade licenses and technical criteria.
In addition to that the company is one of the members of grade one contractors association
who were registered in the ministry of works and urban development. In this regard the
contractor is participating in all issues.
General profile of the company
Name: Yirgalem general construction
Category: GC 1, WWCC
 3

Adress: Hawassa-Main Office, Addis Ababa Liaison office

Communication adress: Phone 046220 16 02 (off) 0916 82 32 30 (Mob)
Fax 046 220 18 34 & Email yirgalemcon@yahoo.com
 Company's representative; Engineer Zelalem W/Amanuel
Details of the company
The year of establishment is 1994 E.C /2000 GC.
 Ownership – private limited company
Engineer Zelalem W/Amanuel & W/roYirgalemAsfew
 Capital – 25 million Eth.Birr.

 Number of staffs – 14/fourteen

Project Detail
Location: - in Arba Minch near to Medanyalem church
Size: - G+5
Contractor: - Yirgalem construction plc
Consultant: - construction design sc
Client: - Arba Minch university
Purpose: - teaching and referral hospital
Total area: 171*190m
Capital: - 875 million birr

1.2 Objectives of the Firm

General objectives
The following are the general objectives of the company
 Constructing buildings and related schemes

 Constructing roads and road accessories

 Constructing water works constructions

 Drilling shallow and deep wells

Specific objectives
 Implementing designed constructions
 4

 Constructing multi-story buildings

 Installing mechanical, electro-mechanical and electrical lines

 Constructing storm water drainage lines and water supply schemes

 Constructing road accessory structures

 Constructing irrigation structures

1.3 Organizational structure

Project manager

Construction engineering
Site Administration

Guard Store Time Keeper Office engineer Site engineer

General for man

Quantity surveyor

Forman
Data collector
Gang leader

skilled&
unskilled labor
Figure 1: Organization structure

1.4 Staff profile

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Project manager:-the person who manages the whole project through the project site
organization.
Duties of project manager:-
i. Assign general foreman and Forman depending on type and volume of work.

ii. Communication and recognition of the team on site.

 Construction Engineer :-prepare work schedule, work methodology, procurement
follow up, coordination of technical activities, request ahead project materials,
equipment labor, coordinate workshops, follow up materials approval, follow major
activities.
 Site Engineer:-prepare daily activity schedule, work methodology, allocate resource
to activities, take remedial measures, evaluate outputs, identity materials
requirement& labor requirement.
 Office Engineer:-prepares master schedule (updating progress), data analysis
(payment) and report preparation, preparation of materials requirement, progress
report
 General Forman: - The person who control all activities of the site and responsible
for the whole construction works. This person makes sure works ongoing are
according to the specification and working drawing .He/she reports all activities to the
project manager
 Cabo: cabo controls the distribution of labors throughout the site. He also controls the
number of labors at each work place, transfer of labors from one place to another,
whether or not labors are performing their work properly.
 Store keepers: Control the amount and type of material of the construction Entering
and leaving from the store by preparing some forms
 Data collectors: Collect data about the work being done like the type and amount of
material used on the work, the type and number
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CHAPTER II

2. WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS

Work task I have been executed
Generally, the whole intern program is accomplished by two works.
 Office work and
 Site work

2.1 Task one (Office work)

2.1.1. Take off sheet
Is a tabular standard general format of listing and taking off type(shape), size and quantity of
material in which dimensions of items from the blue print (working drawing) are transferred
for further calculations.
Takeoff sheets are prepared in different manner for different construction materials. For
reinforcement bars it is based on weight (kg), for concrete it is based on volume, for lean
concrete it is based on area also is for formwork. Reinforcements of different diameter have
different weights though using different weight factors, re-bar is calculated in weight.
While I was preparing the takeoff sheet I used the structural drawing of the site. I prepared
takeoff sheet for the concrete work and for the reinforcement bar. I was able to calculate the
quantity of formwork (m2) and total length (m) of bars required for different axisis. The total
length of each diameter bar was multiplied by their respective weightage (kg/m) to give
amount of bar required in kg.
 7

Table 1: Take of sheet for concrete work

It. No L/W/D Volume Description It. No L/W/D Volume Description

2.1.2. Bar schedule

It is clear that the reinforcement bar is one of the essential units of a certain structural element
and for these reason it is important to determine the type and amount of steel required for a
certain project. Below shown how to prepare a takeoff sheet for bar reinforcement required
erecting a particular component of a building.

Table 2: Format for takeoff sheet for reinforcement bars

In order to fill out the above table properly the following steps should be taken.

 Identify the type of bar present

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 Then calculate the number of bars present based on the spacing and the length on
which these bars are placed

 Calculate on how many members these bars are present on a single floor system

 Then calculate the total length by multiplying the total number of bars with the length
of single bar

 Now based on predetermined conversion factor we can calculate the total mass of bar
in kilograms.

2.2 Task Two (Site work)

I spent four months internship program on substructure and super structure, but as matter of
chance I haven’t seen the site clearing and excavation works of construction in my hosting
company.
Site work is a work which is the overall construction mainly managed by site engineer. The
Forman and gang chief are used to have direct contact with labors. They assigned different
kind of works to be done by each labor. In addition they control the speed of their works.
In the site work, first I tried to know and internalize each and every activity which is held on
the site. This includes: -
 Making bar schedules for the bar benders
 Checking and supervising the mix ratios of concrete
 Checking the structure if it is done according to the design
 Checking alignment of columns and beams
 Checking arrangements of reinforcement and placement
 Checking the quality of the construction materials
 Checking area of reinforcement and the overlap
 9

CHAPTER III

3 Technical Aspect of the Internship

3.1 Objectives
Internship programs for students has the objective of giving an opportunity for practical
experience, it should be mandatory and should be seen as a necessary ingredient to make well
aware and self-confident Civil Engineers that know and understand their field as it relates to
realties on the ground. The unique objectives of ministry of education is exposing its students
to a practical training with experienced Engineers and teaching work ethics, construction
expertise and overall roundedness to students in its internship program. The curriculum is
used mainly to improve practical experience and to gather more theoretical information
combined with practical knowledge.

3.2 Methods and procedures

Procedures when performing the tasks
I have been using the following procedure during the internship period in order to record the
daily activities that are going to be executed on the site and knowledge’s gained in each
working days. The daily activities are compiled to one monthly report at the end of each
month. Finally all the daily activities and the monthly reports are used for the preparation of
the final report. I prepared the following format to record all the information gained and the
daily activities performed on the site.

Procedure I performed
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I followed different procedure for different activities to acquire knowledge.

i. Office work:-

 The office engineer shown us how to prepare take off sheet, how to prepare bar-
schedule.

ii. Site work:- It is the area in which theoretical knowledge relates with the practical one. In
the site work I have seen sub and super structure of building in my internship practice.

In site work I followed different procedures like

 By visual inspection

 By measuring

 By asking to gain information from site

3.3. Technical tasks/products

In this sub topic I tried to follow up technically to produce the following products that I under
gone in systematic or technically way.

3.3.1. Formworks

A form is defined as a temporary structure or mold for the support of concrete while it is
setting and gaining sufficient strength to be self-supporting while, formwork is the total
system of support for freshly placed concrete including the mold as well as all supporting
members, hardware, and necessary bracing. Mostly the mold is painted with burnet motor oil
to give a smooth surface to the concrete while stripping the formwork. The oil film
sandwiched between the concrete and formwork surface not only helps in easy removal of
shuttering but also prevents loss of moisture from the concrete through absorption and
evaporation. Therefore oil on the formwork has different advantages like:-

i. After stripping the surface of the concrete will be good, the cost of finishing to be
applied on the surface will also be less.
 11

ii. On the other hand if concrete surfaces are of less quality, which results from poor
quality of formworks, cost of plastering will be higher.
Classification According to Materials of Formwork
Concrete forms usually are made of wood. They also can be made of steel or a combination of
wood and steel. So, timber product, steel panels, shores, wedges, nails, labor and tools shall
be provided as required for the satisfactory construction of form work. Wooden forms are
built by carpenters working at the construction site. The carpenters may make every part of
the form at the site or they may assemble forms that have been partly fabricated (made) at a
manufacturing plan.
The disadvantage of timber formwork I observed at site;

Wooden formwork is possibility of warping, swelling, and shrinkage. However, those defects
can be overcome by applying to the shuttering water impermeable coatings. This coating also
prevents the shuttering from adhering to concrete and hence make stripping easier. Mostly at
the site plastic coating and grease oil is dominant which facilities stripping.

Steel formwork
Although steel formwork costs more initially, it may work out to be economical in the long
run due to its large number of reuses.
In addition to wooden formwork, steel formwork is used for structural elements such as slab,
footing pad and cylindrical column for the following advantages;
 It can be put to high number of uses

 It provides ease of stripping

 It ensures an even and smooth concrete surface

 It possesses greater rigidity

 It is not liable to shrinkage or distortion.

 Even though steel formwork is more advantageous than wooden formwork, it is

comparatively coaster.
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Table 3:the difference between timber and metal formworks

Timber formwork
Comparatively cheap in cost
Not advisable for longer span structural
members
Absorb the moisture content of concrete
Vulnerable to the effect of warping and
shrinkage
Not safe to move on due to its vulnerability to Safe due to non-vulnerability to warping
warping
Difficult to erect and remove
Metal formworks
Comparatively expensive in cost
Advisable for longer span structural members
Does not absorb the moisture content of
concrete
Not vulnerable to warping and shrinkage
rather vulnerable to corrosion unless
galvanized
Easy to erect and remove

Timber
Steel formwork
form
works

Figure 2: Steel and timber formwork

Disadvantage of steel form work

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 costly and heavy

 rusty and low versatility

Form Work Failure
Generally, some of failures that occurred in site are the followings.

1. Human error in proper super vision and using of damaged material

2. Moving over the form work

3. Allowing of lateral pressures on the formwork

4. Wrapping or distorting of formwork while water is applied during curing.
Stripping of formwork
The process of removing formwork is called strike-off or stripping and it depends on
temperature and span length of the members. Care should be taken in the removal of
formwork of slabs and beams. Because these members carry their self-weight and live load
from laborers when moving on them and if the formwork is removed before the permissible
removal period, the members deflect before their functional period. This intern decreases the
design period of the building. The removal of formwork is the backbone of structural
members.

Forms can usually be removed when the concrete is strong enough to carry its own weight
and any construction loads it will have to support without deflection beyond specified limits.

Climbing formwork

It is a special type formwork for vertical concrete structures that rises with the building
process. It is also known as “fonte” or “scaffolding”. It is used as ladder and standing supports
in finishing works. It is also used as support in constructing formwork for structural members.

Table 4: Stripping period of form works

Name of structures Number of days

For vertical members( column, sides of 16-24 hrs.

beam.)
 14

For horizontal members( soffit of beam, 21 days

slab and staircase)

3.3.2. Foundation work

Foundation is a part of the structure that supports the weight of the structure and transmits the
load to underlying soil. The purpose of foundation design is to transfer loads of super
structure and other external loads acting on it safely through columns to the ground.
The general purpose of providing foundation is:
 Even distribution of non uniform loads from super structure to the beneath soil.

 Provision of level surface.

 Lateral stability.

 Safety against undermining (scouring) due to burrowing animals and flood water.

 Protection against soil movements to minimizes cracks in the super structure.

 Reduction of load intensity by increasing the area of contact

The selection of a foundation type thus depends on a number of factors, which includes:-
 Nature of the soil

 Size and weight of structure

 Climate variation of ground of ground water level

 Building laws

There are primarily two types of foundation systems;

 shallow foundations:-where depth of footing is less than or equal to the base of footing

 deep foundations :- depth of footing is greater than or equal to the base of footing

In our site all types of footing are shallow foundation.

Shallow foundations are those executed near the ground surface or at shallow depth.
 Footing foundation is one of the most popular types of shallow foundation.
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 A footing is an enlargement of the base of a column or wall for the purpose of

distributing the load on the supporting soil at a pressure suiting its property.
Advantages of shallow foundation
 Cost ( in expensive)

 construction procedure simple

 material (mostly concrete)

 labor (dos not need expertise)

Types of shallow foundation
 Spread footing, strap footing, combined footing and raft (mat) footing.

 In my intern ship most footings are isolated footing with shapes square and
rectangular, combined footing and mat footing.

Isolated Footing
The isolated footing under a column distributes the column load horizontally to prevent
excessive total and differential settlement. The column should be located on the footing so as
to produce uniform bearing pressure on the soil, ignoring the variation due to bending of the
footing. The pressure equals the load divided by the footing area. In plan, isolated footings are
usually square.
Conditions that require the use of isolated footing
 From isolated footings, square shapes are common and usually most economical, but
rectangular shapes are used if space is limited in one direction, or loads are eccentric
in one direction.

 It is mostly used for reinforced concert skeleton type of building.

Condition that require the use of combined footing

 It is also used when two adjacent columns of building are close to each other that their
footing over lap.
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 When there is a property line/boundary line/ restriction and there exists a column
along the boundary line and use of isolated footing is not possible.
Mat foundation

Mat or raft foundation is a type of shallow foundation which is a large concrete slab
supporting several columns in two or more rows.
 It is used where the supporting soil has low bearing capacity.

 The bearing capacity increased by combining all individual footings in to one mat
since bearing capacity is proportional to width and depth of foundations.

 In addition to increasing the bearing capacity, mat foundations tend to bridge over
irregularities of the soil and the average settlement does not approach the extreme
values of isolated footings.

 Thus mat foundations are often used for supporting structures that are sensitive to
differential settlement.

Foundations column

A column that carries the load down to a foundation must have means to transfer the load
without overstressing the foundation material. Reinforced concrete and masonry columns are
generally built directly on top of concrete foundations. A steel column, when seated on a
concrete foundation, must have a base plate to spread the load over a larger area and thereby
reduce the bearing pressure. The base plate is a thick rectangular steel plate usually welded to
the bottom end of the column.
Process of Construction of Foundation Column
The procedures that I have seen on the site in construction of foundation column were:-
1. The company excavated the earth soil for foundation using excavator and labors.

2. The soil Compacted with machine damper.

3. The worker Laid cemented lean concrete on compacted soil. In the site Cement lean
concrete was laid with mix ratio of 1:4:6(1cement, 4sand, 6 aggregate).
 17

4. They placed bottom and top bars

5. They placed vertical bars of column and shear wall on footing laid bars according to
drawing

6. They placed concrete cover for all bars.

7. They oiled the formworks

8. They placed oiled form work on footing and vertical column and shear wall.
9. The carpenters aligned the line and checked plumb and center of column.
10. They casted concrete on footing and column and shear wall. In the site they placed
cement concrete with a mix ratio of 1:2:3 (1cement, 2sand, 3 aggregate).
11. Removing formwork

The steps I observed in aligning the formwork for columns are as follows.
1. Krachery (bracing) will be prepared with a dimension of 2cm greater than the
dimension of the columns on each side.

2. The formwork will be inserted inside the krachery and then erected.

3. Use plumb bob and check vertical alignment.

Then the formwork will be fixed in position and the concrete will be filled The formwork for
the column has to wait at least 24 hours to be removed after casting. When columns are cast,
the air inside the voids of the concrete has to removed (compaction) by a vibrator. In casting a
column the concrete cover is maintained by a device called spacer, which is small cubical
molded cement with a wire which binds it to the reinforcements.
 18

Figure 3: foundation column and footing

 19

Requirements of Good Foundation

Foundation should be constructed to satisfy the following requirements

a) The foundation should be constructed to sustain the dead and live load and transmit to
these into sub soil, in such away pressure on it will not cause settlement which would
impair the stability of the building.

b) Foundation base should be rigid, so that differential settlements are minimizes,

especially for the case when supper imposed loads are not evenly distributes.

c) Foundation should be sufficiently deep to guards the building against damage or

distress caused by swelling or shrinkage of the sub soil.

d) Foundation should be so located that its performance may not be affected due to any
unexpected future influence.

3.3.3. Shear Walls

Horizontal forces acting on buildings for example, those due to wind of seismic action can be
resisted by a variety of means. Shear wall of the building is constructed by using steel bar and
concrete. Most of the time shear wall constructed surrounding the building to protect shear
force that comes from the besides load rather than use as the partition. These may be added
solely to resist horizontal forces. Alternatively, concrete walls enclosing stairways or elevator
shafts may also serve as shear walls. In our site shear wall is constructed for elevator to resist
vibration, horizontal forces and wind load.

3.3.4. Reinforcement work

Steel reinforcements are used generally in the form of bars of circular cross section in
concrete structure. They are like a skeleton in human body. Plain concrete without steel or any
other reinforcement is strong in compression but weak in tension. Steel is one of the best
forms of reinforcements to take care of those stresses and to strengthen concrete to bear all
kinds of loads.
 20

Reinforcements for construction should be stored in dry place to prevent them from rusting.
Dimension, length and shape of the reinforcement are used according to the drawing details.
Reinforcement bars of diameter Ø8, Ø10, Ø12, Ø14, Ø16, Ø20, Ø24, were used at the in my
site. In the placement of reinforcement the spacing between longitudinal bars and spacing
between stirrups shall be checked well.
Preparing re-bar
As shown in the plan (as per design) the size of bars and spacing of the bars gives a copy of
take off sheet to the bar bender.
When the bar bender receives the take off sheet, the bar schedule showing nothing but
lengths, sizes and bending needed for all reinforcing bars in the construction for a given
footing pad, foundation column, beam, column, slabs and etc. then bar bender cut and bend
the bar as the requirement.
Placement of reinforcement
The placement of reinforcement has need special attention. Among them;
 Spacers, which is produced from concrete has to be placed if it is necessary.

 Checked for the correct dimension and number is used.

 Checked for levelness of the surface etc…

Reinforcement used

The reinforcement used in our site have both positive and negative bars.
Positive bar: - these kinds of bars are mainly used to resist the positive moment. This
moment is mostly developed at the mid span on the footing and these positive bars are placed
at the mid span

Negative bars:-these are bars used to resist negative moment. Most of the time they are
found at the support of the footing. They are placed at one third of the span length.
Type (shape) and purpose of stirrups that are observed at site:
 Rectangular stirrups

 Square stirrups

 Diamond stirrups and Circular stirrups

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Anchorage length

This is the additional length of steel of one structure required to be inserted in other at the
junction. For example, main bars of beam in column at beam column junction, column bars in
footing etc.

Cutting and Bending of Reinforcement

Reinforcement must not be bent or straightened in a manner, which will affect the materials
property. All bars have to be cut and bent accurately to the shapes and dimensions shown on
the drawings and relevant bending sheets.
Purpose of stirrup
 To resist sheer force

 To protect buckling effect and to provide additional strength etc

Overlap length

 Negative reinforcement: overlap=40*diameter of bar(similar for column)

 Positive reinforcement: overlap=length of column(coincide with column)

Reinforcement must not be bent or straightened in a manner, which will affect the materials
property. All bars have to be cut and bent accurately to the shapes and dimensions shown on
the drawings and relevant bending sheets.
Requirements of reinforcement bar

 Before any casting concrete starts, precuts concrete blocks or spacer or metal chairs
are prepared and all reinforcement bars are placed on it.

 The thickness of concrete cover is according to the requirement of the Drawing and
specification.

 The reinforcements in structure are not welded unless permitted by the Site engineer.

 All reinforcement quality is checked.

 22

 Reinforcement before preparation must placed some height above the ground.

 All bars with cracks or splits at the bend are not used for construction.

3.3.5 Column
Column is a compression member that is so long compared to its cross sectional dimensions
that may fail by buckling under gradually increasing loads at a load considerably less than that
which causes crushing failure. It is used structure loads are increased as we go down to the
ground because ground floor carries all super structural loads above it and transfers the
overcoming loads to foundations. As a result in designing strength of columns in resisting
compression and tension loads have to increase down to building. That means concrete
compressive strength of ground column is greater than the upper column and reinforcement of
lower column is higher than the upper column.

In the construction, columns are casted in the following step.

 Reinforcement bar are placed

 Spacers are tied with bars
 Formwork on design column dimension is adjusted surrounding reinforced bars.
 Verticality (perpendicularity) of the column will be checked by vertical balance keeper
called plum bob.

Figure 4: elevation column

It is important to note that:-

 40 times diameter over lapping length of column bar must be left above the floor
 Except the foundation column bars (which are tied with the footing bar), all columns
are tied with the previous column bar.
 During concrete casting, mechanical vibrator must be used, for compaction of concrete
by eliminating the void
 23

3.3.6. Beams
The reinforcement on the beam are classified in to three based on their place of use. They are

 Positive bars – These kinds of bars are mainly used to resist the positive moment.
This moment is mostly developed at the mid span on the beams and these positive bars
are placed at the mid span
 Negative bars – these are bars used to resist negative moment. Most of the time they
are found at the support of the beams. They are placed at one third(1/3) of the span
length
 Stirrups – They are placed to provide diagonal shear resistance.

Component of beam and their use

 Longitudinal bar
 Stirrups, and
 Concrete

Function of longitudinal bar

 Take the tensile stress, caused by the vertical stress.

 Resist shear and torsion.
 With the concrete, carry the compressive load.

Function of stirrups

 Holds the longitudinal bar in position

 Prevent the longitudinal bar from down ward bending.
 Resist shear failure of the beam that exceed shear resistance by concrete

Function of concrete

 Resist compressive load

 The concrete grade we used for beam was C25 and the aggregate was well graded.

Basic points to note are:

 24

o The beam and slab concrete were casted in the same time in order to make them
monolithic.
o Water was provided for 15 days of curing time

Figure 5: Bar arrangement of beam

Grad beam
After we finished most substructure works, finally we should have been done grade beams.
This structural work was act as intermediate work for sub and super structural works. So for
constructing grade beam we should follow different procedures. While preparing formwork
for the grade beam, panels were introduced on the upper part of the masonry in three sides. In
areas where the grade beam was not on masonry we filled lean concrete on the surface
providing access from one column to another .while using the panels in parts which are
lengthy (>4m) we connected the panels with one another with the help of the black binding
wire which was tied inside the hole. Right at the edges of the panels (bent side of the panel
containing holes) we used vertical pig in a repeated manner with spacing of 1m to one
another. We then prepared Gindila 50 cm far from the wall so that it is possible to set the
handlers towards the already prepared vertical pigs. By using water level starting from the
corner we began connecting the handlers with the pigs using nails. This was done when we
found out that the two points containing the pigs were level.
 25

Figure 6: Reinforcement of grad beam

3.3.7. Slabs
It is structural part that is directly exposed for the live load and can be designed as; ribbed
slab, solid slab either one way or two way and waffle slab. In my project site a common types
of slab is solid slab.

Solid slabs

This type of slabs provided on the circulation core, which is estimated to be exposed to high
live load. The reinforcements at the bottom cover all the area and form a mesh and the top
(negative) reinforcement length used for continuous and end edge of the slab are not the same.
For continuous part, one-third of the span length and for that of end edge the bottom bars bent
up and measured one-fourth of the span.
 26

Figure 7: Bar arrangements of solid slab

3.3.8. Staircase

Staircases are seen as connectors between at least two different levels. Vertical risers and
horizontal treads are connected to steps over a slope. A staircase serves to provide horizontal
and vertical access to buildings in order to negotiate height differences with the least possible
exertion of force. Building law and safety matters, user concerns identification, function and
spatial experience, clarity and traffic flow as well as aesthetic concepts are determined very
early in the course of a basic design brief.

Component of the stair: which is listed below implemented during my internship program.

 Riser: - a vertical portion between each tread

 Tread : - the top or horizontal surface of a step.
 Carriage: - The smooth and slant back side of the stair.
 27

Steps of construction of stair

• Formwork for carriage

• Reinforcement arrangement (overlap with starter)

• Form work for riser

• Reinforcement bars are placed (starter bar)

• Spacers are used with bars

• Form work along the length of the riser constructed

• Verticality of the riser checked by plumb bob

• Concrete added

• After 21day formwork can be removed to get the required shape

Figure 8: Stair case

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3.3.8. Concrete work

Concrete is a versatile material obtained by hardening of the mixture of cement, inert

aggregate material (fine and course) and water in predetermined ratio or proportion. It’s
usually strong and durable material which suffers from low tensile strength and brittle failure.
Concrete is the most popular construction material in construction industry. The usual types
of concrete used in beams, column, slabs, foundation, stair and any other structural material
are C-15, C-25 and C-30. As described in EBCS-2 concrete type above C-20 needs the use of
mechanical mixer for mixing.
Components of concrete
i. Cement

ii. Aggregate (fine and course)

iii. Water

i. Cement

 Stored separately from other items.

 Should be free from dampness due to whether or ground conditions.

 Type of cement should be selected we use ordinary Portland cement and national
cement.

 Free form dampness & partial setting

ii. Aggregates

 Consist of naturally occurring sand and basaltic stone gravel.

 Should be clean, hard, strong, sharp and durable.

 Have to be free from excessive dust and harmful materials like iron, mica, shale e.t.c.

iii. Water

 Should be clean and protected from contamination.

 Stored and distributed about the site in containers, vessels and through pipe work
which shall not contaminate it.
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 Quality check for current status

A. Mixing of concrete

The concrete mix shall be designed to have the minimum cement content and the grading
between the limits shown for course and fine aggregate shall be such as to produce a workable
and dense concrete with appropriate water-cement ratio.
 Is designed to have minimum cement content and

 Appropriate water cement ratio

In our site the mix is proportioned by using a gauge box manufactured from ply wood
with dimensions 40 * 50cm, the depth varies depending on the grade of concrete. For
example, for C-25 the depth is 20cm and for C-30, the depth 18cm. but the mix ratio
remains the same 1:2:3 (cement: fine aggregate ,coarse aggregate).

Table 5: Box size for different types of concrete

Box size concrete strength amount of cement

50*40*20 C-20 320kg/m3

50*40*18 C-25 320kg/m3

50*40*16 C-30 400kg/m3

Generally there are two types of mixing concrete operation, these are:-
a) Hand mixing: is the method of concrete mixing which is mainly used labor force for small
building and also it is tidies.
b) Machine mixing: there are two types of machine mixing
I. Transient mixing -when concrete is batched in central batching plant and transport to job
site in transient or mobile mixture. This type of concrete is called track mixed concrete.
 30

II. Central mixing -this is process of mixing concrete completely in stationary mixer and
transported to work place by track or by labor force.
In our site both transient and central mixing are used
Concrete is selected because of its unique advantages such as;
 Concrete is highly resistance to compressive force
 It is highly resistance to fire
 It is good insulator
 Easily molded into any shape
 Water proof, if it properly mixed, vibrated, chiseled and plastered
 Two types of concrete is observable at site
 Lean concrete
 Reinforced concrete

B. Lean concrete

Lean concrete is concrete of 5mm thick with class C-5 with minimum cement content of
150kg/m3 of concrete. Approximately at ratio of 1:4:6.
In our site this kind of concrete used under;
 Footing

 Grade beam

 Floor slab

 Masonry foundation

 Retaining wall

Advantages of lean concrete

 It protects all sub-structure element from extra moisture
 It act like hard stratum
 It prevents the soil particles that are present under substructure from any relative
movement
 31

Figure 9: 5cm thick lean concrete for preparation of footing

C. Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is composite material made of concrete and steel. Plain concrete
possesses high compressive strength and little tensile strength. It makes weak in bending,
shear and torsion. Reinforcing steel possesses high strength in both tension and compression.
Therefore, by combining these features of concrete and steel the structure attain high utility
and veracity.
Advantage of RC
 It is moldable to any desired shape

 It does not deteriorate with time

 It is fire, weather and corrosion resistance

 It is monolithic
Disadvantage of RC
 Difficult to dismantle or demolish in case of repair or modify

 Form work is expensive

 Difficult to supervise after pouring

Placing of concrete
 32

Concrete shall be placed before setting has commenced and in any case within 30
minutes from the time that the water is added in the mixer.

Concrete shall not be discharged during placing from a height in excess of 2.5m meter
according to EBCS, In my site I tries to announce for them to keep this rule.

All methods of placing the concrete are to be such as not to cause any disturbance or
movement of the formwork or location of the reinforcement or embed fixtures.
Desired properties of concrete
Workability: The concrete mix should be workable, so that it can be placed and consolidated
properly by the workmen.
Hardness, cohesiveness and strength
Concrete must be resistant to freezing, thawing, water tight (permeable), wear resistance, and
strength.
Economy: Since the quality mainly depends on the w/c ratio, the water requirement should be
minimized to reduce the cement requirement and hence cost.
Compaction of Concrete
During casting of concrete, it should be thoroughly compacted so as to form a dense
homogeneous mass properly worked around embedded fixtures, reinforcements and into the
corners of the formwork. Any compaction methods, however, shouldn’t cause any disturbance
or movement of the formwork or location of the reinforcement.

Concrete placed and subsequently compacted has to be left undisturbed by any movements or
thrusts while setting at least for 16hrs to 18hrs.Care should be taken while concrete
compaction to avoid segregation and bleeding
Segregation- Is a tendency of the gravel particle to separate from the rest of the ingredients.
Bleeding- Is a tendency of the mixing water to separate from the rest of the ingredients.

 If the concrete is not well compacted segregation will happen

 If the concrete is much compacted, bleeding of the cement will happen.

Vibration
 33

To compact concrete you apply energy to it so that the mix becomes more fluid. Air trapped
in it can then rise to the top and escape. As a result, the concrete becomes consolidated and
you will left with a good dense material after proper curing. it develop its full strength and
durability.
Vibration is the next and quickest method of supplying the energy. Manual techniques such as
Roding are only suitable for smaller projects. Various types of vibrator are available for use
on site.
1. The workability of the concrete: the less workable the mix, the longer it must be vibrated.

2. The energy put in by the vibrator: bigger vibrators do the job faster.

3. The depth of the concrete: thick sections take longer.

Figure 10 vibrator

Curing of concrete

Curing plays an important role on the strength development and durability of concrete. Curing
takes place immediately after concrete placement and finishing and involves maintenance of
desired moisture temperature conditions both at depth and near the surface for extended
period of time.
Moisture is necessary for the proper hardening of concrete because the chemical reaction that
results in the setting and hardening of the paste takes place only in the presence of water. It is
true that the amount of water normally used at the time of mixing is adequate for this purpose
however the loss from evaporation from the time the concrete is mixed and placed is usually
 34

so rapid that there may not be enough of it left to full hydration and hardening. Excessive loss
of water due to evaporation may cause the hydration process to stop all together with a
consequent reduce strength developments. In addition, if concrete dries out too quickly by
exposure to sun and wind it will be shrink. This early and usually rapid shrinkage will result
in tensile stresses which will lead to surface cracks.

Functions of curing
 Maintaining mixing water in concrete during the early hardening process.

 Reducing the loss of mixing water from the surface of the concrete.

 Accelerating moisture gain using heat and additional moisture.

D. Concrete cover
Concrete cover are made at the site by using plain concrete with its required dimension of
cover to reinforcement and a wire which is useful for connection purpose. They are used to
maintain uniform thickness of clear cover at every part of the structure which is reinforced.
The way clear cover maintained is that spacers are inserted between the reinforcement bars
and form work in which concrete cover are tied with reinforcement. Then concrete cover not
removed from the structure but remain part of the structure.
The concrete cover depth depends per purpose:-
 for slab=1.5cm

 beam and column=2.5cm

 for footing=3cm
Purpose of provision of concrete cover

1. To protect the steel reinforcement bars (re-bars) from environmental effects to prevent
their corrosion.

2. To protect the reinforcement bars from fire.

3. To give reinforcing bars sufficient embedding to enable them to be stressed

 35

Figure 10: Concrete cover

E. Masonry work
Foundation walls are stone masonry walls constructed around the building in the foundation
trench. These foundation walls are meant to support and transfer load from the ground beam
to the soil underneath.

Figure 11: Masonry work

 36

F. Hardcore works
Stone for hard core is sound and approved quality. All stones in the hard core are of
approximately equal and recommended size and have sufficient strength to carry all the loads
from the ground floor.

The hardcore works are made after laying the foundation and grade beam followed by
selected fill material. After compaction of the fill material, a 250mm thick basaltic or
equivalent stone hard core placed within a minimum voids.

All hard core is well gradeded and consolidated with the top surface blinded with crushed
aggregate of 20 mm, and then 50mm lean concrete is placed to fill the voids and provide a
level surface for the next layer. Then a mesh reinforcement dia.8 c/c 300 is applied to
distribute the loads to the hardcore. Finally a 50mm, C25 concrete is filled at the top and
become ready for screening works.

Figure 12: Hardcore works

 37

3.4. Knowledge and Acquaintances Acquired

In the internship program I have gained benefits which helped me to explore my skills,
qualities and abilities. Since it is my first practical experience everything done is new and
interesting to me. Some of the benefits are:

 Creativity and an innovative approach to solving problems;

 The ability to analyze and interpret diverse, complex data;
 Critical thinking and the ability to evaluate designs, plans and projects;
 Effective assessment and management of risk, resources and time;
 Highly developed numeracy and computer literacy;
 Interpersonal sensitivity, persuasiveness and the ability to work as part of a team;
 Clear written and oral communication skills;
 Awareness of ethical issues and the wider impact of my work.

3.4.1. Technical Skills I Gained

During the four month I stay in the company, I had a chance to associate myself with some
professionals and doing so, I was able to ask technical question and demand explanation on
the topic. During my routine site visits, I had a chance to spend time with the construction
workers to gain more knowledge about site related activities and I was able to easily inquire
about situation that seemed vague to the time. I have also developed a confidence to do the
given work practically without any problem and also I observe technical skill is simpler than
theoretical. I have been able to gain a lot in improving my technical skills as I have been
observing, learning and practicing: -
 The different stages of building.
 The communication language used at construction site
 The use of ancillary items and the way they were applied to different building parts
 Different problems that can occur during construction and the possible ways to
address those problems.
 38

3.4.2. Management Skills Gained

It is the ability to manage time and people (both yourself and others) successfully.

Any profession has its own work division after joining one company that relates with our
skills. Working as a leader in one company or the leader of the whole company may be the
chance we get for the future. The leader of the company or parts of the company should have
the skills that enables him/her to manage and process his/her work wisely.

I have seen how each worker is controlled and organized to perform its day to day activities.
Among all other managements I have seen that human resource management is the most
important one.
Communication skills and the ability to sell ideas and persuade others
 The ability to work both as part of a team and independently
 Able to plan, coordinate and organize effectively
 Financial literacy
 Self-motivated and disciplined
 Adaptable
 Innovative thinking and creative
 The ability to multi-task
 Able to take responsibility and make decisions
 The ability to work under pressure
 Perseverance
 Competitiveness
 Willingness to take risks
 Ability to network and make contact

3.4.3. Acquaintances Acquired

In four month stay in yirgalem teaching and referral hospital involves many branches of work
pieces that are performed simultaneously. And each work piece involves large number of
workers incorporating with each other while carrying out these works. Before I enter in to
further work in to construction I had to be communicating well with workers that are work on
the site and office, approaching them with positive attitude and forwarding questions honestly
 39

was the key to get a good response from the workmen. This way they were willing to share
their skills and I always appreciated their cooperation. While working with my site
supervisors I have been able to grasp the roles of such communication focuses on interactions
that are Integrity, Fair, Respectful and most importantly dependency.

3.5. Contributions
 40

Chapter IV

4. General Comments and Conclusions

4.1. Problems Encountered During the Internship Period

In the internship period it is advantageous to know the real world of the work related
problems and different challenges that one professional may face during his work period. In
the internship it is not only seeing but also getting experience from many challenges which
are good for getting experience for developing capacity and how can withstand these
challenges in work place.
Challenges during the Internship Period

A. Personal

 The project manager didn’t give us good support because he is busy due to having
many works.
 Difficult to understand office works (activities) because new work for me
 There are no full accessories in the company’s site office where I am working at; there
is lack of computer.
 Communication challenges at first I can’t communicate with the worker because the
lack of local name of the material that used in the site.
 Absence of safety clothes and helmets
 Care for formwork is not satisfactory
 Bad soil condition
I have taken some measures to resist the Challenges
 35

Figure 13: sliding of soil

B. Company
 Poor working condition due to weather problem.

 Problem on placing concrete around all embedded reinforcement bars & in filling
concrete in some part of angles & corners.

4.2 General Suggestions and Comments to the Company

 For intern students the company should provide offices with computerized system. In
that case interns can be familiar with the modernized construction work & can upgrade
their computer skill since everything is done by computers in recent times.
 It will be safe for interns to work freely on the site if safety equipment like helmet and
safety shoes provided.
 I strongly suggest that not only to my internship hosting company but also to other
hosting companies that they should provide a chance for the interns to work on
different sites because within the short period of internship time it will not be enough
to learn much on one site.
 36

4.3. Summary and Conclusion

This internship was a lot for me, it enables me to know what civil engineer should know and
do in the real construction world. It was really interesting to see and experience the theoretical
knowledge in the four month internship period. Also I have developed my skill in all
dimensions i.e. professional, social, and ethical. During the internship time Yirgalem
construction plc I practiced & experienced different kinds of office and site works which
helped me to develop my knowledge towards construction. In the office I practiced on reading
and implementing plans also practice on calculating bar schedule and takeoff. The other
experience I got during the internship is site work experience which is the construction of the
designed structure. This construction work has one part which is the substructure works. The
substructure work is construction work beneath the natural ground level. It consists
foundation column and footing pod. In the site we have done arrangements of bar, mixing and
curing of concrete to get its strength.

Finally I want to say that this internship really inspired me to know about civil engineering a
lot and it showed me what it takes to be an engineer.

4.4. Recommendations
Yirgalem construction plc executes the work according to schedule, specifications and interest
of its clients.
Even though the methodology of the company is relatively good, there are some issues to be
improved. In the construction process, there are always defects and problems that we come
across. There might be defects in the construction materials, defects in the machineries used,
even problems from the way of construction and so many other defects. The difference lies in
how we treat these defects and problems. Here are some recommendations which might be
helpful.
i. During the arrangement of bar the spacing between bars should be properly
done based on the drawing by assigning experienced workers. Nothing shall be
allowed to interfere with the required positioning of the reinforcement. The
Contractor shall ensure that all parts of the reinforcement are placed correctly
 37

and are fixed properly where it’s necessary to prevent displacement before and
during the process of vibrating the concrete in place.

ii. I have seen that materials were not properly stored, some reinforcement are not
clear from corrosion because it’s placed on dray and wet session it’s exposed
to sun and rains so the company must control this and other type of defects by
supervising continuously. During construction of some structural members this
rusty bars were used as reinforcement for foundation column and footing pad.
As a result, if rusting occurs it leads to splitting cracks and eventually weakens
the structure

iii. I also recommended to use proper type of spacer with their respected
dimension

iv. I have seen that the site requires additional qualified site engineers to make the
work good and safe. Therefore I recommended having some additional site
engineers.

v. Generally I want to recommend on the internship program not only to my

hosting company but also to Arba Minch University I think it is better at least
to make the students to practice on different construction sector at once, like
providing the chance for students to work on both building construction & road
construction within a year simultaneously. In this way universities can provide
to the country multi tasked, active, competitive, experienced engineers.
 38

REFERENCES
Company profile

Construction material II (about fundamentals of concert technology) and geotechnical

engineering III (about foundation) and also RC I & RC II (about reinforced concert
structures)
EBCS-2 - Ethiopian building code standard about structural use of concert, 1995.

Hid Das principle of foundation engineering

 39

APPENDIX OR GLOSSARY
At construction site to communicate with the labors, it is useful to know the name each
material with working language of site. It should be experienced through usually practice.
Based on this the followings some of them. These are:
 Squadra- L-shaped carpenter instrument having 900
 Spacers -are manufactured from cement mortar. They have different thickness
 Kebelato- is a bent rod that was used to keep top and bottom reinforcements apart
from each other. These serve as steel spacers.
 Bega- Tools used by bar bender to band or cut bar /reinforcement
 Contract- A contract is a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to
provide the specified product and obligates the buyer to pay for it.
 Construction Materials- any material used in construction industry. Examples:
cement, soil, aggregates
 Mixer: - A machine the used to mix cement, water, sand & aggregate
 Bar bender- Who prepare the reinforcement
 Modni:-is a horizontal member placed on the top of Christy and Ponte
 Tunbi; used for checking perpendicularity of columns