AN APPRAISAL OF MODERN EQUIMENT FOR

CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS

BY

EKELE David Abogonye

2007/1/26382EC

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA,

NIGER STATE.

OCTOBER, 2012.
 AN APPRAISAL OF MODERN EQUIPMENT

FOR CIVIL EGINEERING WORKS

BY

EKELE David Abogonye

2007/1/26382EC

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR DEGREE IN ENGINEERING

(B.ENG) TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

FEDERALUNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA

NIGER STATE.

OCTOBER, 2012
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this research project is an original work undertaken by Mr. Ekele David

Abogonye, and has been prepared in accordance with the regulations governing the preparation

of project in the department of civil engineering, federal university of technology, Minna.

------------------------------- -----------------------------

Engr. James DATE

Project supervisor

------------------------------ --------------------------

Engr. Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi DATE

Head of Department

------------------------------ ---------------------------

External examiner DATE

 DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to God; ‘At last all powerful master, you gave leave to your servant to

go in peace according to your promise’. He preserved me from ruthless men and made me

triumph over my foes throughout my stay in Minna. It is equally dedicated to my parents Mr. and

Mrs. Peter Ekele and my siblings especially Mrs. Blessing Ekele who stood by me by

encouragement, prayer and financially. I also remember the efforts of Mrs. Owoicho John

Apochi who has been a friend in need and also my beloved darling Miss Jacinta Onjeh who

vastly took care of my emotional feelings keeping body and soul in form.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My acknowledgement first goes to Almighty God, who has been my strength since the beginning

to the end of my programme, may his name be bless both now and forevermore Amen.

My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisor, Engr. James who pilots me through this project

work despite his tight schedule. May his kindness, support and fatherly love gestures be sown for

an eternal harvest. Amen.

My appreciation goes to the H.O.D Civil Engineering Department Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi

and the entire lecturers in the department among who are; Prof. Sadiku, Prof. jimoh, Dr. Auta,

Engr. Dr. Aguwa, Dr. Amadi, Dr. T.Y. Tsado and Engr. James to mention but a few.

My profound thanks also go to my parent, Mr. Mrs. Peter Ekele, Uncle Austin and Mrs. Blessing

Ekele for all their encouragement, prayers and financial wedge through out my programme.

Finally, Sister. Rosemary Anonye who made provision for the laptop used and Mr. Taiwo’s

effort for ensuring this thesis to be properly typed is dully recognized. This acknowledgement

could not be completed without mentioning my darling Jacinta Onjeh. Her prayers, loving care

and encouragement during this period were not underrated but highly appreciated, and may God

keep her for me.

 ABSTRACT

This research work tries to stress that modern equipment for civil engineering works has

tremendous advantages and perform construction operations in less time, less manpower and

high production performance and management as it relate to construction operation. Many

sections declined with physical concept of the work, the surrounding conditions as well as the

equipment requirements. Modern equipment used by large construction companies were

appraised, with the specifications followed. The equipment is examine as the construction

operation is performed, its efficiency as well as the production rate is being assessed with the

compactness of the equipment and the automation of the equipment. The time it takes for an

equipment to finish a particular construction operation is recorded with various cycle time

observed. The modern equipment handling and maintenance were evaluated as well.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Declaration-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------i

Certification- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ii

Dedication ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------iii

Acknowledgement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------iv

Abstract --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 General introduction- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

1.1 Theory -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2

1.2 Problem Statement ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

1.3 Aim ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.4 Objectives -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

1.5 Relevance of research -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

1.6 Scope and limitation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

2.1 Classification of construction equipment ---------------------------------------------------------7

2.2 Construction operation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------11

2.3 Equipment selection factors ----------------------------------------------------------------------14

2.4 Civil engineering equipment management -----------------------------------------------------18

2.5 Civil engineering equipment acquisition -------------------------------------------------------19

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Methodology --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23

3.1 Instrument for data collection -------------------------------------------------------------------------23

3.2. Excavation equipment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------24

3.3. Concrete mixing plant and equipment --------------------------------------------------------------28

3.4 Lifting and hoisting equipment -----------------------------------------------------------------------32

3.5 Tower crane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------40

3.6 Engineering surveying equipment --------------------------------------------------------------------42

3.7 Asphalt production equipment ------------------------------------------------------------------------60

3.8 Asphalt paver equipment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------66

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Results and Discussions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------72

4.1 Power excavator ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------72

4.2 Concrete pump ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------72

4.3 Modern concrete mixing plant ------------------------------------------------------------------------73

4.4 Mobile crane --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------73

4.5 Tower crane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------74

4.6 Total Station ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------74

4.7 Asphalt paver --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------75

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0. Conclusion and recommendations--- ----------------------------------------------------------------76

5.1. Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------76

5.2 Recommendation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------77

References ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

78
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODCTION

In the early stage of the history of civil engineering works, construction operation has been

accomplished in several part of the world. These civil engineering works are carried out with

traditional or local tools which require high energy input, consume a lot of time and high labor

requirement.

During this period, human labor remains the only source of power input for almost all

operations. Construction industries are worried over the long duration spent over little job, the

fact encouraged civil engineers to recommend the manufacturer of civil engineering equipment

to produce equipment for different types of civil engineering works with emphasis on two

aspects of their design and product.

Firstly, they made large equipment that will require less manpower for a giving output.

Secondly, automation of the equipment operation is increase so that manpower is not involved as

strictly manual operation. The development of automation has an added benefit of improving the

quality of construction without requiring more highly qualified and more costly labor.

This research work examine the modern civil engineering equipment in accordance to the

construction operation they performed, which can be used for successful planning and

supervision of civil engineering works.

1.1 Theory

History has the records on how construction works were initiated in the past at various part of the

world. To sight as a reference is the case of the early Romance who were known to be skilled

with the techniques in Rock blasting and excavation with aid of local equipment in the second

century A.D. In Rome, the dome of pantheon 43.59 m diameters was constructed with the aid of

local tools or equipment. Even concrete reinforcement was known to the ancient Greek using

held tool or equipment.

In the past, handheld tools and local equipment are used for construction; advancement has

necessitated the need for the improvement of this equipment which was later replaced by new

equipment to perform the most challenging construction operations of large capacity. The

advancement in construction industries has reached such a stage that many classes of equipment

have emerged. Equipment may be classified as;

a. Equipment handheld by manual labor: This equipment are the most compact and are used for

minor operation such as; minor punches, drilling etc. such equipment these days are

becoming obsolete.

b. Semi-automatic equipment: Construction equipment belonging to this class has its starting

and stopping operations conducted manually but the actual operation after starting the work

is carried out with checks and inspection from time to time.

c. Fully automatic equipment: Such equipment is comparatively complex in nature. All the

process from starting to the finishing is controlled by the machine. It usually has optimum
 output and high cycle time which can be used as a basis for estimating anticipated

productivity taking into account the task involved.

1.2 Problem statement

In Nigeria, most of the civil engineering works are executed mostly with minor equipment. Some

of these works are supervised by some engineers who had little or no skill about the knowhow of

the use and selection of the modern equipment meant for civil engineering works. Because of

this, the dummies in the field hardily escape these under listed challenges;

a. Low quality standard

b. High cost of production

c. High fatigue of manpower

d. Delaying of construction works

e. Abandonment of project due to obstacles

1.3 Aim

The aim of this research was to understand the civil engineering knowhow on the selection and

use of modern equipment for the performance and satisfactory completion of construction works.

1.4 Objectives

a. To meet up with the most challenging construction operations of the present day demand.

b. Minimization of cost and time required for construction works by using the most suitable

modern equipment.

c. Obtaining good quality job through the use of appropriate selected modern equipment.
d. Assisting dummies in the field in overcoming equipment selection problem

1.5 Relevance of research

The advancement that has revolutionalised the activities of civil engineering in all nation of the

world is the adoption of modern equipment for civil engineering works. As a result of the use of

such equipment, the rate of production has increased considerably within short span of time.

Comparatively, more output is achieved at far less cost and little amount of time. The use of

modern equipment for civil engineering works give rise to improvement of activity duration and

leads to changes in the construction planning and control technique. This has been growing in

construction operations for large contracts and the global economy has resulted in tense

competition not only for multi-nation construction companies but also manufacturers of civil

engineering equipment.

The knowhow of modern equipment for civil engineering works is very relevant for the engineer

to know the type of equipment that is best fit for a volume of work and save time so that

production can be increased. It also helps the engineer in minimizing construction cost. Since

engineers are more concerned with supervision and project management on site with the

engineer knowing the specification of the equipment they decide what volume of work should be

covered at a particular time. All modern equipment has optimum output and cycle time which

can be used by civil engineers as a basis for estimating anticipated productivity taking into

account the task involve. Appraisal of modern equipment is also relevant to evaluate cost so that

construction work can be economical. For example in Nigeria, the bill of engineering

measurement and evaluation (BEME) has a specific cost for a measured volume of work which

is performed by a particular type of equipment.

Appraisal of modern equipment is also relevant in maintaining high standard and specification

required in civil engineering operation. In Nigeria where the major clients for construction

projects are the Federal, State, and local government, corporate organizations companies and

private individuals, they are much interested in completion at their own calendar time due to

political reason, economical reasons, or otherwise. Example is a state government who wish to

commission certain project before the end of their tenure or before the election period. The

construction companies therefore use the modern equipment to finish the project in time.

Modern equipment is relevant since it carries out most challenging construction operation that

cannot be possible with manual equipment in the context of our economy. This eliminates heavy

manual work and thus reducing fatigue and as a consequence increasing productivity.

1.6 Scope of study

The extent of this research work covers some of the modern equipment used in the following

civil engineering operations; Excavation, Structure works, pavement work, Lifting and hoisting

and Engineering Survey.

This research work is limited to modern equipment within the last five years from this time. The

equipment is limited to construction operation performed.

 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review provides the necessary background information on modern equipment for

civil engineering works carried out. The mode of handling construction materials and the kind of

construction operations are reviewed. The criteria in terms of specification which is followed in

the appraisal process are also reviewed.

Equipment; is machines that are needed for a particular purpose or activity. It is designed to

handle or process materials in one form or another. Equipment is one of the three major

fundamentals of construction works (manpower, equipment and material), especially in the

heavy and highway segment of the construction industry, where it may be the largest long term

capital investment of many company. Barely, for every construction operation on site, it is being

carried out by one equipment or combination of equipment. The main objective of successful

construction project management is to satisfy the requirements of the plans and specification,

within the time allowed by the contract document for the least possible cost (DAY, 1991). One

of the key to construction success is the control of time, cost and quality by the selection and use

of the right equipment for the job. In order to select equipment for least cost, the character and

the quantity of work to be performed and the production rates and the cost of various kind of the

equipment must be known. In the contract document, information such as condition of job,

volume of to be done, and capabilities of equipment to be used are stated.

Although the basic functional concept governing civil engineering equipment remains, they have

undergone tremendous improvement and more innovation are coming into the industry. More

challenging and complicated civil engineering operations that seem to be impossible or never

existing are carried out with the use of modern equipment within short period of time for the

least possible cost. One would imagine the construction of Tai-pei 10 which is the tallest

building in the world. Only modern equipment can make the construction operation possible.

The erection of suspended cable line transport on the high mounting of Obudu in Nigeria (2004)

for sightseeing and tourism requires the use of modern sophisticated equipment by the company.

The use of modern equipment for civil engineering works is necessary not only because of the

large construction operation in place but also because of the quality of the construction work, the

increase in population using the facility and the size, distance over which the structure is required

to cover (Varizani, 2006).

A giant stride toward the development of infrastructure and construction sustainability is the use

of modern equipment for civil engineering works as long as it satisfies the job requirement,

maintain standard of practice and follow the specifications.

2.1 CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

The various types of construction equipment can be grouped in several ways for the sake of

discussion. One way of classifying equipment is to group it by the function it performs in the

construction and the operation in which it is used.

2.1.1 Functional classification of construction equipment

Classification of equipment under this heading can be further bifurcated into the following;
a. Power unit; The common sources of power for construction equipment are the internal

combustion engines, electric generators, hydraulic pump, air compressor and steam

boilers. Internal combustion engines are used to drive most large, mobile earthmoving

machines, cranes, haulers, front end loaders, concrete pump and so on. Electric

generators are used to operate some of the larger, less mobile shovels and to drive belt

conveyors. Compressed air is used to operate hand tools and pump, and air compressors

and the steam boilers provide power to pile hammers. Hydraulic power is used to drive

the front end operating machinery on crane and excavators and operating parts of

scrapers such as the apron and the material injectors.

b. Prime movers; Prime movers are another group of functional equipment that makes it

possible for the material to operate. Prime movers translate the output of power unit into

work. One form of prime mover is the crawler track or rubber tired mounted of the

equipment.

c. Excavation equipment; this is equipment used to cut or till rock and earth. This group

includes the several forms of tractor mounted bulldozers- the straight blade, the universal

blade, the angle blade etc. A similar machine is the motor grader that shapes and grades

the ground surface. Either of these machine can be equipped to rip or scarify material to

be excavated. Front end loaders, power shovels, backhoes, draglines and clamshell

excavators, trenchers, dredgers and tunnels are more specialized machines that also

perform this function. Other types of equipment are used to install structural element into

or to remove materials from the ground. Pile drivers, extractors, caisson whole drills, well

and wagon drill is all in this group.

d. Material handling equipment; There are several groups of materials handling

equipment that differ in what the equipment does with the material it handle. Included in

the category of material of handling equipment are the various cranes- mobile cranes,

tower cranes, and so on, that lift material vertically or pick them up and move them short

distances horizontally. More specialized machine of this sort is the lumber and pipe

caners. Another group of construction equipment is used to move loose or processed

materials such as earth, sand, or wet concrete. In general, this sort of equipment must be

loaded by other equipment but could be offload or dump those of loose material

themselves. This group includes belt, bucket, and screw conveyors and haulers (jump

truck and rear or bottom jump wagons).

e. Material process equipment; Material processing equipment is used to produce grade

aggregates from natural rock and gravel for base course material, graded fill, Portland

cement, bituminous concrete and asphalt. The aggregate and the cementations and other

ingredient are mixed in order material-processing equipment to make soil, cement or

bituminous paving materials. To process aggregates, there are feeders, grizzlies, screens

and various kinds of crushers (jaw, gyration, roll, impact and hammer mill). For the

mixing process there are storage bins, cement silos, batchers, concrete mixers, pavers and

asphalt mixing plants.

f. Placing and finishing equipment; To place processed materials in their final locations

another group of construction equipment is required. These machines place the material

uniformly and compactly to achieve the specified results. The equipment used to place

the finish processed materials include; concrete spreaders and screed, asphalt pavers,

graders and compactors.

2.1.2 Operational classification of equipment

Equipment can be classified by the construction operation that it does most frequently. This is an

appropriate way of classifying equipment because machines are selected primarily to perform

specific construction operation. The specific operation must be known before equipment can be

selected properly.

However, there is always the tendency to relate equipment to only one type of operation if its

function is not considered as well. For example, if the front end loader is discussed in connection

with earthwork operation only, the possibility of using that type of equipment in aggregate

production plant might be considered over the work. Therefore, if construction operation is

thought in terms of the material involved and what is to be done with it, there should be no

problem with the operational classification of the equipment. This allowed the grouping of the

equipment as follows;

a. Compressor and pumps to work on air water and other fluids.

b. Excavation and earthmoving equipment to work on rock and soil.

c. Trenchers, dredgers, and tunnellers working in special ways in the ground.

d. Conveying and hauling equipment to move materials.

The other set of construction operation requires the process and the install material for a final

construction product. Therefore, the equipment in this set will be material for a final construction

product. The grouping of equipment in this is as follows;

2.2 CONSTRUCTION OPERATION

Construction operations convert raw materials into finished products using tools, plant, and

equipment controlled by manpower under the direction of project management. The selection of

suitable plant and equipment for a construction operation depends on the kind of material and

what is to be done on it. Generally, the material must be transported, processed, placed, and

finished. In some instances, the material must be loosened before it can be loaded and

transported.

2.2.1 Removal of existing material

Many construction operations remove materials from natural deposits. The task may be

earthmoving, rock excavation, trenching, tunneling, dredging or dewatering. It may be clearing

and grubbing a job site. Several operations may have to be done together. In any case, the

equipment, the natural condition of the material must be known which involves in situ or

laboratory test to be carried out.

Material in its natural state may be solid or fractured rock (loose, granular and gravel) or it may

be liquid. Knowledge of the kinds of materials and the properties of those materials are obtained

from the soil or rock borings, test pit and on sit observation. Most natural material deposits

contain combination of the various forms. That is one deposit may contain solid rock with

pockets of broken rocks. Another deposit would contain granular materials or other material that

is quite fluid because of a high water table or high moisture content. One of the states will

govern the choice of equipment.

Solid material, such as rock, consolidated clay, and concrete must be broken or loosened in order

to be removed. This material may have high tensile, compressive, or shearing strength which

make it difficult to break or loosen. The mass consolidated clay is held together by cohesion.
Broken, chunky, or granular materials may have internal friction resistance to shear. Cohesion

and internal friction effect are not mush to affect the operation of construction equipment. For

this reasons, solid material may be loosened by drilling and blasting or by ripping. Liquids

handled in construction may vary in consistency from fresh water to thick slurries containing

suspended solids or trash.

2.2.2 Transport material

Another common construction operation involves loading, carrying and depositing materials in

their final locations in stock piles. Examples of this kind of operation are the hauling of blasted

rock or aggregate production plant. The conveying of crushed aggregate to a stock pile or to a

concrete plant, the delivery of structural steel to a building site, and the hauling of spoiled

material to disposal site. Material may be in bulk form such as earth being hauled to

embankment or they may be bundles or sold pieces such as fabricated steel girders or pallets

loaded with sack of cement.

2.2.3 Process material

The processing construction materials convert raw or refined materials into more finished

construction materials. Example of this type of operation includes; crushing rock to make

aggregate, mixing aggregate, cement, water and additives to make concrete, making precast

building elements, fabricating structural steel girders and bending reinforcing steel.

The processing operation may involve one more step to produce the end product. In the

production of asphalt concrete for example there may be several stages such weighing, batching,

mixing, screening etc. Each step or stage in processing the material is performed by a different

machine.
2.2.4 Moving processed material

The moving of processed material such as aggregate, asphalt, concrete, precast element etc.

requires special consideration. This is also necessary for all flowing materials that have gained a

certain specified gradation or consistency. Segregation, loss of desire properties and deformation

would be the result if these materials are not handled properly.

Equipment selection to move certain processed material must minimize segregation and

separation. For example, the equipment used to transport concrete must prevent the separation of

the paste from the aggregate, the segregation of aggregate of different sizes, loss of ‘slump’. This

can be accomplished by selection and use of the proper equipment. Concrete can be transported

in mobile concrete mixers or agitators to prevent segregation. It can be moved on the job site by

conveyors, buckets, chutes and buggies.

2.2.5 Placing finished material

The final construction operation is the placing of the material in its final location. The type of

operations involved are steel erection, erection of precast building parts, pile driving, pipe laying,

laying asphalt and concrete pavement, placing concrete in forms, spreading and compacting earth

fill etc.

2.3 EQUIPMENT SELECTION FACTORS

Most construction operation can be performed by more than one kind of equipment. The best

choice of equipment for a giving job is the one that can complete the work according to the plan

and specification, within the shortest possible time, for the least total cost. The equipment

selected must satisfy several constraints imposed by the job and the contractual obligation.
A feasible solution to the equipment selection problem for actual field conditions requires that a

number of these factors be considered. In fact, it would be an unusual construction operation if

the choice depended on only one factor. The constraints or factor include the following;

a. Specific construction operation: is the first factor that must be considered in selecting

equipment. The equipment selected must be capable of doing the work. Problems arise in

selection of equipment because there varieties of machines that could be used to

accomplish task at hand.

However, a careful consideration of the construction operation to be done will generate several

alternative ways of doing the work. The equipment selected must satisfy constraints imposed by

the document and the job condition.

b. Specification requirement: Ideally, the construction contract document specifies only

the desire end result. The choice of equipment to do the work is left to the contractor. In

order to avoid undesirable results, construction method, construction sequences or

construction equipment is sometimes specified. For instance, instead of indicating the test

to be performed and the compacted density to be achieved, specification may require that

embankment be placed and compacted in larger of certain thickness. To further ensure

adequate result, the types and sizes of compacting requirement as well as the travel speed

and the number of passes over the fill are sometimes specified. There are other instances

in which the contract document while not specifying the types and sizes of equipment to

be used, influence the selection of the equipment.

c. Condition at the job site: The underfoot condition at the job site may determine whether

wheel mounted or crawler mounted equipment will be based. If the ground is soft crawler
 mounted may be preferred because of the lower ground pressure and better footing. If the

ground is rutted and firm it may be necessary to use wheel mounted equipment.

The grade or slope of haul road and the job site influences the selection of equipment like

scrapper, graders, jumpers, pay loader etc. Road with steep slope requires hauling unit with

greater horse power -to-weight ratios than the required on haul roads with easier grade slope.

When there is working space limitation, the operating dimension of the equipment must be

considered in order to ensure that there are adequate clearances, reaches, and so on. For instance,

if the headroom is limited a crane with hydraulically operated telescoping boom may be used

instead of a fixed boom crane that requires more room to swing its load, or perhaps the material

should be moved by a conveyor system instead of a crane. Another example of the importance of

this factor is that of concreting operation in a congested work space. It might be advice able

under such circumstances, to place concrete by pump instead of by a crane and buggies. The

available maneuvering room influences the selection of equipment for tunneling operations.

Different equipment and construction methods are used in soft ground compared to those used on

hard rock.

d. Location of the job: The location of the job site influences the selection equipment in

several ways. Climatic condition may vary with the location of the site. The elevation of

the project area may reduce or increase the power input of the equipment in use. Weather

condition such as temperature affects the performance of construction equipment. When

temperature is high or when it is low. The volumetric and mechanical efficiencies are

affected. Also rain, snow, or excessive moisture in the atmosphere and on the ground can

cause loss of traction. Rain also turns haul roads and other working surfaces to mud,
 increasing rolling resistance and decreasing the ability of the equipment to move around

the job site. Heat and wind cause evaporation which alters the moisture content during

material processing. The rate of evaporation is an important problem in soil, aggregate

road mixes in bituminous material, and in concrete. Also the elevation of job site above

sea level limits the power that may be developed by construction machinery. Internal

combustion engines are less efficient at higher elevation. Consequently, the availability

of sources of fuel and power is different for jobs in remote locations than those in the

urban settings. Equipment selection is based on a certain extent on the availability of

power and power equipment.

However, the location of the site may limit the type and size of the equipment that can be

transported to the site.

e. Project time schedule: The selection of equipment depends directly on and may be

decided by any of the following consideration;

 The time allowed by the construction contract.

 The necessary and economical timing of sequential construction activities.

 The relation effect of overhead cost on the total cost of the project.

 The variation of the equipment rental rates with the time it takes to complete the project.

f. Balancing of interdependent equipment: Many construction operations have two or

more type of equipment working together. These machines are said to be interdependent

in the sense that their production rates must be compactable. The selection of

interdependent equipment to ensure their compatibility requires that the spread of

 equipment be balanced to minimized costly idle time i.e. the equipment working together

is balanced in size and productivity to provide an economical operation.

g. Mobility required of the equipment: The mobility of the equipment to be used on

construction work focuses on several general concerns. These include;

 Movement of equipment in performing construction operation.

 The planed movement of equipment from one activity to another on a project.

 The movement of equipment from one construction project to another.

The importance of equipment movement depends on time it takes to make each move and the

frequency of such moves. If the equipment is used in a full day concrete pour, and then has to be

moved only to the other side of the building for the day’s work, it does not have to be highly

mobile.

h. Versatility and adaptability of the equipment: Another equipment selection factor to

be considered outside cost is the versatility and adaptability of the equipment. This factor

must be considered when there are a number of operations requiring similar equipment. If

these operation are all for one project, some equipment may be able to work on various

operation. This is also fine if there are several nearby projects being done during the same

weeks or months. The use of chart in equipment orderliness for use is very helpful. When

all the equipment are listed in order of its use on the job and then schedule by operation,

moves and so on. A variety of graphic picture is made for the use of the equipment

throughout the life of the job.

2.4. CIVIL ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT

Project management must complete the construction job on time in accordance with the contract

document and within budget. To do this, the engineer must know enough about the cost of his or

her equipment to prepare a satisfactory construction cost estimate, to submit a successful bid, to

plan the work, within least possible time, and to control the cost of doing the work. The engineer

must know enough about costs to select the equipment best suited to the civil engineering work.

To decide whether to rent, lease, or buy equipment needed for civil engineering work to decide

when to replace or order for modern equipment.

A construction cost estimate; is simply a prediction of the cost of doing the job. It serve as a the

basis for preparing bid for project, and it is the standard to which the actual cost of doing the

work are compared in order to control costs. To prepare a construction cost estimate, an engineer

must know the production quantities of work to be done and predict with reasonable accuracy the

rate of the equipment and the hourly cost of that equipment.

The owning and operating cost of construction equipment are generally considered separately.

Ownership cost are incurred whether the equipment is operating or not they include such cost as

depreciation, insurance, interest on the amount of investment , property taxes etc. Operating cost

on the other hand varies directly with the operation of the equipment and it includes fuel,

lubricants, tires, maintenance and repairs and operator salary. This cost must be received through

the profitable use of the equipment on construction projects.

2.5 CIVIL ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT AND ACQUISITION

The construction company has the choice of requiring equipment by outright purchase, leasing or

renting it. When examining the need to acquire equipment, the following points must be

considered;
a. Whether ownership of the equipment, rather than obtaining it by other method is absolutely

necessary for the business.

b. Whether the item of equipment generates sufficient turn over to provide adequate rate of

return on capital employed.

c. Whether outright purchase is the only way of acquiring the equipment or only option

available. The answer to this point will determine the decision that is most economical and

faster.

2.5.1 Outright purchase

The equipment is owned by the construction company by immediate payment thereby providing

a tangible asset shown on the balance sheet. Clearly, this option is only possible if cash is

available and therefore presupposes that profit has been built up from previous contract or that

funds are available from investors such as shareholders, bank loans etc. Also large or technically

challenge contracts sometimes include money to enable the contractor to purchase necessary

equipment at the start of the project.

The main advantage of purchasing the equipment is that it may cost less per operating hour turn

equipment than leasing or renting it. The disadvantage is that, purchasing equipment will reduce

working capital and may affect contractor’s liquidity.

2.5.2 Leasing equipment

A lease is a legal contract allowing somebody exclusive possession of another’s property for a

specific time in return for a payment. There are two kinds of leasing;

 The cash lease; is generally arranged by a financial institution at finance house. The

rental charges will cover the assets capital cost except its expected residual value at the
 end of the lease, together with the service charges designed to meet the leaser overhead,

interest charges, service cost and an element of profit. At the end of the lease, the asset is

sold by the leaser, but not directly to the lease, this being specifically written on the

contract terms.

 Operating lease; the leaser is the manufacturer or supplier of the equipment whose

purpose is to assist in the marketing of the equipment. Charges are frequently lower than

cash lease. The profit expected by the leaser comes from later service which continues

into secondary period of the lease. Actually this type of arrangement is mostly

appropriated for large and technically sophisticated equipment where manufacturers have

skilled person to maintain and service the equipment.

2.5.3 Renting requirement

Renting of equipment is generally for a day, week or months. The rental rate for civil

engineering equipment is based on anticipated length of use, whether it is rented in ‘cold’ or

‘hot’ (with fuel and so on to run it), coverage of extras such as transportation and supply and

demand for the equipment.

Obviously, the rental rate have to be lighter than the equipment ownership costs in order to cover

the cost of handling lease transaction, accounting for the equipment and servicing it between

rentals and to provide reasonable profit on the investment. Daily, weekly, and monthly rental

rates are generally established by dealers for such model of equipment. In Nigeria the daily rental

rate is based on an 8 hour day, the weekly rate on 40 to 50 hour.

 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Instrument for data collection:

The instrument to be used for this research work is through the sources below;

 Primary sources of information

 Secondary sources of information

3.1.1 Primary sources of information

This is achieved through observation and interview at companies and sites of constructions,

photographic instrument and questionnaire administration etc. For ease and efficiency, certain

criteria were bore in mind in appraising this equipment. These criterions include;

a. Specification

b. Cycle time

c. Rate of production and processing

d. Manpower requirement

e. Civil engineering work carried out

f. Economy of the equipment

g. Speed and accuracy of operation

h. Safety and environmental impact

3.1.2 Secondary information

The secondary information collected for this research work includes information from CIE 524

lecture note on construction management by (Eng. James 2012), information from the net and

construction management textbooks and finally the information provided by the equipment

catalogue.

The modern equipments that are assessed for this research work are as follows:

a. Excavation equipment

b. Concrete plant and equipment

c. Asphalt and paving equipment

d. Lifting and hoisting equipment

e. Engineering Survey Equipment

3.2 EXCAVATING EQUIPMENT

Over the years there has been improvement on excavating equipment, this is due to

modernization that today excavators are compact and large as well. Modern compact excavators

have the ability of carrying out excavation work in tight places where large excavators cannot

enter and handles small volume of works. Large excavators such as caterpillar M322D are either

wheel mountings or crawler mountings.

The crawler mounted equipment is designed to be used on rough or loose surface having poor

footing. This is particularly recommended if the equipment will not move much once it is on the

jobsites. Such is frequently the case with power shovels working in a pit quarry. The crawler

mounting provides greater bearing area for work on the ground and can withstand the greater

abuse to the bearing surface on rough terrain.

Wheel mounting moves flexibly. To increase its stability for lifting on level ground, out riggers

extend outward from the carrier base frame so as to stand firmly on the bearing surface or

ground.

3.2.1 Power shovel and excavators

Power shovel and excavators have very similar front end working parts. Both have short, sturdy,

cable or hydraulically operated booms attached to the front of the revolving upper structure. The

boom supports a dipper stick having a dipper or digging bucket at its end. The hydraulic

excavator type of equipment is one of the most versatile for use in construction work.

3.2.2 Power excavator specification

The power excavator for caterpillar M322D has six basic movements. The six basic movements

are tied into parts of the power mechanism in the upper structure and can be described as

follows;

1. Main hoist mechanism moves the dipper through the material being dug.

2. Secondary hoist mechanism crawl the dipper stick and bucket into the back for more

powerful digging as the dipper is moved through the material.

3. Crowding action is reversed when the dipper bucket is full and can be retracted for

dumping.

4. Boom hoist raises and lowers the boom through an arc of about 100 degree, from nearly

vertically upward to below horizontal, with lowering under power provided as a

precaution against dropping the boom.

5. Swing the upper structure for the power excavator calls on a separate mechanical or

hydraulic mechanism with chokes and brake to save on clutch maintenance and to

prevent drifting on the turntable.

 6. Traction movement of the whole power excavator on its crawler mounting or under

carriage.

The sizing of excavators includes a wide range to cover all conceivable demands for the types of

equipment. For instance, the excavator has a maximum reach of 39.5ft. While dipper sizes is

35cu yd for ordinary uses. These are ‘struck’ volume of the dipper and approximate the payload

volume in back cubic yards when the bucket is loaded to its heaped capacity. The excavator

specification generally gives the heaped capacity of the bucket according to SAE standard. The

excavator has a swing speed of 15 RPM.

The parts of a power excavator possess a good balance of sizes from the bucket to the supporting

ground starting with the loaded dipper of a particular size. Each element of a front end

attachment is designed for the anticipated load. A counter weight will be added to the rear of the

upper structure to supplement the power parts for balancing the weights. This excavator use

hydraulic power that increases its versatility and greater ease of operation.

3.2.3 Construction operation with excavator (caterpillar M322d)

The backhoe can reach out horizontally or down into a reach with boom dipper stick and bucket

extended to start digging. The bucket is pulled through the material and back towards the

equipment base to get its load. To empty the bucket, the boom is raised to cheer the sides of the

trench. This motion includes extending the basic three part mechanism, which prepares it for the

next digging cycle. These motions are repeated from position of the equipment until all the

trench material readily dug from there is removed. For these power excavators, it is shorter than

the standard and stouter dipper stick and heavier strength bucket for tough soil and rock

excavation. Also, there is a longer stick with lighter bucket for the excavator to have a longer

reach. Selecting an excavator for trenching operation should be base on:

  Dipper bucket width, which can be altered for equipment up of large bucket of 10ft.force

available, which for cable controlled unit depend on the engines power and number of

lines to dipper controls or with hydraulic controls where force can be increased by the

diameter of the cylinder provided the equipment force limits where not

exceeded.

 Depth that can be dug from the front of the mounting base; the smaller units can dig

about 12ft depth.

 Horizontal reach of the bucket

 Dumping height which is somewhat more than the digging depth since the base pivot

point for depth and height is the boom base support level.

 Swing of the backhoe up to 360 degree full revolution.

 Extra operation possible with the excavator such as rock breaking with a hydraulic

hammer or` using grapple attachment to pick up block of rocks.

The optimum depth of cut will vary between 4 and 11ft for loose, granular or earthy material and

6 to 14ft for hard sticky material. The smaller values are for smaller size of excavator comparing

the maximum depth of cut with the optimum depth of cut. It is found that the optimum depth is

from 25-50% of the maximum digging depth. This fact suggest that it is not appropriate for the

operator to swing through the full depth of cut with each cycle if he is working a cut close to his

equipments maximum depth range. The size of the load in a dipper compared to its capacity is a

vital factor for determining excavator productivity. The ration of the load in the dipper to its

struck capacity is called the bucket efficiency. For the materials dug by an excavator, the bucket

efficiency will vary from 10% to 50% as the best to be expected. However, in easy digging with

a sticky material, the heaped material can be compacted by the loading process enough that the
pay load exceeds the capacity of the dipper slightly; this explains bucket efficiency will vary

from 100% to 50%.

The job condition for dumping the load is a productivity factor that management can control by

the layout of the work. The points to control are the angle of swing for the excavator to dump its

load and to balance of sizes between the excavator and its haulers. For a good balance of sizes

the haul container should have a capacity that is nearly equal to three to six times the bucket

capacity. The angels of swing can be controlled by good planning. In a regular cycle of digging,

swinging the load, dumping it, and return swinging for the next load may be dumped to one side

of the excavator or into units to be taken away.

Table 1.0 The effect of swing angle on shovel productivity is shown on the table below.

________________________________________________________________

Percent of Angle of Swing (A) (day)

Optimum Depth _________________________________________________

Of cut (D) 45 60 75 90 120 150 180

___________________________________________________________________

40% 0.93 0.89 0.85 0.80 0.72 0.65 0.59

60% 1.10 1.03 0.96 0.91 0.81 0.73 0.66

80% 1.22 1.12 1.04 0.98 0.86 0.77 0.69

100% 1.26 1.16 1.07 1.00 0.88 0.79 0.71

120% 1.20 1.11 1.03 0.97 0.86 0.77 0.70

140% 1.12 1.04 0.97 0.91 0.81 0.73 0.66

160% 1.03 0.96 0.90 0.85 0.75 0.67 0.62

___________________________________________________________________

Table 1.0 Effect of depth of cut and angle of swing on the productivity of excavators.

This shows as would be expected that for any given depth of cut, a smaller angle of swing will

result in better output. There is an optimum depth of hit, for each size shovel the optimum will be

less effective. This is true whether the depth is greater or less than the depth to cut. Use of Table

1.0 is with the actual cut divided by the optimum expressed as a percentage on the left for each

now.

The standard excavator cycle times (CT) averaging 20-35 sec are based on no interruption of the

motion. The standard cycle is based on a 90 0 swings and optimum depth of cut. Actual

productivity has to allow for any variation of the CT, such as delay moving to a better digging

position. Now that we know the factors that govern the excavator’s productivity, a formula can

be written for finding the expected production rate.

3600 B ( E ) (A . D)
Q p=
CT

Where qp = Maximum “peak production, cu yds per hr

B = Bucket struck “capacity”, cu yds

E = Bucket efficiency, 0.5-11 (from the figure)

A. D = Combined factor for the average angle of swing and depth of cut (from table)

CT =“Standard” cycle time in seconds for excavator operation of 900 swing and optimum cut.

3.3 CONCRETE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Production and placing of concrete requires equipment and plant to handle process aggregates,

cement, water and admixtures. These materials must be batched in the correct proportions and

mixed to form concrete that satisfies the job specifications. Then, the goal is to transport the
concrete to the forms without segregation or loss of any material components, without loss of

slump, and without excessive compaction of the concrete in transit. It is placed in the forms,

vibrated finished and cured as required by the specifications. Equipment is required to handle the

materials that go into the concrete mix. Aggregates and cement must be conveyed by material

handling equipment. They are stored either in stockpiles on the ground or in elevated bins in the

plant.

Batchers and scales must be properly sized and calibrated to ensure that correct quantities are

added to the mix and to permit adequate control over the quality of the concrete cement, water

and aggregates are batched separately by weight. A well design mix with a good fine to coarse

aggregate gradation, good slump and adequate air content, will minimize segregation. Mixers

thoroughly blend the water, cement and aggregates to provide concrete of the desired

consistency, uniformity and strength. It is best to introduce some of the water into the mixer

before any of the other ingredients. Concrete may be placed in the forms by chutes, conveyors or

pump, each of which is appropriate in particular situation.

3.3.1 A Summary of Different Types of Concrete Mixers

There are many different types of concrete mixers available on the market each with their own

specific features and benefits to suit construction site requirements and challenges. These

include;

a. Self-loading rough terrain concrete mixers

b. Self-loading truck concrete mixers

c. Standard transit concrete mixers

d. Volumetric concrete mixers

e. Mobile volumetric batching plants

 f. Hand fed site concrete mixers

3.3.2 A Standard Transit Concrete Mixer

This is a concrete delivery vehicle used for jobs where large pour volumes are required. Transit

Mixer Trucks come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 2 cubic metres to 8 cubic metres wet

concrete output, making them the ideal choice for ready-mix concrete operations.

3.3.3 Rough Terrain Concrete Mixers

These are 4x4 wheel drive self-loading cement mixers fitted with a front operators cab. They can

climb, fully loaded with cement, over the most precarious terrains; they can load, mix, produce

and discharge over 100m3 of cement per day; they have electronic weigh batching equipment,

which ensures precise mixes of any grade of concrete and fitted with a slewing drum, allowing

concrete to be discharged from every side of the vehicle at heights of over 2m. This type of

concrete mixer is suited to all types of job-sites from congested city centers to remote villages. It

can be maneuvered around tight corners or down narrow lanes, so ideal for remote construction

sites as well as those in busy urban areas.

3.3.4 Volumetric Concrete Mixer

This offers substantial advantages over traditional methods of concrete delivery. A volumetric

mixer is a mobile truck mixer and batching plant rolled into one. All raw materials are stored in

separate compartments and these are then metered and mixed into fresh cement where and when

it’s needed. This means that there is no expensive waste of materials, as the unmixed product

remains usable indefinitely. The Volumetric Concrete Mixer also eliminates the need for part

load charges and problems with over or under-ordering. Customers can estimate the amount of
concrete needed and the exact quantity can be mixed on site, and they only pay for what they

use. Volumetric Mixers can supply all mixes and grades of cement, including screed and mortar.

Mixes and grades can be switched from one customer to the next or even halfway through a job

if necessary.

As with conventional Volumetric Mixers, the Mobile Volumetric Concrete Batching Plant has

two separate compartments for aggregates, a cement hopper, a water tank and additive tanks.

Due its construction design, this mobile system allows transporting of all the elements needed for

making concrete. In this way, the operator can produce exactly what he wants, where he wants

and in the quantity he wants through the use of an on-board computer. Once production is

started, the various components enter the mixer in the required doses and the finished mixed

product comes out continuously, ready for final use. It is also suitable for the recovery of

materials destined for landfill disposal, such as cement mixtures regenerated from masonry

rubble or milled materials cold-regenerated with emulsions.

Concrete machinery has advanced over the years to deliver specific types of concrete more

economically.

3.3.5 Concrete pumps.

The pumping of concrete was first used to line where there are no other suitable methods

available. More recently, the use of concrete pumps has been extended from tunnel lining to

bridge decks, multistory floors etc. As construction works are going higher from multistory sky

scrappers to underground tunnels and basement, the need for modern concrete pumps that can

perform large construction work is important.

One of the modern concrete pumps in construction work is the product of SANY, a truck

mounted concrete pump of model 52/56/66M SY5600THB-66. In September 2005, the trailer

mounted concrete pump created the vertical C60 concrete pumping record of 406 meters by

single pump, at the construction site of the main building of Hong Kong International Financial

Centre.

Also, at the construction site of the gorges project, the third gradation concrete pump of new

generation of SANY heavy industry pumped the third gradation concrete with the aggregate size

up to 80mm, which filled in another blank of Civil Engineering equipment in the world.

The delivery pipe or hose of the modern equipment can be in a combination of horizontal and

vertical runs locations that are inaccessible to a crane and bucket or that are too congested for

buggies operating on runways. The kind of pump that push concrete through the delivery line is

the squeeze- pressure pump. The pumping action is provided by rollers that press on the outside

of a flexible tube in a cylindrical chamber, squeezing it and causing the concrete to move ahead

of the rollers. The pump can be set to high pressure pumping approaching 1000 p.s.i, almost two

times normal operation. This self contained concrete pump has all equipment including the

jointed pipe sections, mounted on a carrying vehicle. It is supported on four boom sections

jointed with great flexibility for pouring range.

Delivery lines are made up of pipe sections and length of hose which are coupled together at the

site. Unless they are built on the self contained truck equipment, pipe has less frictional

resistance, but hose is much easier to handle and move at the discharge end to place concrete in

uniform lifts in the forms.

3.3.6 Production rate for modern concrete mixing plant

The advantage of improved capacity and automatic controls can be noted in terms of production

rate. An automated control mixing plant can reach almost 100% efficiency and produce more

than 250cycle per hour. A mixing plant can best achieve high production by using automatic

controls for the batching, mixing and discharging steps of the process.

3.4.0 LIFTING AND HOISTING EQUIPMENT

These kinds of equipment are more appropriately used for erection of structural members in civil

engineering works. Erection operation in construction is basically a matter of lifting load

vertically, swinging them and holding them in a set position for securing, and then the equipment

can be released. Lifting has to be controlled so that the load maintains the alignment that is

horizontal, vertical or inclined, required for its placement. This involves two or more pick up

point for hooks or slings. The load must be moved both vertically and horizontally in most cases

to reach its point of connection to the permanent structure. Generally, the load must be held at

that point of connection during its erection until it is firmly attached by pining or bolting.

3.4.1. Mobile crane

Mobile cranes are lifting and hoisting pieces of equipment with self contained boom and parts

such that they can be moved around without being concerned about losing their support and

power unit. This modern equipment is mounted on crawler tracks or a wheel type mounting. Its

travel is not limited by fixed trucks or other specific supporting media. Since the world adopted

the trend of high rising structures, modern mobile cranes has make it possible for this challenge

to be confronted. These modern scrappers have been use as a backbone in the construction of

world tallest building Tai pei 101 in Taiwan at a height of 509m (1,1671lft).

3.4.2 Crane for erection work

The use of cranes for erection work takes advantage of their mobility. Crawler or wheel mounted

mobile cranes are the most maneuverable of all erection equipment. They need only to find a

sound footing to support the heavy loads. The wheel mounted cranes use out riggers to improve

stability. A crawler mounted crane may increase stability by using wider crawler tracks. For a

very heavy load, a crawler crane can be outfitted with a loading ring that surrounds the crane

base and can be blocked against the ground for wider support points. These cranes have rigging

arrangements to convert a crawler mounted crane with a loading ring base into derrick type

equipment for heavy erection work. For this type of crane known as universal machine, the upper

end of the boom is supported by a topping lift running from the boom point to a high frame or

rear mast on the upper structure of the crane. Extra counter weight is added on the upper

structure or hung from the top of the rear mast for this equipment. The way to lift a heavy load

with this equipment is to raise the boom to a nearly vertical position so that there is only a small

angle between the load and the boom. Mobile cranes are built primarily to lift, swing and lower

loads held by movable lines.

3.4.3 Specifications for mobile crane

The distinct part of the mobile crane is the boom, which may be an open lattice framework or a

close telescoping structure which is called cantilevered boom. The boom is hinged at the base

point, can be raised and lowered, that is rotated about the support point in vertical plane. To

move a load laterally, the boom is swing by rotating the entire upper structure in the horizontal

plane. The cranes structure can be tested to ensure that the boom and its various components will

not be stressed beyond their structural limit.

The length of hydraulically telescoping boom control can be changed readily. This cantilevered

boom is composed of several concentric rectangular, trapezoidal or round pipe sections that

telescope up and out with the biggest section at the base support point.

3.4.4 Lifting capacity of mobile cranes

The lifting capacity of cranes is carefully regulated for the safety of their operation. The load

capacity of these larger heavy lift cranes is depending on the use between 65% and 95%of the

tipping in the direction of least stability. A crane is considered to be at the point of tipping when

a balance is reached between the over turning moment of the loaded crane and the stabilization

moment of the equipment. This must be with the equipment firmly supported on a level surface.

The question of safety against settlement is very important, if the total loaded weight of a crane

and the area of its foot point on the surface are known, the safety of its total bearing can be

checked. To do this, the allowable bearing capacities of the earth surface must be known or

estimated.

The weight of the loaded crane must be distributed quite evenly on the total bearing area;

otherwise concentration of the load over part of the area will cause greater settlement in the area

with concreted weight, especially if the bearing capacity has been exceeded there. The sort of

failure where bearing capacity has been exceeded will compound the trouble if it is not corrected

immediately. Even, if the bearing capacity is not exceeded, the requirement is that the weight

bearing down on all wheel, outriggers, crawler tracks on idlers on the side or end of the under

carnage supporting the least load shall not be less than 5% of the total weight of the crane. To

prevent the crane from tipping over backward when it is not handling a load, the counter weight

must be limited. This is for the shortest recommended boom, since the boom acts opposite to the

counter weight in the balance of moments. The counter weight for a crawler crane should put the
center of gravity for the equipment no more than about 70% of the distance from the centre of

rotation to the tipping point of the track. The trailing counter weight supported on a separate

carrier for heavy lift cranes, avoids this tipping problem.

3.4.5 Application of mobile crane

The mobile crane is primarily used for hoisting loads or loaded containers. The devices or

container for doing this hoisting include hooks of all sorts, sling, tongs, grabbles, magnets,

platform and bucket of all sorts. The crane must be able to lift the total weight of the load and the

hoisting device. Its lifting capacity is based for high hoisting with its boom extended by the

insertion of extra boom sections or a jib boom. Usually, the A-frame or gantry is extended

upward with the boom extensions to give better stability for the loaded boom. These

modifications are made so that the crane can be used for setting structural steel or handling

concrete buckets on high- rise structure. Another use for a high reach is in the case of the

wrecking operations for all tall structure. A jib boom is generally used to extend the horizontal

reach of the crane over the edge of a high structure. Of course, the Load limits of these uses are

much less than the maximum capacity of the basic crane requirement.

Mobile crane are used as the basic unit for pile driving and caisson drilling equipment and other

material handling operations. The basic crane unit is also used for other power excavators such

as dragline and clamshell.

3.4.6 Productivity of mobile crane

The productivity of mobile crane in the previous mentioned uses is meaningless in the usual term

that is tons or cubic yards per hour. The reason is that the crane does not govern this sort of

productivity. Another construction force such as the erection crew, likely will govern the tons of
steel lifted per hour and the pouring crew will govern the cubic yards of concrete placed per

hour. The crane will control only a part of the total cycle times in these case.

The speed of lifting a load is limited by the line speed of the crane, for modern crane it is more

than 750 feet per minute. Swinging a load is another part of the work cycle that is governed by

the crane‘s design. For this modern crane, it is at the rate of 4 revolutions per minute. This is a

significant part of the cycle time when using a long boom because of the starting and stopping

inertia.

3.4.7 Cost of mobile crane

The power shovel with its special boom and dipper design will generally cost more than the same

base size of the crane. However, the cranes to be modified with many boom and jib sections for

high lifting are more expensive to operate with their special rigging changes for flexibility and

safety.

Variation of cost for mobile crane depends on the make-up of the equipment. The different

design with significant parts such as crawler versus truck mounted, cable controlled versus

hydraulic, telescoping boom, all affect the cost of the crane. For instance, comparing cranes with

different types of base under carriages will found that a crawler mounted one will cost less than a

truck mounted one of the same capacity. In a similar way, the cable controlled mechanical crane

can be compared with hydraulic crane. The hydraulic crane which is generally truck mounted,

with its telescoping boom and other flexibility for changing work conditions is more expensive

than a truck mounted or crawler mounted cable crane. A crawler mounted crane is definitely the

least expensive for a giving hoisting capacity.

For the section of crane to use frequently the initial lost is not the key factor. Work condition and

requirements will probably determine what mounting is better.

3.5 TOWER CRANE

This is a type of erection equipment that takes advantages of both revolving crane and derricks

into its operation. Generally, they are stationary for the lifting of loads but may be mobile for

short on site distances if need be for getting to and handling their lifts. Equipment of this sort

commonly has a vertical, lattice mast of height and a horizontal boom called a jib, equal or

somewhat longer than its mast.

The new model K-1000 tower crane by KROLL GIANT TOWER CRANES is by for the largest

tower crane in the world. In 2004, this tower crane participated in the construction of the world

tallest hotel called “Burj-al-arab” in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This equipment has a stand

and hook radius of 269ft and hook radius of 330ft long. It has the ability to work in winds speed

higher than 45mph.

The tower crane is used for erection and material handling on tall buildings and other structures

that can be handled from one setup area or with relatively short horizontal movement possible.

That movement for a free standing tower crane will be on solid wheels and a short solid track

bed. The working height can far exceed the vertical range of conventional mobile crane of

comparable load capacity. So the user can expect increase productivity.

3.5.1 Tower crane load capacity and operation

Table 2.0 the load capacity for K-1000 tower crane with horizontal jib shown on the below
 HOOK RADIUS CRANE CAPACITY(T)

(FT)

STANDARD 269(FT) 132

82M 120

LONG 330(FT) 104

100M 94

All loads are handled with two, three or four parts lines with the opportunity to convert from one

to the other simply. The trolley horizontal speed can be varied, but it is more than 300fpm and

the lifting speed is more than 40fpm.

This means that maximum load can be lifted from the base of the tower crane in 1 to 3min. the

swinging of the jib for these types of tower crane is at a speed of 1rpm. (Source; Kroll giant Inc.

(2007).)

3.5.2 Tower crane power and cost

In any construction-erection operation requiring a single set up or short track, it is probability

most economical to use electrical power. This will certainly by the case for a limited area

construction site in a metropolitan setting where the electric power lines are available for

tapping. The electric power for climbing and tower crane is required for three functions; the first

is for hoisting power, the second requirement for electric power is to operate the trolley or travel
motor and third power requirement is for swinging. This requirement for the tower crane can all

be served generally with a 450V, three phases, and 60cycle source drawing current of 70 amps.

Cost for any erection work using a tower crane must be handled as a unique operation figured on

the basis of whatever special equipment is to be used. However, erection engineers can generally

give a good estimate without too much detail planning.

3.6 ENGINERING SURVEY EQUIPMENT

Modern engineering survey equipment is to delineate the form, extend and position of feature on

or beneath the surface of the earth for control purpose, i.e. for aligning land and construction

boundaries and providing check of constructions dimension the topography of land forms and

major civil engineering work such as dams, bridge, railway, highway and structure have been

invented to replace the older ones.

Electronic distance measuring device are being perfected and give extremely accurate results.

Also, electronic angle measuring devices of great precision such as thoedolite and transit using

glass circles permit greater magnification and more compact than the past ones.

3.6.1 Engineering surveying works

Engineering survey establish control points by transverse, baseline, or other method to obtain

information required for engineering design and to setout construction from designs drawing by

use of these control points. Topographic surveys and the map produce by them provide

horizontal location information and elevations need for the design of structure such as buildings,

dams, canal, highways, bridge, transmission lines sewers etc. Using the engineering design, these

works are then laid out from the same control points used in the original engineering surveys.

3.6.2 Automation of modern engineering survey equipment

The first automation instrument was produce by Geodimeter (now spectral precision) in the late

1980’ together with the remote positioning unit (RPU). There is a communication between the

two, a contact between them is established immediately the RPU is switch on, and all functions

can be controlled from the remote unit thereafter. The RPU consist of measuring rod, a prism, an

internal battery and a computer recorder with alphanumeric keyboard, which the control unit.

Each unit can have extended internal memory sufficient to store 2700 points or more. It also has

a variety of computer programme for the data analysis. By following a predetermined search

route, the station unite is able to find and look onto the route units whose movement will then

track automatically. When the RPU has been located, the station unit can take measurement

under control from the RPU computer, where they are stored and displayed. The engineering

survey can take direct control of the location of the RPU and enter a clear description of the point

using the keyboard thus eliminating location and identification errors. The automatic search and

aim function has a range of about 500m, effectively given a covering 785 000m2 though there is

dependence upon atmospheric condition. Spectral precision quotes an accuracy of +6mm for a

range of 100m for standard measurement, using to +15mm when fast racking is being carried

out, the search function can be carried out at night and this is noted to be main roads where level

of background interface is higher.

More recent development has included the ‘auto lock’ concept, where by the instrument finds the

prism around the site at speed of 5m/s as it is moved by engineers. The process has being

facilitated by the 360degree prism. In addition of speeding up surveying process construction

plant control, it is also used where the reflector has mounted onto the blade of grader or paver.

Lasers have been used for sometime in this respect for level control of plant. By incorporating an
electromagnetic distance measurement instead of laser full three dimensional control of the plant

item is possible.

3.6.3 Data recording

This is done electronically there by rendering manual recording unnecessary. The very latest

generation of surveying equipment incorporates on board memory and PCMCIA memory card.

These can either be used for fast processing of larger quantities of data from a smaller storage

device or on some of the more sophisticated instruments such as the SOKKIA POWER SET. An

on board computer with alphanumeric keyboard and large jot-matrix LCD allows processing

such as traverse adjustment within the instrument. The type of processing is selected by the user

inserting a programme module into the PCMCIA slot, choices include leveling, setting out and

special road works.

3.6.4 Application performed by engineering survey equipment

a. Setting out

b. Objective alignment

c. Positioning concrete frames

d. Intersections

e. Area calculation

f. In-field traverse adjustment

g. Leveling

h. Slope determination

j. Angles and curves determination

l. Controlling construction development etc.

3.6.5 Modern total station

Before the innovation of modern electronic total station, there has being use a conventional

Differential leveling with spirit or automatic levels and graduated rods which is the traditional

method used to establish vertical control. Accurate results are obtained when all systematic

errors are controlled and corrected. Short sight lengths and balanced sights are the most limiting

restrictions. The absence of benchmarks at higher elevations all over the world suggests that

differential leveling is extremely costly and time consuming in mountainous regions.

3.6.6 Purpose of Trig Leveling

A research describes a method to extend precise vertical control efficiently and rapidly using

modern electronic total stations. Differences in elevation are determined by measuring vertical

angles and slope distances. It has been demonstrated that First-order accuracy can be obtained

even when sight lengths of 100 meters are maintained during the level run. There is no

requirement for balanced sight lengths, and differences in elevation between backsight and

foresight in one setup of 20 meters or more are not uncommon on steep terrain. Test results

clearly demonstrate that trigonometric leveling using a modern total station is preferable to

traditional differential leveling for establishing vertical control, especially in hilly terrain.

Suggestions for implementing this technique, including extending vertical control in GPS

networks, are presented.

The purpose of leveling, in its simplest form, is to determine the difference in elevation between

selected points. Several methods for making this determination exist and involve many types of

instruments.
Leveling dates back to ancient times, when leveling instruments were as simple as containers of

water. The water surface, being aligned perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity,

forms a level surface on which a level sight could be observed.

3.6.7 Semi-modern level

An example of a semi-modern level instrument is the spirit level, which uses a sensitive tubular

glass vial attached to a telescope. The vial is curved slightly upward toward its center. A fine-

pitch tilting screw is turned manually to center the bubble in the vial of the spirit level. The

bubble climbs to the highest point in the vial when the vial is perpendicular to the direction of the

force of gravity.

3.6.8 Modern Levels

Modern "automatic" levels use a compensator in place of a glass vial. The compensator is a

pendulous reflecting component within the optical system of the telescope that responds to the

attraction of gravity to establish a horizontal line of sight.

The common controlling factor in all these devices is gravity. The accuracy of the results

obtained depends on how well alignment with gravity is established and how well the resulting

horizontal line of sight is defined. All other contributors to accuracy depend on influences

external to the device.

Gravity and definition of line of sight are also the controlling factors in trigonometric leveling.

However, similarities between trig leveling and conventional differential leveling end there.
Alignment with gravity must be established, but the line of sight is seldom perpendicular to it.

Instead, the angular deviation from perpendicularity of the line of sight is measured. The

accuracy of this angular measurement has the same effect on the definition of the line of sight as

gravity alignment does in the spirit level or the automatic level. The use of compensators in

modern total stations contributes to the accuracy attainable with these instruments.

3.6.9 Reasons why the modern trig leveling total station has not being widely used

Many surveyors still think of "low order" accuracy when they hear the words "trig leveling,"

mainly because vertical angle measurements have been used for many years to reduce slope

distances to the horizontal or to establish "rough" differences in elevation over long lines.

Since the existence of modern total stations, there have been many investigations conducted to

test the feasibility of using trig leveling to establish vertical control. Numerous papers have been

published describing various methods and the results that can be expected using these methods.

Yet, the use of trig leveling is not widespread and is still not accepted by many surveyors. There

are three main reasons for this:

 FGCS specifications do not exist for trig leveling, which means that the only

"acceptable" method to establish vertical control is conventional differential leveling, for

which FGCS specifications do exist. Without FGCS specifications for trig leveling, the

"low accuracy" perception will continue despite the fact that First-order accuracy can be

obtained with relative ease.

 Most of the trig leveling methods described by others in the past are costly and difficult

to execute. Some of these methods require that the restrictions imposed on differential
 leveling be adhered to, namely, sight length and balanced sight length limitations. Other

methods use two total stations mounted on vehicles observing simultaneous reciprocal

angles, requiring numerous temperature and pressure measurements. Proponents of this

method are overly optimistic about the line lengths, trying to reach out to 350 meters or

more. These methods yield acceptable results only after making many sets of

observations and rejecting the bad ones, which makes the set-up times quite long. Most

surveyors are not able to justify the cost and amount of effort required by these methods,

certainly not in their day-to-day surveying business.

 Most surveyors have never learned how to use the total station as a precise leveling

instrument. Many surveyors take advantage of the leveling ability of their total stations

for topographic surveys, but it may never have occurred to them to use their total station

as a precise level. Given reason number one above, they have had no reason to do so. If

there is leveling to be done, current circumstances and perceptions dictate that

conventional differential leveling would have to be used. Also, some surveyors use their

total stations to measure 3D traverses thinking that they are doing trig leveling. They

will, of course, have the perception that trig leveling is "low order" compared with

conventional differential leveling. The reason for this is that during a 3D traverse, the

height of every single instrument and target set-up must be measured. These heights are

usually measured somewhat crudely with a folding ruler, and the accuracy of the results

suffers directly from these imprecise height measurements.

3.6.10 the procedures of using modern trig total station method

a. Focus; Trig leveling, used properly, can be used in place of conventional differential

leveling to establish vertical control. All surveyors equipped with modern total stations can

immediately begin using this method once they learn the principles involved. As the practice

gains the attention of more surveyors, it is hoped that FGCS specifications for trig leveling will

be established.

“I learned this method from its main proponent, Charles C. Glover, when he was a geodetic

technician with the National Geodetic Survey working at the Instrumentation and Methodologies

Branch located in Corbin, Virginia.

Try this experiment at your office: Set up two tripods with targets and reflectors about 100

meters apart and set up your total station in the middle, assuming that the vertical circle of your

total station has an accuracy of at least two seconds. The distance can be shorter for vertical

circles having less accuracy and can be longer for vertical circles accurate to one second or

better. Measure the temperature and pressure to ensure that the correct PPM correction is entered

into the instrument. This test will demonstrate the ability of your total station to determine the

difference in elevation between a backsight (BS) and a foresight (FS). At this point, do not be

concerned with the height of the targets above the ground”.

*Jesse Kozlowski a Technical Support Representative in the Herndon, Virginia, office of Trimble

Navigation Ltd.

b. "Leveling in Place"; I call this test "leveling in place." The targets will remain

stationary, each taking on the role of BS and FS in succession while the total station is re-set up

between turns. Any level notebook will work for this test. Pick one of the targets as the starting
BM and record an elevation of 100 meters in the book. Point on that target in the direct and

measure the distance to it. In the BS column, record the vertical distance (VD) and be sure to

note whether it is a positive or negative VD. Record the slope distance to the nearest decimeter in

the next column. Rotate the instrument, point on the other target and repeat the above steps,

recording everything in the FS column. Again, be sure to note whether the VD is positive or

negative. Plunge the scope and re-point on the FS in the reverse; this time, only record the VD.

Rotate the instrument to re-point on the BS in the reverse and record the VD. This completes one

set of direct and reverse pointings on the BS and the FS. With the instrument still in the reverse

toward the BS, re-point and measure to the BS recording the VD. Rotate the instrument and

record another VD to the FS in the reverse. Plunge the scope and re-point on the FS to record

another VD in the direct. Rotate the instrument and record the last VD to the BS in the direct.

This completes a second set of direct and reverse pointing to the BS and FS. When you become

accustomed to this procedure, it shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 minutes to complete two sets of

direct and reverse pointings. The advantage to the procedure is that the amount of manipulating

the instrument is reduced.

Now, what to do with all these numbers? The slope distances are simply summed to give the

total length of this single set-up. The lengths of all the set-ups will be summed at the end to give

the total distance "traveled." Next, compute the means for the BS and FS readings. To prevent

blunders, a precision check is performed at each set-up. The means of the first set should not

differ from the means of the second set by more than 1.5 millimeters.

To find the difference in elevation between the BS and FS, subtract the mean BS from the mean

FS, paying attention to the algebraic signs. To find the elevation of the FS, algebraically sum the
difference in elevation with the assumed BM elevation of 100 meters. This completes the first

set-up.

c. Next Set of Observations; next, pick up the instrument and reset it, changing the HI. For the

next set of observations, the target that was the FS is now the BS and the original BS is now

the FS. Observe and record another two sets of D&R paintings to the BS and FS asbefore.

Once completed, you will have an instant check on the accuracy by comparing the elevation

of the FS in this second set to the assumed 100 meters because the FS in this set is the

original BS on the BM in the first set. Repeat the procedure until you have made 10 to 12

turns to simulate a level run. The whole test can take up to 60 minutes to complete. At this

point you will be able to assess the accuracy of the method and your total station by noting

the deviation from the assumed 100-meter BM. If the test went well, you will be eager to

learn how to apply this method to your leveling projects in the future. The section "Details

for Success" includes the details you will need to know to be successful using this method of

trig leveling.

3.6.11 Advantages of Trigonometric Leveling

1. No restrictions on sight length resulting from change in elevation.

2. No need to balance back sight and foresight shot length. This makes the location choice for

instrument and rod more convenient.

3. Line of sight height above ground can be maintained at maximum because the observation is

always to the top of the rod. This minimizes the effect of heat shimmer close to the ground.
4. Temperature gradients (layers of air of different temperatures) tend to run parallel to the

ground. These layers of air are warmer near the ground and get cooler as the height above the

ground increases. However, the rate of change is greater near the ground and decreases as the

height above the ground increases. The density of air changes as its temperature changes. When

light passes from air of one density to air of a different density, the light is refracted (bent). The

greater the difference in the two densities, the more the light will be refracted. In spirit leveling,

where elevation changes significantly from backsight to foresight, the horizontal line of sight

cuts through these gradients at different densities. If the back sight is high on the rod, the

foresight will be low on the rod. The back sight line of sight is passing through air that is

changing temperature at a slower rate than the foresight, causing the line of sight to be refracted

more on one shot than the other. In trigonometric leveling, the line of sight can be maintained

reasonably parallel to the ground, preventing the line of sight from passing through these

temperature gradients.

5. The height of the trig leveling target can be changed to overcome situations where

obstructions to line of sight would interfere with spirit leveling.

6. The only calibration necessary for the rods is that they are the same length or that any

difference in their lengths is a known amount. To eliminate the accumulation of rod length error

when using two rods, the rod used on the first back sight also must be used on the last foresight

and there must be an even number of setups with the rods alternated between back sight and

foresight. If only one rod is used, there is no need for any of these requirements.
There is no need to precisely level the total station if it has a compensator allowing for fast

setups using only the circular level. (Source; "Trigonometric Workshop Notes" by Charlie C.

Glover and Orland W. Murray.)

3.6.12 Details for Success

The following discussion provides guidelines for successfully performing trig leveling using a

total station. Necessary precautions and instrument checks are prescribed to ensure that the

internal automatic features of the total station are operating properly. You should understand the

principles of differential leveling and the particular total station being used. Differences and

similarities between these two systems will be used to explain the rationale of the recommended

procedures.

The National Geodetic Survey's "Geodetic Glossary" defines trigonometric leveling as

"determining differences of elevation by observing vertical angles and measuring straight-line

distances between points."

In the past, these two measurements were made separately, along with heights of instruments and

targets. The vertical angle was measured with a theodolite and the distance with a separate EDM.

The difference in heights of the angulations instrument and distance measuring instrument had to

be measured. Reflector and distance measuring instrument offsets had to be known and recorded,

as did the temperature and atmospheric pressure. The difference in elevation was derived by

appropriate computations using these measured variables. The resultant difference in elevation

was further refined by the application of corrections for the effects of refraction through the

atmosphere and for earth curvature.

Modern total stations will make the necessary measurements and computations simultaneously

and directly display a difference in elevation. This difference in elevation, as a rule, is from the

axis of the total station to the point intersected on the target. This is possible because of the

combination of the design of the total station and proper operating procedure.

In the method described in this write up, the total station and target height measurements are

unnecessary. The elevation difference is transferred directly from a backsight target to a foresight

target. These two targets are constructed or adjusted so that they are the same length and the

elevation difference (Delta h) mode of the total station is used. For example, a backsight of

minus 2 feet and a foresight of plus 2 feet equals a + 4 feet difference in elevation from backsight

to foresight.

For the difference in elevation from the axis of the total station to the reference point on the

target to be correct as observed, without further computations or corrections, the following

requirements must to be met:

3.6.13 Requirements to be met while using modern trig total station

a. The total station measures a slope distance and a vertical angle. It computes the

difference in elevation using the sine function of the vertical angle multiplied by the slope

distance. For the computed difference in elevation to be correct, the vertical angle and the

slope distance must originate and terminate at the same points.

b. The vertical angle originates at the horizontal axis of the total station and terminates

where the telescope crosshairs intersect the target. However, the slope distance originates

from some point located behind or in front of the horizontal axis of the total station and
 terminates at some point beyond the reflector. The amount that the origination point is

behind or in front of the horizontal axis is called the Electromagnetic Distance

Measurement (EDM) offset. It can be either a positive or negative offset. If it is in front

of the axis, it is positive, which means the measured distance must be increased by the

offset distance. It is negative when it is behind the axis and the measured distance must

be decreased by the offset distance.

c. If the face of a retro-reflector is in the plane of the target reference point and the EDM

measures a distance to the reflector, the distance will terminate at a point beyond the

target reference point. The distance from the target reference point to the distance

termination point will be equal to 1.519 multiplied by the thickness of the reflector. This

excess distance is called the reflector offset. The algebraic sum of the EDM and reflector

offsets must be taken and entered in the total station. This is done via keyboard entry or

by switch settings.

The next consideration is the refractive index correction. It is commonly referred to as the

atmospheric correction and must be applied as a scale correction to the measured distance. This

correction varies with air temperature and atmospheric pressure and is usually stated in PPMs.

The value for this correction is usually taken from a mechanical scale or a graph or it can be

computed. Some total stations require that the actual air temperature and atmospheric pressure be

entered into the instrument and the correction is automatically computed and applied to the

distance. Regardless of how it is handled, the correction must be entered into the total station.

Some total stations have an earth curvature and refraction correction embedded in the internal

software. Some offer the option of choosing between various average values or disabling the
function completely. Some give no options at all. Regardless of which total station is being used

and what correction, if any, is being automatically applied, the value, if any, should be noted.

The reason for this is so that if any future adjustments to the data are made, this already applied

correction can be properly dealt with.

(Source;"Trigonometric Workshop Notes" by Charlie C. Glover and Orland W. Murray.

Trimble)

3.6.14 an appraisal of Sokkia set 4c instrument own by Julius Berger Plc.

Appraisal of sokkia set 4c instrument owned by Julius Berger Plc. On this model, theodolite

circles are accurate to 5’’, although it can be graduated from 1’’ to 5’’ accuracy. The instrument

is automatic indeed by passing the telescope through horizontal after the instrument has been

switch on. The horizontal circle can be switched to measure either clockwise or anticlockwise

and the scales give a near-continues display as the instrument is turned. The theodolite

incorporates a dual axis liquid compensator, which allows tilt up to 3’ to be corrected before the

angle is displayed. At litle tilt an error message appears on the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel

indicating that the instrument has been disturbed.

The EMD uses either Bluetooth or infra red carrier wave with two modulation frequencies to

give a minimum range of one kilometer with one prism, increasing to nearly 3km with a bank of

prism. The instrument quotes an accuracy of distance measurement as +3ppm. The instrument

can be used in tracking mode for setting out, where the distance is updated every 0.4sec. The

EMD measures slope distance and a microprocessor can calculate and display horizontal distance

and difference in level. It also has a number of in-build trigonometric routines allowing

calculation of co-ordinate, remote elevation missing lines.

In addition to already mentioned functions, in the on board microprocessor, the instrument can

interface with data loggers or other computers, either to store survey data or to retrieve

previously prepared setting out data. One of the features of the latest generation total station

instrument is the provision of a removable PCMCIA memory card. This is about the size of

credit card, slots into the instrument through the side. Typically, each card has a large storage

memory which can store or supply the data fore more than 20000 points. This is very convenient

method for transporting and temporally storing data. A PCMCIA slot is needed to interface the

card with a personal computer.

This type of surveying equipment has become the primary tool of the engineering surveyor with

typical usage for setting out where 95% of all measurement is 600m. Instrument similar to the

one described above are produced by most manufacturers, some are capable of greater accuracy

and range, with new features. Others with greater power allow work with smaller more compact

prism.

The new SOKKIA series 30R reflector less total station is currently hitting the mark of

construction industry. The equipment series are compact, a bust and versatile, taking full

advantage of the RED-tech II EDM with the coaxial phase comparison method distance

measurement technology, the series 30Ris able to perform pinpoint, high accuracy measurement

of hard reach location measurement to object corners, high power storage and building face

surveys are only a few of the many applications that can be executed with this instrument. The

specification for this equipment is tabulated below.

Table 3.0

SERIES 30R REFIETORESS TOTAL STATION

Model SET 230R3 SET 330R3 SET S30R3

Laser Output Reflector less mode: class 3R (max 5mw)

Prism/sheet mode: class 1 equivalent

(max.0.22mw)

Measuring reflector less *1 0.3 to 350m (1 to 1,140ft)

with reflective RS90N-K: 1.3 to 55om (1,640ft)

Range sheet target *2 with 1.3 to 4000m (13,120ft), to 5,000m (16,400ft)

1 AP prism

Distance Reflector less *1 0.3 to 200m (1 to 650ft) +-(3+2ppmxD)

Accuracy over 200 to 350m (650 to 145ft): (5+100ppmxdmm)

With reflective +-(3+2ppmxD)mm

Sheet target *2 (2+2ppmxD)mm

With prism

Angle accuracy 2’/0.6mg /3”/1mg 5”/1.5mg

Display resolution (selectable) 1”/5”, 0.0002/0.0001gon, and 0.005/0.02mil n

Data Internal memory 10,000 points

Storage memory card CF available as option

Interface asynchronous serial RS-232c compatible

Blue tooth wireless communicate Available as factory option

Wireless keyboard Option (SF 14 wireless keyboard with infrared)

 ON/OFF selectable

Factory option
Laser pointer function
IP 66
Guide light GDLI
5.4kg (12.0ib)
Dust and water protection

Weight with handle and Battery

(Source; Julius Berger Conc. Company Abuja)

3.7 ASPHALT PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

The process for making asphalt or other hot-mixed bituminous materials for paving requires a

highly controlled plant. Modern asphalt production equipment has more than half a dozen key

components to take care of specific operation carried out. These operations serve to handle

graded aggregates, to heat them and remove moisture from them, to remove dust from the drying

process, to grade the hot aggregate for proportioning with heated asphalt material and to mix this

combination to produce hot mix paving materials.

3.7.1 Modern asphalt mixing plant

The modern asphalt mixing plant is improved based on existing ones. The new SANY LB 400 or

pioneer series of asphalt plant has different capacity, speed of operation and productivity

depending on the volume of work as well as the economy. Assessment was carried out for the

new asphalt mixing plant which is the largest plant in Nigeria owned by Julius Berger PLC.

The basic components of the asphalt mixing plant are the cold feed, aggregate dryer, dust

collector, elevator and conveyor belt, screen for hot aggregate, the heater and pump for asphalt or

tart, proportioning devices, pugmill mixer and automatic console.

3.7.2 Cold feed; aggregate for the cold feed is generally taken from a set of relatively small

bins or silos, that is loaded by front end loaders, clamshell buckets, bucket elevator or

conveyors. Although in some modern asphalt plant, the cold feed is taken through a

tunnel under stockpiles separated by bulkheads. The gates and conveying mechanism for

the cold feed must draw the correct amount of each size of aggregate to satisfy the

specified mix design. This is the critical control point in the production of asphalt mixes.

Many of the problems such as temperature, moisture, segregation and bin imbalance can

be traced to the cold feed. The importance of feeding the exact amount of each size

aggregate to the dryer at the correct rate of flow can not be over emphasized. The plant is

provided with automatic plant shut-off which operates when the aggregate bin becomes

empty.

3.7.3 Aggregate dryer; An aggregate dryer is a long hollow cylinder open at both ends, with

an axis that is almost horizontal. Most aggregate is fed into the dryer at the upper end.

The drying flame with air and gas jets is introduced at lower end of the cylinder.

Moisture is removed from the cold aggregate as it passes through and around the

cylinder, which is rotated slowly in its axis. The dryer should be able to reduce moisture

content of the aggregate to one or two percent (1% or 2%). For estimating the rate of

production of a dryer which relate to its size and the initial moisture content of 8% to

10%, it may be necessary to pass the aggregate through the given dryer several times or

use tandem dryers in order to reduce the moisture to an acceptable level. Obviously, the

need for such an extra treatment will slow down plant production. In fact, the moisture

content of the cold feed aggregate is a major variable for the capacity for the plant

production. The fuel flow for the heating flame in the dryer can be adjusted to different
 temperatures. However, there is a specified temperature limit for a giving mix and

bituminous material. The volume of air used is adjusted to the fuel flow to ensure

complete combustion. One possibility for improving the rate for drying the aggregates is

to increase the velocity of the gas moving through the dryer, resulting in moisture

reduction and higher plant production. The dried aggregate and fines collected for filler

material are lifted in a completely enclosed bucket elevator. It is designed to keep the

heat in the suction duct to the collector material that will be a nuisance in the screen, bin

etc.

3.7.4 Dust collector This modern plant removes some dust from the cold aggregate before it

enters the dryer. This will probably be done by a cyclone dust collector. However,

rotating dryer contributes the greatest amount of dust from asphalt plant by way of air

and gas jets of the dryer. Instead of letting that dust blow out the exhaust stack and cause

air pollution, it must be taken into system of dust collection.

This modern equipment makes use of different types of dust collectors depending on the

choice of the engineer. The mechanical collectors include skimmers and expansion

chambers and the centrifugal or cyclone dust collectors. The former merely has an

expansion part where the velocity of air flow reduced in the dust work and large particles

drop out of suspension. In the cyclone type the dust-laddered air is forced into a whirling

motion and the heavier dust particles in the exhaust gas stream are separated by

centrifugal force against the collector shell and carried to a lower outlet for removal. For

greater efficiency and maximum removal of the finest dust particle smaller than five

microns, the mechanical collector will operates with an efficiency of 70% -90% which

mean that dry air collector will remove 70% - 90% of the dust particles suspended in the
 exhaust air and gases from aggregate dryer. Particles of 20 micron (0.02 millimeter) or

larger diameter are generally removed by the dust collector.

However, air pollution laws generally require efficiency above 90%. To satisfy the

stringent air pollution codes, a wet collector or bag filler is added to the asphalt plant. It

should bring the total plant efficiency up to 96% or more.

The wet collector works on the principle of creating water droplets that collect the dust

particles so that they precipitate out of the exhaust gas and are drained from the plant in

the form of sludge. One wet collector simply has a vertical spray bar with many nozzles

to create a curtain of water mist in a vertical cylinder. The exhaust air from the dry-dust

collector, moving at high velocity into this 10 to 20ft diameter cylinder, has the

remaining dust not collected by mechanical collector coated with water .The air stream

with wetted dust moves from the bottom of the contractor tank to an adjacent vertical

cylinder almost twice as large as the first. The ‘’separator’’ tank has a skimmer to

precipitate the wet dust into the hopper button for removal as sludge while the cleaned,

moving exhaust air swirls out the top, 20-40ft above. The wet spray collected requires a

water pumping rate for the tank size 350 gpm at about 100 psi pressure.

3.7.5 Screening and storing hot aggregate; The hot aggregate are separated by a set of

screen into sizes which are stored in bins or silos that may be insulated. The operations

permit the proportioning of materials in a control manner. Recombining the materials this

way ensures more uniformity in the gradation of the aggregates from batch to batch than

would be possible if the material where used directly from the dryer. The separation and

temporary storage in these bins also help to smooth out fluctuation in the cold feed of

aggregates. Screen in a batch plant are the flat, vibrating type in a multi-deck screen
 design. The screens are decked on a slight incline, with the finer mesh screens below

coarser ones. Screen sizes are selected to make operations that can be recombined for the

batch mix formula and for practical production rates. The smallest, fine screens are

coarse as can be tolerated and still meet the design-mix formula specified. Larger screens

are designed to divide the rate of the aggregate material for good balance in the use of the

hot storage bins and the proportioning equipment. This modern plant has a two screen

tower design. When there is less demand on the batch plant, only one set of screen is

needed, and the other is a stand by unit. This will result in saving of power to operate the

unused screen as well as less maintenance and wear and tear of the screen cloth.

3.7.6 Proportioning the batch material; Proportioning of the aggregates is control by

running a sieve analysis of the material drawn from the hot bins. The desired gradation

can be found by formula but trial and error method are used more frequently. Aggregates

are normally proportioned by weight; a weigh hopper is mounted on scales and located

under the discharge opening of the hot bins. These modern plants weigh the aggregates

automatically and the weights are checked electronically though the automatic control

room. If the weight is within the tolerance limits of 1% of the specified mix, the

automation equipment draws material from the next bin if the weight is not within the

tolerance limits; the batching cycle is automatically stopped until the quality is adjusted.

3.7.7 Mixing with a pugmill; The mixing of accurately proportioned and heated batch

materials is done by a pug mill this is a large open-top box with double tube-like bottom

housing paddle mixers with two parallel shafts which rotates in opposite directions. The

paddles which sweep the whole bottom area are attached to aid radiating from these

shafts and area set at an angle usually 45 to the axis of box in order to mix the materials
 as it moves through the pug mill. The equipment provides pug mill temperature of 180F

to 350F and 135F to 240F for cutback asphalt depending on the type and grade of

material.

The modern asphalt plant has a pug mill with the ability to produce homogeneous,

completely coated mixture in a short time. The plant has a total mixing time of 20

seconds with very little dry mixing times. This shorter time helps to minimize the

premature hardening of the asphalt film on aggregate particle. However, as mixing time

of this modern equipment becomes shorter, control is move critical and production is

higher.

3.8 Asphalt paving equipment

The equipment for hauling, laying down bituminous materials, paving, compacting and rolling of

materials to meet the specified standard for surface finish are basically dump trucks, asphalt

pavers, smooth-steel rollers and pneumatic-time rollers. The new model of this equipment is

highly improved with regards to its operating specification.

3.8.1 Asphalt pavers

There are much modern asphalt pavers in the construction industry today. Some of these modern

pavers are the new Caterpillar BG-2455C asphalt pavers. It receives hot-mixed bituminous

material from end-dump trucks and spread it base on the required thickness of the surface layer

and the width of the road cross section.

The pavers consist of two main parts, the tractor and the screed. The size of the hopper has a

capacity of 215Ft3. Material is drawn from the bottom of the hopper to the screed unit by a flat

conveyor. The screed is the most important part of a paver since it must spread the paving

materials evenly and accurately for a smooth, homogeneous surface. The standard screed is

essentially the same width as the tractor, but with extensions the total screed for a paver will be

several times wider than the tractor. The hot-mix material is moved from the hopper box in the

tractor by the horizontal conveyor to distribute it, laterally for the full width of screed by screw

shaped augurs.

The operation of a paver in laying asphalt pavement starts with a dump truck of hot mix material

backed up to it. With truck bed raised to gradually dump its load, the paver engages the back

wheel axle of the truck ready to push. When the material has filled the hopper enough and

continuous to the screed is assured, the paver starts moving ahead and pushing the truck to be

unloaded. This gives the paver a capacity of its hopper box plus the remaining volume of the bed

of the truck for continuous operation.

Obviously, to gain necessary fraction, consideration has to be giving to the paver. This modern

equipment is mounted on a rubber-tired drive wheels. Base on this type of mounting the paving

speed in the various gears run up to 250 ft/min which is twice the speed of the crawler mounted

tracks. The travel speed range up to 10mph and 12mph respectively for this equipment. A paver

mounted on rubber-tired drive wheels with reasonable estimates of coefficient of traction could

have tractate effort of 50 percent of the weight of the paver. If traction is no problem,

maneuverability of a wheel mounted paver is a real advantage. The modern asphalt paver has a

standard paving width of 12ft. The width each cover can be changed with 10ft extensions of the

screed and augur spreader. Such variation leads to paving width of up to 40ft for a single paver.
This has an advantage because it has been found that the pavement is smoother when the full

width of roadway or runway is paved together than when divided.

3.8.2 Production rates of asphalt

At a total batching- mixing – discharging cycle time of 60 sec, the pug mill produces 60 batches

an hour. This modern equipment has a production rate of 600tph or more.

3.8.3 Cost of the asphalt plants

Cost of asphalt plant includes the initial cost plus ownership and operating expenses. An asphalt

plant is obviously major investment for the owner.

 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Power excavator

The quantity of materials handled by a power excavator in cubic yard per hour depends on the

size and design features of the shovel used, the variety and condition of material being dug and

job set up along with the operating abilities for the given excavating operation.

On a given job a small excavator might be operating close to its limit of power for the tough

material and close to its maximum digging and dumping height or depth. A large excavator

would have more power, operate well within it efficient working ranges of dimensions and have

a higher productivity of course. The larger shovel will lost more per hour. Selecting any of them

will be base on determination of the productivity and cost.

Job conditions and set up also greatly affect productivity. Most efficient production for varying

height of cut is obtained with the power excavator working at its “optimum depth of cut. This is

the height or depth of cut that an excavator works where the dipper stick moves the bucket

through a depth of material from which it just manages to get a heaped bucket in some what

shorter sweep through the embankment than with a sticky, chunky material that does not easily

fill spaces in the bucket load.

4.2 Concrete pump

The appraisal of concrete pump shows that the modern concrete pump has longest placing boom

which can be used for multistory sky scrapers. Although modern concrete pump have high rate

of production, other factors are design mix, pumping distance, length of stroke, aggregate size

and rated capacity. Despite all these, the pumping equipment of SANY heavy industry took part

in the construction project of Shanghai global financial center, 492m in 40 hours, the highest sky

scraper in China and continuously placed 2800 cubic meter in 40 hours. Cost of this pump

depends on the performances and the length of reach. (Source; Engineering news record (2007)
4.3 Modern concrete mixing plant

The advantage of improved capacity and automatic controls can be noted in terms of production

rate. An automated control mixing plant can reach almost 100% efficiency and produce more

than 250cycle per hour. A mixing plant can best achieve high production by using automatic

controls for the batching, mixing and discharging steps of the process. (Source; Julius Berger

Conc. Company Abuja)

4.4 Mobile crane

It was discovered that during the appraisal of mobile crane, the lifting of a load is limited by the

line speed of the crane to between 150 and 750 feet per minute. For a two parts or multipart

rigging to the lifting point, the maximum speed is cut about in proportion to the number of parts.

Swinging a load is another part of the work cycle that is governed by the crane’s design; the

maximum is at a rate of 4 rpm. This is a significant part of the cycle time since it uses a long

boom because of the starting and stopping inertia.

There is variation in the cost of mobile crane depending on its long reach and load handle. The

hydraulic pipe is more expensive than the same equipment that is capable crane type because of

its flexibility to changing job and telescoping boom. (source; ELEKTRINT NIG LTD crane

section Abuja)

4.5 Tower crane

The modern tower crane has capacity of 100tons at 100m radius from the appraisal carried out.

The trolley horizontal speed is higher at 40fpm. The swinging of the jib for the new equipment is

at speed somewhat about 1rpm.

However, there is need to ensure safety while erecting or operating this equipment, it has a safety

device called load –moment indicator (LMI) system and anti-two-blocking device incorporated.

It is highly expensive but automated-requires high maintenance cost, assembling and dismantling

cost is high. (Source; ELEKTRINT NIG LTD, crane section Abuja)

4.6. Total Station

It was observed that the total station incorporate the function of a theodolite and leveling

instrument. The electronic distance measurement (EDM) has two modulation frequencies to give

a minimum range of 1km with one prism. The modern equipment quotes accuracy in distance of

0.3 to 350m. The modern equipment is compact, robust and versatile, with the coaxial phase

comparison method distance measurement technology.

It can perform high accuracy measurement of hard to reach locations, measurement to object

corners etc. It has angle accuracy of 6’’/1.9mg. With this modern equipment, there is no need for

booking because the equipment records all the data for 10,000 point location or more.

Also it is more than twice faster than existing theodolite or level since it can pick point from

many reflectors less. With this laser equipment, surveying operation can be performed at night.

There is increase in frequency mode and less manpower is required in using this laser equipment.

However, it is very expensive than theodolite and level, small and economic projects, can not

afford this type of equipment or rather its cost of maintenance and operation. (Source;

"Trigonometric Workshop Notes" by Charlie C. Glover and Orland W. Murray.)

4.7 Asphalt paver

Obviously, to gain necessary traction, consideration has to be giving to the paver. This modern

equipment mounted on a rubber-tired drive wheels has a paving speed up to 250 ft/min which is

twice the speed of the crawler mounted tracks. The travel speed range up to 10mph and 12mph

respectively for this equipment. A paver mounted on rubber-tired drive wheels with reasonable

estimates of coefficient of traction could have tracked effort of 50 percent of the weight of the

paver. The modern asphalt paver has a standard paving width of 12ft. The width each cover can

be changed with 10ft extensions of the screed and augur spreader. Such variation leads to paving

width of up to 40ft for a single paver. This has an advantage because it has been found that the

pavement is smoother when the full width of roadway or runway is paved together than when

divided. (Source; Julius Berger NIG LTD (2012) and equipment catalogue and records)

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion
Result proves that modern equipment if selected rightly is more efficient, faster and requires less

manpower in civil engineering works. It also proves that the key feature in modern equipment is

the automation of much of the work which leads to more accuracy and better quality of civil

engineering works.

During the appraisal, most of the modern equipment owners stated that the have experience cost

reduction, reduction in activity duration and improved quality. This demonstrates that modern

equipment is fundamental in the project embankment for its effective accomplishment. Certain

projects are not possible without the use of modern equipment.

In Nigeria for instance, most of the construction firm have fully adopted the use of new total

station for engineering surveying operation. The old theodolite and level instrument are now

abandoned.

It is very important to realize that all these modern equipment takes position in the natural

environment which it does not create and as a necessity takes it as it finds it. Modern equipment

despite all the precautionary measures adopted will have an effect on the environment (Noise

pollution, Contamination, degradation etc.). Another challenging effect despite all the devices is

that of safety. Accident causes by this equipment are usually drastic.

5.2 Recommendation

Equipment knowledge and proper selection is one aspect in civil engineering practice that should

not be neglected because of its role in easing work and ensuring satisfaction and good quality

job.
Civil engineers should focus much of their attention on modern equipment selection and

placement and they should ensure that the production rate is achieved as basis for progress

evaluation and job control.

The engineers should follow the most economical way of modern equipment ownership (cash or

outright purchase, Hire purchase, leasing etc.

Finally, safety measures as regards prevention of accident related to the use of modern

equipment are to be employed.

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 Bulletin construction (2008). Equipment catalogue and records.

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edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Pp01-51.

 Dr.Tsado T. Y and Eng. James (2012). Construction Management. Lecture note series.

 Engineering news record (2007). Concrete pumped to a record height on 406m tower.

 Forth revised edition. S. Chand and Company Ltd. Pp670-747.

 Journal of construction equipment guide (2008). Placing concrete by pumping method

Pp.104-130.

 Kroll giant Inc. (2007). Tower crane specification guide for K 1000. Pp1-16.

 Sandy heavy duty equipment (2008). Product and specification manual.

 "Trigonometric Workshop Notes" by Charlie C. Gloveand Orland W. Murray. Trimble.

 Varizani V. N. and S.P. Chandola (2006). Concise handbook of civil engineering.