Content To Be Covered: 2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. - Ctutraining - Ac.za

CONTENT TO BE COVERED
• Mechanical Plant required for Building Work

• Progress Charts and Schedules
• Sub-contractors
• Materials
• Handing over Completed Work
• Administration and Personnel
• Contract Documents
• Mass-Haul Programme
• Variations, Omissions and Extras
• Site Meetings
2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za
Prescribed textbook
• Building & Administration N5: Gateways to Engineering Studies
• Author: Christopher Brink
• ISBN Number: 978-1-92820-370-4
• Publisher: Christopher Brink & Associates

Module 1: MECHANICAL PLANT
REQUIRED FOR BUILDING WORK
• LEARNING OUTCOME: On completion of this module the students
should be able to categorise the mechanical plants used in building
work and know their uses, selection, costing and the necessity of their
maintenance.
• TOPICS
1. Mechanisation
2. Planning
3. Classification of Plant
4. Costing
5. Maintenance

topic 1: Mechanisation
• Mechanisation is the process of shifting from working exclusively by hand to do that
work using machines.
• The construction projects are becoming more demanding and complicated in
construction and delay of projects would arise if conventional construction methods
are used.
• Advantages of Construction Mechanisation: Economical, Improve construction
quality, Increase safety of construction conditions, Enhance speed of construction,
Feasibility.
• Disadvantages of Construction Mechanisation: Loss of skill, Dependence, Pollution,
Over-specialization, Class-conflict, Unemployment.
• Plant Machinery/ Mechanical Plant: Any type of machinery, equipment and apparatus
used for industrial activity.
types of power used for a mechanical plant:
• Electrical powered plant:
• For small projects next to power poles, it may be possible for the contractor to connect to the existing
electrical grid; however, it’s not always possible if the site moves like for roadways and railways, or if
the site is in a remote area, or if the site has strong power demands it can put a drain on the local grid.
• Petrol powered plant:
• The most common is unleaded gasoline. The operating costs of gasoline engines are relatively low that
is why it is mainly used in small and portable tools; however, gasoline engines have a higher fuel
consumption compared to diesel engines and a danger of uncontrolled ignition of fuel during refuelling,
storage and transport. Gasoline engines require absolute compliance with safety rules.
• Diesel powered plant:
• Very advantageous as every site has storages where diesel can be stored, diesel is less flammable, can
generate more power than gasoline engines, but diesel is expensive.
• Compressed air plant:
• Reliable and efficient high output that is used to power a wide variety of air-operated tools.

Selection of plant machinery
• When choosing a mechanical plant, the following factors need to be
considered:
1. Capital Outlay – purchasing or hiring cost
2. Running Costs – operational costs
3. Maintenance Costs – repairing costs
• With the large selection of mechanical plants now available, the most economical
choices of machines and methods of operation in any situation is not always
obvious and must be determined by comparative costing with all these factors
included to obtain the true operative cost of all plants.

Topic 2: planning
selecting equipment
Planning for the contractor involves choosing the best mechanical plant
to carry out various operations and this can be determined by
considering these type of questions:
1. What scope of work will the plant need to perform?
2. For economic reasons, will there be sufficient work to keep the machine
occupied?
3. Will there be sufficient labour and allied services to maintain a steady
output?

Topic 3: classification of plant
• The machines and power tools which are the subject of this course are
divided into three classes according to their degree of mobility:
1. Fixed – machines which operate from a fixed position e.g.
stationary cranes
2. Portable – machines that can be pushed, pulled or be carried by
hand e.g. hand tools
3. Mobile – machines that can move under their own power. e.g.
excavators

EARTHWORK CATEGORIES
1. Cranes give three dimensional movement and therefore particularly useful in solving
handling problems. They are divided into two broad groups which are mobile and
stationary.
a) Mobile Cranes are mounted on trucks with pneumatic tyres which can be driven at slow speeds from
site to site on normal roads.
b) Stationary cranes are fixed mainly at their working position, commonly used in congested sites where
there is not much space to work around and for lifting and moving heavy loads e.g. Scotch Derrick/
Stiffleg Derrick and Guy Derrick cranes.
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which
may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys.
Picking the right crane involves figuring out the project’s terrain, the size of the project site, the
weather, and the weight of the materials. You also want to consider the length of the project as
some cranes, like the crawler crane, are better used for long-term projects than their
counterparts

Types of mobile cranes

Types of stationary cranes

2. Hoists consist of a horizontal platform which is
moved up and down vertically guided by a
powered winch. The hoist guides are tied back
to the structure or scaffolding to provide
stability. There are two types of hoists:
a) Platform Hoists uses manpower; the platform is
hung for the lower capacities and centre hung in a
similar manner to lift for higher capacities.
b) Mobile Platform Hoists are developed for house
building; the guides are fixed to a vertical mast
which is mounted on a chassis and two tiered
wheels on which the hoist is moved.

3. Transporting normally refers to horizontal
movement of material but can involve vertical
movement also e.g. conveyors.
a) Dumpers are diesel, petrol or man-powered machines
with a wide range of sizes of forward/backward skips
designed with rear wheel steering. Can be used to
transport excavated spoil, hard-core or concrete. They
travel well on the rough and muddy building sites.
E.g. power arrows and wheelbarrows.
b) Dump trucks are fitted with high-capacity metal
bowls to allow easy filling and quick clean tipping and
are designed for hauling excavated materials using
the highway.

4. Elevators and conveyors were developed to raise material. They can
be used to handle small quantities of material such as excavated
spoil from the point of excavation to the point of loading for
transport. These consist of a rotating belt or chain to which are fixed
buckets plugs. The lugs depend on the nature of the material to be
used.
5. Concrete Pumps are mechanically operated and Placers are

pneumatically operated by compressed air.

mixing
• Concrete is one material that is mostly mechanised not unless there is a
small amount required then hand mixing is recommended.
• Advantages of mechanical mixing:
• Cost effective on sites that require huge amounts of concrete.
• Specified ratios maintained without loss of cement by hand
mixing.
• Accurate water content in the concrete mix.
• Classification of concrete mixers:
• Non-tilting Drum Mixer consists of a cylindrical drum with
partially closed ends and rotates in a vertical plane.
• Tilting Drum Mixer consists of a pear –shaped drum open at the
narrow top end and revolving on a tilting axis, which permits the
drum to be tilted in one direction or loading into the open end.

Topic 3:
classification of plant
power tools
• Used for many different purposes depending
on the function of each tool. Most power tools
have an engine or motor incorporated as an
integral part of the tool.
• The types of power tools are as follows:
• Picks, Breakers and Rock Drills – are
used for breaking up and cutting into
materials such as bricks, concrete, etc.
• Rammers – used for compacting return
soil and hard-core
• Hammer drills – used for cutting holes
in brickwork or any other hard
material.
• Rotary hammer – used for drilling
holes in all types of materials
• Grinders – used for smoothing down
the faces of in situ cast concrete

Topic 3:
power tools
• Saws – used for cutting in
materials, they can be circular or
rotary saw, a reciprocating saw
or a chain saw.
• Planers and Rebaters – used to
smooth the wood. They are fitted
with two bladed high-speed
rotary cutters.
• Routers – used for moulding
• Cartridge Hammers – used to
make fixing of timber and bricks.
They are also known as rivet or
bolt guns.

Topic 3:
power tools
• Power Floats – used for
trowelling screed and
surfaces of large areas of
concrete.
• Sanders – are used for
smoothing down wood
surfaces
• The rotary or disk sander
• The belt sander
• The orbital sander
• The drum sander
compacting equipment
• It used to compact earth and consolidate filled material to form a good
solid foundation for roads, runways, etc.
• Solid wheeler rollers: These are diesel powered machines with weight
distributed over the two large diameter solid wheels. They also carry
water tanks with small sprinkler pipes to prevent materials from
sticking. Used for large and gradual surfaces like asphalt. Single wheel
is used for creating foundations and paving highways and sidewalks.
• Tamping rollers: This is a self-propelled machine fitted with two or
more steel rolls with a number of tapered steel projection fitted on
each.
• Single drum vibratory rollers: This roller may be self-propelled or
towed to enable areas to be compacted. It has one steel roll to which
vibration is applied by a separate vibratory unit. Used for compacting
asphalt, concrete, crushed rock, and gravel

Topic 3: classification of
plant compacting equipment
• Pneumatic tyred roller: The roller may be self-propelled or
towed. It compacts by pressure alone and is suitable for
large areas of granular material such as cold-laid bituminous
and asphalt.
• Sheep footer rolling: This machine is similar to the tamping
roller, but the projections are shaped like sheep's feet. The
sheep foot roller travels at a slow speed to reduce the
tamping effect. Used for compacting soil, wet clay and silty
clay.
• Grid rollers: Provides high contact pressure with little
kneading. Used for well-graded coarse soils and weathered
rocks.

plant excavators
• Excavators are fitted with attachment which allows them to carry
out different types of excavation. Each attachment consists of a
jib (fixed with a container) which is hinged to the body of the
machine which can rotate about the base.
• Universal excavators: The cabin of the excavator is built on to a
turntable mounted on crawler tracks and allows the machine to
work through an angle of 360. Used for mining, trench digging,
landscape grading.
• Skim shovel: This excavator has a bucket which works up and
down the jib and is used for skimming off surface soil. The
shovel can also be used for loading loose material .
• Grab shovel: Grabs are usually employed for handling loose
material, for instance, for feeding concrete batching plants.

plant excavators
• Drag line: The machine is used for general excavation both above
and below the level of its base for underwater options, road
excavations, pile driving.
• Loading shovel: The majority of these shovels are mounted on
rubber wheels and so they are only used for loading loose materials.
• Multipurpose excavator: This machine has a tractor shovel
attachment fitted to the front and a back-actor attachment fitted to
the back, thus providing the facilities of two machines. This is
particularly useful on congested sites, where access on to, and off
the site is difficult.
• Back actor: This machine, also known as a backhoe, is used
primarily for the excavation of trenches, although it can be used for
other types of excavation below the level of its base.

plant excavators
• Face shovel: This machine is used to excavate in vertical or
nearly vertical faces above the level of its base. It is particularly
suitable for working quarry faces. They are not suitable for
horizontal or below ground excavation.
• Continuous trenching and loading unit: This works in vertical
face and can be used in unconfined areas or in trenches.

earth moving equipment
• When earth and similar materials have to be moved great distances on
site, an excavator is not always the best unit to use In such a case
tractors, bulldozers or scrapers may be introduced to carry out this
work.
• The bulldozer: It is a tractor which has a blade fitted to the front.
Forward motion of the machine enables loose material to be
transported over short distances by pushing it. The machine is usually
on tracks.
• Tractor shovel: The machine is used for all types of excavation above
the level of its base, and for transporting material over moderate
distances. It may be on tracks or wheels depending on the
circumstances in which it works and the required length of haul. Its
bucket can be moved from a position in front of the machine to a
position above it and can also be rotated about its own horizontal axis.
The bucket is fitted with a cutting edge.

earth moving equipment
• Scrapper: This machine is an articulated four-wheeled machine
consisting of a large container and a power unit. Its purpose is to
excavate large quantities of material in unconfined areas to
transport it to medium and long hauls (5 to 40m) and to deposit it.
• Grader: Used when large areas of ground have to be finished to
fine limits. These machines are similar in design to bulldozers in
that they carry long, slender, adjustable blades slung under the
centre of the machine for levelling purposes. A grader does not
excavate but it levels and grades out to fine loose deposit
materials. It skim the surface of soil evening out the bumps and
hollows.

•Before a plant can be selected for any excavation work, the project should be analysed by considering
these points:
1.Bucket size: A bucket is a bulk material handling equipment provided at the end of the arm of an excavating
machine. Selection of bucket size depends on the material to be excavated. The size of this bucket
determines its capacity to excavate the material in one particular cycle. Thus, maximum capacity of bucket
can save number of cycle and time required for excavation.
2.Cycle Time: Cycle time is defined as the amount of time taken by machine to perform a repetitive segment
of an operation, typically measured as the time it takes the machine to return to the same position. It is the
time taken to complete one entire excavating process of an excavator which includes excavation time, time
to swing to dumping position, dumping time and time to return to the digging position.
3.Site Condition: The performance of excavator depends on site conditions also which includes the physical
conditions of site such as topography and geology of the site, geotechnical characteristics of ground or
rocks etc. Excavation might be tough for site containing hard soil. Rate of excavation may vary with respect
to climatic changes also like temperature, rain snow etc.
4.Productivity: Angle of swing is a horizontal angle in between the position of excavator while excavating and
the hauling unit where it dumps the material. It is one of the elements of cycle time. If the angle of swing is
more, the cycle time required will be more and vice-versa. Thus, keeping the angle of swing minimum can
save the cycle time of excavator.

Topic 4: costing
• Costing means finding the cost of undertaking separate classes of work such as concreting,
bricklaying, shuttering, etc. Accurate costing of civil engineering construction work is very
difficult. The foreman must fill in daily timesheets, which can be used for costing the
labour.
• It is necessary to add the various site administration charges to the account for site costs,
such as wages of the general foreman, engineers, site clerk, agent, etc., together with all
other charges as telephone, water supply, sanitation, insurance of works, petty cash, etc.
The guidelines for calculating and comparing costs should be followed.
• Repairs and Maintenance of Equipment: When it comes to construction equipment, regular
maintenance is one of the most important factors in terms of cost and performance. Good
maintenance will minimize maintenance and repair costs and maximize production and
profits, with greatest impact on profit. It helps to control costs and service intervals,
lengthens equipment life, minimizes downtime and adds resale value.

Topic 4: costing
COST OF EXCAVATION
• Before any cost can be estimated, the hourly ownership costs of a particular machine must
be obtained. The method of arriving at such a cost is shown. Points to be considered are:
1. Purchase price and Depreciation
2. Insurance and Interest
3. Annual use hours and Maintenance (tyres included)
4. Fuel, oils and grease
5. Wages
• Owning costs = purchase price of machine (financing with interest) + insurance – disposal
price
• Operating costs = labour + fuel + maintenance + replacement costs of tyres/ tracks and other
components + overhead

Topic 5: maintenance
• A reliable plant is essential if building and civil engineering work is to
be carried out at a rapid rate of progress, at low unit cost and without
serious danger to personnel, therefore effective supervision both in the
workshop and the site is very necessary.
REPAIR DEPOT FOR PLANT MACHINERY

• Most contractors who possess plants maintain their own yard for
storing plants which are not in use, employ a mechanic for minor
repairs and general maintenance. The basic requirements of a depot
include the three points listed on the next slide.
Topic 5: maintenance
• Work facilities: Equipment such as benches, hand tools, lifting tackle,
welding gear and small power tools may progress to include air
compressor, battery charger, lathe, drill, etc., as the depot grows.
• Spare parts: Spare parts must be readily available in order to reduce
site delays. The size of the store and the variety of quick-wearing parts
are decided on the basis of experience and from repair records.
• Records: Records are necessary to indicate the progress of the work
that is being undertaken and to ensure that the history of each machine
is registered, and the statistics can be reviewed.

Test your knowledge
1. Define Mechanisation
2. Explain the following in modern road construction
i. THREE advantages of mechanising
ii. THREE advantages of a labour-intensive method
3. List THREE classes of plants according to their degree of mobility.
4. List FIVE different earthwork categories in which a mechanical plant may
be grouped with one type of mechanical plant in each case.
5. List FIVE types of power tools.
6. List THREE types of compacting mechanical plants and their uses.
7. List THREE types of earthmoving mechanical plants and their functions.

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CONTENT TO BE COVERED

• Mechanical Plant required for Building Work

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

5. Concrete Pumps are mechanically operated and Placers are

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

REPAIR DEPOT FOR PLANT MACHINERY

2019 CTU Training Solutions. All Rights Reserved. | ctutraining.ac.za

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