Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors

Construction

Summary: 1 In large construction projects such as skyscrapers crane machines are essential 2 Building construction for several apartment blocks The blue material is insulation cladding which will be covered later 3 A large unfinished building 4 Workers surveying a road construction project 5 Construction on a building in Kansas City 6 Iron workers hard at work 7 A Habitat for Humanity volunteer installs metal hurricane strapping on a build site in Bunnell Florida 8 A construction crew 9 Construction of a pre fab house 10 The construction of Federation Tower in Moscow Russia the tallest building in Europe Turner construction is the general contractor for the project 11 The churches of Kizhi Russia are among a handful of World Heritage Sites built entirely of wood without metal joints In the fields of architecture and civil engineering construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure Far from being a single activity large scale construction is a feat of multitasking Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager design engineer construction engineer or project architect For the successful execution of a project effective planning is essential Those involved with the design and execution of the infrastructure in question must consider the environmental impact of the job the successful scheduling budgeting site safety availability of materials logistics inconvenience to the public caused by construction delays preparing tender documents etc Types of construction projectsIn general there are three types of construction Building construction Heavy highway construction Industrial construction Each type of construction project requires a unique team to plan design construct and maintain the project Building constructionBuilding construction is the process of adding structure to real property The vast majority of building construction projects are small renovations such as addition of a room or renovation of a bathroom Often the owner of the property acts as laborer paymaster and design team for the entire project However all building construction projects include some elements in common design financial and legal considerations Many projects of varying sizes reach undesirable end results such as structural collapse cost overruns and or litigatios reason those with experience in the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure a positive outcome Building construction is procured privately or publicly utilizing various delivery methodologies including hard bid negotiated price traditional management contracting construction management at risk design however the three most common types of procurement are Traditional Design bid build Design and Build Management Contracting TraditionalThis is the most common method of construction procurement and is well established and recognised In this arrangement the architect or engineer acts as the project coordinator His or her role is to design the works prepare the specifications and produce construction drawings administer the contract tender the works and manage the works from inception to completion There are direct contractual links between the architect s client and the main contractor Any subcontractor will have a direct contractual relationship with the main contractor it is a stipulated price contract type of method here design risk is allocated to owner and cost risk is allocated to contractor Design and buildThis approach has become more common in recent years and includes an entire completed package including fixtures fittings and equipment where necessary to produce a completed fully functional building In some cases the Design and Build D or 2 employed by Main Contractors in which role they manage the contractor s costs place subcontract orders make payments to subcontractors claim monthly valuations from the client s surveyor Private QS or PQS cost manage variations prepare internal cost reports to senior management and directors generally managing the project commercially and protect the contractor s interests contractually Contractual aspects such as delays and extensions of time issues are also within the remit of the Quantity Surveyor QS or 3 employed by Subcontractors in which role they carry out a similar function to Main Contractor s QS s The main difference is that they are normally submitting monthly valuation claims for payment to the Main Contractor whereas the Manin Contractor claims from the client s Surveyor usually a Chartered Surveyor practice or Private QS PQS Large subcontractors may also employ sub subcontractors thereby making the QS role similar in the cost management role including placing sub contract orders to sub subcontractors valuing and claiming variations preparing cost reports to senior management etc or 4 employed by Local Authorities local Councils etc whereby the role is broadly similar to that of private practice surveyors in cost managing project from the funding client s perspective in this case the Local Authority council within which they are employed dealing usually with main contractors or 5 employed by Developers whereby the role may be a mixture of the role of a client s surveyor the funding client being the developer in this case mixed with that of a main contractor in possibly employing package sub contractors directly Other information The most recognised body for surveyors in construction is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors the RICS It is more common for a private practice surveyor or local authority employed surveyor to be a member of the RICS though RICS qualified surveyors do work within main contractors and sub contractors the writer of this Quantity Surveyor segment qualified RICS within private practice working on the client s side then migrated over to work for a large sub contractor Such cross overs are quite common between client s side and contracting Quantity Surveying offers a great diversity of roles and in career path working on a variety of projects and within different areas and facets of the construction industry The qualification of Chartered Quantity Surveyor has been superseded as the RICS rules have replaced this with simply Chartered Surveyor except those existing Chartered QS s who registered to keep the Chartered QS title by a date now passed and Chartered Quantity Surveyor practices have now largely adopted the title of Construction Cost Consultants and having the right to call themselves simply Chartered Surveyors though still often referred to in the UK construction industry as PQS s It is also possible for Construction Cost Consultant practices to be occasionally employed by local authorities contractors or subcontractors on a particular construction project although not if they are already employed as surveyors for the same construction project As well as the role of Quantity Surveyor other professions within the UK construction industry are for example Architect Engineer Project Manager Planner Safety Officer These roles may be in Building buildings such as Offices Shopping Centres Housing or Civil Engineering structures such as Bridges Dams Motorways Roads Highways Harbours Ferry Terminals While projects such as construction of new Power Stations or Naval Bases may comprise a combination of both building and civil engineering Graduate roles in the construction industry are filled by people with at least a foundation degree in subjects such as civil engineering building and construction management Graduates often receive specialised positions and gain qualifications such as chartered status Industrial constructionIndustrial construction though a relatively small part of the entire construction industry is a very important component Owners of these projects are usually large for profit industrial corporations These corporations can be found in such industries as medicine petroleum chemical power generation manufacturing etc Processes in these industries require highly specialized expertise in planning design and construction As in building and heavy highway construction this type of construction requires a team of individuals to ensure a successful project Design teamIn the modern industrialized world construction usually involves the translation of paper or computer based designs into reality A formal design team may be assembled to plan the physical proceedings and to integrate those proceedings with the other parts The design usually consists of drawings and specifications usually prepared by a design team including architects interior designers surveyors civil engineers cost engineers or quantity surveyors mechanical engineers electrical engineers structural engineers and fire protection engineers The design team is most commonly employed by i e in contract with the property owner Under this system once the design is completed by the design team a number of construction companies or construction management companies may then be asked to make a bid for the work either based directly on the design or on the basis of drawings and a bill of quantities provided by a quantity surveyor Following evaluation of bids the owner will typically award a contract to the lowest responsible bidder The modern trend in design is toward integration of previously separated specialties especially among large firms In the past architects interior designers engineers developers construction managers and general contractors were more likely to be entirely separate companies even in the larger firms Presently a firm that is nominally an architecture or construction management firm may have experts from all related fields as employees or 1 In large construction projects such as skyscrapers crane machines are essential 2 Building construction for several apartment blocks The blue material is insulation cladding which will be covered later 3 A large unfinished building 4 Workers surveying a road construction project 5 Construction on a building in Kansas City 6 Iron workers hard at work 7 A Habitat for Humanity volunteer installs metal hurricane strapping on a build site in Bunnell Florida 8 A construction crew 9 Construction of a pre fab house 10 The construction of Federation Tower in Moscow Russia the tallest building in Europe Turner construction is the general contractor for the project 11 The churches of Kizhi Russia are among a handful of World Heritage Sites built entirely of wood without metal joints In the fields of architecture and civil engineering construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure Far from being a single activity large scale construction is a feat of multitasking Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager design engineer construction engineer or project architect For the successful execution of a project effective planning is essential Those involved with the design and execution of the infrastructure in question must consider the environmental impact of the job the successful scheduling budgeting site safety availability of materials logistics inconvenience to the public caused by construction delays preparing tender documents etc Types of construction projectsIn general there are three types of construction Building construction Heavy highway construction Industrial construction Each type of construction project requires a unique team to plan design construct and maintain the project Building constructionBuilding construction is the process of adding structure to real property The vast majority of building construction projects are small renovations such as addition of a room or renovation of a bathroom Often the owner of the property acts as laborer paymaster and design team for the entire project However all building construction projects include some elements in common design financial and legal considerations Many projects of varying sizes reach undesirable end results such as structural collapse cost overruns and or litigatios reason those with experience in the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure a positive outcome Building construction is procured privately or publicly utilizing various delivery methodologies including hard bid negotiated price traditional management contracting construction management at risk design however the three most common types of procurement are Traditional Design bid build Design and Build Management Contracting TraditionalThis is the most common method of construction procurement and is well established and recognised In this arrangement the architect or engineer acts as the project coordinator His or her role is to design the works prepare the specifications and produce construction drawings administer the contract tender the works and manage the works from inception to completion There are direct contractual links between the architect s client and the main contractor Any subcontractor will have a direct contractual relationship with the main contractor it is a stipulated price contract type of method here design risk is allocated to owner and cost risk is allocated to contractor Design and buildThis approach has become more common in recent years and includes an entire completed package including fixtures fittings and equipment where necessary to produce a completed fully functional building In some cases the Design and Build D or 2 employed by Main Contractors in which role they manage the contractor s costs place subcontract orders make payments to subcontractors claim monthly valuations from the client s surveyor Private QS or PQS cost manage variations prepare internal cost reports to senior management and directors generally managing the project commercially and protect the contractor s interests contractually Contractual aspects such as delays and extensions of time issues are also within the remit of the Quantity Surveyor QS or 3 employed by Subcontractors in which role they carry out a similar function to Main Contractor s QS s The main difference is that they are normally submitting monthly valuation claims for payment to the Main Contractor whereas the Manin Contractor claims from the client s Surveyor usually a Chartered Surveyor practice or Private QS PQS Large subcontractors may also employ sub subcontractors thereby making the QS role similar in the cost management role including placing sub contract orders to sub subcontractors valuing and claiming variations preparing cost reports to senior management etc or 4 employed by Local Authorities local Councils etc whereby the role is broadly similar to that of private practice surveyors in cost managing project from the funding client s perspective in this case the Local Authority council within which they are employed dealing usually with main contractors or 5 employed by Developers whereby the role may be a mixture of the role of a client s surveyor the funding client being the developer in this case mixed with that of a main contractor in possibly employing package sub contractors directly Other information The most recognised body for surveyors in construction is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors the RICS It is more common for a private practice surveyor or local authority employed surveyor to be a member of the RICS though RICS qualified surveyors do work within main contractors and sub contractors the writer of this Quantity Surveyor segment qualified RICS within private practice working on the client s side then migrated over to work for a large sub contractor Such cross overs are quite common between client s side and contracting Quantity Surveying offers a great diversity of roles and in career path working on a variety of projects and within different areas and facets of the construction industry The qualification of Chartered Quantity Surveyor has been superseded as the RICS rules have replaced this with simply Chartered Surveyor except those existing Chartered QS s who registered to keep the Chartered QS title by a date now passed and Chartered Quantity Surveyor practices have now largely adopted the title of Construction Cost Consultants and having the right to call themselves simply Chartered Surveyors though still often referred to in the UK construction industry as PQS s It is also possible for Construction Cost Consultant practices to be occasionally employed by local authorities contractors or subcontractors on a particular construction project although not if they are already employed as surveyors for the same construction project As well as the role of Quantity Surveyor other professions within the UK construction industry are for example Architect Engineer Project Manager Planner Safety Officer These roles may be in Building buildings such as Offices Shopping Centres Housing or Civil Engineering structures such as Bridges Dams Motorways Roads Highways Harbours Ferry Terminals While projects such as construction of new Power Stations or Naval Bases may comprise a combination of both building and civil engineering Graduate roles in the construction industry are filled by people with at least a foundation degree in subjects such as civil engineering building and construction management Graduates often receive specialised positions and gain qualifications such as chartered status Industrial constructionIndustrial construction though a relatively small part of the entire construction industry is a very important component Owners of these projects are usually large for profit industrial corporations These corporations can be found in such industries as medicine petroleum chemical power generation manufacturing etc Processes in these industries require highly specialized expertise in planning design and construction As in building and heavy highway construction this type of construction requires a team of individuals to ensure a successful project Design teamIn the modern industrialized world construction usually involves the translation of paper or computer based designs into reality A formal design team may be assembled to plan the physical proceedings and to integrate those proceedings with the other parts The design usually consists of drawings and specifications usually prepared by a design team including architects interior designers surveyors civil engineers cost engineers or quantity surveyors mechanical engineers electrical engineers structural engineers and fire protection engineers The design team is most commonly employed by i e in contract with the property owner Under this system once the design is completed by the design team a number of construction companies or construction management companies may then be asked to make a bid for the work either based directly on the design or on the basis of drawings and a bill of quantities provided by a quantity surveyor Following evaluation of bids the owner will typically award a contract to the lowest responsible bidder The modern trend in design is toward integration of previously separated specialties especially among large firms In the past architects interior designers engineers developers construction managers and general contractors were more likely to be entirely separate companies even in the larger firms Presently a firm that is nominally an architecture or construction management firm may have experts from all related fields as employees or

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