Construction Tech Flashcards
Utilise knowledge of current regulations and design standards to ensure design compliance
Level 34 Refurbishment project: When installing surface mounted booking panels alongside meeting rooms, I ensured that we adhered to the requirements under building regs part M with regards to height.
How do I prepare annotated sketches/specs detailing how elements interact
I don’t really - I have prepared drawings where grommets need to go based on my knowledge, or highlighted areas where certain bits of work need to be done, but I try to stick my own area of competence and would consult with my design colleagues before issuing any drawings or specifications.
MEP relevant to area of work
under floor power, HVAC, lighting, fresh air provisions, AV, IT
Construction materials
Water: worked with Polyethlene pipes, cast iron, ductile iron, galvanised iron
HSBC: mostly worked on CAT B fit outs, so built things like stud wall partitions, glazed partitions, carpeted flooring
Various materials in relation to time/cost of the project
Certain material to form part of an eel screen. Mesh netting. Compared to alternatives, did not have a direct improvement on time/cost from a capex perspective, but it required significantly less cleaning than others and thus would have a lower opex over a 25 year period.
How delay and disruption to a construction activity impacted follow on activities and trades
- Trade availabilities - Level 10 refresh, a partition was not erected in time. Thus, the time that was booked the electrician to come in and do their works had to be pushed back and they were not available for another 2 weeks, resulting in a delay.
- Programme impacts: I assess the actual impacts by updating my master programme with expected times. I take great care to ensure that my programmes activities are as accurately linked as possible. I use this to compare against the contractor’s assessment.
Other items that need to be considered when working near a watercourse
Runoff into the river, flood risk, wildlife in the river, getting permission from the Environment Agency, impacting wildlife patters in the river, structural impacts of the river on your building
What type of surveys would you use on a project
Environmental, asbestos, drainage, services, UXO, ground condition, archaeological,
How do yo identify what surveys are required?
Context: in a pre-2000 building, 100% need an asbestos survey
History: if there has been sightings of endangered species on an area you’ll be working, you should get environmental surveys
General best practice: should always have certain ones done.
Specialists: wider members of the project team will have views on what is required
Client information: client provides certain information that will need to be validated.
Was there an alternative method other than trial holes
No. This was the best way to gather information about the ground condition and pipe location at the same time as this information was unclear.
I led a bit of an investigation into which areas NEEDED trial holes and which areas we knew would have corrosive ground based on what was in the surrounding areas (gas station within 100m for example)
Risks with trial holes
Disruptive (required road closures)
Took a while to get the results back due to lab backlog
Expensive to do
Types of foundation
Piled foundation - piles put into ground to support load of building
Strip foundation - strip on outside of building put in place to spread load of building
Raft foundation - concrete slab put in place for entire footprint of building to spread the weight
Name 5 building Regulations
Part A - Structure
Part B - Fire Safety
Part L - Heat loss/gain
Part M - Inclusive Environments
Part P - Electrical Safety
Building Safety Act 2022
Introduced following tragic failures of building safety following Grenfell.
Applies to new or existing occupied builinds over 18 meters.
Creates new roles - building safety regulator and accountable person(s)
BSR: oversee safety/performance of buildings, set direction of industry-led competence, implement rew regulatory regime for higher risk buildings.
Surveys to be carried out for construction works
Drainage surveys
Ecological surveys
Environmental surveys
Arbocultural surveys
archaeological surveys
Unexploded ordnance surveys
utilities surveys
Asbestos surveys
