INTRODUCTIONOn the day of site visit for Measurement 1 which is held on 26th of June, we are required to gather at Taylor's Lakeside University before going to the site. However, we were split into two sessions as there is a very large number of us. Transportation is provided and the sessions are arranged by Ms Ang Fuey Lin. The first session will be leaving at 8.30 am while for the second session the bus will leave at 9.30 am. The site is located at around Puchong area which is called Bandar Kinrara which has a journey of around 30 minutes from the campus.

When we arrived our destination, a short brief about the project was given to us by the project manager under the shade. We were told that this project costs around 21.5 million and this will be the largest pilecap their company had ever done throughout their projects. Besides, we were also given a brief about the safety precautions that we should take while visiting the site including wearing our safety helmet as the road and pathways are muddy due to the underground water overflowing and also there are loads and building materials being shifted.

After the briefing is done, we were divided into few groups consisting of 9 to 10 people. We were shown around the site by our leader and the explanation about the construction equipment and building materials provided by him was helpful. We also get to observe how the workers work on site using construction technology and also exposed to the construction techniques that we had learnt in term of theory. The site visit ended after around an hour and food was provided to us while we were waiting for bus.

OBJECTIVE OF SITE VISIT• To understand the basics of the construction process.• To understand the differences in practical aspect of

construction techniques compared to the theory aspect in books and its application on site.

• To expose ourselves to actual working environment on site including uncertainty circumstances such as weather.

• To strengthen the ability to communicate with the construction team members on site and to realize the importance of teamwork in the building team during site visit.

• To witness how the construction equipment on site is being used in real life including mechanical plants.

• To explore and identify various types of building materials and technology on site.

• To emphasize the importance of safety on site and to provide better understanding of safety problems and site conditions to the students.

• To recognize the items measurable for sub-structure and reinforced concrete frame works

Type of foundation used on site

The type of foundation involved in the site is pile foundation. A pile foundation consists of two components which is pile cap and single or group of piles. Pile transfers the loads from structures to the hard strata, rocks or soil with high bearing capacity. It can be 15 m long.

Grade of concrete

Column – Grade 40

Beam & Slab – Grade 35

Foundation – Grade 30

ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE

Has pile spacing for bearing capacity

Cost of pile is high

Has negative skin friction as a design of pile foundation

Foundations of adjacent structures will be affected due to the vibrations generated by driving of piles

Length of pile can be choose according to the load and soil condition

Requires heavy and equipment for driving and handling

Can transfer the load to deep hard soil levels ignoring the soil of low bearing capacity

Improper arranged of driving of piles may cause heaving of soil during driving of new pile

Pile foundation

Reinforced concrete

ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGEHas high compressive strength

Has low tensile strength of about 1/10 of its compressive strength

Has better resistance to fire than steel

It needs mixing and curing which will affect the final strength

Has a low maintenance cost with a long service life

Has a low compressive strength compared to steel

Most economical structural material in the aspect of some structures

Cracks in concrete develops due to the shrinkage and application of loads

Easily shaped as a precast structural component

Highly cost as the forms for casting RC is high

PHOTO AND DESCRIPTION

A short brief of introducing the project and safety precautions was given.

Workers working on site.

Walking down to observe detail construction.

Formwork of column ready for concrete to be poured in.

Reinforcement bars which has an overlapping (24d)

Reinforcement bars for column

Reinforcement bars found in walls

Concrete of column which has already been cured

Temporary work which is a place where workers can rest when the weather is unforeseen and reinforcement bars which is not bent is placed there.

Cranes used to shift heavy loads and excavator for excavation

Concrete spacer of 35mm is tied on the reinforcement bar

Description tag on the reinforcement bar

Bar bending machine which is used for bending the reinforcement bars into angles that is required

Examples of bar being bent using the bar bending machine

Reinforcement bar for pile caps

Links which are reinforcement bars for column

Concrete cover being made on site by workers

The huge pilecap for this project

Smaller pile cap which is found on site

Piles as a component of pile foundation

Formwork of pilecap is being taking off by one of the workers

CONCLUSIONThroughout the site visit, I have seen the basic process of a construction and how the workers work on the site. Due to the exposure to actual working environment, I get to observe the things that I have learnt in the aspect of theory and is able to differentiate the practical aspect with the theory aspect such as how the construction techniques and technology was used on site. Moreover, I got the chance to witness how workers on site used the construction equipment to complete their work on site.

Besides, after this site visit, since the safety is emphasized, I am now more aware of the safety precautions that should be taken during the visit on site and a better understanding of safety with the site conditions. During the site visit, I can also improve my communication skills by communicating with the construction team members while surveying the site. I also get to learnt that teamwork is very important for completing a project through what I observed from the good teamwork shown by the team members of construction.

Furthermore, i learnt more about the building materials and able to identify different types of building materials as well as the technology being used on site as the leader of our group had explained one by one throughout the tour on site. I understand more and can recognize better of the items for sub-structure and reinforced concrete frame works. In a nutshell, it was a great experience to me as I was exposed to

the real working environment and also able to see the practical aspect of construction techniques and building materials as this shows me a better picture of what environment I will be working at as a quantity surveyor one day.