Stage 5
Construction
Chapter overview
In this stage the project moves to site. The bulk of the design work will have been completed before the start of construction, although with many forms of procurement Stages 4 and 5 will overlap, as set out in the Project Programme. On most projects some additional design will be required as construction progresses, in response to Design Queries – those in authority at this stage need to be alert to any CDM issues that may arise as a result.
There will be construction and assembly activities taking place both on and off site, therefore significant management skill will be needed. Many projects fall behind at this point due to lack of control across the different areas, mostly due to poor or uncoordinated information. The RIBA Plan of Work 2013 focuses on the control of the project, ensuring that the Project Strategies are maintained.
A large number of operations will be required to ensure a smooth transition to activity on site. Elements and assemblies may have to be manufactured off site or products bought in from a wide range of sources. Manufacturing of key components should have been under way for some time, especially for items with long lead times, and materials may have to have been pre-ordered to avoid delays in site progress.
The management focus will be on the Construction Programme and the interaction between the contractor and specialist suppliers. The former should be reinforcing the Project Objectives and updating the key Project Strategies, such as the Sustainability Strategy, the Health and Safety Strategy and the Handover Strategy.
A series of meetings and Information Exchanges are needed to ensure everyone in the project team has the correct information at the right time.
Often, the construction sequences will be modified from those previously planned, perhaps due to unforeseen issues on site, planning constraints or manufacturing difficulties. This may require changes to be made to the design information at a time when there is great pressure to ensure timely delivery. Keeping control of possible hazards during this phase can be extremely challenging.
The key coverage in this chapter is as follows:
As start on site approaches, the contractor needs to review all the information and satisfy themselves that it is complete and gives a clear understanding of the project, particularly of the risks involved. It is crucial that there will be sufficient and continuous communication within the project team on site, and that processes for resolving Design Queries are in place. These need to be handled by the design team with the same care and attention as the previously issued design information. Making sure all the issues are covered from a health and safety perspective can be challenging, especially on a complex or fast-moving project. Using your systems and procedures can make this straightforward and ensure that vital issues are not missed. Making sure the ‘As-constructed’ Information is complete for handover is also a key challenge at this time. Cooperation within the project team is necessary for this to be effective. The responsibility for ensuring ‘As-constructed’ Information is produced can vary from project to project. This should have been agreed with the client from the start, as part of the Handover Strategy. In some situations – where there is an emphasis on specialist subcontractor design – the exact detail of what has been constructed and installed might only be known by a few members of the on-site team. Whoever has the responsibility to record this information needs to maintain good communication with those team members. It is essential that the ‘As-constructed’ Information is accurate. The Project Strategies should ensure that accurate ‘As-constructed’ Information is gathered for both the general records and the health and safety file.
From Stage 4
It is important to take full advantage of the Stage 4 preparations:
Introduction
The Core Objectives of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 at Stage 5 are:
The Core Objectives of the plan of work at this stage revolve around ensuring that construction goes according to plan. A key element of this is to ensure that any Design Queries raised by the contractor are brought to a close. Implications of the Building Contract The Building Contract between the client and the contractor for the construction of the project needs to be understood by the design team. Depending on the Design Responsibility Matrix incorporated into the Building Contract, specialist subcontractors may be required to provide design services during Stage 4. This design work still needs the same level of risk assessment and management. On certain projects, more than one Building Contract may be required; for example, one for shell and core works and another for interiors, furniture, fittings and equipment. These may also include regular site inspections and review of progress. The procurement route may also dictate the Project Programme and may result in certain stages overlapping or being undertaken concurrently. The project set-up should have been made clear at Stage 1, in the Contractual Tree and Design Responsibility Matrix, among other key documents. The areas of authority, responsibility and arrangements for control and issue of information – both prior to and during the on-site stage – will vary considerably, but should all be clear. At the start of Stage 5 it is essential that all of these are revisited and checked with the client and the contractor’s team. The agreed procedures must also be checked, to ensure they are still relevant and will be implemented by everyone involved across the project. It is common for changes in personnel, especially in the client’s team, to necessitate changes to procedures. If such changes are required, there must be agreement on how any new procedures will work. Exemplar industry health and safety actions A range of exemplar schemes can be implemented to encourage and support good health and safety on site (normally instigated by the client):
There are several overlapping actions that need to take place to ensure the overall progress of the project and, in particular, that all health and safety actions progress smoothly to site. It is important to ensure that no overlooked errors remain in the Project Information, to avoid any last-minute changes. During the lead up to starting on site, the emphasis needs to move from the design team to the contractor. The design team will have largely concluded their activities, but the contractor will be mobilising their team, including members from the supply chain. It is critical that the health and safety information is transferred smoothly, to ensure the objectives are properly conveyed. The exact roles and their responsibilities at this time will vary depending on the contract and appointments. Significantly, the CDM 2015 regulations allow for a number of options. The principal designer role may continue throughout the construction phase. In this case, the same broad responsibilities apply: all design issues should be reviewed for risk, and any that are identified must be minimised or controlled. However, overall responsibility for matters relating to health and safety on site is transferred to the principal contractor. The principal contractor and the core construction team will ideally have been appointed some time before work starts on site, to allow adequate time for mobilisation. During this period the construction phase plan can be prepared, taking into account the design team’s information, when any further design development is needed and the impact of any regulatory requirements not yet signed off. There is also the possibility that the principal designer role may finish at the point when site operations are started, in which case the principal contractor needs to take over their duties. Regular structured, formal meetings are still necessary for projects on site. The design team must continue to be represented and the appropriate degree of health and safety information discussed. Many teams and clients insist that health and safety is the first item on the agenda of all formal meetings. This is good practice, as long as the issues are properly discussed. It is also important to structure the reporting at these meetings in a consistent and logical manner, so that issues are not overlooked. Good communication outside meetings is also essential. The aim should be to cultivate an atmosphere that encourages the design team and the construction team to help each other. In the competitive and commercially driven construction industry, this is not always easy to achieve, but it should be a critical project objective. Informal health and safety focus meetings can also contribute to this goal. Designers should attend on-site briefings, inductions and specialist meetings, so they gain a greater understanding of the on-site operations. Equally, the construction team should be invited to attend design and development review meetings. This will encourage greater understanding and shared viewpoints. Often, where problems do emerge it is because the design and construction teams do not share the same perspective or are not aware of each other’s point of view. It is essential for the development of better health and safety that everyone in the project team has as wide an understanding as possible, so that when issues surface, everyone can contribute to the development of the solution. Sharing information Good team communication relies on high-quality information. When preparing information to be shared, ask yourself the following:
Design changes during construction can be required for a number of reasons, the most obvious being cost or time overruns, due to errors coming to light or because earlier assumptions were incorrect. To some degree, these can be avoided by taking proper care in the earlier stages – during Stages 2 and 3 – to set the right path for design development, and to ensure that the work consolidated in Stage 4 is robust and coherent. On larger projects, with complex supply chains and long lead-in times, later operations often have to make last-minute changes in order to correct for these mistakes. However, the final design must be comprehensive and buildable. Often, however, the design information has not been fully coordinated in every detail, which creates conflicts of time, money and practicalities. The construction team might have an opinion on how to deal with these conflicts, and a client faced with their arguments will clearly accept the degree of certainty they offer. However, such changes can often lead to very poor outcomes. One of these might be a change to the risk profile that the design team have developed for a particular element. It is essential that the design team keep ahead of this situation. They must be able to justify the design and its implications. They must also be able to review issues with the construction team and come up with a consistent health and safety solution. Any changes to the design after Stage 2 should follow the Change Control Procedures established for the project (see page 123: Stage 3). Therefore any design changes made after work starts on site must also follow these procedures. Any change control documentation should clearly show:
If this approach is adopted at the start, when information is handed over to the contractor, changes can be highlighted and checked against potential risks and, if necessary, flagged for review. The review decides if the change adds risk or not: if it does, it needs to be reconsidered until it is either removed or is manageable. The construction phase plan, a requirement of the CDM regulations, must be ready to implement before work starts on site, for use as the controlling mechanism from that point. It should be started as early as possible, and certainly as soon as the principal contractor is appointed. Each of the dutyholders has a part to play in the preparation of the plan:
Once generated, the principal contractor then needs to keep the plan up to date and ensure it reflects any further changes on the project. The critical issue throughout the construction phase is that it is regarded as a live document. It should be used as a regular reference, and therefore the requirement to keep it updated and current becomes part of the normal working pattern. For most projects, a competent contractor given adequate and comprehensive information will formulate a plan and manage the health and safety risks accordingly. However, there will often be occasions when the design team will be required to provide additional input, perhaps to provide clarification on specific details or to assess the full implications of a change to the design. The design team should always be aware of progress and of any issues that have developed on site so that they can assist effectively. A range of unforeseen issues can arise on site with the potential to disrupt progress. Undetected below-ground issues could include: ○ geological problems (eg soft spots) ○ unrecorded disused services ○ old mine workings ○ flooding cause by underground streams. Short-term or unexpected materials shortages can result in last-minute changes, affecting the risk profile. The changed risks need to be assessed and managed. Even where every effort is made to ensure issued information is correct, errors can occur. While BIM will vastly improve this situation, it is critical to ensure that everyone is working to the correct information. Contractors will often have fully developed contingency plans and policies for dealing with such issues. Having these in place will reduce reaction times and minimise the potential risks. Considerate Constructors Scheme Many contractors belong to the Considerate Constructors Scheme. A nationwide scheme, it requires contractors to have a well-organised and proactive approach to all of their projects. It particularly emphasises the need for measures to control the impact the project may have on neighbouring communities and individuals. It is seen as a mark of good practice and well-managed health and safety. Throughout this stage, the health and safety file should be updated by the principal designer or principal contractor in preparation for handover to the client at Stage 6. There are always changes and updates to information during the construction phase. The file needs to reflect the information current at this time. As covered in Stage 4 (page 149), the health and safety file must be proportionate to the project; there has been a tendency in the past to include an excess of detail, making the information handed over almost useless. Keep it brief Keeping it brief but relevant and useful can be a challenge. It is useful to organise information in the health and safety file on the basis of how frequently it is likely to be used: immediately, weekly, monthly, annually, in a few years’ time and, finally, decades in the future. Of course, information can be cross-referenced for ease of use. Start the health and safety file early This stage in the project will be highly demanding for everyone. It is therefore much better to have developed the health and safety file gradually, rather than to attempt to assemble it now. The file structure and most of the contents can be prepared beforehand, requiring only minimal work to complete it after construction ends. In the days and weeks before Handover, a thorough review of the project will be required. Depending on the contractual responsibilities, this could be undertaken by one of the project team members or all of them. Some teams conduct a detailed checking process, traditionally called ‘snagging’. Commissioning of the main services systems, if present, will also be undertaken during this period. It is essential that the focus on the health and safety threads of the project is retained. This stage involves many systems coming together for the first time. It is essential that the safety-critical items are carefully checked and that any issues are identified for remedy. The focus should be on:
Remember that regulation 38(2) of the Building Regulations 2010 requires a complete explanation of the fire strategy and any fire safety-related systems to be provided. This needs to be approved by the building control body before they are able to sign off the Building Regulations application. This is normally the responsibility of the design team. The lead-up to Practical Completion is a critical time in any project. Time and resources can become stretched, no matter how well organised the project is, and there is always a risk that health and safety issues could be overlooked. Good close teamwork is required. To help the project team with the final preparations before handover:
As all the design elements finally come together, the contractor may well need help to interpret some issues. Planning and Building Regulations completion and sign-off should also be achieved at this time. The Handover Strategy (drawn up at Stage 1 and updated during the design stages) should define the process for this part of the project, based on the size of the project and the procurement route selected. The aim should be to provide as much clearly organised, relevant and accurate information as possible to the client, as close to the Practical Completion date as possible. The requirements of the CDM regulations will be met by the handover of the health and safety file (see above). Compilation of ‘As-constructed’ Information is essential. Information issued at handover is often based on the design team’s ‘final construction issue’ information, and so does not capture any deviations between the design and what was actually built. It is therefore important the ‘As-constructed’ Information is compiled and updated continuously throughout the Construction stage. The ‘As-constructed’ Information also needs to include ‘as-built’ information from any specialist subcontractors. It is essential that the recorded information is as accurate as possible, ensuring that the operator of the building will use the design team’s prescribed methods and safest approaches. A detailed plan for preparing information for handover to the client should emerge from the Handover Strategy and be implemented in good time. This should include key milestones for information production. The use of BIM offers huge advantages over conventional methods. In particular, a BIM model of the as-constructed building can be used by the owner’s facilities management team during the In Use phase. The BIM model identifies exactly what has been used in the building, how it all works together and exact product details, and so could be used to monitor and check performance and identify maintenance processes. Information Exchanges required for Stage 5 are as follows:
The construction phase is the culmination of months of planning, preparation and hard work. It is critical that the team ensures the correct approach to health and safety is adopted on site. The Health and Safety Strategy may include the construction team implementing additional measures, perhaps joining the Considerate Constructors Scheme or other industry initiatives. The contractor should check the information given to them thoroughly for issues that may increase risk to those on site. The procurement route will fundamentally affect roles and responsibilities and how information is exchanged during this stage – the appropriate procedures and strategies must have been put in place prior to work starting on site. The design team also need to ensure that any changes made to the design during construction impose no greater level of risk. At the end of the construction phase, it is essential that the ‘As-constructed’ Information and other items required at handover are collated and that all outstanding conditions and sign-offs have been completed. Good organisation, communication and team working is critical at this stage.
What are the Core Objectives of this stage?
Pre-construction actions
Liaison within the project team
Information and processes
Responsibilities and roles
Control of information
Changes and substitutions
How to manage change during construction
The construction phase plan
On-site progress
Problems on site
Projects can be subject to third party problems, such as industrial strikes, transportation problems, fires nearby, most of which cannot be foreseen and will cause problems on site. These need the whole team to review the implications.
Updating the health and safety file
Review of the works
Nearing completion
Handover information
‘As-constructed’ Information
BIM model
Information Exchanges
Chapter summary 5