SITE LAYOUT

PLANNING
& HEALTH & SAFETY
 Overview

Site management, in general, involves many tasks such as:

 Site investigation before construction starts
 Material delivery and procurement management
 Keeping better site records
 Keeping good site communication and high level of information flow
 Monitoring performance regularly
 Establishing a well co-ordination system among different parts,and
 Performing a good site layout planning
 Overview

 Extensive time loss and cost overruns could result in large projects, if
there is no effective site planning.
 A detailed planning of the site layout and location of temporary
facilities can make improvement by minimizing travel time, waiting
time, and increasing worker morale by showing better and safer work
environment.
 The Construction Industry Institute reported in its “Constructability
Concepts File, 1987” that temporary facilities are important and can
either enhance or adversely affect construction productivity.
 Overview

 Site planning has been the most neglected aspect in the construction
industry and the attitude of the engineers has been that it will be done as
the project progress.
 It is important to realize that the site planning will be the conditions that
site personnel will live with for the total duration of the construction
period.
 Thus the careful pre-planning is imperative.
 Significant saving can be occurred if the labor force moved freely and
quickly within the site
 Overview

 Construction site layout involves identifying, sizing, and placing

temporary facilities (TFs) within the boundaries of construction site
 These temporary facilities range from simple lay-down areas to
warehouses, fabrication shops, maintenance shops, batch plant, and
residence facilities
 Required temporary facilities and their areas are depending in many
factors including project type, scale, design, location, and organization
of construction work
 Overview

 Labor cost on a large project constitute approximately 50 to 60 percent

of the total project cost
 Accordingly, significant saving can be occurred if the labor force
moved freely, safely and quickly within the site
 Consequences of Unplanned Site

1. Materials are wrongly located

• They may stocked over a drainage line or near the edge of excavation
• They are too far from the work area
• They are too remote from the hoist or not within the radius of the
crane
• They impede the smooth flow of work traffic across the site
• Their delivery was wrongly phased and they are not needed until
much later in the project
• They are fragile
 Consequences of Unplanned Site

2. Plant and equipment wrongly located

• The mixer is inaccessible for the delivery of materials
• Not enough room for the storage of aggregates
• Fixed cranes are unable to reach all parts of the works
• Hoists have insufficient capacity or height to handle the loads or
badly located in relation to the floor layout
Consequences of Unplanned Site

3. Inadequate space allowed for the stacking of materials or activities

4. Materials may be stacked to high or stacked on roadways causing
hazards
5. Working areas may become too cramped or additional areas may have
to be allocated with the consequent waste of time caused by having to
travel between them
Characteristics of Good Site Layout

 A well planned site including all facilities and utilities lead to:
 Increasing productivity and safety
 Reduced area(s) needed for temporary construction
 Maximizing utilization
 Easy site accessibility
 Facilities movement and manoeuvring
 Least travel distance within the site
Site Layout Planning Elements
• Safety
• Site Accessibility
• Information Signs
• Security
• Accommodation
• Offices
• Water Supply and Sanitation
• Craft Change-Houses
• Material Handling
• Batch plant and Fabrication Shops
• Storage and site cleaning
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Safety

 Fire prevention:
 Fire is a major cause of damage on construction sites
 Fire extinguishers are basic requirements on a construction site
 Medical services:
 On construction project a first aid kit is a must
 In remote projects a well-equipped medical room with a doctor
and nurse is important
 Construction safety clothing:
 Basic safety supplies like safety shoes, hard hats, gloves, and
goggles must be used by workers
Site Layout Planning Elements
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Site Accessibility

 Easy accessibility will keep the morale of the equipment and

vehicle drivers high, minimize the chance of accidents, and save
time in maneuvering to arrive at and leave the project.

 In case of large projects, proper planning is required to layout the

roads leading from the nearest highway.

 Internal roads are necessary for easy flow of work.

 Parking Lots are provided for the owner, office, and craft
personnel, but this facility must be planned where space does exist
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Information Signs

 Site map locates details of the project, and displayed in the office of
the site superintendent or project manager and posted at the entrance
gate
 Traffic regulatory signs for large projects to help in guiding the
traffic on the site and avoid accidents
 Display of labor relations’ policy and safety rules to help in
eliminating disputes between labor and management
 Emergency routes and underground services should be display on
every floor as the building progresses
 Locations of underground services should be marked to prevent its
damage
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Security

 Entrance: It is necessary to have a proper guard entrance to the site

provided by a booth. Also, it is necessary to keep track of all visitors
to the project
 Lighting: It is necessary to have a standby generator to maintain
site lighting
 Fencing: The boundary should be fenced off from a security point
of view
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Accommodation
 On large construction projects, it is necessary to provide camp
accommodation for all type of staff involved in the project
 Offices
 Offices should be close together, close to the site, and in a safe
area
 Provide the offices with proper office equipment
 Offices at the site may include general contractor office, and sub-
contractors and consultants Offices
 Water Supply and Sanitation
 It is necessary to have water and toilet facilities in convenient
locations to accommodate the work force
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Craft Change-Houses
 Provide sheltered space for craft personnel to change and store
clothes, wash, and rest during waiting periods

 Material Handling
 One third or more of all construction operations can be classified as
material handling
 Use of proper equipment for material handling and minimizing
multiple handling will result in cost and time savings
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Batch plant and Fabrication Shops

 Batch plants are provided on projects where it is more economical

to produce concrete on site than to buy
 Aggregate storage piles, cement silos and admixture tanks will
accompany an on-site batch plant
 Shops are used where materials and equipment are fabricated on
site
 This includes electrical, mechanical, carpentry, and paint shops.
Also, testing shops used to house the necessary testing equipment
and personnel for the project
Site Layout Planning Elements
 Storage and site cleaning

 It is necessary to plan and reserve storage areas for materials so that

multiple movement of material is avoided
 Laydown areas reserved for storage of large materials and
equipment and it can be short-term or long-term
 Warehouses are sheltered storage facilities where materials are
stored until they have disbursed to the job
 Material staging areas used when materials are stored near the work
on a short-term basis, they are generally as close to work as possible
 Site cleaning is necessary especially where the extent of debris
produced is high and regular disposal of debris is necessary
Temporary Facilities Characteristics

 Satisfying environmental and safety regulations

 Availability of diverse solutions for the same problem
 Relatively short life span of a specific location
 Reutilization with a minimum loss for the same or modified
function at another location
 Ease of assembly, dismantling, and exploitation
 Standardization of design
 Selection of Temporary Facilities

Considerations of selecting temporary facilities:

 Construction type:
The construction of an industrial plant requires more storage and
fabrication area than other projects such as a highway project
 Type of contract:
turn-key contract, the contractor can consolidate the administrative
and construction operations, means fewer but larger TFs can be
selected. If the project is managed under a series of different
contracts, higher number of smaller temporary facilities serving
each individual contractor
Selection of Temporary Facilities

 Project size:
A relatively small project can be managed from a trailer or
portable structure. While a five to ten year project may need
temporary facilities of a more permanent nature

 Project location:
Projects located in uninhabited regions or in places where
skilled labor is scarce require additional facilities for eating
and living. Project far from industrial centers require more on
site services such as batch plant, equipment maintenance
shops, long term storage area, and even some other
recreational centers for the families.
Selection of Temporary Facilities
Temporary Facilities Sizing
 Temporary Facilities Sizing

The size of temporary facilities is mainly based on:

• Manpower requirements
• Estimated quantity of work
• Production rate of resources
• Availability of site space, and
• Cost considerations
• safety regulations
 Temporary Facilities Sizing

Example
In a given construction site, if the total amount of cement required
for the construction is 2000 ton in a period of 50 days. Assume that
the cement is stocked in site for about 5 days and the average
amount of cement that could be stored in one square meter is 2
tons.
Solution
 Qdaily= Qtotal/construction period = 2000 / 50 = 40 tons.
 Qmax= Qdaily*stock time = 40 x 5 = 200 tons.
 Area = 200 / 2 = 100 square meter.
Examples of Site Layout Planning

Figure 1 illustrates the layout of building materials and access roads for
the purposes of servicing two hoists for the erection of a low-rise
building. Comment on and criticize the present layout in relation to the
positioning of both the materials and hoists.
Examples of Site Layout Planning
Examples of Site Layout Planning

Criticism of existing site layout:

- Both hoists have separate scaffold staging, causing increased costs.
- Materials are not stockpiled near hoists.
- Entrance to the site is too narrow for truck to pass.
- Stores are located behind the batching plant so obscuring storeman's
view and check point is separated from the stores.
- Concrete and mortar mixers are located too far from the hoists.
- Stockpiles are dispersed and hinder unloading.
- Temporary roads are long and narrow.
- Some stores are difficult to reach.
Examples of Site Layout Planning

Improved site layout

Examples of Site Layout Planning

Suggested improved layout:

- Both hoists are housed in a common scaffold.

- Batching plants have direct discharge into dumpers.
- The access has been widened near the site entrance.
- The stores are located to give a good view of all materials
stockpiles, and are sited near the temporary road.
- Concrete and mortar mixers are located near the hoists.
- The temporary road is shorter and wider.
- A compound is provided to police non-bulk materials.
 Think about this
Figure 2 shows the construction site for the construction of a radio transmitter station on a
remote site in open location. The site involves the construction of a transmitting tower and
transmitter building along with some access roads.