Overview Of The Site Preparation Process Construction Essay

Site preparation is the first task that lays before any Engineer to start new project in site that is unfriendly to the project. It a challenging activity that must be began with. In civil engineering projects, the site preparation can be soil clearing, soil testing site plan designs, zoning restrictions environmental concern and how everything on the matter should run. Preparing your site well to begin with means a much safer, more productive working environment

Steps of Site Preparation.

Site Clearing:- this is the first task of site preparation. The site should be in a supposed condition. It involves the removal of trees, demolishing buildings and any other obstacles that might affect the construction process in the future or hinder the project to be done.

Site Surveying: – If your building block is not clearly identified by survey pegs, you cannot be certain that you are building on the correct block. A surveyor will survey the site for a reasonable cost. Better to be safe than sorry. Surveying is the translation of a contractor’s set of construction plans into a physical representation on the project site. It not only includes surveyors locating and setting physical markers, usually a lathe, pin, or survey stake in a horizontal position, but also communication to the contractor as to the actual elevation and the required cut or fill necessary to obtain the design elevation. It also includes the checking of improvements and temporary construction items placed to construct those improvements to verify the horizontal and vertical location to the construction plans.

Soil Testing:- soil testing is very important task that need to be done before the site is purchased. The composition of the soil must be known so as to examine the ability to withstand structure and to test the ability to absorb water. As a site Engineer, it s very important to do all necessary soil testing before commencing any structural task on the soil. If the soil at the site is not suitable for the future project, then it gives no choice but to look for another site which its soil is suitable for the project.

Site Plan Design:- After the soil testing is done all necessary drainage and septic tanks is installed, the next step to drawn the design to indicate placement of septic systems and all necessary fixtures. Nothing can be done without designing the site, all features are drawn in hand or by using Autocad to make easy for the contractors do their job. The site plan will show access roads for construction vehicles, The site plan will also depict where the building should be after it is built. Unlike other steps taken in site preparation, the site plan is carried out in office by consultants.

Site investigation

The site I chose to do the site investigation is Geotechnical industry. Geotechnical site investigation is to characterize soil, rock and groundwater condition of the proposed site. A geotechnical site investigation is the process of collecting information and evaluating the conditions of the site for the purpose of designing and constructing the foundation for a structure, such as a building, plant or bridge. The steps taken to do Geotechnical site investigation are as follows. Good planning for and management of a geotechnical site investigation is the key to obtaining sufficient and correct site information for designing a structure in a timely manner and with minimum cost for the effort needed. The collection of geotechnical data and the preparation of a report for a proposed structure should be considered in four stages, namely.

1-Project definition prepared by the owner in conjunction with an architect if selected. The project definition consists of architectural/engineering foundation criteria such as loading and settlement; on or above ground structure; service life of structure, and proposed design/construction schedule.

2-Preliminary site and project evaluation conducted by the geotechnical consultant selected for the geotechnical site investigation. It consists of preliminary site review of past geotechnical investigations of nearby sites and a selection of likely foundation design(s) based on published literature and the geotechnical consultant knowledge of the site. This preliminary evaluation and a consensus by the owner are used to develop the detail of the proposed geotechnical site investigation. It will also determine if this phase would be done in one or two steps. In the case of small buildings located on good ground conditions, this phase could be done by means of an office evaluation to be followed by the geotechnical site investigation. In the case of a major building and possible difficult permafrost, this phase could be done in two steps. It would include a preliminary site visit by a geotechnical engineer with permafrost experience to collect visible data and performance information of existing buildings in order to complete the office phase of the evaluation and discuss the findings with the owner and architect, if selected, to prepare the detailed site program.

3-Geotechnical site investigation (test holes and sampling) and laboratory testing for soils characteristics.

4-Geotechnical report preparation with recommended foundation system options.

The client may consider incorporating peer review in the overall process for projects that are large and/or located in difficult permafrost conditions. This should not be viewed as a confrontational exercise but as an additional resource to develop the best foundation design. The scope of these guidelines is to plan a geotechnical site investigation in frozen soils, report the results from field exploration and laboratory testing in terms of internationally recognized classification systems, and provide foundation design and construction recommendations that address both the building requirements and climate change.

Bad Site Layout

As seen in the above, the site is not safely and neatly put. Offices are so close to the construction place. Offices are supposed be installed some distance from the site to secure the safety of the people working inside the office. Furthermore, the store is at the middle of the construction site where its supposed to be at the corner of the site. This will hinder the movement of the vehicles. Last but not the least, there is not fencing barrier at the construction site. This is very important for both the people working at the construction and the pedestrians.