Construction

of
Telecom Towers-
Quality and Productivity
Improvement
Final Presentation
BTP Guide: Presented By:
Prof. K N Satyanarayana N S B Syam
Dept. of Civil Engineering CE05B038
 Introduction
• In the next three to four years, telecom companies
(Telco's) will need another 100,000 towers and the
industry estimates that at least 60 per cent of this
will be built by independent operators.

• The development of the Infrastructure segment in

our country is associated with many issues like poor
quality, lack of safety concerns, cost overruns and
project delays due to inefficient project planning and
control.

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• Prominent telecom infrastructure companies -
Reliance Communications, Bharti/Airtel, Vodafone,
Idea Cellular, Aircel Ltd, MTNL, BSNL, VSNL etc.

• Independent telecom infrastructure companies -Tata,

ATC (American Tower Corp), Indus Towers, Quippo
Telecom and GTL Infra Ltd.

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 Objectives
• Basic study on contracting procedures, quality, cost, time,
and productivity issues in telecom tower construction
industry.

• Suggesting productivity improvement methods using

logistics in terms of supply chain management and
process mapping of the whole construction process.

• Identifying the underlying issues and suggestions for

quality in the construction of communication towers.

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 Scope
• The study is limited only to address the construction
related issues. Design related issues are not in the scope
of the study.

• The study is limited to construction of telecom towers in

and around Chennai.

• The study is focused on contracting procedures, quality

problems, cost overruns, project delays in the
construction of telecom towers and developing a logistics
model in terms of supply chain management.

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 Methodology
• Discussions with experts in telecom towers construction
industry.

• Interviews of client representatives, contractor

representatives and site supervisors.

• Study and analysis of data collected from the on-going

projects.

• Developing a Logistics model to map the construction

process in terms of the supply chain management.
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• Study required extensive site visits, to collect data from
the concerned personnel and to identify the key issues
prevalent in the construction of telecom towers.

• Fifteen sites were visited as a part of this project.

• Three main types of issues identified:

• Quality of the construction process
• Schedule of the construction process.
• Productivity of the construction process

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 Quality Issues
Broadly classified into 7 categories based on site
data and interviews conducted

– Material/Equipment Availability
– Formwork/Reinforcement
– Geotechnical Issues
– Issues related to Concrete
– Structural Issues
– Labor Issues
– Site Management Issues

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 Issues Vs. No. of sites

RTT GBT
Issues (Total:8) (Total:7)

Material/Equipment Availability 2 3
Formwork/Reinforcement 7 7
Geotechnical Issues - 4
Concrete related Issues 8 7
Structural Issues 4 3
Labor Issues 8 7
Site Management Issues 5 7

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 Material/Equipment Availability
• Aggregates, Sand, Cement

• Steel for reinforcement

• Labor

• Pump for water pumping

• Vibrator for concrete

• Pulleys and bolts for tower erection

• Rubber soling to prevent seepage of water from underneath the

foundation

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 Formwork/Reinforcement
• Quality of shuttering material
• Irregularity of Foundation bolts
• Leveling of formwork
• Inadequate development lengths for column
extension
• Required Ld is 200mm but available length was 75mm.

• Congested Reinforcement
• Early removal of formwork
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 Geotechnical Issues
• Soil Investigations
• IS 6403- Code of Practice for determining Bearing Capacity of
Shallow Foundation
• Sufficient number of undisturbed samples of 40-100mm ø are
required for testing
• Budget for soil test on a 6mx12m site is Rs.8000

• Lack of laboratory in vicinity

• Achieving required depth for foundation

• IS 1080-1985- Code of Practice foe Design and Construction of
Shallow Foundation in Soils
• Min. required foundation depth is 3m

• Validity of the soil test report when compared to

the actual conditions
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 Concrete
• Proper mix design
– IS 10262: Code of Practice for Concrete Mix Design

• Concrete cover for bolts/members

– Min. cover in Chennai not less than 45mm

• Improper Maintenance/Finishing

• Segregation & Honeycombing

– Honeycombing noticed in all the sites visited

• Lack of proper cube testing for checking concrete strength

– IS 4031-1968 – 28 day compressive strength( Appendix C, Clause 3.8) M20
Grade
– IS 9013-1978 – Accelerated curing method for determination of compressive
strength
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Structural Inadequacies –Constructability issues

• Missing Bracings/Fasteners
– IS 204 (Part 1) :1991- Tower Bolts Specifications

• Movement of foundation

• Ad hock site modifications

• Template Setting
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 Labor
• Poor skill of labor

• Safety rules not followed at sites

– SP 70:2001 Handbook on Construction Safety Practices

• Lack of coordination among labor

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 Site Management Issues
• Supervision at sites

• Drawings/reports of tests

• Poor Handling & Storage of materials

• Accessing the site

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 Scheduling Issues
 Labor

 Unavailability of supervisors

 Timely availability of material/equipment

 Weather

 Holidays

 No written work schedule

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Average Schedule of a 15m RTT-34 days duration

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Slowest Completed Schedule of a 15m RTT-56 days duration

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Fastest Completed Schedule of a 15m RTT-22 days duration

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 Analysis of RTT schedules
• 30 days difference between slowest and
fastest completed towers
– Delay of 18-21 days due to material availability
– Delay of 3-4 days due to the delay between the installation
of the tower equipment after the tower framework is
erected
– Delay of 2-3 days is caused due to the prolonged
installation period of the telecom equipment
– Delay of 2-3 days is caused in between the tower
installation and the tower being on air

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Average Schedule of a 30m GBT-47 days duration

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Slowest Completed Schedule of a 30m GBT-65 days duration

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Fastest Completed Schedule of a 30m GBT-34 days duration

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 Analysis of GBT schedules
• Difference of 31 days between the fastest and
the slowest completed towers
– Delay of 19-21 days caused due to supply of construction
material, tower material and the telecom equipment
– Delay of 2-3 days between each of the foundation levels
– Delay of 5-7 days between the installation of the tower
and the completion of the tower foundation

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 Process Mapping
1. What is Process Mapping?

2. Why are we applying Process Mapping?

3. How is it useful in this project?

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Process Mapping is a powerful tool that offers an in-depth
understanding of any given process, finds effective ways for that
process to be more successful, and ensures that true value is
being provided to the client/customer.

There are four major steps of Process Mapping

– Process identification – attaining a full understanding of all the steps
of a process.
– Information gathering – identifying objectives, risks and key controls in
a process.
– Interviewing and mapping – understanding the point of view of
individuals in the process and designing actual maps.
– Analysis – utilizing tools and approaches to make the process run
more effectively and efficiently.

Back

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• Process Mapping is used in this project to identify the different
processes that constitute the telecom tower construction.

• Helps in increasing the productivity of the overall process by

focusing on the processes that need rework for their improvement.

• Telecom tower construction consists of a lot of processes ranging

from Radio Frequency survey to the handing over of the completed
tower on air.

• It allows all the individuals working on the project to gain a better

understanding of that process with a simple, yet powerful approach
that anyone can utilize.

Back

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 Area of business being reviewed: Telecom tower construction
Trigger Events Process Name
Growth of mobile phone users in the country. Need for better networking and RF Survey
hence construction of telecom towers. Survey done to locate the right
locations for the tower constructions.
Optimal location of tower site for better reach of customers. Site Identification/ Land
Acquisition
Drawings for the construction of towers. Layout Plans
Process Type of foundation needed for GBTs for the construction. The structural
stability of the existing structure for RTTs.
Soil Investigation/
Structural Stability
Identification Protection and to prevent trespassing and misuse of the tower, fencing and Fencing, Compound wall,
guard room to be constructed. Safety and protection of tower. Guard Room, DG Slab,
Worksheet Shelter Foundation
Construction materials like, steel, sand, cement, aggregates for the tower Tower Supply & Erection
foundation construction, tower fabrication set for tower material and
equipment like vibrator, pulleys for tower erection.
Diesel Generator set installation which is the key component of the tower DG set installation
construction.
Shelter for the security guard and to store maintenance parts for emergency Shelter Supply & Erection
replacement of parts of the tower.
Earthing to prevent damage by lighting and electrical works in order to ensure Electrical- Indoor, Outdoor
proper functioning of the antennae. and Earthing
Backup power options for the transmission of signals. AC installation, Battery,
PIU
Need for a base station to receive and transmit signals. Installation of BTS
Need for the transmission of signals. Antennae Installation
Connections of antennae to the electrical systems for proper functioning of the RF Cable Routing
system.

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Comprehensive Business Time Line Worksheet
Telecom Tower Construction

Site
SiteIdentification/Land
Identification/Land
Surveying

RF
RFSurvey
Surveying

Survey Acquisition
Acquisition

Tender 1-
Tender 2- Company D
Company C
Works
CivilWorks

Soil
SoilInvestigation/Structural
Investigation/StructuralStability
Stability Fencing/Compound
Fencing/CompoundWall,
Wall,DG
DGSlab,
Slab,Shelter
Shelter Tower
Layout
LayoutPlans
Plans Analysis
Analysis Foundation
Foundation Foundation
Civil

Tender 3 – Company A
Mechanical
Electrical&&Mechanical

Tower
TowerSupply
Supply&& Shelter
ShelterSupply
Supply&& Electrical-
Electrical-Indoor,
Indoor,Outdoor
Outdoorand
and
Erection
Erection Erection
Erection Earthing
Earthing
Works
Works

Tender 3 – Company A
Electrical Works
TelecomWorks

AC
ACInstallation,
Installation, Installation
Installationofof Antennae
Antennae RF
RFCable
Cable Wi-max
Wi-max
Battery,
Battery,PIU
PIU BTS
BTS Installation
Installation Routing
Routing Installation
Installation
Telecom

Tender 4 – OEMs – Company B

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 Process Name and Number Process Owner
RF survey : 1 Principal Companies/Telecom Companies
Description :
The ultimate goal of a RF site survey is to supply enough information to determine the number and
placement of access points that provides adequate coverage throughout the facility. In most
implementations, "adequate coverage" means support of a minimum data rate. A RF site survey also
detects the presence of interference coming from other sources that could degrade the performance of the
wireless LAN.
Triggers

Process Profile Event Beginning: Call for tenders for RF surveying.

Event Ending Process: Document findings of the sites best suitable for telecom tower construction.

Worksheet Additional Events: Call for tenders for more than 1 company to save time. For 100 sites to be RF
surveyed, 10 companies could finish the survey in 10 times less time than the survey being done by a
single company.
Inputs – Items and Sources
Surveying equipment like Theodolite, GPS, Satellites
Outputs – Items and Sources
Optimal location of sites for the construction of telecom towers
Process Units Process Unit Owners
Obtain a site facility diagram Telecommunication Companies
Visually inspect the site facility
Identify cellular phone user areas
Determine preliminary site access point locations
Verify site access point

Business Objectives Business Risks

Location of sites which offer better transmission Time consuming and tiring process. A slight change
of signals and networking in the site location may not yield transmission signals.
Accuracy is very important.
Key Controls Measure of Success
Skilled usage of GPS systems and accuracy of Best fit site which can ideally transmit and receive
the instruments. signals with maximum efficiency. 42
Tower Construction
Initiation Site Identification/ Structural Stability
Type of Tower RTT
Land Acquisition Analysis

GBT
RF survey

Negotiations with
Soil Investigation
No the owner

Obtain an area
facility diagram

Successful Tower and Shelter

Visually Negotiation Material Supply
Common Civil
inspect works
the
facility Yes
area
Land acquired for
tower construction
Identify Formwork and
cellular Guard Reinforcement
phone Room
user foundation
areas

Layout Plans Concreting

Determine Fencing
preliminary access
point locations

Tower
and
DG set
Shelter
Verify Superstructure
Erection
access of the guard
points room

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 Telecom
Installations
A

Antennae
Electrical Installation

GSM Microwave
Indoor Outdoor

Installation
Routing of PIU,
Installation
of power
of RBS
cables backup

Site on air
Fixing of
cable Clamping
ladder

Installation
of rectifier Ground/
and battery Earthing
bank

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 Suggestions
• Prior stacking of materials at the job site
• Adequate supervision
• More labor compared to peak labor requirement
• Use of process charts and work schedules
• Safety equipment
• Use of vibrator and other equipment to prevent segregation
and honeycombing
• Use of system formwork
• Grouting of bolts
• Leveling of beams, columns and template settings
• Centralized warehouse catering the needs of each
construction site
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 References
• Dileep R. S, 2001, Logistics of Facility Location and Allocation, United States of America, Marcel Dekker, Inc.
• Jacka, M J., 2002, Business Process Mapping, United States of America, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• LakshmiNag P (2006), Productivity Issues in Construction of Steel Communication Towers, Bachelor of Technology Thesis,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
• Kumar S, 2006-Types and Design of Steel Towers, Structural Steel Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras,
http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/IIT-MADRAS/Design_Steel_Structures_II, (accessed May 2006)
• IS 204 Part 2 :1992 – Tower Bolts Specifications
• IS 456 (2000) – Plain and Reinforced Concrete-Code of Practice
• IS 800 (2007) - General Construction in Steel–Code of Practice
• IS 802 (Part 1/Sec 2): 1992 – Use of Structural Steel in Overhead Transmission Line Towers- Code of Practice
• IS 806: 1988 - Code of Practice for use of Steel Tubes in General Building Construction
• IS 10262 – Recommended Guidelines for Concrete Mix Design
• IS 875 Part 3: 1987 – Code of Practice for Design Loads for Buildings and Structures
• IS 4091-1979 – Code of Practice for Design and Construction of Transmission Lines and Poles
• Chetan, 2007, Civil Construction Issues, Proceedings of workshop conducted for M/s GTL Infra Ltd., Indian Institute of
Techology Madras, Chennai, Nov 3rd 2007
• Gandhi S R, 2007, Geotechnical Issues related to Telecommunication Tower Construction, Proceedings of workshop
conducted for M/s GTL Infra Ltd., Indian Institute of Techology Madras, Chennai, Nov 3rd 2007

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• Gettu R, 2007, Concrete Properties, Proceedings of workshop conducted for M/s GTL Infra Ltd., Indian Institute of
Techology Madras, Chennai, Nov 2nd 2007
• Kalyanraman, 2007, A Review of Steel Tower Skeleton System, Proceedings of workshop conducted for M/s GTL Infra Ltd.,
Indian Institute of Techology Madras, Chennai, Nov 3rd 2007
• Menon, 2007, Fixing of Ground Based and Roof Top Towers-Structural Issues, Proceedings of workshop conducted for M/s
GTL Infra Ltd., Indian Institute of Techology Madras, Chennai, Nov 2nd 2007
• Advantages and disadvantages of tubular and angular towers, http://www.monsterfm.com/tech/tower/towerspecs.htm#top
(accessed April 2009)
• Estimate of Cell sites construction 2007, http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/ (accessed January 2009)
• Indian Telecom Sector Analysis (2006-2007), http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM073.htm (accessed November 2008)
• ITU World Telecommunication base indicator 2007, www.itu.int (accessed October,2008)
• Site Installation, http://www.topcomco.com/civil_work.htm (accessed March 2009)
• Site Survey, http://www.topcomco.com/site_survey.htm (accessed January 2009)
• Structural changes in the Indian Steel Industry 2003, http://jpcindiansteel.nic.in/structure.asp (accessed December 2008)
• Tower design specifications, http://www.rajessh.com/towerdesignspecifications (accessed February 2009)
• Tower materials, http://www.topcomco.com/ti.htm (accessed April 2009)
• Tower specifications, http://www.monsterfm.com/tech/tower/towerspecs.htm (accessed January 2009)
• Why cell tower business is booming?, www.financialexpress.com/news/whys-cell-tower-business-booming/407427/
(accessed April 2009)

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THANK YOU

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