1.
8 Planning and Estimating Works
Preparatory Activities
There are several stages of preparations
before a civil works programme can
1 commence. These preparatory activities
will need staff resources and logistical
support in order to be carried out in
P L A N N I N G A N D P R E PA R AT I O N O F W O R K S
a timely fashion. For this reason, a
schedule of events defining when survey
works, design, preparation of bidding
documents a nd t he tendering of
works will take place is prepared. The
figure below outlines the sequence of
preparatory activities required in order
to secure that the road works take place
at the right time.
This time schedule should cover the
entire period starting from when
the initial surveys will take place
u nt i l c ont rac t awa rd a nd work s
implementation. This will ensure that
the preparatory works are completed at
the correct time before the necessary
budgets are available and works are
intended to start. It also allows for
the necessary supervision staff to be
mobilised when works are ready to
commence.
BUILDING RURAL ROADS
The first step among the preparatory
activities is to establish in detail the
composition of the actua l work s
requirements. All works planning is
based on field surveys where the actual
condition of the road is established in
detail. Based on what is observed in
the field, it is possible to make specific
suggestions on how to improve the road
and on this basis calculate quantities of
work and estimate costs.
0 4 2
The sur vey work is a continuous
process carried out on a regular basis
to monitor t he performa nce a nd
condition of the road network. Equally,
the budget preparations are normally
carried out a year in advance and
therefore based on earlier preliminary
assessments of the road condition and
required improvement works. When
specif ic road improvement or new
construction project are proposed, it is
necessary to carry out a detailed survey
specifically for this purpose.
When the work budgets have been
secured, detailed designs and work
plans are prepared for each road
works project. With the detailed plans
completed, it is possible to commence
t he tendering process. Once t he
contracts have been awarded, the
detailed work plans need to be updated
to (i) reflect the actual time at which the
contractor can commence works and (ii)
to reflect the specific arrangements of
resources which the contractor intends
to make. The plans of individual work
projects are finally compiled into an
overall programme describing all works
under the supervision of the road works
agency.
This planning and programming exercise
not only applies for construction works
but also provides the basis for planning
of road maintenance. The planning
process should therefore result in two sets
of plans, one for the annual maintenance
progra mme a nd a not her for road
improvement works.