UEMX 4913 INTEGRATED DESIGN PROJECT

RESIDENTIAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT OF 206 UNITS OF SEMI-DETACHED

HOUSE IN BERANANG

GROUP 5

EARTHWORK

Lim Hua Kang 1801347

Si Wai Kee 1804350

A project report submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of Bachelor of Engineering

(Honours) Civil Engineering

Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

April 2022

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Advance Consult is a company that mainly regards sustainability development in projects and
provides advanced earthwork services to clients. The missions of our company in this project
are to construct a platform and provide erosion and sediment control to the site. In order to
perform these tasks, site clearance and preparation of the facility must come in the preliminary
phase. The next steps are preparation of platform and infrastructure work with geotechnical
and drainage systems. The main objective of Advance Consult Sdn Bhd in this project is to
execute a cost-effective and to fulfil the requirements of clients as well as all construction
standards. The company also hopes to handover the project within the schedule provided
without delay.

The project is located at Beranang, beside Semenyih area as a small town in Hulu
Langat District, Selangor. The project is to construct 206 units of double storey semi-detached
house with 190 intermediate units and 16 corner lot units. The earthwork project starts in
December of 2022 and handover in July of 2023 with a duration of 8 months. The main job
scopes carried out by the company in this project are to perform site clearance, construct site
facilities and preliminary works, conduct excavation work for cut and fill, design and construct
drainage system for site and proposed suitable type of retaining wall.

Our engineers have proposed the suitable ground level for preparation of the platform
based on the surrounding contour levels. After cut and fill volume computation, the total cut
volume is 145,445 m and fill volume is 109,628 m3 before compaction. After soil conversion,
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the excessive soil will be used for sloping and standby for other purposes.

For erosion and sediment control, engineers have proposed designs for the construction
and excavation of sediment basin and temporary drainage system on site which can also prevent
flooding on site. The design is to preserve the natural environment by preventing erosion of
soil and untreated sediment affects the drainage system. For prevention of soil erosion in the
future, crib retaining wall has also been proposed to solve the steep change between the
proposed platform level and spot levels.

By referring to standards such as MSMA 2nd edition and REAM as a guidance, the
company can refer to methods and recommendations to improve the safety and feasibility of
the project by looking into different practices when designing to prevent failure in design and
safety issues.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES v
LIST OF FIGURES vi
LIST OF APPENDIX vii
CHAPTER 1 1
1.1 Project Background 1
1.2 General Introduction 2
1.3 Project Overview 3
1.3 Feasibility Study 4
1.4 Problem Interpretation 6
1.5 Aims and Objectives 7
CHAPTER 2 8
2.1 Planning & Organization 8
2.2 Site Clearance and Preparation 9
2.3 Mobilisation of Machineries 10
2.4 Preliminary Works 10
2.4.1 Site Facilities Planning 11
2.5 Earthworks 12
2.5.1 Cut and Fill 12
2.5.2 Excavation Work 15
2.5.3 Construction of Sediment Basin and Temporary Drainage System 15
2.5.4 Temporary Site Access 18
2.5.5 Soil Compaction and Transportation 19
2.5.6 Construction of Retaining Structure 19
CHAPTER 3 21
3.1 Proposed Platform level Design 21
3.2 Excavation Work 24
3.3 Planning of Site Access 25
3.4 Erosion and Sedimentation Control 27
3.4.1 Design of Retaining Wall Structure 28
3.4.2 Design of Temporary Drainage System 30
3.4.3 Design of Sediment Basin 31
3.5 Risk Management 33
3.6 Cost Effectiveness 35
3.7 Practicality and Environmental Impact 44

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CHAPTER4 46
CHAPTER 5 50
REFERENCES 51
APPENDIX ATTACHED IN SEPARATE FILE

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Project Team

Table 2.1: Table of Conversion Factor for Soil, K
Table 3.1: Bill of Quantities of Class E, site clearance
Table 3.2: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 1)
Table 3.3: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 2)
Table 3.4: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 3)
Table 3.5: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Summary)
Table 3.6: Bill of Quantities of Class G, Geotechnical Work
Table 3.7: Bill of Quantities of Class P, Drainage Work
Table 4.1: Bill of Quantities of Class E, F, G & P
Table 4.2: Bill of Quantities of consultant fee & machinery

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Site Location Captured from Google Maps

Figure 2.1 Flowchart of Earthwork Activities
Figure 2.2 Simplified Gantt chart
Figure 2.3 A 10m x 10m Grid Box
Figure 2.4 Silt Fence
Figure 2.5 Sediment Basin
Figure 2.6 Temporary Drainage
Figure 2.7 Concrete Pipe Culvert
Figure 2.8 Crusher Run Access
Figure 2.9 Steel Plates
Figure 3.1 Topographic Map and Contour Lines
Figure 3.2 Layer Colouring
Figure 3.3 Proposed Stockpile Area
Figure 3.4 Design of Site Access
Figure 3.5 Site access after compaction
Figure 3.6 Slope Failure due to raining
Figure 3.7 Precast concrete crib wall
Figure 3.8 Design of retaining surface runoff
Figure 3.9 Design of sediment basin
Figure 3.10 Rate of site clearance
Figure 3.11 Rate for fill excavation
Figure 3.12 Turfing rate
Figure 3.13 Rate for project signboard and hoarding
Figure 3.14 Rate for cabin site office
Figure 3.15 Rate for cabin guard house
Figure 3.16 Rate for cabin portable toilet
Figure 3.17 Sample price from concrete pipe manufacturer

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 LIST OF APPENDIX

APPENDIX A1 Site Facilities

APPENDIX A2 Grid Box Method
APPENDIX A3 Cut and Fill Computation
APPENDIX A4 Proposed Platform
APPENDIX A5 Calculation for Soil Conversion Factor
APPENDIX A6 Cut and Fill Grid Box Illustration
APPENDIX A7 Soil for Slope Computation
APPENDIX A8 Selection of Cross Section Cut Plan
APPENDIX A8-1Cross Section A-A
APPENDIX A8-2 Cross Section B-B
APPENDIX A8-3 Cross Section C-C
APPENDIX A8-4 Cross Section D-D
APPENDIX A9 In-site Access Road
APPENDIX A10 Temporary Drainage
APPENDIX A11 Dimension of RCP Culvert
APPENDIX A12 Direction of Surface Runoff

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Project Background
The proposed site is located at Beranang, which is a small town in Hulu Langat District,
Selangor with neighbouring towns such as Semenyih, Kajang and Sepang. Beranang is located
35km in the south direction of Kuala Lumpur, 13km of Kajang and 30km north of Seremban.
Although the site location is slightly far away from major towns and cities, there are still some
major highways that can connect Beranang to its neighbouring towns and cities such as Jalan
Broga and Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS Highway).

The project handled by our group is Project K consisting 206 units of double-storey
semi-detached houses and the actual coordinate of the site is 2°53'33.82"N, 101°51'2.56"E
covering an area of 158585.57m2 including all units with access roads. The duration of the
project will be 24 months which is 2 years to complete all the phases from pre-construction
phase to construction phase and lastly post-construction phase.

Figure 2.1 Site Location Captured from Google Maps

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1.2 General Introduction
Earthworks are the engineering works created by managing and processing the earth’s surface
which involve soil and rocks. It is usually known as the process whereby the surface of the
earth is excavated and transported and compact at different locations complying with drawings
and designs by engineers and surveyors. Earthwork is playing an important role in all
construction sites as it includes all the preliminary works including an adequate site
investigation and preparing practical as well as satisfactory designs of the earthworks.
Incomplete or inadequate preparation work may lead to unwanted events such as delayed work
progress or inaccuracy in deciding the contour levels which will result in significant losses.

For earthworks, it will cover scopes such as clearing of site including clearing away
vegetation and all obstructions to get the ground prepared for the planned construction works.
Besides, earthwork is also responsible in managing the waste such as unusable soil, waste and
site materials which must be handled efficiently. Next will be removal of soil to get the contour
level of the soil set by the engineer. Cut and fill method will be used to utilise the cut soil and
fill it on the lower area before compacting it for the foundation of the structure.

Next, after cutting the soil to the proposed level and completing the compaction of soil,
slope protection must be done to avoid landslide and soil erosion. Retaining structure can be
used to hold back the soil as well as water to prevent flowing to the lower area and can save
more space when facing a big change in contour level. After constructing the retaining
structure, engineers are responsible to check the retaining wall and ensure it is safe. Engineers
and surveyors must also perform checking on the proposed level and the location of different
levels progressively throughout the project.

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1.3 Project Overview
The project handled by our group is Project K. The project is located in Beranang, which is a
small town in Hulu Langat District, Selangor. The actual coordinate of the project is
2°53'33.82"N, 101°51'2.56"E and it covers an area of 158585.57m2 including all units and
access roads. The project consists of 206 units of double-storey semi-detached houses with 160
units of intermediate units, 30 units of intermediate units on both sides and 16 units of corner
lots.

The entire project is divided into 4 subgroups which are Earthwork group, Building
Information Modelling (BIM) group, Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) group and Environmental
Impact Analysis (EIA). Earthwork contractor will be the first contractor to handle the site.
Therefore, earthwork is responsible for site clearance and all the preliminary works. Besides,
earthwork will do the excavation work on site and construct retaining structures to provide a
safe and stable platform for the construction of the structure.

Advance Consult Sdn Bhd will be appointed as the earthwork consultant to do all the
earthworks for the proposed development of the Residential Double-Storey Semi-Detached
houses located in Beranang, Selangor. The developer of the project is ACE Construction Group
Sdn Bhd which provides services such as residential and commercial construction,
infrastructure construction and maintenance, architectural designs and consultant services, etc.

Table 1.1: Project Team

Roles Details

Project Proponent GAMURA LAND

(Owner) Wisma GAMURA LAND
Jalan Bukit Bintang, Bukit Bintang, 55100,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603-6656 8901
Fax: 603-8823 2386
Contact Person: Dato’ Woon Jee Soon

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 Developer ACE Construction Group Sdn Bhd
8, Jalan Sungai Long,
Bandar Sungai Long,
Cheras 43000, Kajang, Selangor.
Tel: 603-1234 5678 / 603-8765 4321
Fax: 603-5678 4321
Contact Person: En Mohamad Rabaie Bin
Mohd Hafiz

Advance Consult Sdn Bhd

Earthwork Consultant
No. 21, Jalan Pekaka 8/3, Seksyen 8 Kota
Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 603-5896 2147
Fax: 603-5874 2369
Contact Person: Ir Lim Hua Kang

1.3 Feasibility Study

Feasibility studies are one of the preliminary studies undertaken in the early stage of all
construction projects. It must be carried out for construction projects to solve all doubts and
controversies related to proposed development. There are few types of feasibility study to
evaluate the whole project based on different aspects. In terms of earthwork, the feasibility
being measured will be in terms of economic feasibility, operational feasibility, and scheduling
feasibility.

In terms of economic feasibility study, it is important to ensure that the earthwork

construction can be managed and budgeted to avoid cost overruns. Therefore, when calculating
the cost and feasibility study for the whole project, our project team for earthwork will allocate
another 20% of budget to handle unforeseen circumstances such as poor soil condition, rock
removal, machinery breakdown, bad weather condition, etc. Therefore, soil investigation and
site surveying must be done precisely to minimise the risks that the site might face. Moreover,
to reduce the idle time for machinery such as excavators and compactors, the site schedule
must be balanced and different works can be overlapped through job planning. As an example,

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when the excavation work is completed for a selected zone and moving to another zone, the
first zone can proceed with soil compaction while undergoing excavation work for other zones.

For operational feasibility, it is to measure how the proposed solution can help to solve
the problems on site. The few main issues on site are mainly on how to ensure the traffic on
site by planning temporary access roads during the construction stage and to propose suitable
temporary drainage systems to avoid flooding during the rainy season. Besides, the proposed
platform level is also important to fit with the surrounding contour levels and the spot road
levels that were provided. To plan for good temporary access on site, the site engineer must be
familiar with all the zones on site and plan for roads that can be accessible for trucks and
machineries. The best way is to work from the corner of the site and slowly work outwards so
that trucks and machines can move outwards freely once the selected zone is completed.

For temporary drainage, it is important to focus on the contour level in and out of the
site. As during the rainy season, water will flow from the high region to the low region.
Therefore, for a sediment basin which is the designated area where water is contaminated as a
result of construction activity or water runoff is contained, it must be constructed on the lower
region in the site for water to flow into it. Moreover, the contour level will also affect the
proposed platform level chosen which must not have too much difference as it will affect the
feasibility of the project due to the stability of slope between the two levels.

Lastly, scheduling feasibility is also important to foresee when the earthwork

construction can be completed. Duration planning for every site activity must be made so that
the earthwork contractor can handle the site to the next contractor on time without delay. A
complete gantt chart must be created and followed throughout the duration of the project. This
will help the project team to set a timeline during the project and estimate the actual date of
completion which is the main goal of conducting feasibility study.

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1.4 Problem Interpretation
Problem interpretation will cover all the problems faced on site for pre-construction phase and
construction phase. Interpretation and analysis of problems will be made and come out with
the best solution to ensure that the work and progress on site can move on smoothly.

Some of the problems that may be faced during the construction phase will be
breakdown of machineries, weather issues, delayed progress due to shortage of labour and
covid-19 pandemic. This first problem which is the most common problem is breakdown of
machineries. To cope with this issue, regular inspections of equipment and maintenance should
be completed from time to time. Besides, hiring experienced operators or foremen with basic
knowledge in repairing machineries will also help to save time and cost of the project.

Next, weather issues will also delay the site progress and bring safety concerns to the
site workers. During the rainy season especially at the end of the year, precaution steps must
be taken to ensure the safety of the site especially when working under rain. Supervisors must
provide waterproof protective gears and slip-resistant boots to workers for them to work under
a safer condition. Besides, the visibility will be lower during rainy days and reflective vests
must be provided to workers. If necessary, whistles can be provided to help workers to protect
themselves under hazard conditions. To prevent further delay on site during the rainy season,
contractors must ensure that the drainage system is running smoothly without blockage. The
depth of the sediment basin must be maintained as well to hold larger runoff volume during the
rainy season.

Due to the pandemic, the project might face a shortage of labour as most of the
construction sites in Malaysia are mainly relying on foreign workers. This issue will happen
due to a hiring freeze imposed by the government and closing of borders. However, due to the
reopening of the economy, companies must be proactive to hire and take in foreign workers so
that the project can run smoothly.

In terms of the problems that may be faced during construction of earthworks such as
wrong cutting of the platform level, engineers and surveyors must supervise the site progress
every day and refer to superior if in any doubts. However, if the mistake cannot be solved, a
revised plan or alternative solution must be proposed to bring the loss to a minimal range.

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1.5 Aims and Objectives
The aim of this project for earthwork is to provide a platform and an area which is safe to work
on for the building structure to be constructed on it. Besides, earthwork will also prepare the
site in terms of clearance of vegetation or any obstructions as well as surveying of the site to
ensure that the future work can be done smoothly. The objectives below are to be achieved
throughout the whole project of earthwork:

(a) To perform site clearance and construct site facilities such as site office, temporary
access, temporary drainage, sediment basin, worker’s cabin, etc.
(b) To conduct site surveying and propose the suitable platform level based on the contour
level provided
(c) The conduct excavation work and manage the volume of soil by using cut and fill
method
(d) To propose the suitable temporary drainage size and the drainage system
(e) To come out with the suitable retaining structure to protect the slope and maintain its
stability
(f) To prepare a cost-effective project and be able to follow the schedule of the project.

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 CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY
2.1 Planning & Organization
A good planning is vital and essential especially during the pre-construction phase and
construction phase of a project. A flowchart of the main job scopes will be shown below:

Figure 2.1 Flowchart of Earthwork Activities

A duration of 8 months has been allocated to earthwork to complete all the activities.
Upon construction, complete planning with duration for each project section must be listed
down to track the progress of the project. If planning and the actual construction work is not

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tally, it might delay the overall handling time of the site and Liquidated Ascertained Damages
(LAD) might be imposed as a result of project overrunning.

Based on the project overall schedule, each project activity has been given a time to be
completed and all the details of the project activities will be listed out to provide a more detailed
schedule for better estimation of the date of completion. The detailed scope for each job activity
such as as-built submission, engineers and surveyors checking level and project handover will
be discussed under each project activity. Figure 2.2 shows the simplified gantt chart for the
earthwork construction.

Figure 2.2 Simplified Gantt chart

2.2 Site Clearance and Preparation

As the first contractor to enter the site, site clearance and preparation is the first step to be done
before engineers and surveyors commence work. There are a few necessary steps involved in
site preparation for all construction projects.

● Site Clearing

Site clearance is the first step when contractors enter the site to let the site be in graded and
cleared condition. The scopes in site clearance include the demolishing of old building
structures if there are any, removal of vegetation and obstructions such as trees and old
building materials and eliminating any underground infrastructures such as cables.

For the site location for our project, the previous area was not developed and therefore
the site clearance is just mainly clearing trees, vegetation, logs, etc. Therefore, site grubbing
which is the process of removing grass and vegetation will be needed. Material that has
been cleared and grubbed must then be disposed of in a proper way. Site grading, which is

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 the process of topsoil removal, is not needed in the current stage before the excavation and
cut and fill process to achieve the proposed platform level for construction.

Before starting site clearance, surveyors must also ensure that the coordinates of the
site are accurate to avoid any issues such as violation of rules and lands of others.

● Site Preparation

At this stage, when site clearance work has been planned and prior to start, site preparation
including testing of soil can be done to collect the geological data of the site area including
the coordinates of site, spot heights of required areas, the total site area as well as the
hoarding needed for the project, the soil condition and some other important information
that are collected through land surveying and soil testing.

2.3 Mobilisation of Machineries

Upon work commencement for earthworks, machinery such as excavator, soil compactor,
bulldozer, dump truck, etc. must be well prepared and checked before starting site work.
Therefore, during the site clearance stage, mobilisation of machinery will be done by gathering
all the machinery needed for site work, and completing inspection of machinery by authorities.

2.4 Preliminary Works

After the site is cleared and the machinery is mobilised, preliminary works include the
construction of a sediment basin, temporary drainage system, temporary access in site for the
construction site as well as site facilities.

Preliminary works are important in ensuring successful execution and completion of a

project. It includes planning and scheduling of the project to make sure that the project can be
completed on time. Construction of the sediment basin will act as a sediment control site and
prevent flooding in the site which is formed by excavation work on the lower existing level
and construction of an earthen embankment. For the temporary drainage system, it is to ensure
that water can circulate and flow in site into the sediment basin to prevent water ponding and
flooding in site. Next the purpose of planning the temporary road access on site is to make sure

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that all equipment will be able to access and cover all areas in the site to undergo site works
such as compaction of soil, excavation work, etc.

In terms of site facilities, it is important to ensure that all facilities are complete on site
before work commencement. Facilities such as site office, site toilet, wash through, diesel
station and security post are to be constructed for site works to progress smoothly. In short,
preliminary works refer to work to prepare the site before undergoing earthwork which is the
construction stage. The site facilities will be attached in Appendix 1 as illustration purposes.

2.4.1 Site Facilities Planning

(i) Installation of Guard Post

A guard post will be constructed at the entrance gate of the site to record the entrance and exit
of all vehicles while taking care of the safety of the site and record the delivery orders of
materials in and out of the site.

(ii) Site Cabin

Site cabin will be located in the office for management purposes and provide a working space
for site engineers and Clerk of Work (C.O.W). Besides, the site cabin also provides meeting
space for site meetings for clients and developers to keep track with the progress of the project.

(iii) Workers Accommodation

Accommodation for workers will be provided on site to provide a space for workers to stay
and facilities such as kitchen, toilet and bath area will be provided to workers to fulfil their
daily needs.

(iv) Diesel Station

A simple diesel station tank will be prepared on site to fuel up the machineries and equipment
needed to run the earthwork and the construction of retaining walls.

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(v) Wash trough

The main purpose of installing wash trough is to function as a cleaning station located at the
exit of the construction site used to clean the vehicles before exiting the site to keep the roads
and surrounding clean. High pressure water jet is installed to allow workers to wash the soil
and dust away from the tires of the vehicle especially during the rainy season.

2.5 Earthworks

Earthworks construction stage can be divided into a few subcategories which are excavation
work for cut and fill method based on the proposed contour level, soil compaction, handling
and transporting cut soil and the construction of retaining structure.

2.5.1 Cut and Fill

For excavation works, it is conducted true to lines, widths and depths proposed in the drawings.
Before starting the excavation work, the volume for cut and fill must be calculated based on
the proposed platform level. Cut and fill method is the process of involving the addition or
removal of large masses of material such as soil, dirt and stone. The main objective is to
maximise the use of existing materials on site to save cost of material as well as transportation
cost. If there is excess soil after cutting, the excess soil can be sold off after considering the
transportation cost of soil in order to make a profit. However, if the volume of fill required is
more than the volume of cut, suitable soil material must be imported and will increase the cost
of the project.

Before planning for the proposed platform level, we have to complete the site surveying
and obtain the spot levels around the site so that the constructed site location will not be too
steep. For this project, Grid Line Method was used to calculate the cut and fill volume of the
site. The calculation was started by computing a network of lines with each grid box of 10
metres times 10 metres and each grid box will be labelled from - A to Z (in capital case)
followed by a - l (in normal case) for horizontal row which covers 38 letters and number 1 to
29 for vertical row covering 29 numbers in total referring to Appendix A2 for diagram
illustration. Therefore, there will be 1102 grid boxes in total for the construction area.

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 After completing the grid lines on the construction site, the existing level and the
proposed platform level must be determined to be used to calculate the cut and fill volume. To
find the levels, insert the levels of four edges of each grid box for existing levels based on the
given contour levels. Next, insert the proposed level for the four edges for each grid box by
interpolation manually based on the drawing plan. The average change of height of each grid
box is calculated by deducting the existing level with the proposed platform level for each edge
and dividing it by 4. The cut and fill volume will then be obtained by multiplying the area of
the grid box with average height change. A negative value indicates that filling of soil is needed
whereas a positive value indicates that cutting of soil is required. Figure 2.3 shows the counting
method for the cut and fill method for the grid box and the formulas needed for calculation as
presented in equation 2.1 and 2.2. The symbol E stands for the existing level whereas P stands
for proposed platform level.

Figure 2.3 A 10m x 10m Grid Box

Average change of height

(2.1)

Cut and Fill Volume = Average height x Grid box area (2.2)

Next, the calculated volume is multiplied with the conversion factor of soil to identify
the exact volume of soil needed to be imported or exported. Based on the project assumption,
40% of the final cut material is unsuitable to be re-use and is to be discarded. Therefore, the
final volume of the soil must be multiplied with 0.6 if it is in cut condition before it can be sold.

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Based on soil properties in Selangor area, the assumed soil type is common earth type under
bank condition as the initial condition of soil. Therefore, based on Table 2.1, the K is valued at
1.25 and 0.90 in conversion from bank to loose condition and 0.90 from bank to compacted
condition respectively. To compute cut and fill volume, the actual volume of soil required to
fill and the volume of excess soil are different. Calculation will be needed for both conditions
with different equations (2.3 to 2.6).

Table 2.1: Table of Conversion Factor for Soil, K

Cut and Fill Computation

Let:

Volume of fill computed = Vf

Volume of cut computed = Vc

Volume of soil imported (Volume of Fill > Volume of Cut)

Volume of fill area covered by cut soil = (Vc)(K) (2.3)

Volume of soil required for fill = Vf - (Vc)(k) (2.4)

Volume of soil exported (Volume of Cut > Volume of Fill)

Volume of cut soil needed for fill area = (Vf)(K) (2.5)

Volume of excess cut = Vc - (Vf)(K) (2.6)

After obtaining the volume of soil whether the soil is in cut or fill condition, the cost or
profit can be calculated. If the soil is in cut condition, 60% of the cut soil can be sold to make
a profit and on the other hand, if the soil is in fill condition, extra soil will be needed through
soil importing which will increase the cost of the project. As the assumption of the project,
there will be no topsoil removal as the typical range of topsoil is from 50mm to 30mm thick
and will not make a difference based on the average excavation depth of up to 5m. Besides,
during site clearance, partial volume of the topsoil has already been removed before the
commencement of earthworks.

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 The calculation of the cut and fill volume and the actual volume of exported or imported
soil will be attracted in Appendix A3, and the calculation of soil conversion will be attached
in Appendix A5.

2.5.2 Excavation Work

Excavation work is the method of using instruments, machinery, or explosives to move soil,
rock, or any other earth materials. During the planning of excavation work, it is important to
include the planning of soil stockpile area, the excavation of sediment basin, and the zoning in
excavation work. When the excavation work has started, handling the cut soil is important to
prevent any delay of work when handling the soil.

2.5.3 Construction of Sediment Basin and Temporary Drainage System

Sedimentation and erosion control measures are important for all site works. In terms of
sedimentation and erosion control, it is important to ensure that the surface runoff on site can
be controlled to prevent overflow or accumulation of water which can lead to sedimentation of
soil. Therefore, a sediment basin and temporary drainage system must be constructed to divert
the runoff into the sediment basin through the drainage system in the site.

The main purpose of the sediment basin is to collect and store runoff and water that is
contaminated with suspended sediment due to construction activity or rain (Larry,2022). When
the water is in the sediment basin for a certain period of time, the sediment can settle to the
bottom of the pond until it can be removed. Control measures such as silt fences which act as
a sediment control fence which is made of geotextile filter fabric that can detain sediment
during construction can also be used to protect the water quality nearby. Figure 2.4 shows the
example of a silt fence on site and Figure 2.5 shows the example of a sediment basin captured
during the internship period. Silt fences can be used to improve the quality of the water for
discharging out of the site.

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 Figure 2.4 Silt Fence (Fibromat, 2021)

Figure 2.5 Sediment Basin

Temporary drainage system will be constructed to capture the flow of runoff on site
and prevent in-boundary or out-of-boundary flooding. Based on MSMA 2nd Edition, 2012, a
temporary drainage system should be designed so that the system does not contribute to the
sedimentation problems and provide stable channel design so that the drainage can last
throughout the project time. Culverts will be used as well to allow water to flow under various
obstructions such as site access. Figure 2.6 shows an example of temporary drainage captured

16
during the internship period and Figure 2.7 shows the example of pipe culvert installation on
site.

Figure 2.6 Temporary Drainage

Figure 2.7 Concrete Pipe Culvert (Multnomah County, 2020)

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2.5.4 Temporary Site Access
Site access is necessary to allow the transportation and delivery of construction materials,
labour and equipment as well as allowing installation and connection of services if necessary
(SimplyMalaysia, 2012). In order to ensure the progress and effectiveness of site work, site
access can be constructed by soil compaction on normal ground for trucks and equipment to
access on it and for softer ground, crusher run which is a blended mix of coarse aggregate and
fine aggregate might be needed and compacted to be used as a base to cover the soft ground
for accessibility. Another alternative solution will be installation of steel plates. Steel plates
can be used as a base to reinforce grounds to uphold a greater load on it, make temporary
crossings over trenches and areas such as junctions or temporary drainage. Figure 2.8 shows
the crusher run access and Figure 2.9 shows the steel plates on site which were captured during
the internship period.

Figure 2.8 Crusher Run Access

Figure 2.9 Steel Plates

18
 In our project, the construction of site access will be soil compaction as the soil type is
common earth soil in bank condition and mainly consists of sand, gravel, and other minerals.
For common earth soil, it is suitable for earthwork and geotechnical works. Therefore, no
further reinforcement of ground will be needed after compaction of soil.

2.5.5 Soil Compaction and Transportation

Handling of soil after excavation works are important as well to ensure that the soil is excavated
the same as the proposed platform level. After excavation work, soil compaction must be done
to increase the bearing capacity of the soil. Soil compaction is important as it can increase the
shear strength of soils by adding friction from the interlocking particles (Mintek Resources,
2020). Besides, soil compaction will also reduce the settlement after the building is constructed
by providing a strong working platform during the construction phase. It can eliminate the
voids by creating densified soil which reduces the chance of soil settling or shrinking.

Next, transportation of soil is also important during site work. Stockpile area must be
set for the workers to transport soil to particular areas so that the cut soil will be arranged well
instead of random accumulation of soil on site. Dump truck will be used to carry soil from the
excavation area to the stockpile area. Usually for large sites, there will be a few stockpile areas
to hold the excess cut of soil for soil filling on lower areas.

2.5.6 Construction of Retaining Structure

In cases when there is a steep change in the contour level and the proposed platform level,
retaining structure or walls are needed to withstand the combination of earth and hydrostatic
loads. The wall will keep the retained material in place without causing excessive movement
due to deflection, sliding or overturning. Failure of retaining walls can cause problems such as
soil erosion and landslides that may harm the safety of the building and people nearby.
Therefore, when choosing retaining walls, there are several considerations that must be taken
in such as material of wall, cost of construction, on-site placement and drainage system. To
choose the suitable retaining structure, the site area and wall placement must be also considered
to prevent issues such as spacing issue and inclined issue of wall.

19
 There are a few types of retaining wall being used widely in Malaysia which are
anchored wall, gabion wall, gravity wall, crib wall, cantilevered wall etc. All retaining walls
will hold the same function to provide lateral support to backfill, embankment or to hold them
vertically. However, different walls can be used in different scenarios depending on the height
of the retaining needed and type of support given by the wall. As an example, a gravity retaining
wall is generally constructed up to a height of 3m but cantilever can be constructed to 6m based
on different situations. For crib wall, it is mainly used for residential purposes to stabilise
platforms and driveway access which is suitable to be used based on the project nature. Besides,
crib walls are adaptable which can be straight, angled or even curved and can be constructed
up to 12m.

20
 CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
3.1 Proposed Platform level Design
In designing the proposed platform level, it is important to study and refer to the contour line
which is the 2D graphic presentation of the land layout. The contour lines will indicate an
imaginary line on the ground surface, and join points of equal elevation or height above a given
level which is mainly known as sea level. In a topographic map, it will include some general
information such as the shape and elevation of slopes and based on the contour lines, we will
be able to determine the cross section of the project area to propose a suitable level for
construction. Figure 4.1 shows an example of a topographic map with illustration from contour
lines to 3D map.

Figure 3.1 Topographic Map and Contour Lines (Debra, 2020)

Based on the topographic plan provided, the site area surrounded by site hoarding
proposed is 158585.57m2 which is around 15.86 hectares including site facilities, site access,
drainage, etc. For the area of construction and excavation work, it will cover 101200m2 based
on 1012 grid boxes with 10m x 10m each. From the contour levels in the topographic map, the
elevation of slopes falls within a small range ranging from reduced level of 46m at the lower
area to achieving its peak height with a reduced level of 60m.

21
 From the project layout, a simple layer colouring of the contour line was plotted to have
a better view on the reduced level of the project as shown in Figure 3.1. The colour changes
from red to orange to yellow and lastly green indicate that the reduced level is decreasing
gradually from red colour with an existing level of around 60m to green colour with lowest
existing level of 46m.

Figure 3.2 Layer Colouring

After having a shape and idea of the elevation change, we can propose the platform
level based on the existing level. Based on our design the proposed platform level is divided
into 5 different levels and 5 different sections. The difference between the sections will be set
between the back to back houses as shown in Appendix A4. This is to ensure that the road has
a flat level and the difference between the front row house and back row house will be 1m due
to the proposed platform level. The difference between the contours level cannot be too large
due as the gradient of the access road cannot be too high. For residential areas, there will be a
speed limit of 30km/h proposed by the Transport Ministry (Samuel, 2022). Therefore, based
on the Road Engineering Association of Malaysia (REAM), the gradient of standard road for
residential areas based on the design speed must be taken into consideration. For our project,
we had proposed a 1:12 road for road access which means there will be 1m vertical rise for
every 12m or more horizontal distance run with a 4.76 degrees of angle of elevation which is

22
sufficient or around 8% grade in percentage which is sufficient to support up to 60km/h for
residential area based on REAM.

From our project, the 5 different proposed platform levels are 55.2m, 54.2m, 53.2m,
52.2m and 51.2m as shown in Appendix A4. The few considerations taken in when proposing
the levels to save cost and increase feasibility are based on the surrounding contour lines and
the calculation of cut and fill. For the surrounding contour lines, the proposed level cannot have
too much difference with it and level must be decreased gradually based on the slope of the
topographic map. Therefore, for the average contour level of 58m, the proposed platform level
will be 55.2m and moving down the slope, the proposed level will slowly decrease to 54.2m,
53.2m, 52.2m and lastly 51.2m for lowest contour level on site which is 46 to 48m.

In terms of cut and fill computation, there are some factors that must be taken into
consideration. The first factor is to ensure that the difference between the proposed platform
level and existing level cannot be too large for both cut and fill area. In general cases, the
difference between cut and fill volume of soil cannot be too big as it will increase the cost to
handle the soil and a big difference in the volume indicates that the proposed platform level
and existing level is big. Cost such as transportation, excavation, and manpower cost of
handling the soil will increase and bring burden to the project. Therefore, the cut and fill ratio
cannot be too high. In the project, the cut soil is 145,443m3 and fill soil is 109628m3 as shown
in Appendix A3 before compaction with a 24.8% difference which is still within the acceptable
range. However, the volume of fill required will be more than the required volume due to the
soil condition as the volume of soil needed requires conversion factor to be converted to
compact form as shown in the calculation part in Appendix A5. After changing the fill volume
into compact form, the remaining cut soil has been reduced to 23,644m3 from 35,815m3.

To ensure the safety of the site, there will also be slopes constructed between different
platform levels. As a temporary slope, the gradient proposed for the internal slope for different
platform levels is 1m vertical to 6m horizontal with inclination of 9.4 degrees and for
surrounding slope of the development or known as the external slope, the gradient proposed is
1m vertical to 3m horizontal with inclination of 18 degrees. Based on the proposed design,
there will only be 2 sides of the construction area that require the construction of crib wall.
Therefore, no soil will be needed for slope as the crib wall will solve the issue of the difference
between the spot level and contour level with the proposed platform level.

23
3.2 Excavation Work
After determining the proposed platform level, the excavation work can start right away. There
will be few considerations when doing excavation work for cut and fill. First of all, there must
be a few stockpile areas for the cut soil. Based on the site layout, two stockpile areas for soil
were proposed. In consideration of soil stockpile, it is advisable to locate the area on the fill
area or cut area with less volume. This is to avoid extra workload when handling the cut soil.
If the stockpile area is located at the fill area, the soil can be transported directly to the required
area and can save more cost and time. Figure 4.4 shows the proposed stockpile area for the
proposed development.

Figure 3.3 Proposed Stockpile Area and Excavation Direction

Next, the direction for excavation is also important in planning and designing. Based
on Appendix A6, we can have a clearer image to identify which area requires a cut and which
area requires a fill. Besides, the site entrance and access will also affect the direction of
excavation work. Based on planning, the excavation work will start from the inside of the site
as shown in the arrows on Figure 3.3. The excavation work will start from the top right of the

24
site which is a cut area and slowly moving to the left. When moving downwards, the area will
slowly become a fill area. Therefore, by using the cut soil from the top, the fill area can be
filled progressively. Besides, the stockpile area must not interfere with the site access as shown
in the green line in Figure 3.3.
When excavating different proposed platform levels, slope must be included to slope
down the difference in levels. Based on the calculation for slope, the soil needed for slope is
18575m3 . 2000m3 of soil will be added as a buffer to be used if more soil is needed. The
sample calculation is shown in Appendix A7. Therefore, after including the soil needed for
slope, the remaining soil left for cut is 3,059m3. After considering that only 60% of the soil
can be sold, the soil volume left will be 1835.4m3. The profit obtained from selling of soil will
be used for the site maintenance work as the volume sold is not huge. Based on the cut and fill
cost, there will be a rate of RM3.50 charged for every m3 of soil cut/fill covering an area of
145,443m3 after including all the grid boxes and other areas on site. Appendix 8 will attach
the cross section plans for the project.
After excavation work, compaction of soil will be done to increase the bearing capacity
of the soil. The planning of the compaction of soil will follow the progress of excavation work
for cut and fill. Lastly, after the proposed platform level has been excavated and compacted,
surveyors and engineers must check the platform levels and ensure that the level is right
covering the right area based on the layout plan. After that, surveyors will submit the as-built
submission to consultants for further instructions.

3.3 Planning of Site Access

From figure 3.4, the site access road was designed in green lines that consist of access of
entering and exiting the site. In the north direction, there is an existing roundabout which allows
vehicles and trucks to pass through and enter the site. As excavation of earthwork starts from
section A1 to A5, vehicles and trucks that have entered the site will move towards the north
direction in order to start their work. When trucks transport the cut soil to fill the area or for
stockpile purposes, trucks and vehicles have to make a turn and move downward to the south
direction that follows the green line. When earthwork has reached the stage of building
platforms, we will increase the access between each platform to avoid congestion of traffic
within the site. After finishing one day's work, vehicles and trucks will need to pass through
the washing bay to clean up the soil on vehicles and trucks when leaving the sites. The exit of

25
the site is located at the same position of entrance. The cycle of access on site will follow the
green line in figure above. The details of in-site access can refer to Appendix A9.

Figure 3.4 Design of Site Access

All in-site access will be compacted as shown in figure 3.5, to ensure no vehicle will
sink during site working. During sunny days or non-raining seasons, the access will be sprayed
with water to prevent air pollution caused by dust and dry soil floating. After the rainy season,
we will use a back pusher for pushing the wet soil to two sides of the access and compacted it
back with a compactor. With this type of in-site access design, the site should not have any
traffic congestion and accidents happening.

26
 Figure 3.5 Site access after compaction

3.4 Erosion and Sedimentation Control

Rapid development in the construction field and significant construction activities is the source
of stress and damage to our natural environment. Construction activities and the phenomenon
of nature will cause soil erosion and sedimentation. It is because vegetation on site has been
cleared out and soils are directly exposed to water. Malaysia is a country that can have a rainy
season in twelve months. Rainwater is the factor that causes the acceleration of erosion and
sedimentation because rainwater or surface runoff will flow on the surface of soil and flow to
lower areas. The slopes of soil or embankments will fail and be eroded by surface runoff. In
the rainy season, Malaysia has had a lot of slope failure cases, one of the most popular was
happened at Genting Highlands shown in figure 3.6. Besides that, the rainwater will mix with
soil and become sludge at low ground level. If heavy rain happens, the sludge even flows out
from the site, affecting the public area and existing drainage system. To prevent such accidents
happening in our site, we have designed the retaining wall structure for erosion control, design
of temporary drainage system and sediment basin for sedimentation control.

27
 Figure 3.6 Slope Failure due to raining (Alagesh, 2019)

3.4.1 Design of Retaining Wall Structure

To prevent the erosion at site, the role of retaining wall structure is the essential presence in
construction. Beside erosion control, a retaining wall is a structure designed and constructed to
withstand lateral pressure of soil in slope form. In simple words, a retaining wall has to hold
and retain the soil behind it. There are many materials that can be used as backfill of retaining
walls such as concrete, concrete blocks, treated lumber, rocks or boulders. The top surface may
be flat, horizontal or inclined. The benefits of constructing retaining walls are to prevent slope
failure, maintain the difference of ground level and resist the grounds or back fill. Retaining
walls have different types, gravity, cradle, gabion cantilever, counterfort, pile and hybrid
retaining wall.

In our retaining wall design, we use crib wall as it is another type of gravity retaining
wall as shown in figure 3.7. The total area of the crib wall constructed on site is 3999 m2. There
are 2 different crib walls designed, one has a length of 335 m and height is 7.0 m while another
crib wall has 300 m in length and height is 5.4 m. Between double cell and single cell, our
design has adopted a double cell crib wall as the installed area has a high level difference as 7
m in height. The double cell crib wall has higher lateral strength and withstand ability compared
with single cell crib wall. Another reason is that retaining walls have to withstand the pressure
from the housing area.

28
 Bedside crib wall, bin and gabion wall also are the additional type of gravity retaining
wall. The purpose of using gravity retaining walls is that the wall structure has high strength to
retain massive lateral loading from soil. The reason for choosing the crib wall in our design is
ease of installment on site. It is due to the crib wall using precast concrete for header and
stretcher units. The benefits of using crib walls are quick to construct and cost effective. In
landscape work, precast concrete crib wall is cheaper than using treated timber and another
reason is that skilled labour to do the erection (GOPINATH, 2020). Crib wall also is a flexible
system that is suitable in different situations such as curves, slope and terraces. It can utilise
the space and minimise the waste of sources. Hence, precast concrete double cell crib wall is
the most suitable in our design of retaining wall structure.

Figure 3.7 Precast concrete crib wall

29
3.4.2 Design of Temporary Drainage System

Refer to MSMA 2nd edition, section 12.3.4 have stated that,

· To establish a good temporary drainage system, directly control the surface runoff
and prevent it from running across disturbed and unstable areas.

· Surface runoff from undisturbed areas and natural watercourses must be diverted
away from disturbed areas by using BMPs (best management practices) such as
embankments and diversion drains.

· Controls of ineffective drainage must be carried out especially during wet weather
and promptly corrected.

From the above statements, the temporary drainage system must be controlled
effectively as the flow of surface runoff will be affected. Having a bad design of the system
will directly delay the progress of site activity because the site may flood during the rainy
season. A good diversion of the temporary drainage system can drain out the runoff within the
site and collect by sediment basin (Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia,
2012).

When we designed a temporary drainage system, we have been given considerations

on location, sizes and interception of temporary drainage for each crossing. The temporary
drainage system is distributed around the site and platform. This can drain the runoff from
disturbed area to undisturbed area, especially the in-site access example in Appendix A12. The
temporary drainage has a depth of 500 mm which produces a level difference between access
and drainage shown in figure 3.8. The proposed length of temporary drainage on site is 3800
m. The inertia of runoff flows from high elevation to lower elevation as this can drain the runoff
effectively to the system. Secondly, the size of temporary drainage is designed in 500 mm depth
and 500 mm width as shown in Appendix A11. This is due to the interception of temporary
drainage. When the volume of runoff is sudden increase and high runoff velocity, larger sizes
of temporary system can slow down the runoff. It also can prevent overflow of runoff into
disturbed areas. Thirdly, we have designed interceptions of temporary drainage with reinforced
concrete pipe culvert with diameter 450 mm and standard length in 1.52 m. From Appendix
A10, there are 11 locations for installing the RCP culverts and total length is 170.2 m.

30
 Figure 3.8 Design of retaining surface runoff (7.5 Earthworks drainage systems | bs6031-
2009, 2009)

3.4.3 Design of Sediment Basin

After the design of the temporary drainage system, we will focus on where runoff flows before
discharge out from the construction site. The presence of temporary sediment basins or silt
traps are important in runoff management. In MSMA 2nd edition page 1-8, it stated that
“sediment basin should be sized to retain a minimum of 90% of total suspended soil of all
storms that produce rainfall up to 50mm”.

The role of sediment basin is used to retain coarse sediments from runoff, reducing flow
velocity, storage for minor flood attenuation and protecting downstream structure. The
sediments will collect the runoff from the site via temporary drainage. If the velocity of runoff
flow is too fast and even temporary drainage unable to slow down, the sediment basin can
reduce the velocity of runoff as the coarse element in the basin will produce high friction force.
One of the features of the sediment basin is to filter the runoff. At the bottom of the sediment
basin, there are several silt fences with the same width to the basin. The function of a silt fence
is to trap the mud from the runoff and filter the runoff until it achieves the standard to outflow
to the existing drainage. Next, the sediment basin can act as a storage for storing the runoff and
allow the sedimentation of runoff. The location of the constructed sediment basin is the lowest
elevation of the site as shown in Appendix A1. The lowest elevation for the site is at A5 which
is 48 m of original ground level. This is due to protection of lowest area structure such as the
site facilities and hoarding (Fang, Zech and Logan, 2015). The design of the sediment basin
will be based on figure 3.9.

31
 Figure 3.9: Design of sediment basin

In the design of the sediment basin, we have proposed a 30 m x 20 m sediment basin

on our site. The area of site is 15.8 hectares and storage required is 1982.5 m3. Based on the
calculation, we can calculate the depth of the basin is around 3.4 m. Then, the sediment basin
is designed in 30 m x 20 m x 3.4 m.

32
3.5 Risk Management

In risk management, we need to control and avoid the accidents happening in the surrounding
of sites. Control can be classified to nature and action. Nature control is about erosion and
sediment control. Accidents caused by nature factors such as sudden or rainy season and slope
failure. Besides that, action control is to limit the machinery and heavy vehicle movement
pointless on site.

First is erosion control. Erosion control brings a variety of environmental benefits

which can preserve the integrity of the environment and Biosystems. In erosion control, slope
stabilisation is very important as it increases the slope safety factor to a level and avoids the
erosion effect to the surrounding. Every slope constructed on site is not allowed to have
gradients 1:1 and 1:2 which is a steep slope. The characteristic of a steep slope is easily
damaged by rainfall, vibration produced by machinery and slope construction without compact.
Due to the level difference, slope will be needed and according to our design the slope will be
constructed to retain wall structure. Retaining the wall is to withstand the lateral pressure
caused by backfilling of soil and concrete. Construction of retaining walls can help to mitigate
the effects of erosion and control the stability of slope. Not only slope failure, the embankment
around the site area is also damaged by nature. Embankment with 0.5 m height will not need
to construct a retaining wall but compaction has to apply frequently and inspection on
embankment failure must be organised twice a month. So, erosion control will be focused for
our project.

Second control will be focused on sediment control as sediment is the product of

uncontrolled erosion. The consequence can lead to loss of fertile topsoil, filling of lakes and
streams, increment of water level and damage on existing road and buildings. In order to settle
the sediments, construction of the sediment basin must be applied and temporary drainage
systems are required to collect the flow of runoff within the site. Temporary drainage system
will be before the sediment basin. By producing level difference, runoff from disturbed areas
can flow to lower gradient drainage and discharge to the sediment basin. When runoff flows
on the soil surface, water will mix with soil to become silt. Silt runoff will flow through the
drainage system and be collected by the sediment basin. Sediment basin will filter the silt with
a silt fence and slowly discharge the filtered runoff to discharge into the existing drainage
system or nearby river. So, sediment control has an important role in controlling water pollution
and taking care of the environment.

33
 Third control will be easier to control as it limits the movement of machinery and
vehicles. Some of the machinery is not required to move around the site such as high
horsepower excavators. These excavators will be positioned on one location and moving to a
new position when excavation has reached the required level. Excavators have a lot of blind
spots which can be dangerous to other workers on site. So, limiting the movement of excavators
can reduce the fuel consumption and also protect the workers from site accidents. As,
congestion in site will affect the site progress and even delay the weekly progress. Then,
limiting the traffic movement in site becomes important as according to our design, the
direction of access in site is one way and two lanes to prevent any breakdown of trucks. For
heavy trucks that are in-charge for transportation of excavated soil, they will need to comply
with the access set down by supervisors in order to transport the soil to the filling area.

Lastly, cleanliness of vehicle and truck before leaving the site must be taken into
considerations of risk management. As a vehicle or truck with soil attached to a tire or body, it
will affect the cleanliness of the surrounding. In addition, complaints from the public and
authority will affect the project and company reputation. So, every vehicle and truck has to
clean the attached soil on the washing bay and ensure leaving vehicles and trucks will not cause
any effects on the surrounding.

34
 3.6 Cost Effectiveness

In the project, earthwork mainly remark on costing of each activity included site clearance,
excavation work, geotechnical work, purchasing of material, consultant fee and rental of
machinery.

In table 3.1, the table showed the site clearance of preliminary work. The code number
E100 has shown the general clearance above ground. Code E101 is the general clearance on
removing trees, stumps, roots and undergrowth in the site area. The rate was referenced from
Kontrak Water and provided that RM 2,690.00 per hectare shown in figure 4.10
(DEMOLITION & SITE CLEARANCE (CLASS E), 2013). The total area of our site is 15.19
hectares. The total cost of Class E is RM 40,861.10.

Table 3.1: Bill of Quantities of Class E, site clearance

CLASS E

Demolition and Site Clearance

Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)

E100 GENERAL CLEARANCE

Above Ground

101 General clearance. Rate to include the removal ha 15.19 2690.00 40,861.10
of trees and stumps, undergrowth, shrubs,
roots, and the likes.

Total 40,861.10

35
 Figure 3.10 Rate of site clearance (DEMOLITION & SITE CLEARANCE (CLASS E),
2013)

Costing in Class F is under earthwork which consists of excavation work, landscaping

and material fee. The total cost in Class F is RM 1,012,826.62 that occupied 35% of overall
cost of Earthwork. Excavation of earth has included the work of trimming, preparation of
excavated surfaces and transportation from cut area to the place for filling. Table 3.2 showed
the bill of quantities of excavation under Class F. In F101, the rate of excavation of earth
material from original ground level to designated level is RM 3.50 per m3 and multiply with
total cut volume, the amount is RM 509,050.50 followed the figure 3.11 (View of Construction
Cost for Soil Excavation, 2021). For sediment control, the cost of constructing a sediment basin
is estimated for RM 3,000.00.

Table 3.2: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 1)

CLASS F
Earthworks
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
F100 EXCAVATION
Cut to Fill

Excavation in cut shall be deemed

to include trimming and
preparation of excavated surface
and transportation from source to
place of fill or disposal.

36
 101 Excavate in earth material from m3 14544 3.50 509,050.5
original ground level [to designed 3 0
level].

102 Sediment basin for sediment Nos 1 3000.0 3,000.00

control. [30m*20m*3.4m] . 0

Total 512,050.5
0

Figure 3.11 Rate for fill excavation (View of Construction Cost for Soil Excavation, 2021)

For landscaping (F200), it is deemed to include the digging, planting, bedding,

protection, watering and required fertilising. The purpose of turfing is to beautify and recover
the vegetation that was damaged in demolition and site clearance phase. Between spot turfing
and close turfing, we have chosen for spot turfing as most of the turfing area is flat area as
closed turfing only suitable for slope stabilization. From table 3.3, the costing of spot turfing
refers to the rate of RM 2.50 per m2 and total cost is RM 207,465.95 with total area for turfing
is 82,986 m2 . The rate of spot turfing was followed by the figure3.12 (Construction Basic
Price, 2019).

Table 3.3: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 2)

CLASS F
Earthworks

Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)

F200 LANDSCAPING

37
 Items for landscaping shall be deemed
to include digging, planting media,
bedding, stalking, protection, watering,
weeding, required fertilising, and
replacement of dead item until the
vegetation is established.

201 Spot turfing to flat areas. m2 82986 2.50 207,465.95

Total 207,465.95

Figure 3.12 Turfing rate (Construction Basic Price, 2019)

For the material costing shown in table 3.4, code F301 for project signboard and F302
for hoarding have the rate of RM3,000.00 and RM 165.00 per m respectively. Each unit price
can be referred to the rate price provided by Quantity Survey Online in figure 3.13
(Preliminaries Rates, 2021). Besides that, we also provided the cabin for different purpose such
as site office, guard post, worker quarter and portable toilet. The amount of site office and
worker quarters are required for one unit while guard post and portable toilet required for 2
units. This material fee is compulsory as fulfilled site facility requirements. The price is
estimated and finalized by referencing figure 3.14, figure 3.15 and figure 3.16.

38
 Table 3.4: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Section 3)

CLASS F
Earthworks
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
F300 MATERIAL
Construction material and pre-con structure
for site facility purpose.

301 Project Signboard Nos. 1 3000.00 3,000.00

m 1602 165.00 264,310.1
302 Hoarding
7

Cabin
Site office Nos. 1 26000.0 26,000.00
303
0
304 Guard house Nos. 2 5000.00 10,000.00
Worker quarter Nos. 1 30000.0 30,000.00
305
0
306 Portable toilet Nos. 2 2300.00 4,600.00

Total 337,910.1
7

Figure 3.13 Rate for project signboard and hoarding (Preliminaries Rates, 2021)

39
Figure 3.14 Rate for cabin site office (40ft Container Site Office - Commercial Properties for
sale in Miri, Sarawak, 2022)

Figure 3.15 Rate for cabin guard house (G4' Portable Guard House Suitable for Security /
Park / Outdoor / Factory, 2022)

40
 Figure 3.16 Rate for cabin portable toilet (Portable Toilet Cabin for sale, 2022)

The table 3.5 shows the summary of Class F earthwork. The overall cost for Class F is
RM 1,012,826.62 which covers the excavation work, landscaping and material cost required
for the facility purpose.

Table 3.5: Bill of Quantities of Class F, Earthwork (Summary)

CLASS F
Earthworks
Cod
Amount
Item No. e Description Unit Qty. Rate
(RM)
No.
F10 EXCAVATION
0
512,050.50
F20 LANDSCAPING
0
207,465.95
F30 MATERIAL
0
337,910.17

41
 Tota 1,012,826.6
l 2

The geotechnical work has included the construction of retaining wall structure. After
analysing the site condition, we have proposed the retaining wall construction for solving the
level difference in designed level. As the level difference is over 1 m height, slope gradients
with 1:1 ratio are not allowed to follow the standard of slope design. In addition the backfill of
retaining walls are required to construct housing units. So, double cell crib walls are proposed
in our design. In table 3.6, it showed the cost required to construct the crib wall structure. Total
area of the crib wall is 4000 m2 and with the estimated rate of RM 350.00 per m2 and overall
cost for geotechnical work is RM 1.4 million.

Table 3.6: Bill of Quantities of Class G, Geotechnical Work

CLASS G
Geotechnical Work
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
G20 RETAINING STRUCTURES
0

Crib wall

Item for crib wall shall be deemed to include

precast reinforced concrete (Grade 30)
components and granular infill material.

201 Double cell with [1200 mm + 1200 mm] m2 4000 350.0 1,400,000.0
header. 0 0
Total 1,400,000.0
0

42
 In drainage part, code P601 is concrete pipe culvert for junction in temporary drainage.
From manufacturer ATKC ewarehouse shown in figure 3.17, the rate given is around RM 130
per unit cost required for purchase and installation is RM 14,300.00.

Table 3.7: Bill of quantities of Class P, Drainage Work

CLASS
P
Drainage Work
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
P600 CULVERTS

Item for culverts shall be deemed to include all

joints, water stop, concrete base, and concrete
surround unless otherwise stated.
Concrete Pipe Culvert

601 [450 mm] diameter single precast concrete pipe Nos. 110 130 14,300.0
culvert, Class [X] in standard length of 1.52 m. 0
Total 14,300.0
0

Figure 3.17 Sample price from concrete pipe manufacturer (Concrete Pipe Culvert, n.d.)

43
3.7 Practicality and Environmental Impact

Construction creates huge impacts to the environment such as the noise pollution caused by
working of heavy machines, air pollution by machine and smoke produced and water pollution.
Construction involved the three main areas of pollution. If one of the measures have failed and
cause serious pollution, the project site may need to shut down and solve the issues until DOE
(department of environment) have accepted the solution and approved to proceed with the
remaining work. In our project, the issues needed to take concern are cut and fill activity,
covered of temporary sediment basin after project completed and recovery of vegetation.

Excavation work is the one of the main activities that need to proceed in the earthwork
phase. From the Appendix A3, we have estimated total cut volume is 145,443 m3 and soil is
cut for filling and construction of sediment basin while the filling volume is 109,628 m3 that is
used in filling the lower elevation area to reduce the level difference of site area. The extra cut
soil has 35,815 m3 and will be preserved for stockpile to avoid any extra filling area. By
estimation, we controlled the difference of cut and fill volume in order to reduce the cost in
earthwork. From consideration of the environment, low difference volume can help to preserve
the environment and cause less impacts to the surrounding. Over excavation and transportation
will cause the unbalancing of underground elements and affect the structure of the soil layer.
Hence, controlling the balance cut and fill volume must pay more attention during the
earthwork phase.

As mentioned in the design of the sediment basin, the required volume of basin is
1982.5 m3. For the purpose of gradient or level difference, sediment basin will cut at lower
elevation compared to access and platform designed level. Our site has a nearby existing
building which connects to the same drainage system. Discharge the untreated sediment to the
system will cause clogging and damage to the drainage system. The purpose of the designed
sediment basin is to mitigate ecological disaster and filtration sediment before discharge.
However, if the sediment basin is left untreated after the project is completed, it will form a
danger to the public. People drowning in untreated reservoirs and lakes are happening every
year in Malaysia. The depth of the sediment basin is 3.4 m and filled with water and mud at
the bottom. In addition, the surrounding sediment basin is not a barrier with a fence; people
can jump into and even swim in the sediment basin. People do not know how deep the sediment
basin is, they may drown and die there. In our planning, the covered basin will initiate after the
completion of the drainage system. The treated way is to use the stockpile of red soil to fill

44
back the sediments basin. Before covering the basin, we need to seal up the input of drainage
and dry up the basin. Excavation of sediments and silt is a step to reduce the moisture content
by drying under the sun and trying to excavate until the deeper depth of the basin. This is to
ensure the bottom of the basin is hard soil but not the loose or wet soil. After drying up for 5-
7 days, we will proceed to filling activity by transporting the stockpile soil to the sediment.
When filling depth has reached the first 300 mm, the compactor will need to compact to
increase the strength and density of soil. After compaction, filling will be continued until the
second 300 mm depth. Compaction by layer is a technique to increase the strength of soil and
reduce shrinkage effect. The area of filling will not have any construction for safety purposes.

Site clearance is an essential step to start up the earthwork project. The activities during
site clearance phase involve removal of existing vegetation and abandonment of topsoil. Most
of the grass and trees will be cleared and disposed of as unusable soil material. The vegetation
that has been site cleared is a damage to the environment. In order to make up the effect, they
recovered the vegetation by turfing and planting trees on undisturbed areas. Turfing is the
fastest way to recover vegetation. It required less work and only applied on cut surfaces with
designed level. Roots need a short time around two weeks to grow in soil and lawning can
proceed within 3 weeks. Turfing can protect the slope surface from failure and not easily
damage during the rainy season. Constructing retaining walls is costly and not friendly to the
environment and turfing can substitute for retaining walls at flat areas and small slopes.

45
 CHAPTER4
BILL OF QUANTITIES

In table 4.1, the bill of quantities of earthwork has specified 4 main classes, Class E for
demolition and site clearance, Class F for earthwork, Class G for geotechnical works and Class
P for drainage work. While in table 4.2, the table showed the other fee including earthwork
consultant fee, manpower need and machinery that need to be rented in the earthwork phase.
Based on computation of cost, the total estimated cost for this earthwork plan is
RM2,872,787.72 and another 10% of the total cost is added to deal with risk mitigation or
uncertainties in throughout the project topping up the final estimated cost to RM3,160,066.49.

Table 4.1: Bill of Quantities of Class E, F, G & P

CLASS E
Demolition and Site Clearance

Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
E100 GENERAL CLEARANCE

Above Ground

101 General clearance. Rate to include the ha 15.19 2690.00 40,861.10

removal of trees and stumps, undergrowth,
shrubs, roots, and the likes.

40,861.10
CLASS F
Earthworks

Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
F100 EXCAVATION
Cut to Fill

46
 Excavation in cut shall be deemed to
include trimming and preparation of
excavated surface and transportation from
source to place of fill or disposal.

101 Excavate in earth material from original m3 145443 3.50 509,050.50

ground level [to designed level].

102 Silt Trap for sediment control. Nos. 1 3000.00 3,000.00

[30m*20m*3.4m]

F200 LANDSCAPING

Items for landscaping shall be deemed to

include digging, planting media, bedding,
stalking, protection, watering, weeding,
required fertilising, and replacement of
dead items until the vegetation is
established.

201 Spot turfing to flat areas. m2 82986 2.50 207,465.95

F300 MATERIAL
Construction material and pre-
construction for site facility purpose.

301 Project Signboard Nos. 1 3000.00 3,000.00

302 Hoarding m 1602 165.00 264,310.17

Cabin
303 Site office Nos. 1 26000.00 26,000.00
304 Guard house Nos. 2 5000.00 10,000.00
305 Worker quarter Nos. 1 30000.00 30,000.00
306 Portable toilet Nos. 2 2300.00 4,600.00

47
 1,012,826.62
CLASS G
Geotechnical Work
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
G200 RETAINING STRUCTURES

Cribwall

Items for crib wall shall be deemed to

include precast reinforced concrete (Grade
30) components and granular infill
material as per Specification clause (….).

201 Double cell with [1200 mm + 1200 mm] m2 4000 350.00 1,400,000.00
header as shown in Drawing No. (…..).
1,400,000.00
CLASS P
Drainage Work
Code Amount
Item No. Description Unit Qty. Rate
No. (RM)
P600 CULVERTS

Item for culverts shall be deemed to

include all joints, water stop, concrete
base, and concrete surround unless
otherwise stated.
Concrete Pipe Culvert

601 [450 mm] diameter single precast concrete Nos. 110 130 14300
pipe culvert, Class [X] in standard length
of 1.52 m.
14,300.00
Total 2,467,987.72

48
 Table 4.2: Bill of Quantities of consultant fee & machinery

Consultant Fee
Code Amount
Item No. No. Descriptions Unit Qty. Rate (RM)
1.0 Project Manager (1 person) month 8.0 4,500.00 36,000.00

Geotechnical Engineer (Site Engineer) (1

month 8.0 3,500.00 28,000.00
2.0 person)

3.0 Site Supervisor (1 person) month 8.0 2,500.00 20,000.00

4.0 Land Surveyor (1 person) month 8.0 2,800.00 22,400.00

5.0 Safety Officer (1 person) month 8.0 2,500.00 20,000.00

6.0 Machine Operator (2 persons x 1500/person) month 8.0 3,000.00 24,000.00

7.0 General Worker (8 persons x 1300/person) month 8.0 10,400.00 83,200.00

8.0 Security Guard (2 persons x 1200/person) month 8.0 2,400.00 19,200.00

252,800.00
Machinery
Code Amount
Item No. No. Descriptions Unit Qty. Rate (RM)
EC 300 (4 machines with operators) (2000/
month 8.0 8,000.00 64,000.00
1.0 machine)

Dump Truck (3 machines with operators)

month 8.0 7,500.00 60,000.00
2.0 (2500/machine)

3.0 Motor Grader (1 machine without operator) month 8.0 1,500.00 12,000.00

Compactor (2 machine without operators)

month 8.0 2,000.00 16,000.00
4.0 (1000/machine)
152,000.00
Total 404,800.00

Total estimated cost = (CLASS E, F, G, P) + Consultant fees and Machinery

= RM 2,467,987.72 + RM 404,800

= RM 2,872,787.72

10% mark-up cost for buffer = RM2,872,787,72 × 1.1 = RM3,160,066.49

49
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION

To sum up the chapter, the earthwork will commence its work on the early December of 2022
and handover the site by end of July of 2023. All the project activities completed by earthwork
will be carry on with the construction of the semi-detached houses on top of the platform level
of the cut and fill level. The well-planned platform level can minimize the difference in volume
between the cut soil and fill soil to be cost-effective. Throughout the project period, the total
estimated cost for this earthwork plan is RM2,872,787.72 and another 10% of the total cost is
added to deal with risk mitigation or uncertainties in throughout the project topping up the final
estimated cost to RM3,160,066.49. During the project period, all project activities should be
supervised by engineers, surveyors and site supervisors to ensure that all activities can proceed
smoothly. In short, earthwork plays an essential role in supporting the structure of buildings by
providing a strong base and platform to work on.

50
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APPENDIX ATTACHED IN SEPARATE FILE

54