THE CONSTRUCTION

INDUSTRY
introduction
Background
• The construction industry is one of the biggest employers of labour in
the country
• Firms in the construction industry can be small i.e. having less than 10
people to extremely large i.e. having more than 100 people
• The range of services offered by the industry are varied ranging from
design to costing, construction, maintenance and repair etc
• The type of projects undertaken are main and varied ranging from
housing, factories, flats, new town developments, hospitals, schools,
hotels, churches etc
• Large firms can also secure and carry out work abroad e.g. in SADC,
AU or overseas
• The construction industry is experiencing dramatic changes recently.
• Many new materials have been developed in recent years and are
appearing on the market in large quantities
• Some of these materials are of questionable quality and therefore
designers and specifiers have to be on the look out for these and
therefore safeguard quality by specifying only the best.
• Gone are the days when a building contractor could provide his own
men and women to complete a project throughout
• The growth of specialisation has led to the birth of subcontractors
• Subcontractors are smallish groups that specialise in one particular
field of construction such as:
(i) Plastering contractors
(ii) Flooring specialists
(iii) Painting contractors
(iv) Demolition contractors
(v) Plant hire firms
(vi) Scaffolding contractors
(vii) Glazing contractors
(viii) Roofing contractors
(ix) Reinforced concrete specialists
(x) Lift installation specialists
(xi) Air conditioning systems specialist
(xii) Lighting specialists
(xiii) Acoustics specialists etc etc etc
• This system of subcontracting work out generally works very well
since the firms become experts in their own field, resulting in a high
standard of work at very competitive prices
• However, there is need to properly coordinate and control activities
so as to achieve planning and time schedules since there is too many
players operating at the same time
Tradesmen
• The construction industry is one of the few that still relies a great deal
on the individual skill of a workman
• There is, and always will be, the need for men such as:
(i) Bricklayers
(ii) Carpenters/joiners
(iii) Plasterers
(iv) Floor and wall tilers
(v) glaziers
Tradesmen (contd)
(vi) Roof contractors
(vii) Plumbers
(viii) Electricians
(ix) Wood-machinists
(x) Painters
Those in this group that have shown the ability to lead become general
foremen or clerk of works or site agents etc.
Technicians
• There has always been a group of workers in the industry which
operates in the area between the professional and management staff,
going under the title of either assistant, junior, trainee or some other
designation
• All these have now come under the heading of technician
• Technicians fulfil a vital role within the industry and the jobs they
carry out are wide and varied in content
Contractor’s Management
• In a contractor’s firm, management staff may include:
(i) Construction managers
(ii) Contract managers
(iii) Estimators
(iv) Planners
(v) Buyers
(vi) Plant managers
(vii)Site engineers
• Surveyors
• Foremen
• Office managers
• Accountants
• Personnel managers
Professional
• This term is used to signify a person working within a chosen
profession and includes:
(i) Architects
(ii) Quantity surveyors
(iii) Civil engineers
(iv) Structural engineers
(v) Service engineers
• These persons generally are university graduates but have also passed
professional examinations such as RIBA, RICS and ICE and as a result,
are acceptable members of those professions
Parties involved in the building process
• Many people are involved in the complex operation of building
• These can be classified broadly into three groups:
(i) The client who may be an individual, a local authority, a club
committee, a government department, a hospital board etc
(ii) The architect or in some cases an engineer, whose role is to interpret
the clients requirements into a specific design or scheme, and make
sure that they are carried through to their conclusion
(iii) The general building contractor who may call upon the services of
subcontractors and specialists to turn the architects dream into
reality
Reference
• Butler, J. (1990). Elements of administration for building students.
London, UK