Requerimientos no funcionales

Combining matters pertinent to procurement schedules and test and inspection plans offsite manufacture requires the BS contractor to conduct another trawl through the specified requirements. The object of this is to produce a list of plant and equipment that calls for arrangements to be made for production stage inspection and test witnessing by the designers and or client. From the extracted information the BS contractor can produce a programme which may vary from simple

Table 5.6 Typical listing of plant and equipment subject to offsite inspection and testing

132 Planning and programming

to complex, as appropriate. Table 5.6 is a typical listing of plant and equipment subject to offsite inspection and testing.

Out of the monitoring programmes of the BS contractor will come the specific production programmes, with inspection and test dates indicated. Offsite prefabrication of major subelements such as plant rooms, riser and toilet modules may be subject to more continuous inspection. Figures 5.3(a) and (b) show production programmes for a prefabricated toilet module prototype and its subsequent production run for 14 units.

Whereas a few days at infrequent intervals to inspect pieces of plant and equipment do not stretch site resources, the need to inspect large numbers on a regular basis does. The availability of the BS contractor’s resources to carry out these actions should be discussed at the production programming stage.

5.2.9 SUMMARY

At this point it is hoped that the site manager can see the benefit of sitting down with the BS contractor and agreeing what pre-construction

Figure 5.3(a) Prefabricated toilet module prototype production programme.

Delivery of information 133

information is required, when it will be released, to whom and in what format. As a result, the listings of information to be prepared and programmes for its release produced by the BS contractor can be used by the site manager for monitoring the production performance, the expectations for which have been clearly defined. If the BS contractor goes on to fulfil delivery to the promised dates, then the foundations for a good working relationship will have been laid. Should the early promises to perform not have been fulfilled the site manager has to find out the underlying reasons. There is always a tremendous amount of work to be done on starting up any major contract or building services subcontract and the site manager will be aware of this. He will need to make judgements as to whether the BS contractor is underresourced or has good resources but is a poor manager, making promises he knows he cannot perform. We are entering an area where the site manager needs to proceed carefully and he should discuss possible courses of action with his contracts manager. Perhaps soundings can be taken from the last job led by the BS contractor’s site manager. The feedback may be bad, but as we are at an early stage in the project, the best solution,

Figure 5.3(b) Prefabricated toilet module production programme for 14 no units.

134 Planning and programming

though extreme, could be to request the replacement of the services site manager.

5.3.1 GENERAL

The output that flows from programming the delivery of information will see the amount of information in use on site take off on an exponential curve. The future holds a reduction in hard copy as electronic data transfer firms up its grip. This may bring with it not less information but more. With computer literacy spreading is it unreasonable to predict that before long we shall see interdisciplinary site meetings planning a cycle of work, where each representative calls up his relative details on a laptop?

After all design teams do this with systems like the Autocad Workcentre.

Perhaps we may then truly see drawings and information ‘on site’ with the foreman at the workface. But we digress.

In parallel with the delivery of information exercise and using the insight it provides into the scope and content of building services, programming for construction can commence. The quality of information available as a starting point for post-tender construction programming will depend upon the contractual route. The site manager left to his own devices on a traditional contract has a lot of work to do if the programmes handed to him only list services activities as a single bar chart line for M & E or at best first fix, second fix and final connections. The site manager supported on a management contract by a resident planning manager, whose detailed planning in resolving some difficult services aspects scored points in the evaluation of fee bid proposals, is far better served. Reducing these extremes to the common denominator, that there is always room for improvement, we will look at the substance of what has to be programmed rather than the programme methods. Arrow or precedence diagrams, line of balance, critical path analysis (CPA), etc., etc., and hierarchies of programme types such as ‘six week look ahead’, short-term and recovery programme are taken as being understood in their relevance and application. Once again we will concentrate on what is different about building services, the range of activities, sequence, geographical locations, e.g. plant areas, and resourcing. Differentiation of major and minor interfaces with other works and the limitations of building services dimensional modules with those of the building structure and fabric will be covered.