Contractor Labour

Figure 4 shows that at June 30, 1985 on-site construction was essentially complete and ahead of schedule. Peak on-site sub-contractor labour force numbered about 1,800. Performance on the site was most satisfactory and only 2.5 percent of the budgeted time was lost due to industrial disputes. The performance factor (PF) of the workforce over the construction period was 0.83 compared to a budgeted PF of 1. It is to be noted that the lower the PF the more productive is the workforce. 

This type of contract requires the operator to pay a fixed amount to the contractor upon completion of the well, while the contractor furnishes all the material and labour and handles the drilling operations independently. The difficulty with this approach Is to ensure that a quality well Is delivered to the company since the drilling contractor will want to drill as quickly and cheaply as possible. The contractor therefore should guarantee an agreed measurable quality standard for each well. The guarantee should specify remedial actions which will be implemented should a substandard well be delivered. 

In June, 1936, when the War Office drew up a preliminary schedule of works to be completed at Tunnel Quarry, it was thought desirable that as much as possible of the work should be done either by Royal Engineer detachments or by directly employed civilian labour. Certain specific tasks were, however, to be done by private contractors. 

Pneumatic hammers are labour intensive but have low capital cost and are very versatile. They will cut behind the bars and get between them. Research by the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) has shown that the contract terms for a repair job are a major influence upon the contractor s decision as to how concrete removal is done (Vorster, 1992). If concrete removal is in small areas, pneumatic hammers are more practical than the larger plant such as hydrojetting or milling equipment discussed later. If the area of concrete to be broken out undefined at the tender stage and the contractor is paid by the square metre (or cubic metre) there is less risk with a low capital cost approach like pneumatic hammers. 

At the time the contract was let there was a severe shortage of local building labour. A contractor was therefore appointed who offered an established system building package. Under this deal the contractor was responsible for both the design and construction, and he therefore employed a consulting structural engineer to advise him. 

Question 6 relates to the construction methods, the experience of the contractor and the available personnel for site work. Under 6(c) the relevant considerations are the safety record of the contractor, whether there is a record of good labour relations, good management procedures and no evidence of slack site control. Is the contractor likely to adhere to the declared erection scheme so that the structure is built as-designed ... 

As it would normally take far too long to build a plant of such dimensions various steps were taken to start production within six months. The land survey, the design of the buildings, the delivery of building materials, and the construction were all carried out at the same time. Altogether seven companies were chosen, most of them based in Berlin. Each in turn selected local sub-contractors for the delivery of materials and the provision of labour. 

It is a common practice to ask a number of electrical contractors to tender or submit a price for work specified by the bill of quantities. A tender is a formal offer to supply goods or carry out work at a stated price. The contractor must cost all the materials, assess the labour cost required to install the materials and add on profit and overhead costs in order to arrive at a final estimate for the work. This will be the tender price. The contractor tendering the lowest cost is usually, but not always, awarded the contract. 

This clause is likely to be relevant on most jobs to ensure that the FRP manufacturer is closely involved in the on-site operations. Even where the manufacturer is a nominated sub-contractor, he may make informal arrangements for use of the main contractor s or other local labour. 

As for other project activities, there are two basic ways to procure site construction either to have the work performed on a product basis, by which one or more parties contract to perform parcels of work at a price per item, or to have the work performed on an input basis. For the latter, the project manager hires the construction labour and supervisors on a time basis, either directly or through a contractor, and also hires or buys all the other resources of construction plant, tools, temporary facilities, and consumable materials. There are many pros and cons of each alternative, including the availability and competitiveness of potential contractors, and the need for flexibility in control of site activities, which may be necessary in the case of unpredictable site delivery dates for materials and a likelihood of late design changes. 

Additional management may be required for specialist functions such as labour relations, the control and maintenance of construction equipment, and the supervision of rigging and welding, or these may be part of the overhead structure of contractors. And as for any other aspect of project management, the theory of limiting returns is applicable in determining the optimum input. 

In 1499, the very respectable contractor, who was approaching the age of fifty, determined to retire from business and go to sea. His own reasons for this complete change in his old age were that he had already seen and known various changes of fortune in business that a man might at one time be at the top of the well and at another be fallen and subject to losses and that it had become evident to him that a merchant s life was one of continual labour, with the chance of failure and ruin. It was rather late in life to make these discoveries, and it may fairly be suspected that there was some more concrete reason for his change of life which he concealed under these generalities. 

Section 4 applies to persons in charge of premises where people work and who are not their employees. They must ensure that the premises, any plant (including the fixed electrical installation) and the means of ingress and egress are safely maintained. An obvious example of the application of this duty is a construction site where the main contractor is the person in charge and in control of the site and who is responsible, therefore, for ensuring that the site is safe for the subcontractors labour forces. 

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