Construction Site Layout

Planning
Lectures 13 & 14

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the importance of site organisation and site
layout in the construction industry.
2. Name the information required for proper site
organisation and site layout.
3. List the factors to consider while organising a site and
planning for site layout.

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 INTRODUCTION
✓site investigation before construction process starts,
✓material delivery and procurement management,
✓keeping better site records,
✓keeping good site communication and high level of
information flow,
✓monitoring performance regularly,
✓establishing a well-coordinated system for the different
parts,
✓and performing good site layout planning.

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 SITE LAYOUT
• Among the important tasks of site management is the site
layout plan.
• Extensive loss of time & cost overruns could result in large
projects if there is no effective site planning.
• A detailed planning of the site layout & location of
temporary facilities have many benefits, including
minimizing travel and waiting time, and increasing worker
morale by having better & safer work environment.
• The most neglected aspect of construction planning.

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 SITE LAYOUT PLANNING
• Without effective and systematic approach to site planning:
– Extensive time lost
– Cost overruns
– Number of manpower, subcontractors and equipment
involved are high

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 TEMPORARY FACILITIES

• Construction site layout involves:-

− Identifying, sizing, and placing temporary facilities
within the boundaries of construction site.
• Temporary facilities range from:
– Simple laydown areas to warehouse
– Fabrication shops
– Maintenance shops
– Batch plant
– Residence facilities

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 DETERMINING TEMPORARY FACILITIES
• Required temporary facilities depends on:-
– Project type
– Project scale
– Design
– Location
– General site topography
– Levelness of the site
– Access and egress abilities
– Organisation of construction work
– Contract period and note of progress needed

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 OBJECTIVES OF ORGANISING THE
CONSTRUCTION SITE
• TWO general objectives planners should seek to meet
through careful organisation of the site for construction:-
– FIRST – site must be designed to maximise efficiency of
operations in order to
▪ Promote worker productivity
▪ To shorten project time
▪ Reduce project cost
– SECOND – the final plan must create a project with a
good work environment in order to:-
▪ Attract and retain the best personnel
▪ Contribute to better work quality and productivity

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 SITE LAYOUT PROBLEMS
• Failure to plan site layout in advance is a main reason of
– Operational inefficiency
– Substantial increase in the overall cost of a project

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PROBLEMS DUE TO POOR SITE LAYOUT PLAN
Absence of a precise site layout plan, the following problems
may occur:-
a. Material stacks wrongly located – causing double or triple
handling of materials to another location.
– Example:
▪ Stocked over a drainage line or near the edge of
excavation;
▪ Too far from the work area;
▪ Too remote from the hoist or not within the radius of the
crane;
▪ Impede the smooth flow of work traffic across the site;
▪ Delivery was wrongly phased;
▪ Fragile.

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PROBLEMS DUE TO POOR SITE LAYOUT PLAN
b. Plant and equipment wrongly located.
– Example:
▪ Mixer is inaccessible for the delivery of materials; not
enough room for the storage of aggregates;
▪ Fixed cranes are unable to reach all parts of the works;
▪ Hoists have insufficient capacity or height to handle the
loads or badly located in relation to the floor layout.

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PROBLEMS DUE TO POOR SITE LAYOUT PLAN
c. Inadequate space allowed.
– When inadequate space is allowed for the stacking of
materials or activities:
▪ Materials may be stacked too high causing hazards.
▪ Working areas become too cramped
▪ Additional areas may have to be allocated with the
consequent waste of time caused by having to travel
between them.

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PROBLEMS DUE TO POOR SITE LAYOUT PLAN
d. Site huts wrongly located in relation to their effective
use.
– Example:
▪ Site office located too near noisy activities such are mixer
or
▪ Located too near to site roads in dusty conditions or
▪ Too remote with insufficient overview of site.
▪ Warehouse having inadequate access for loading and
unloading.

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 SITE LAYOUT – Present Practice
• Field practitioner (usually the construction manager or
project manager) manually mark up a single site drawing to
include major temporary facilities needed on site
throughout the duration of the project.
• Project manager depends on:-
– knowledge of years of experience
– common sense
– adoption of past layouts
in determining positions of temporary facilities on site.

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 SITE LAYOUT – Present Practice
• Site layout planning is ONE of the preplanning tasks to be
accomplished in a construction project.
• This task has an interactive relationship with the other
planning tasks such as:-
– Scheduling
– Selection of construction method
– Procurement and material planning
– Manpower and equipment planning
– Financial planning.
• Site Layout is equally important as other tasks

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 SITE LAYOUT – Planning Elements
• Well planned site including all temporary facilities and
utilities lead to
1. Increased productivity and safety
2. Reduced area(s) for temporary construction
3. Maximising utilisation

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 SITE LAYOUT – Planning Elements
• Zoning the site
– Areas of construction
site are identified in
relation to building to
be built

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▪ Structure to be built

▪ Main equipment (e.g. tower

cranes, lifting equip)

▪ Operating reaches of central

tower cranes

▪ Primary area for works

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▪ Close to central zone

▪ Loading/unloading areas

▪ Active stores (short-term),

e.g. masonry blocks

▪ Main temporary access roads

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▪ Within reach of tower cranes

▪ Auxiliary plants, workshops,

yards

▪ General stores

▪ Deposits (e.g. steel yards,

wood yards)

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▪ Inside boundary fences

▪ Out of reach of main cranes

▪ Surrounding building area

▪ Temporary structures (e.g. site

offices, batching plant)

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FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN ZONING THE SITE
(1) Type of project
– Development of a local estate – construction site is not
moving during accomplishment (permanent location)
– Construction of a linear structure (road, railway, sewer,
transmission line, etc) – construction site is moving
during accomplishment (mobile site)

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FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS IN ZONING THE SITE
(2) Term of project
– Short-term (some months) project – simpler site-layout
design, less temporary structures
– Long-term (more months, years) project – more
developed temporary infrastructure, on-site production,
stores
– Phases of building project (preliminary works, structural
works, finishes, installations, etc.) – if phases are few or
numerous, lasting, overlapping, etc.

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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
The following points should be considered in a GOOD site layout.
(1) SAFETY
– Fire prevention:
▪ Caused of damages
▪ Fire extinguishers are basic requirements
– Medical services:
▪ First aid kit is a MUST
▪ Well equipped medical room with a doctor and nurse for
remote project
– Construction safety clothing:
▪ Basic safety supplies like
− Safety shoes
− Hard hats
− Gloves
− Goggles
− Visible vest
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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(2) SITE ACCESSIBILITY
– Easy accessibility will :-
▪ Keep the morale of the equipment and vehicle drivers
high
▪ Minimise the chance of accidents
▪ Save time in maneuvering to arrive / leave the project
– Large project – proper layout the roads leading from
nearest highway
– Internal roads for easy flow of work
– Parking lots for owner, office and craft personnel – but
only allow where extra space does exist.

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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(3) INFORMATION SIGNS
– Site map:
▪ Locate details of the project
▪ Displayed in site office and entrance gate.
– Traffic regulatory signs:
▪ Help in eliminating disputes between workers and
management.
– Emergency routes on every floor as the building
progresses
▪ Mark locations of underground services to prevent
damages

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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(4) SECURITY
– Entrance:
▪ Proper guard entrance to the site provided by a booth
▪ Keep tract of all visitors to the project
– Lighting:
▪ To have a standby generator to maintain site lighting
– Fencing:
▪ Boundary should be fenced off from a security point of
view.

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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(5) ACCOMODATION
– On large construction projects, necessary to provide
camp accommodation for all types of staff involved in
the project.
(6) OFFICE
– Offices should be close together
– Close to the site
– In a safe area
– Provide proper office equipment
– Example of offices – job office, general contractor office,
sub-contractors and consultants offices

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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(7) WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION
– Necessary to have water and toilet facilities in
convenient locations to accommodate the work force
▪ Example of toilet options:-
‒ Wash-down toilet as fixture in container or in building
‒ Privy (set over a sewer-line manhole)
‒ Mobile privy (e.g. Toi Toi)

(8) MATERIALS HANDLING

– ⅓ or more of construction operations classified as
materials handling.
– Use of proper equipment for material handling
– Advance planning for minimising multiple handling
– Result in direct cost & time savings.
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 ELEMENTS OF GOOD SITE LAYOUT
(9) CHANGE-HOUSES
– Provide sheltered space for skilled workers to
▪ change clothes,
▪ store clothes,
▪ wash,
▪ rest during waiting periods.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF TEMPORARY FACILITIES
Regardless of the types of temporary facilities, need to fulfill
these characteristics:
1. Satisfying environmental and safety regulations.
– Batching plants – high pollution potential
– Control air, water and noise pollution
2. Availability of diverse solutions for the same problems.
– Use existing facilities on the site as warehouse
– Rent a building near the site as warehouse
– Build a warehouse on the site
3. Relatively short life span of a specific location – It must be
removed as soon as the project is completed.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF TEMPORARY FACILITIES
4. Reutilization with a minimum loss for the same or
modified function at another location – Good maintenance
and storage of the building materials can increase the frequency
of reutilization and decrease construction cost
5. Easy assembly, dismantling and exploitation – Temporary
facilities structures should be easy to assemble and dismantle
without any damage to structure components.
– Reduce assembly and disassembly time.
– Ideal to use prefabricated modules

6. Standardization of design – This approach makes the

maintenance, transportation and storage of temporary facilities
easy.

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