Navisworks contribution in the reduction of budget overruns

Navisworks contribution in the reduction of budget overruns

The thought of budget overruns keeps haunting building owners throughout project life cycle. Construction industry has a long history of budget overrun cases. No matter how accurate outputs are provided by design and construction professionals at different stages of construction, but they still experience a lot of rework during final construction which leads to budget overruns. And the actual blow of budget overruns is only felt by owners, who have to be accountable for paying every penny that is required for building construction.

But with the utilization of advanced tools in construction by building professionals, great relief has been provided to owners and general contractors in terms of reduction of budget overruns.

Navisworks’ role in the reduction of project cost 

·    Navisworks, which is an Autodesk product has proved to be extremely important for building owners as it helps in reducing project cost by reducing on site rework.

·         Navisworks comes into picture after building professionals are done with the development of parametric models for architecture, structure and MEP because it is required for identifying hard and soft clashes between their elements.

·         Rework results from design faults such as clashes between architectural and structural elements and Navisworks is possibly the most crucial tool for resolving such clashes.

·         It’s a must that all types of design inaccuracies are effectively sorted out during design phase itself.

·         Hence clash detection is performed for checking out clashes and resolving them a way ahead of final construction.

·         Navisworks has enormous important clash detection tools which not only help in identifying hard and soft clashes but are also vital in managing and resolving them.

·         After clash detection is completed by building professionals, they proceed with BIM coordination, which ensures them that the design is now perfect

In this way an error-free building design is created by building professionals with the support of Navisworks, which is very crucial for reducing budget overruns.

മികച്ച രീതിയിൽ കോൺക്രീറ്റിംഗ് ചെയ്യാം

               READY MIX CONCRETE

Ready-mix concrete (RMC) is a type of concrete which is manufactured in a cement factory, or specifically known as the batching plant, according to a given set of proportions, and then delivered to a work site, by truck mounted with mixers. This results in a precise mixture, allowing specialty concrete mixtures to be developed and implemented on construction sites. The fist factory which produced ready mix concrete was built in 1930s; however, the industry didn’t begin to expand until late 80s. Since then it has continued to grow significantly.

Ready mix concrete is sometimes preferred over on-site concrete mixing because of the volume it can produce with precision of proportion of mixtures and also due to reduced work site confusion. Using a pre-determined concrete mixture reduces flexibility, both in the supply chain and in the actual components of the concrete.

Ready-mix concrete is also termed as the customized concrete products for commercial purpose. Ready-mix concrete (RMC) refers to concrete that is specifically manufactured for delivery to the customer’s construction site in a freshly mixed and plastic or unhardened state. Concrete itself is a mixture of Portland cement, water and aggregates comprising sand and gravel or crushed stone. In traditional work sites, each of these materials is procured separately and mixed in specified proportions at site to make concrete. Ready-mix concrete is bought and sold by volume – usually expressed in cubic meters (cubic yards in the US).

Ready-mix concrete is manufactured under controlled operations and transported and placed at site using sophisticated equipment and methods. In 2011, there were 72,924 workers working in 2,223 companies that produced Ready Mix Concrete in the United States.

Contents:

• Process
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Volumetric Mixer

Process of Ready-mix concrete

Ready mix concrete has cement, aggregates, sand, water and other chemicals, which are weigh- batched at a centrally located plant for a premium quality. The concrete is then delivered to the construction site in transit mixers and can be used straight away without any further treatment. The automatic plant monitors weigh-batching, water-cement ratio, dosage of admixture, moisture content, with precision to produce quality concrete.

All ingredients used for the preparation of ready mix concrete are thoroughly tested for their quality and physical properties in a well equipped laboratory attached to the plant for conformity to relevant international standard codes. The moisture probe determines the water content in the sand and aggregates. This accordingly helps in fixing the proportion of water to be added for the preparation of the mix. Trial mixes are carried out and tested to ensure that each and every batch of concrete coming out of the plant meets various mix designs as per the client’s requirement with different grades of concrete.

Advantages of ready-mix concrete

Following are the advantages of ready-mix concrete:

1. Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) allows speedy construction through programmed delivery at site, mechanized operation with consequent economy.
2. RMC reduces the labour cost and site supervising cost.
3. RMC comes with consistency in quality through accurate & computerized control of sand aggregates and water as per mix designs.
4. Production of RMC helps in minimizing cement wastage due to bulk handling.
5. Production of RMC is relatively pollution free.
6. Reduced project time resulting in savings in all aspects.
7. Proper control and economy in use of raw material resulting in saving of natural resources.

Disadvantages of ready-mix concrete

Following are the disadvantages of ready-mix concrete:

1. The materials are batched at a central plant, and the mixing begins at that very plant. So the travelling time from the plant to the site is critical over longer distances. Some sites are just too far away, which can risk that ready mix concrete may become unusable due to setting.
2. It will generate additional road traffic. Generally, Ready Mix Trucks are large in size and may cover lot of area in the road blocking other traffic. Furthermore, access roads
   
   and site access have to be able to carry the greater weight of the ready-mix truck plus load. (Green concrete is approx. 2.5 tonne per m³.) This problem can be overcome by utilizing so-called ‘mini mix’ companies which use smaller 4m³ capacity mixers able to reach more-restricted sites.
3. Concrete’s limited time span between mixing and curing means that ready-mix should be placed within 210 minutes of batching at the plant. Modern admixtures can modify that time span precisely, however, the amount and type of admixture added to the mix is very important.

Volumetric mobile mixer

Volumetric mobile mixer can provide a good alternative to ready-mix concrete. This is a hybrid approach between ready-mix concrete and traditional on-site mixing. The volumetric mobile mixer is a truck that contains concrete ingredient materials and water to be mixed on the truck at the job site to make and deliver concrete according to the amount needed. The on-truck mixing at the job site eliminates the problems of ready-mix concrete such as delays that can cause the pre-mixed concrete to become unusable.

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TYPES OF FOUNDATION FOR BUILDINGS AND THEIR USES

Foundations are classified as shallow and deep foundations. Types of foundations under shallow and deep foundations for building construction and their uses are discussed.

It is advisable to know suitability of each types of foundation before their selection in any construction project.

 Types of Foundation and their Uses

Following are different types of foundations used in construction:

1.      Shallow foundation

1.      Individual footing or isolated footing

2.      Combined footing

3.      Strip foundation

4.      Raft or mat foundation

2.      Deep Foundation

0.      Pile foundation

1.      Drilled Shafts or caissons

Types of Shallow Foundations

1. Individual Footing or Isolated Footing

Individual footing or an isolated footing is the most common type of foundation used for building construction. This foundation is constructed for single column and also called as pad foundation.

The shape of individual footing is square or rectangle and is used when loads from structure is carried by the columns. Size is calculated based on the load on the column and safe bearing capacity of soil.

Rectangular isolated footing is selected when the foundation experiences moments due to eccentricity of loads or due to horizontal forces.

2. Combined Footing

Combined footing is constructed when two or more columns are close enough and their isolated footings overlap each other. It is a combination of isolated footings, but their structural design differs.

The shape of this footing is rectangle and is used when loads from structure is carried by the columns.

3. Spread footings or Strip footings and Wall footings

Spread footings are those whose base is wider than a typical load bearing wall foundations. The wider base of this footing type spreads the weight from the building structure over more area and provides better stability.

Spread footings and wall footings are used for individual columns, walls and bridge piers where the bearing soil layer is within 3m (10 feet) from the ground surface. Soil bearing capacity must be sufficient to support the weight of the structure over the base area of the structure.

These should not be used on soils where there is any possibility of ground flow of water above bearing layer of soil which may result in scour or liquefaction.

4. Raft or Mat Foundations

Raft or mat foundations are the types of foundation which are spread across the entire area of the building to support heavy structural loads from columns and walls.

The use of mat foundation is for columns and walls foundations where the loads from structure on columns and walls are very high. This is used to prevent differential settlement of individual footings, thus designed as a single mat (or combined footing) of all the load bearing elements of the structure.

It is suitable for expansive soils whose bearing capacity is less for suitability of spread footings and wall footings. Raft foundation is economical when one-half area of the structure is covered with individual footings and wall footings are provided.

These foundations should not be used where the groundwater table is above the bearing surface of the soil. Use of foundation in such conditions may lead to scour and liquefaction.

Types of Deep Foundation

 

1.Pile Foundations

Pile foundation is a type of deep foundation which is used to transfer heavy loads from the structure to a hard rock strata much deep below the ground level.

Pile foundations are used to transfer heavy loads of structures through columns to hard soil strata which is much below ground level where shallow foundations such as spread footings and mat footings cannot be used. This is also used to prevent uplift of structure due to lateral loads such as earthquake and wind forces.

Pile foundations are generally used for soils where soil conditions near the ground surface is not suitable for heavy loads. The depth of hard rock strata may be 5m to 50m (15 feet to 150 feet) deep from the ground surface.

Pile foundation resists the loads from structure by skin friction and by end bearing. Use of pile foundations also prevents differential settlement of foundations.

2.Drilled Shafts or Caisson Foundation

Drilled shafts, also called as caissons, is a type of deep foundation and has action similar to pile foundations discussed above, but are high capacity cast-in-situ foundations. It resists loads from structure through shaft resistance, toe resistance and / or combination of both of these. The construction of drilled shafts or caissons are done using an auger.

Drilled shafts can transfer column loads larger than pile foundations. It is used where depth of hard strata below ground level is location within 10m to 100m (25 feet to 300 feet).

Drilled shafts or caisson foundation is not suitable when deep deposits of soft clays and loose, water-bearing granular soils exists. It is also not suitable for soils where caving formations are difficult to stabilize, soils made up of boulders, artesian aquifer exists

TOP 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CIVIL 3D 2019

TOP 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 

CIVIL 3D 2019

1. Civil 3D is NOT part of the new One AutoCAD

You may have heard about this new thing called “One AutoCAD” that is a combination of AutoCAD and its verticals into one package in which the verticals are essentially “Toolsets” that are added on to base AutoCAD. Well, even though Civil 3D was technically considered an AutoCAD vertical in the past, it is not included in this new package. The word “AutoCAD” has actually be removed from the name to avoid confusion, leaving it as simply “Civil 3D 2019.” This product was the major exception to this new packaging rule. So even if you have a subscription to AutoCAD that entitles you to One AutoCAD and all of its great new tools, you do not automatically have access to Civil 3D. However, since Civil 3D is still based on AutoCAD, it contains all of the great new features added to AutoCAD 2019, including Drawing Compare and Shared Views!

2. The DWG format and Civil 3D Object format have NOT changed with the 2019 release

    Drawings created and/or saved in Civil 3D 2019 are backwards compatible, but only with Civil 3D 2018.  What this means is that if you create and/or save a drawing in Civil 3D 2019, you will be able to open it, work with it, and save it in 2018.  However, attempting to open these drawings with any other release (2017 or prior) will lead to the dreaded alert message stating that the drawing file can’t be opened because it was created with a more recent version.  Well, at least 2018 can still play!

3. Performance Hotfix and Batch Save Functionality built right into 2019

We all know that Civil 3D is a really powerful, dynamic product.  But lots of people were struggling with performance and slowness in 2017 and 2018 when doing basic AutoCAD tasks such as object selection, switching between model space and paper space, plotting, and even opening or saving drawings. For this reason, Autodesk released the “Performance Hotfix,” which consisted of a DBX file that had to be copied into the AutoCAD program folder (replacing one that was already there) and a need to open and re-save any drawing that was affected by the slow-down after this file was put in place. They also ended up providing a batch save utility to assist with this that would open and save a number of files in the background. The good news is that with 2019, not only is the correct DBX file already in place, but the Batch Utility has been updated further and is now part of the installation. It is now called “Autodesk Civil 3D Batch Save” and it can be found in your Start Menu in Windows under Autodesk Civil 3D 2019.

4. Vertical Geometry Enhancements for High/Low Point have been added

Have you ever been trying to design a road, path, ditch, etc. and you couldn’t figure out how to design your curves based on a High or Low point.  Well, until now, there was no direct tool for this.  In Civil 3D 2019, however, there are two new tools for creating Parabolic or Circular curves based on high/low point, a parameter (K or radius), and a length.

The resulting vertical curve can be grip-edited by moving the High/Low point to shift the curve as a whole or sliding one of the grips on the ends to extend the length, giving you much more control over the location of the high/low point

5. Infraworks Component Roads can now be imported as Corridors (as long as you have Vehicle Tracking 2019)

 Previous versions of Civil 3D + Vehicle tracking, you could import roads from an Infraworks model without much issues.  They would come in as Alignments with accompanying design Profiles, and you could even automatically generate Surface Profiles during the import.  What you did not get was the actual model of the road.  With 2019, that has changed!  Now when you import Component Roads from Infraworks, you not only get the Alignments and the Profiles, but you also get the Assemblies and an actual Corridor!  Now, I won’t say that this Corridor is perfect and that no tweaking will be necessary – definitely not.  But if your Component Road was laid out well in Infraworks, you’re going to get a great model to use in your designs going forward.  And as usual, that model is tied to the Alignment, Profile, and Assemblies, so you can start with this as the basis for your detailed design instead of starting over from scratch.  Let’s look at an example!

Here is a site in Infraworks that has a Component Road.

The Infraworks model can be opened in Civil 3D 2019 (with Vehicle Tracking 2019) in either IMX or SQLite format.  Prior to the import, you can set, and you are given multiple options for import.  Before importing, you can also configure settings for the objects that will be imported including Styles and Label Sets.  As usual, you will also want to make sure that your drawing is set to the right coordinate system, which can be done either prior to or during the import.  If you are opening a SQLite model, there is an option to select an area of interest which will automatically turn on your Online Maps (if you are signed in) and you can also further refine the object types that will be opened.  Make your selections, hit “Open Model” and VIOLA!  Corridors AND Assemblies!

SEGREGATION OF CONCRETE – CAUSES AND PREVENTIONS

SEGREGATION OF CONCRETE – CAUSES AND PREVENTIONS

Segregation of concrete is separation of ingredients of concrete from each other. In good concrete all concrete aggregates are evenly coated with sand and cement paste and forms a homogeneous mass.

During handling, transporting and placing, due to jerks and vibrations the paste of cement and sands gets separated from coarse aggregate. If concrete segregates during transit it should be remixed properly before depositing. However, a concrete where initial setting time is over, should not be used.

Causes of Segregation of Concrete:

1) Use of high water-cement ratio in concrete. This general happens in case of concrete mixed at site by unskilled workers.

2) Excessive vibration of concrete with mechanical needle vibrators makes heavier particles settle at bottom and lighter cement sand paste comes on top.

3) When concreting is done from height in case of underground foundations and rafts, which causes concrete to segregate.

Prevention of Segregation of Concrete:

Wherever depth of concreting is more than 1.5 meters it should be placed through temporary inclined chutes. The angle of inclination may be kept between 1:3 and 1:2 so that concrete from top of chutes travels smoothly to bottom, use of small quantity of free water from top at intervals helps in lubricating the path of flow of concrete to bottom smoothly. The delivery end of chute should be as close as possible to the point of deposit.

Segregation in deep foundations and rafts of thickness more than 1 meter, there is every possibility of presence of segregated concrete near bottom or in center if proper supervision is not there. Such segregation can be detected by advanced method of testing like ultrasonic testing. In case of doubt random ultrasonic testing should be conducted and if it is present, designer’s opinion should be taken. This type of segregation can be rectified by pressure grounding with special chemical compounds.

After any defect rectified by pressure grouting core test has to be performed to ensure that the strength of concrete has reached to the desired level.

Most Popular Types of Flooring Materials for Your House part 2

Most Popular Types of Flooring Materials for 

Your House  Part 2

04. PVC or Vinyl Flooring

PVC flooring is also known as vinyl flooring. These types of flooring material have a very smooth top surface and a rough lower surface. Vinyl flooring is a good choice for areas that are prone to spills and moisture such as kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, also for offices, etc.

05. China Mosaic Flooring

China mosaic flooring is very old type of flooring. Mosaics are made from small round pieces of stones. They form nice pattern and give a beautiful look. It is popularly used in the terrace area.

06. Concrete Flooring

Concrete flooring is one of the oldest types of flooring. It is commonly used throughout the world for almost all types of buildings. Concrete flooring is extremely strong and is able to withstand the pressure from very heavy equipment such as cars, trucks, etc.

07. Terrazzo Flooring

Terrazzo flooring is a concrete surface with special type of marble chips embedded in it. Terrazzo flooring is commonly recommended for bathrooms, dining rooms, offices, hospitals, etc.

08.Mosaic tiles Flooring

Mosaic tiles are created by assembling tiny pieces of glass, tiles or natural stones. You can use them in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom floors. The use of mosaic will give decorative look to your house.

09. Glass Flooring

Glass flooring is not very common, but can be used in aristocratic buildings both residential and public particularly to have smooth and pleasing surface. Glass flooring is generally bacteria and dirt-resistant.

10. Mud Flooring

Mud flooring is most suitable for Indian conditions and climates. It is commonly used in village areas. Mud flooring is very cheap and hard. It is fairly impervious, easy to construct. However, it is difficult to maintain.

11. Brick Flooring

Brick flooring is one of the oldest types of flooring materials. It is majorly used in courtyards, stores, godowns, etc. Brick flooring is durable and provides sufficiently hard floor surface. It provides a non-slippery and fire-resistant surface.

12. Carpet Flooring

In carpet flooring, the carpet is made from wool or from synthetic fibres, such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester. It is the most versatile of all flooring options, featuring more colours and textures than any other types of flooring material. It is a kid’s friendly flooring option used in the kid’s bedroom and also in living room, bedroom, etc. However, cleaning can be issue.

13. Cork Flooring

Cork is a natural material obtained from the outer bark of cork oak tree. It is available in the form of coloured tiles or sheets. Cork flooring is mostly used in the kitchen, dining areas, etc. This type of flooring material is environmentally friendly. Cork flooring is considered a renewable and sustainable natural resource.

14. Linoleum Flooring

Linoleum flooring is made of linseed oil, wood or cork powder, and ground stone. It is recyclable material and available in different colours, styles and patterns and resists water easily. It is most commonly used in kitchen, bathroom and laundry rooms.

15. Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring is most popular in Asian Countries. This type of flooring is noiseless, comfortable in walking, and very durable. The initial cost of rubber flooring is a little bit high. It gives excellent wearing surface.

16. Acid Resisting Flooring

In chemical laboratories, acid manufacturing factories, storage battery factory buildings and such other places where the floor is subjected to the actions of acid, such types of floor finishing are used.

17. Magnesite Flooring

Magnesite flooring consists of calcined magnesite, magnesium chloride, wood dust, ground quartz or silica and fine powdered wood waste. It is used as finishing surface on concrete floor slabs.  It is also known as the composition of a “joint less floor”. These types of flooring, though not very common, is cheap, gives a smooth surface and can be laid joint less on the rough surface as the material is flexible.

The choices of flooring materials are forever growing and a wide range is available to suit your needs. You can choose different types of flooring materials that are hard or soft and pick from a wide range of variety of styles and colours. Don’t forget, you are going to use your flooring every minute in your house, so choose well and carefully. Without great flooring, a house can never be great.