ASSIGNMENT

ON

CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

PGPM 13

ASSIGNMENT

NICMAR/SODE OFFFICE

1. Course No : PGPM 13

2. Course title : Construction Personnel Management

3. Assignment No : 03

4. Date of dispatch : 20-06-2011

5. last date of receipt of Assignment at SODEoffice :

ASSIGNMENT
You are a project manager on a site where work for 3 k.m. Long Tunnelhas been undertaken. The
site is remote and takes about 2 days travel to nearesttown. Supervisors, Technicians & skilled
workers are engaged in dangerous /hazardous work.

A bsenteeism due to sickness, quarrels, drinking are increasing.Management has urged to do

something so that time target can be achieved. Discuss how will you tackle the problem and increase
the output of the work.

INTRODUCTION:

Tunnelling is one of the most dangerous works in the field of construction. It is been reported that
around 18% of the total fatality in the fieldis caused by tunnelling. Thus it is clear that one has to be
more precautiouswhile working in tunnelling process. It is also noticeable that only due to the
process of tunnelling the traffic is been controlled and as a results accidents arealso minimised. Thus
it is must but at the same time dangerous too.The task here is really the measures one can adopt to
increase the output of work taking the problems into concerns hence several practicing plans
areemphasized.

Thus the main objective in this assignment is to put emphasis on thequalification and abilities of a
project manager and his role in the field of construction. Project manager should know his duties &
responsibilities &full knowledge of pros & cons of his decisions & activities.

Thus the main objective of the project manager is not only to keep thework progress going on but at
the same time minimise the risk factors andcreate a safe working condition.

SCOPE OF WORK:

A personnel plan always revolves around personnelobjectives of the company such as viability,
success, growth & socialresponsibility. Objectives such as absenteeism, labour turnover,
grievances,strikes, lockouts, etc can be highlighted in an quantitative manner rather than a
qualitative.

The project is to construct a tunnel of about 3km long. Thus the width of the tunnel may vary upto
7.5m. The project should also be completed as soon as possible. The site is located in a remote area
so it is better to provide a goodcommunication system among the site personnel.

It is also mentioned that it takes 2 days to travel to the nearest town so asa project manager it is a
must to provide necessary basic as well as the socialneeds for the men working around the site.

BASIC NEEDS OF A PERSON IN SITE

Basic human needs, such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing,housing, clean water, and health
services are very important aspects whichare to be provided to the workers, technicians residing at
the site premises.

- A small dispensary or an aid of mobile dispensary periodicallycould be made available to keep &
monitor health issues of workers &there family. If possible a 24 hr emergency ambulance should be
alwayskept on site in case of emergency or accident so as to rush at nearbyhospital, if long then
provision for a small hospital wherein minor &accidental surgeries could be done should be
provided.

- Ration system provision with cheaper rates of food, keroseneshould be planned.

-Small education centre or education camps should be encouragedfor the families & children of
workers which would also prevent childlabor.

- Shelter which is also very important aspect for workers,technicians as town is quiet far (2days) so
arrangements on site for their habilitation temporary structures which could be easily dismantled &
reusedshould be used at the same time as the site progresses its vicinity withrespect to work area
could be minimized & erection time is also small.Construction techniques for the erection process
should be easier &materials should be cost effective such as steel obtained from demolitionor scraps
if easily usable. Erection & dismantling should be such that anyworker , labor must be able to do it.

Social needs of the person :

Here a project manager should know the social parameters &aspects which are also important for
their interest apart from his basicneeds, which includes:

-Recreation period-Informal interaction amongst workers

-Festival celebration etc.

-Encouragement programmes for workers & their family which wouldfocus on there hobbies &
interest.-Planning interactive games amongst workers & family.-Public reward functions to be
organized for the merits on work, productivity & time frame of completion of the job.

- All these steps will prove to divert mindsets of workers, labors away fromalcohol.

K EY POINTS IN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PLA N

If so ever there are any lacunas or reasons due to whichtechnicians & skilled workers engaged in
hazardous working conditions soare prone to absenteeism, sickness, quarrels, drinking etc. then
leaders hasto see whether the guiding principles of personnel management plan areexercised? This
includes:

a) Introduction to the job must be friendly, skilful & adequate.

b) A ppreciation of ones effort.

c) Care & skill should be excercised in the selection of employees.

d) Consideration should be given to the effect that each rule and instruction mayhave on the feelings
ofemployees.

e) Management should be absolutely fair in every policy and every practice.

f) each employee should have have a sense of pride in the worthwhilenessof his work & his
company.

g) Employee should take part in planning those things which affect their working conditions.

h) Conditions should be such that working proves to be a satisfying socialexperience & a means of
making livelihood.

ROLE OF A PROJECT MANAGER :

The project manager has to be a good decision maker. He has to take aright decision at right time

The project manager has to play a role of a leader in this particular project. He has to take the team
along with him, give a feeling of belonging andthe same time meet the date of completion.

A manager performs three types of roles :

1) The interpersonal roles arise directly from authority and refer to therelationship between the
manager and others. In this manager has a figurheadrole as a symbol of organisation.

2) The second interpersonal role is called the leader role. In this role the manager uses his or her
influence to motivate and encourage subordinates toaccomplish organisational objectives.

3) In the third type of interpersonal role the manager undertakes a laiison role.This role recognizes
the managers often spend more time interacting withothers outside their unit than they do working
with their own superiors andsubordinates.

As a project manager strong communicative & interpersonal skills,must become familiar with each
line of organization & should have thegeneral knowledge of the technology say for example modern
methods of tunneling techniques which includes
QUALITIES OF A PROJECT MANAGER :

a) Communication

K eeping lines of communication open & unchoked.

Making people understand what you want them to understand.

Making people tell you what should be told & not what you want tohear.

b) Disbursing punishment

Disburse promptly & in private.

With teaching what would have constituted good.

After punishment assume a normal attitude towards employee.

c) Giving appreciation.

For specific job well done

With a sense of pride & use of emotion

d) Demonstrating effect

Subordinates should know you can do better & faster than what theycan do.

e) Knowledge of Organization
Structure, rules & regulations & technical process.

f) Work of consensus

Getting work done/ not doing it yourself

Laying it yourself on the line is not the test of efficiency.

How easilycan you make subordinates do it.

FUNCTIONS OF A PROJECT MANAGER

Thus for such a risk involving site a project manager should be able to countupon three major
reasons namely

1. Manpower,

2. Job and

3. Site safety

The importance and the fators on which the project manager has to keepan eye on are elaborately
explained below

1. Organization of manpower :

Manpower of the firm, company is a very important asset which plays a vital role in productivity or
the work output, so it is essential tohave a precise workforce with a right attitude.

The manpower planning process involves the following steps:

1) Understanding the projects in all its details - contractscondition, technical specification, estimates
of quantities,construction methods & techniques, time frames.

2) Classifying & categorizing labour requirement & various jobs by level of skill, responsibility, nature
of work.

3) Tentative plans for completion i.e

- tendering of job ,

- updating information technical or administrative duringexecution stage.

- Providing for grace period or lead time

4) Putting a price for each job - wage/ wage pay by consideringfollowing factors:

- Level of skill required

- Job knowledge required

- Degree of responsibility

- Nature of hazards/ unpleasantness in the job

- Minimum wages law

- Critical skills

- Relative wage structure in the company.

- Special attention areas

- Career opportunities

- Over/ under manning and

- Gang labour.

2. JoB description:

Before hiring any individual may be a technicians, workers itshould be crystal clear about the nature
of job, risks involved, jobcommitments, & wages which might not become a reason for absenteeism,
job frustration, invalid growth opportunities, hence standardformats for job description should be
used for clarity, economy &efficiency of producing the job description.
Writing a job description involves the following steps:

Y State a title, designation & reporting relationship

Y Prepare a list of all duties to be performed ( regularly, daily,weekly.

Y Describe each duty in detail (avoid vague terms)

Y What is most responsible duty?]

Y Amount or Percentage of time spent on each duty or closely relatedgroups of duties.

JoB evaluation :

Job evaluation is the process of determining the worth or pricing of agiven job. For a typical job
evaluation situation a employee, technician,worker provides information about the job they are
doing , thereexperience, skills which is supposed to be mentioned which are essentialfor a recruiter
to decide an suitable incentive plan for that employee.

For a recruiter determining the worth of the job or evaluation is based on three points.

- Classification plan

- Point rating plan

- Factor comparison plan.

JoB Enrichment :

a)Giving workers more freedom in planning work methods.

b) Encouraging participation of subordinates & interaction betweenworkers.

c) Giving feedback on their job performance.

d) Workers, skilled workers, technicians always wish their seniors project managers, supervisors are
truly concerned with therewelfare.

e) It is important to analyze that how important money is for thetechnicians, workers etc.

3. Site Safety :

Site safety is the most important thing a project manager has to take careabout and make others
aware of the hazards of unsafe sites. Based on thedeclared safety policy and supported by safety
tool box the Project manager isrequired to conduct meetings periodically and all men under their
control aremade aware of all aspects of safety. Simultaneously all individual workersshould be given
pocket books highlighting the hazards of unsafe sites.

Location of equipment must be marked prominently. Reporting procedures for accidents and
updating statistical records should be adhered too.

Body protection like a hard helmet and safety belts should be mandatory .Specific protection during
work ±

1. During excavation of tunnel:

Y Warning signals should be provide

Y Prevent water from accumulating in trench

Y Inspection of shoring everyday

Y Keep ladder or other means of emergency exit within 10m

2. During blasting of tunnel:

Y Explosives and detonators should be transported separately & safely

Y Installation of red flags around the area of blasting

3. During electrical installations in the tunnel:

Y carried out by person having a valid license

Y labourer should wear rubber gloves, boots, mats safety belts etc

Y all wires and cables should be properly laid

FIRST AID:

First aid on site is required timely and if not given on time could be lifethreatening. First aid is
required on site for the following reasons ±

1. Severe bleeding

2. Drowning

3. Electric shock

4. Asphyxiation.

5. Sunstroke.

6. Bruises and sprains.

7. Particles in eye

8. Broken bones

9.Heat exhaustion

10. Severe blow on head

Hygiene Factors :

Light weight common lavatories should be planned at strategic locations onsite & near shelters for
ladies/gents & proper bathing units should also beconsidered which could be moved easily.
Site cleanliness which includes dumping of debris outside the residing places & regular checks on
site. Toxic materials should be disposed soonfrom site.

RISK MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY FLOW:

The risk management happens in three stages in the field of tunnellingnamely

Phase I : Early design stages

Phase II : Tendering and contract negotiation

Phase III : Construction

RECOMMENDATIONS

Knowledge of Modern tunneling techniques :

Tunneling machines, sometimes called moles, make an initial cutinto rock with a cutterhead.
Individual disk-shaped cutters are set into theface of a powerful, rotating head, which may be more
than 5.5 m (18feet) in diameter.

As the machine bores through rock, conveyor beltstransport rock particles, muck, and any other
refuse away from the head.Concrete segments are erected to line and protect the tunnel as each
areais hollowed out. The building of a tunnel is known as driving a tunnel andinvolves advancing the
passageway by blasting or boring and excavating.Tunnels through mountains or underwater are
usually worked from the twoopposite ends, or faces, of the passage. In the construction of a very
longtunnel, vertical shafts may be dug at convenient intervals to excavate from morethan two
points. Improved boring and drilling machinery now allow a tunnel to be driven four or five times
faster than was possible with older techniques.

Maintenance of a risk assessment chart:

The project manager should maintain a record of the risk involved in theareas of construction and
the remedial measures used to nullify them.

The project manager should update the record biweekly or once in amonth and findout whether the
remedial measaure involved is effective or not.If found not effective then it is a must to take an
alternate step.
CONCLUSION

Thus I do conclude by informing that accidents in site can be minimised by taking precautions at the
maximum level of safety measures.

On the other hand accidental occur only due to carelessness of onself so itis clear that one has to
keep in mind about his personal safety so that all theaccidentals can be minimised without any
special supervision.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Y Papers on Management in Construction Industry by Prof. K .N.Vaid

Y Project Construction Management by P.K .JOY.

Y Building Construction By R. Chudley.