Construction management: mobilisation

Mobilisation refers to the activities carried out after the client has appointed the trade contractors, but before the trade contractors commence work on site. It is a preparatory stage during which the majority of activities are managed by the construction manager.

[edit] Preparing for the construction stage

The construction manager arranges a pre-contract meeting with the consultant team and trade contractors to discuss procedures that will be adopted during the construction stage.

There are a range of tasks necessary to prepare for the construction stage:

• The construction manager co-ordinates the issue of production information for construction.
• The client and construction manager prepare and agree schedules of conditions for adjacent properties or structures that will be retained.
• The client and construction manager check that all necessary insurance policies are in place for construction work and site ownership.
• The client and construction manager check that all necessary permissions, approvals, party wall agreements and other statutory requirements are in place and that all necessary planning conditions have been satisfied.
• If necessary, and if it has not already been done, the client appoints; party wall surveyor(s), an approved inspector, site inspectors and an in-house or outsourced engineering team to witness testing and commissioning and to take over the running of the services as soon as practical completion is certified.
• The trade contractors each prepare detailed programmes for their works and issue these to the construction manager. The construction manager incorporates these into an overall project programme and short period programmes for the co-ordination of the works. The construction manager may wish to bring key dates to the attention of the client or consultant team, such as dates for decisions, dates for the release of information, or dates for works outside of the trade contracts. The client should not approve any programmes as approval might be considered to relieve the trade contractors of liability for programming the works in such a way as to achieve the completion date.
• The principal designer ensures that co-ordination procedures are in place for design carried out by the trade contractors.
• The construction manager briefs site inspectors regarding procedures for inspecting and reporting on work on site as it progresses. This might include specific monitoring and reporting arrangements relating to the implementation of client policies such as environmental policies (on a large project this might involve the appointment of an environmental consultant specifically to perform that role).
• The client may need to put procedures in place to move some of its staff and equipment so that it can continue to operate effectively during construction.
• The construction manager and design team agree the basic principles to be used for grid lines and setting out of the site.

[edit] Mobilising

Mobilisation may involve the construction manager carrying out the following tasks:

• Co-ordinating the preparation and issue of a project handbook setting out responsibilities, procedures, and lines of communication for the construction stage.
• Preparing method statements and obtaining method statements from trade contractors.
• Preparing a site layout plan for construction.
• Making arrangements for site communications such as the receipt and distribution of post and information and communications technology (ICT).
• Managing specialist design and drawing approval. They may wish to appoint a design co-ordinator to be responsible for this.
• Advertising and selecting any remaining contracts such as catering, security and cleaning contracts. NB as with trade contracts, these contracts are placed with the client, but managed by the construction manager.
• Establishing a contract register scheduling: the contracts that have been placed, who signed them and when, what the value of the contract is and where it is stored. This can be crucial information if for example the construction manager becomes insolvent.
• Establishing an asset register scheduling what assets there are on site and who they belong to. This information may later be incorporated into the building owner's manual.
• Establishing all statutory site registers such as; lifting equipment, dangerous and explosive substance storage, scaffolding and accident reports etc.
• Complying with any statutory conditions that must be satisfied prior to construction (such as tree protection, submission of contaminated soil disposal plans, approval of work adjacent to an operating rail track and so on).
• Ensuring (in their role as principal contractor) that workers are provided with a suitable site induction, training and information to be able to work without undue risk to their health or safety.
• Establishing inspection regimes and quality assurance procedures for construction.
• Commissioning any further geotechnical survey work required.
• If it has not already been done, obtaining statutory utility drawings of all existing and surrounding services including details of any telecoms, wells and hydraulic mains.
• Arranging necessary road closures and restrictions, diversions of services and connections necessary for the works to be carried out.
• If it has not already been done, obtaining legal documentation describing precisely the site boundary and ownership.
• Preparing (in their role as principal contractor) a construction phase plan, if this has not already been done.
• Developing the site waste management plan (if required).
• Commissioning a survey team to establish semi-permanent setting-out theodolite base plates.
• If it has not already been done, arranging for the statutory utilities to provide the necessary water, power supplies, and ICT services required for construction activities.
• Notifying the local authority (or approved inspector) of their intention to begin construction.
• Informing the emergency services of their intention to begin construction.
• Notifying the HSE if this has not already been done.

Comments

Good Afternoon, thank you so much for sharing this amazing article, is really important and useful to me. Im engineer of a certified scaffolding company in Bogota Colombia, called Soefec, and regardless the place where we are this topics are very very important in our job, because is fundamental know about how to be ready for the construction and mobilization stage. so Thank you so much for this article. you should read it.