Elements of Building Project: The elements of a typical building

project range from project planning , time and man- hour scheduling,
etc. in the initial stages of a building project right up to the finishing
stage and sometimes even beyond. Some of the important elements
are discussed briefly.

Project Planning: This process begins with the understanding of

clients' needs, Architect's design, identification of resources needed,
time-span for the project, etc. After interacting with the Architect, the
client and the consultants and after familiarizing with site conditions
the project manager prepares a project report broadly listing all the
activities, respective duties of concerned agencies, a broad time
schedule, etc. It is then circulates among the concerned persons. He
finalizes the plan on the basis of reactions received and assembles his
project team.

Es tim ating: On the bas is of product ion drawings prepared by the

Architect, the Estimator
tr in the team takes off quantities of various
items of work and prepares a priced Bill of Quantities (B0()) on the basis
of Schedule of Rates or prevailing market rates. Separate estimates
are usually prepared for civil, electrical, sanitary a plumbing work,
fire protection services, air-conditioning work, heating a ventilation
work, landscaping, interior work, etc.

Time S cheduling: Depending upon the com plexity of the project,

Bar charts or PERT/CM/I networks are prepared and got vetted by
respective consultants. During the progress of the project these are
monitored for timely completion.

Cas h - flow Statem ent: Bas ed on the tim e s chedule and the work
and value of different contracts, a cash-flow statement is prepared to
indicate how much money will be required at different stages. Such
a statement helps the client in procuring and allocating requisite
funds. It also helps in arresting cost over-runs,
Man-hour Projection: The Project Manager estimates calendar time
required for the different phases of work. lie calculates optimum
labour time in terms of man-hours rather than man-weeks. Thus he
can assess the exact staffing requirement so that the same can be
integrated in the staffing projections.

Tenders: Tender offers are made by contractors to execute a project

on some predetermined data and conditions. Depending upon the
nature of the project tender documents consisting of Tender Notice,
instructions to Tenderers, standard form of contractor's offer, articles
of agreement Et conditions of contract, specifications and Schedule/
Bill of quantities are prepared and vetted by respective consultants
before the same are issued to contractors.
Lumpsum tenders are invited on rare occasions when the project is
small and the drawings prepared by the Architect are fairly exhaustive.
The normal practice among Architects is to invite Item-rate tenders.
Public bodies invite Percentage tenders which are based on prescribed
Schedule of Rates.

Tender Notice: Tender Notice is issued in news papers and trade

journals to invite contractors to offer their bids for intended
construction work. Such notices are sent to selected or short-listed
contractors also. A typical Tender notice contains certain essential
information such as the nature, location and estimated cost of the
project, period during which Tender Documents can be purchased,
non-refundable cost of Tender Documents, last date and the cut-off
time for submission of sealed tenders, the Earnest Money Deposit
[EMD] which must accompany the Tender, the place where it must be
submitted, the address where contractors can study the drawings, the
date, time and place of opening the Tenders, etc. The last paragraph
of the notice reads "Neither the Owners nor the Architects bind
themselves to accept the lowest or any tender or to give reasons for
their acceptance or rejection." Public Sector organizations have their
own format of Tender notice which can appear in news papers or
government publications.

/Earnest Money Deposit [EMD]: It is the amount which each

contractor needs to pay in the form of a Banker's cheque or a Demand
Draft drawn in favour of the Owner along with his tender. This
amount is retained till the owner and the Architect decide whom to
award the work. The cheque or Deinand draft given by the successful
con:_ractor is encashed and kept ,...dth the owner as security deposit
for fulfilment of contract condit ions. lt is returned only after the
building is occupied by the owner. The cheques and demand drafts of
unsuccessful contractors are returned to them as soon as work order
is given to the successful bidder.

Tender Analysis and. Report: Alter the tenders are received by

stipulated date, the Project Manager checks each and every tender
carefully to find out if there are any omissions, mistakes in calculations,
or over- writings. As a part of his scrutiny he prepares a tabulated
analysis of all the tenders. At the top of the table are the names of all
the contractors who have submitted tenders. On the left hand side are
listed all the items of work to be executed, in a serial order.
The rates quoted by respective contractors are shown in the table for
the sake of easy "At a glance" comparison. On the extreme right hand
side, there is space for remarks. At the bottom of the table the total
tendered amount quoted by each contractor is shown. A report based
on the tender analysis and scrutiny is then prepared. On the basis of
such a report the Architect makes his recommendation to the client
about acceptance of a particular tender.

Security Deposit: Security deposit is the amount paid by a contractor

to the owner for faithful observance of contract conditions. it is paid
in two instalments. The first payment is in the form of Earnest money
deposit of 1% paid at the time of submission of Tender. The second
installment is in the form of a demand Draft or Banker's Guarantee of
10/0 paid at the time of signing the contract. This amount in addition to
Retention amount remains with the owner till the virtual completion.
At this stage half the security deposit is returned to the contractor
after the Architect has issued Virtual Completion certificate and after
the owner takes possession of the building. The remaining amount
is returned to the contractor after the Final certificate of Payment is
issued by the Architect.

Specifications: Specifications are an essential part of every

te nder/c ontr act doc ume nt. W hile the production drawings give
sizes and dimensions, specification indicates the exact quality and
t h e m a nne r a n d s e q ue n c e of e xe c ut i o n T he r e a r e t wo t yp e s of
specifications- General specifications and Detailed specifications.
General specifications describe all kinds of works and activities that
take place in any type of project, while detailed specifications are
p r oj e c t- sp ec i f i c . S u c h sp e ci f c a i d n > de sc r i b e i n i i et a i l e v e r y a sp e ct
o f a p a r t i c u l a r w o r k i n t e r m s o f c i w f l i t y , m a n n e r a n d se q u e n c e o f
e xe cut ion, f ini sh , etc . It is wri tte n in a ma nn er whi ch will con ve y to
the contractor precisely what the Architect wants.

P e r f o r m a n c e S p e c i f i c a t i o n : Th i s t y p e o f s p e c i f i c a t i o n l i st s o u t t h e
p r e c i se p e r f o r m a nc e a pa r t i c ul a r ac t i v i t y o r j ob m u st d el i v e r r a t h e r
than the manner of its execution. How the product is delivered is left
to the contractor. in spite of Detailed specifications a contractor may
not be able to provide a product the Architect has envisaged National
B u i ld i n g Co d e r e c om m e n d s u se o f pe r f o r m a n c e sp e c i f i ca t i o n r a t h e r
than other types of specifications

Contracts: Once the works order is issued to the contractor the

Architect must get the client and the contractor to sign a contract
on the terms and conditions which have been agreed. By and large
the form of contract is the same which is included in the tender
document. For a contract to be legally valid, it is required to be
affixed with appropriate value of stamp and it must be signed by the
o w n e r a n d t h e c o n t r a c t o r i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f t w o w i t n e s se s. O n e o f
the witnesses is the Architect or his representative. The other witness
can be any person who happens to be present at that moment. in
most cases Architects make use of the standard form of contract
issued by the 'Indian institute of Architects. Most public bodies which
carry out construction projects quite frequently have their own
standard formats which are used for signing contracts. The Architect
m ust get a co ntr ac t sig ned as quic kl y a s po ssibl e; oth erw ise n eit he r
he derives proper authority to execute the project nor the client's and
co ntr ac tor 's int er ests ar e saf e- gua rded . i f t he cli ent suf fe rs a ny lo ss
or damage which cannot be compensated by either the contractor
or the insurance company, the Architect may be held responsible
for his failure to protect the client. Depending upon the nature of
t he proj ect th e co nt ra ct c an be a lump sum con tr act , a n it em-r at e
c o n t r a c t o r a p e r c e n t a g e c o n t r a c t . Th e c o n t r a c t d o c u m e n t p r o v i d e s
f or all mat te rs su ch as re sp ec tiv e du tie s a nd re sp on sib ilit ie s of the
cl ie nt, th e A rc hit ect and th e co nt ra ctor , man ne r of mak ing pay me nt s
t o co n t r a c to r , g r a n ti n g e x t e n si o n o f ti m e , e f f e c t i ng i n su r a n c e s, l e v y
of liquidated damages, manner of termination of contract, method
of resolving disputes, etc. Even though an oral contract is admissible
in law, it is not advisable in a building project.