This document outlines the essential steps of construction project planning, emphasizing the importance of creating a comprehensive project initiation document, setting S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. goals, executing the plan, tracking performance, and evaluating the project outcomes. It also discusses the role of mechanization and construction equipment, particularly excavators, in enhancing efficiency and safety on job sites. The document highlights the need for careful planning and team collaboration to ensure project success and maintain high-quality standards.

1. Construction Planning
As a construction manager, you’ve got to be a master at construction
project planning to be successful on a project. But what exactly is
construction planning, and what does a successful planning process
look like?
• What is construction planning?
Construction planning is the specific process a construction manager
uses to lay out how they will manage and execute a construction
project, from design to building completion. In the planning stage,
you’ll identify all construction activities, design the construction
schedule, and plan out your team structure (such as if you will use a
contractor or subcontractors). The construction plan lists the
activities required and the schedule for each part in the construction
process.

2. • Step 1: Create the project
• Create a Project Initiation Document that spells out the people,
resources, and budget for the project.
• Every construction project, no matter how big or small, needs to
start with a business case that lays out the feasibility of the project
and what it’s going to take to get the job done.
• Start by creating a Project Initiation Document (PID), which
describes the following in general, not technical, terms (the
technical part comes later):
• People: Number of workers needed including subcontractors, such
as plumbers and electricians.
• Resources: Necessary materials for the design and building plans.
• Budget: Total cost estimate of the project including labor,
materials, equipment, fees, and permits.
The purpose of this document is to outline the resources you’ll need
to complete the project, both for your stakeholders and your crew.

3. • Construction software features that can help
with this:
Most options in Software Advice’s offer basic project management
tools that should allow you to build a work breakdown structure with
all the work activities listed out in the plan. The software can create
the Gantt chart and manage the critical path of tasks for you.
• Step 2: Draft an initial plan
Use the S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. processes to set concrete, specific
goals for your project.
Now comes the point where you need to turn the PID into a more
concrete plan by setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. You’ll
take the specific resources you listed in the previous step and use that
to inform a broader strategy that will guide how you actually execute
the project.

4. • Let’s start with the definition of S.M.A.R.T. goals:
• Specific: Set specific goals for your project such as
deadlines for key milestones.
• Measurable: Agree on how you will measure success for
goals. For example, is it good enough that you have
started laying concrete by the deadline you set, or
should it be completely set by that date?
• Attainable: You need to have a plan in place for how
you’re going to achieve these goals. For example, does
your project depend on a specific material that might
not be available at the quantity you need when you
need it? If so, you need to make adjustments.

5. • Realistic: Your goals need to be within your abilities as a
construction manager. For example, if your project
includes plans to get the electrical work done within
three months when you’ve never done it in less than six
months for a project of this size, you’re setting yourself
up for failure.
• Timely: Lay out a specific time frame in which you can
realistically expect that you can achieve these goals.

6. • Now let’s take a look at C.L.E.A.R. goals, which is a slight
variation on this strategy.
• Collaborative: Get everyone on board. Hold a meeting
before the project begins with the entire team to lay out
what is expected and have them help you identify any
possible obstacles.
• Limited: Limit these goals both in terms of scope and
time frame to not get overwhelmed.
• Emotional: Ensure that your goals will get your
employees fired up and on board.
• Appreciable: Break up big goals into achievable tasks so
you don’t overwhelm your workers.
• Refinable: Count on having to be flexible, because you
can never predict what will happen on a job site.

7. • Step 3: Execute the plan
• THE QUICK VERSION:
• Call a meeting with your team, get on the same
page, set expectations, and assign project
managers to oversee progress.
• ALL THE DETAILS:
• It’s time to execute your plan. Start by calling a
team meeting to go over the project plan and
construction schedule. This meeting is critical for
your plan’s success. Without buy-in from your
crew, you will fail to achieve your objectives.

8. Talk with each person on your crew individually, if
possible, to discuss expectations and give them an
opportunity to ask questions about anything they’re
confused about. Is your backhoe operator supposed
to be in daily communication with your engineering
team because they’ll be working in the same area at
similar times? They need to know that as well as
what the expectations are in regards to how they
will communicate and when.

9. You might also need to assign a project manager(s) to oversee your
teams. If you’re a very small business, you may be the only project
manager, but you need to have a schedule drawn up of what you will
be checking and when.
• Step 4: Track your performance
• THE QUICK VERSION:
• Gather data on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as
objectives, performance, and quality.
ALL THE DETAILS:
• It’s essential that you accurately track the performance of your
team on this construction project and ensure they are meeting the
parameters you’ve set. And in the event of an unsuccessful
project, it ensures you have data that you can dive into to figure
out why you failed so it doesn’t happen again.

10. • Successful construction managers typically use key performance
indicators (KPIs) to monitor the performance of a project.
• Some typical KPIs you can track include:
• Project objectives: Are you on schedule and on budget?
• Project performance: Is the project proceeding smoothly, or are
you running into some obstacles you weren’t expecting?
• Quality: Sure, the crew is hitting their milestones, but is the work
up to the quality that you want at this stage?
• Step 5: Close out and evaluate the project
• THE QUICK VERSION:
• Using the data you gathered, evaluate your performance and talk
with your team on how you could improve on the next project.

11. • Just because the building is over doesn’t mean you’re done with
the planning process. The lessons learned and data gathered from
this project help inform how you approach the next project, so it’s
important to perform the close-out tasks. This work can also serve
as some of the pre-construction planning for your next project.
• Thanks to the fact that you had a clearly-defined construction
project plan and a way to track performance and obstacles, you’re
well-equipped to conduct an even more successful construction
planning process the next time around. You’ll know where the
obstacles are and what mistakes were made, which will then
inform how you can tweak the next plan in order to maximize
success.

12. • But this shouldn’t be a process that takes place
just in your own head. Call a final meeting with
your crew to discuss how you performed.
Conduct a brainstorming session to get ideas on
what you could have done better, and take
extensive notes. They’re your eyes and ears, so
don’t lose the opportunity to collect their
valuable insight.
• To formally close this project out, create a final
project budget and contrast it with the original
budget, and then draft a final project report that
you share with key stakeholders.

15. • General
Mechanization is the process of shifting from working
largely or exclusively by hand to do that work using
machines. Construction projects are becoming more
demanding and complicated in construction and delay
of projects would arise if conventional construction
method is used. Delays in construction are costly and
have prompted developers to embrace mechanization.
Construction machineries are used in order to achieve
larger output, cost-effective, execution of work that is
not feasible by manual efforts, reduce the amount of
heavy manual work which would cause fatigue,
maintaining large output, and finalize projects on time.

16. • Motivations for Mechanization of Construction Industry
• The work can be done speedily which avoid time and cost
over-runs.
• Large quantity of materials can be handled, so the size of
the project can be increased
• The complex projects involving high grade material.
• High quality standards can be maintained.
• Time schedule can be kept.
• Optimum use of material, man power and finance.
• Shortage of skilled and efficient man power.
• To control on the duration and cost implications by using
mechanized equipment over the Conventional method,
which can be used in the planning of construction
project.

17. • Lower insurance costs for builders.
• Easier and safer work for construction workers.
• Increased sustainability over a building’s lifetime.
• Little to no building-site construction waste.

18. • Earth Excavators
Excavators are heavy equipment consisting of a
boom, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known
as the control room. The house sits atop an under
carriage with tracks or wheels. All movement and
functions of the excavator are accomplished
through the use of hydraulic fluid, be it with rams or
motors.

19. • Types of excavator:
• Compact excavator
• Crawler excavator
• Wheeled excavators
• Backhoe loader
• Dragline excavator
• Long reach excavator
• Power shovel
• Suction excavator

20. • Excavators are used in many ways:
• Digging of trenches, holes and foundations
• Material handling
• Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments
• Forestry work
• Demolition
• General grading/landscaping
• Heavy lift, e.g. lifting and placing of pipes
• Mining, especially, but not only open-pit mining
• River dredging
• Driving piles, in conjunction with a Pile Driver

21. 1. Compact Excavator
A compact or mini excavator is tracked or wheeled vehicle
with an approximate operating weight from 0.7 to 7.5 tons.
It generally includes a standard backfill blade and features
independent boom swing. Hydraulic Excavators are
somewhat different from other construction equipment in
that all movement and functions of the machine are
accomplished through the transfer of hydraulic fluid. The
compact excavator's work group and blade are activated by
hydraulic fluid acting upon hydraulic cylinders. The
excavator's slew (rotation) and travel functions are also
activated by hydraulic fluid powering hydraulic motors.

23. 2. Crawler Excavator
a) Mini-Crawler Excavator
With a wide range of available sizes and features like Power
Tech engines, zero-tail-swing, offset boom, multiple
attachments and ultra comfortable operator stations,
there’s excavator to fit every job. Hydraulic management
system, which helps by balancing hydraulic pressure and
flow and sensing when extra power is needed without
draining other systems.

25. b) Heavy Crawler Excavator
Crawler excavator gets the job done with muscle,
control and peerless productivity. Efficient, cool-
running engines and enhanced hydraulics make
these the most-reliable and hardest-working
excavators yet. Climb into one of these best-in-class
cabs and unleash a mighty workhorse to tackle
toughest jobs.

27. 3. Wheeled Excavators
Wheeled excavators easily navigate streets and hard
surfaces to deliver powerful bucket forces in well-
balanced, high-stability machines. Even with all that
muscle outside, operators find quiet comfort inside
spacious air conditioned cabs. Low effort levers
deliver smooth boom and bucket control.

29. 4. Backhoe loader
Backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe and
commonly shortened to backhoe, is a heavy
equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor fitted
with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small
backhoe on the back. Due to its relatively small size
and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in
urban engineering and small construction projects
(such as building a small house, fixing urban roads,
etc).

30. Backhoe loaders deliver versatility and power in a cost-
efficient package, whether placing pipe, busting up blacktop or
digging deep. Each model features excavator-style boom,
bucket and hydraulics. Crowd power, swing torque and boom
and dipper stick lift are impressive and high pressure
hydraulics are powerful and quick. Easy-to-operate controls
smoothly blend functions.

32. By comparing various types of machines for
excavation, for example, power shovels are
generally found to be the most suitable for
excavating from a level surface and for attacking an
existing digging surface or one created by the
power shovel; furthermore, they have the
capability of placing the excavated material directly
onto the haulers. Another alternative is to use
bulldozers for excavation.

33. The choice of the type and size of haulers is based on the
consideration that the number of haulers selected must be
capable of disposing of the excavated materials
expeditiously. Factors which affect this selection include:
• Output of excavators: The size and characteristics of the
excavators selected will determine the output volume
excavated per day.
• Distance to dump site: Sometimes part of the excavated
materials may be piled up in a corner at the job-site for
use as backfill.
• Probable average speed: The average speed of the
haulers to and from the dumping site will determine the
cycle time for each hauling trip.

34. • Volume of excavated materials: The volume of
excavated materials including the part to be piled
up should be hauled away as soon as possible.
• Spatial and weight constraints: The size and
weight of the haulers must be feasible at the job
site and over the route from the construction site
to the dumping area.
Dump trucks are usually used as haulers for
excavated materials as they can move freely with
relatively high speeds on city streets as well as on
highways.

35. The cycle capacity C of a piece of equipment is
defined as the number of output units per cycle of
operation under standard work conditions. The
capacity is a function of the output units used in
the measurement as well as the size of the
equipment and the material to be processed. The
cycle time T refers to units of time per cycle of
operation. The standard production rate R of a
piece of construction equipment is defined as the
number of output units per unit time. Hence:

36. The daily standard production rate Pe of an
excavator can be obtained by multiplying its
standard production rate Re by the number of
operating hours He per day. Thus:
……. (1)
……. (2)
……. (3)
where Ce and Te are cycle capacity (in units of
volume) and cycle time (in hours) of the excavator
respectively.