Introduction
A site visit was conducted by Sr.Ang Fuey Lin and Ms. Azrina on 19 November
2015. The location of the site visit was at Sekyen 2A, Antara Gapi, Hulu Selangor,
Selangor. A total of 83 students took part in this site visit. The agenda of this site visit is
to provide an opportunity for students to learn how a pad footing is constructed and
what are the materials used for constructing a pad footing. Valuable information were
shared among the students and the contractors regarding the visit especially on the
operation of the project.
The objective of this site visit is to let students understand the basics of the
construction process. Student can witness the usage of construction equipment on site
including the mechanical plants. This is also an opportunity for students to explore and
identify the types of materials and technology on site. At the end of the site visit, student
are able to explain the construction of buildings and the scientific principles that
underpin the design and construction.
Before leaving for the site visit, students were given all the safety measures that
need to be taken at the construction site. Students are required to wear their helmet and
proper attire so that it would not cause any accidents or any inconvenience to the
authorities at the site. All the students gathered at the university at 8 a.m. and leave
around 8.45 a.m. After traveling by bus for an hour, we reached the construction site
around 9.45 a.m. We were introduced to the contractors who would be guiding us
throughout the site visit. We were given a short brief about the safety measures at the
site by the contractors.

The overview plan of the
construction site.
Detail drawing for the pad footing,
stating their diameter and sizes.
Organizational chart of the
project.

Content / Technical Observation
The first thing we saw when we walked into the construction site is
reinforcement bars. There were high tensile steel rods and mild yield
reinforcements which is arranged accordingly to their diameter and types. Sr.
Ang has also provided us more details about the bend for reinforcement bars and
the links. The lecturers and contractors gave us some time to take photos of the
surroundings for the report purpose and proceeded to our next location of the
construction site shortly after.
Proceeding to the next section of the site, we saw pad footing that is
already done, leaving only the stump above the ground and the footing covered
by the soil. As we were moving on to the next location, we can see brick bonds
that are used for the buildings which is stretcher bond. Different types of material
in construction can be found along the path in the site such as claybricks,
aluminum that is used as rood support, timber as formwork and scaffolding, and
cement for constructing the concrete.
Next, we headed to another section where the workers are in
progress of constructing the pad footing. The contractor explained to us the
process of the construction for pad footing. First of all, the surveyor will mark the
position for the house as to provide convenience for the workers to able to mark
another position for the square of pad footing. The workers will conduct a 1.5 m
deep of excavation for pad footing of any sizes. By following the measurement

from the detail drawing, the workers will build the formwork for the footing with
the given sizes. Most of the formworks are constructed using timber. After
constructing the formwork, the workers will lay the lean concrete as base before
they started putting in the reinforcement bars. They will place the reinforcement
bars for the footing based on what has given to them in the detail drawing. The
stump for the footing will be added into the footing and it has to be done as
stated in the detail drawing regarding the number of stumps and links in the
stump. After that, they will start constructing the concrete for the footing. The
formwork of the stump will begin and the workers will bury the footing as to cover
them up to enable the construction of the ground beam. The ground beam act as
the frame of the house. The ground slab which is the floor for the house, can only
be constructed after the ground beam has been constructed. The workers will
flatten the soil to construct ground slab and then inject the termiticide to prevent
termite infestation. Workers will construct a lean concrete for the ground slab and
then they will start adding mesh fabric reinforcement(BRC) with the correct sizes
and diameter. The materials used in constructing a pad footing is timber for
formworks, concrete for lean concrete and reinforced concrete of the footing,
stumps, beam and slab, reinforcement bars and BRC to strengthen the support
for the building.
After taking all the photos and getting the information we needed which
used up quite some time, the contractor then providing us information about the

houses being built there, Type 1 (from the overview plan) buildings are all flat
houses and type 2A houses are step-down houses, both of these houses used
piling as their foundation. 2B houses are step-up houses, where they used piling
foundation for the side and corner houses and piling foundation for the middle
houses however the foundation for some of the houses still depends on the soil
condition of that location.
By the time we reach the end of the site, the contractor brought us to the
cabin of the site where they kept all the detail drawings of the project and he
gave us his time to let us ask him questions to make sure that we got the
information we needed. Before we leave, all of us shook hands with the 3
contractors who have been guiding and explaining to us all the time to express
our gratitude to them.

Color schemes proposed for the houses at
the construction site.

Figure 4 : Heavy machinery that is used on
Figure 1 : Roof support.
Figure 3 : Cement mixer.
Figure 2 : The building is
constructed with stretcher bond.
Figure 1 : Roof support.Figure 1 : Roof support.

Figure 6 : Links or stirrups .
Figure 5 : 12 meter long steel bar which
Ms. Ang had told us about during her
lectures.
Figure 7 : Reinforcement bars.

Figure 15: Mesh fabric reinforcement
(BRC).
Figure 9 : Bend of a steel bar.
Figure 8 : Tying wires to tie the rebars
together.

Figure 13 : The worker is dismantling the
formwork for the footing
Figure 12 : Link of a column.
Figure 14 : Workers are constructing
formwork for stump.

Figure 16 : Various types of roof tiles
including Double Roman, angle section
plain tiles, etc.
Figure 17 : Ground beam, ground slab
and stump for the building.
Figure 4 : The workers are setting
up the formwork for ground beam.

Figure 18 : Claybrick that is used in
Figure 14 : The types of doorknobs
and locksets for the houses.
Figure 15 : Double Roman roof tiles
from Frontier.

Figure 10 : Independent scaffolding .
Figure 16 : Temporary works which
is a resting area for the workers.

Conclusion
At the end of the site visit, by outdoor learning experience, I have
understand that it is important to take safety measures at any construction sites
to prevent any accidents that may happen to you or anyone else. To me, this site
visit has given me the opportunity to experience new things and understand more
about the job scope of each profession that is involved in a construction project.
It is crucial for them to work together because they need each other for things to
work out in a construction project.
I have acquired better understanding on what I’ve been learning in
this semester such as how does stirrups looked like, how pad footing is
constructed, or what kind of materials are used in constructing pad footing. Being
able to witness the process of constructing a pad footing is a meaningful
experience to me. I am able to relate it to what I’ve learned from the books.
There are some situation where the foundation of the building can be different
from the other building based on the condition of the soil, and not just using the
same foundation for the same type of the building.
I am also able to identify materials that is used during the site visit
and what is the purpose for using it for that particular reason. Having to work
under such harsh sunlight is both tiring and dangerous, accidents may happen
and it can cause serious injuries. We have to appreciate and be thankful for
those who involved in the construction field.

Site Visit Report CT BM M1