LabourbasedEquipmentbasedNepal.pdf

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LABOUR BASED AND EQUIPMENT BASED SUITABILITY IN NEPAL
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LABOUR BASED AND EQUIPMENT
BASED SUITABILITY IN NEPAL
2021
Sushanta Nepal
hippedvirus58@gmail.com
Abstract
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LABOUR BASED
METHOD AND EQUIPMENT BASED METHOD OF ROAD
CONSTRUCTION AND THEIR SUITABILITY IN NEPAL

1 | P a g e
Contents
Background............................................................................................................................2
Introduction............................................................................................................................2
Methodology..........................................................................................................................2
Literature Review...................................................................................................................3
Paper 1 Review ..................................................................................................................5
Paper 2 Review ..................................................................................................................6
Report Review ...................................................................................................................7
Conclusions............................................................................................................................7
Recommendations..................................................................................................................7
References.................................................................................................................................8

2 | P a g e
Background
Road networks always have been a major backbone/support for development of country. In
landlocked and complex topographic country, like Nepal, water navigation and air transport is
not possible or not economic. For affordable and feasible transportation, road network function
as major route for movement.
Introduction
Rural road are the arterial network of road structure that function as linkage between urban
area and rural area. It also helps to connect villages/communities within a rural area or between
two rural. In Nepal, DoLIDAR1
sets the design standards for construction and maintenance of
the rural roads, while the local bodies and agencies are responsible for the funding of the roads
(ADB, 2004)2
. In Nepal, rural roads are classified into two categories as district Road and
village Road. District Roads, also known as Core Network, join VDC3
/Municipal Headquarter
area or economic centre with district headquarter or other major economic centre through
Strategic Road Network (SRN). On the other hand, village roads are internal/local roads within
a village and function as movement route within itself and also known as agricultural road
(DoLIDAR, 2014).
There are several methods of road construction in rural road network. They can be listed as:
a. Labour-Based Method (LBM)
b. Labour-Based, Equipment-Supported Method (LBESM)
c. Modified Equipment Based Method (MEBM)
d. Equipment-Based Method (EBM) (Makenya, 2018)
Methodology
In this review, the Labour-Based method and Equipment-Based method will be reviewed and
analysed based on its characteristics. Some related reports and papers will be studied and
examined whether the methods can be applied in case of Nepal or not. The advantages and
1
Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads
2
Asian Development Bank
3
Village Development Committee

3 | P a g e
disadvantages of one method over the other will be discussed and one of them which will be
favourable in case of country like Nepal will be suitably recommended with conclusions.
Literature Review
Labour Based Method (LBM)
The labour based method of road construction is where the resource utilized is solely human
resource with hand tools and equipment. In places where the labour force is not effective,
simple and minimal use of mechanical equipment is carried out. It is widely known for its
sustainable and economic method.
Equipment Based Method (EBM)
The equipment based method of road construction is where there is extensive use of heavy
equipment and machinery, driven by skilled manpower and minimal use of labour force. There
is greater suitability of EBM for fast working rate and well maintained standards.
Comparison of LBM and EBM based on their characteristics was made based on their technical
potential, social effects and financial feasibility.
Characteristics Labour Based Method Equipment Based Method
Technical
Potential
a. Small scale
b. Abundant labour available
c. High quality work not
required
d. No time bound
a. Large scale works
b. Enough Machineries
c. High quality work is
required
d. Limited time bound
Social Effects a. Job creation
b. Both socio-economic
development
a. Economic benefits
Financial
Feasibility
a. Limited budget
a. Budget sufficient for
machineries
Table: Characteristics Comparison between LBM & EBM (Makenya, 2018).

4 | P a g e
Comparison of LBM and EBM on the basis of their criteria and advantages and disadvantages
Criteria Labour Based Equipment Based
Time Taken Project requires more time to
complete
Project can be completed in
lesser time frame
Cost Incurred Low cost method High cost
Employment More number of unskilled
manpower
More number of skilled
manpower
Equipment Hand-tools Machineries
Environmental
Consideration Reqd.
Lesser consideration is sufficient Higher degree of consideration
is required
Sustainability* More Relatively Low
Environment
Degradation*
Lower Degree Higher Degree
Maintenance
Requirement*
Frequently Often during Rainy Season
Quality/Smoothness Less Higher
Social Responsibility
of Public on Roads
Public are more concerned about
the road development
Public are less responsible for
road development & maintain
Season favouring the
construction
Can be constructed in farming-
free duration only
Can be constructed in any
season.
Table: Criterial Difference between LBM and EBM.

5 | P a g e
Paper 1 Review
Review on paper published on ‘Comparative Study of Labour-Based Method and Machine-
based Method at Rural Road Construction and Maintenance in Jimma Zone, Oromia Region,
Ethiopia’ by Anwar Kassahun Dunffa et.al. showed the following conclusions.
a. LBM cost 48% lesser than EBM of road construction which means cost of 1.9km LBM
equals 1 km EBM.
b. In LBM, unskilled labour cost, hand tools & equipment cost and fuel & material shared
66%, 22% and 12% of total cost. Whereas in EBM, unskilled labour cost, machinery
cost and fuel and material cost shared 0.27%, 60.28% and 39.45% of total cost.
This showed great reduction in unskilled labour cost from 66% to 0.27%.
c. LBM method employs more than 300 unskilled manpower for 30 days in 1km stretch
of road section.
d. It was found that there was delay in payment to the labours and no fixed rate of payment
was established which led to decrease in public interest towards LBM.
e. The labour based method was also not feasible for steep topography, extreme climates
and during the farming season (Dunffa, Quezon, & Agon, 2017 June).
LBM
Unskilled Labour Hand Tools and Equipments Fuel and Materials
EBM
Unskilled Labour Cost Machinery Cost Fuel & Materials

6 | P a g e
Paper 2 Review
Review on paper published on ‘Labour-based Construction Technology for Sustainable Rural
Development Infrastructure’ by Diwat Kumar Shrestha showed the following results
a. 71% of the participants agreed upon communities’ ownership feeling towards the
project which mean that there was ownership feeling of the stakeholders on the project.
b. 86% of respondents favoured on selection of qualified and experienced contractor as
the quality of the work depend on the quality of contractors.
c. 70% of the respondents believed that projects emphasize labours more than the
machinery equipment and explosives as satisfactory input.
d. 81% of the respondents thought positive aspect towards labour based construction
technology.
The paper study suggested that labour based method can be achieved if following points are
considered:
a. Creating employment by orienting investments towards employment-intensive public and
community infrastructure in both urban and rural areas
b. Constructing, rehabilitating and maintaining infrastructure using local labour, local
resources and local capacities, thereby maximizing employment and income-generation for
the poor
c. Providing technical advisory and capacity-building services for the planning and
implementation of different types of employment-intensive infrastructure
The labour based technology was found to be main target and was in implementation in various
parts of Nepal (Shrestha, 2014 July).

7 | P a g e
Report Review
Review on ‘Economic Analysis of Local Government Investment in Rural Roads in Nepal’ by
UNDP4
showed the following results and conclusions
a. It was found that all road development had positive progress and returns to
country/society, however, LB roads had higher returns, about 30% more, than EB roads.
b. It was found that EB technology had strong correlation with unsustainability of roads
due to poor design, absence of cross-water management, too steep slopes which resulted
in high environmental costs and greater risk/occurrence of failures like landslides.
c. EBM can be economical and faster during the construction phase but not necessarily
associated with high rate of return.
d. Current price hike on labour cost (300% in 10 years period) and reduction in equipment
cost (50% in 10 years period) increased the economic feasibility of EB technology.
e. Long delays in budget release and complex government processes made LBM
unfavourable while on the other hand, EBM was encouraged due to its fast speed of
road construction (UNDP, 2011).
Conclusions
In case of Nepal, where there is availability of labour in rural part and equipment seem to be
bit expensive in case of short section of roads, LBM was advantageous and sustainable to the
environment.
Recommendations
Following conditions should be made favourable to develop the habit of LBM in road
construction.
• Sufficient funding allocation ahead of beginning of projects.
• Trainings to local community and professionals about LBM implementation.
• Knowledge of LBM in contractors and its related flexible management systems should be
adopted.
4
United Nations Development Programme

8 | P a g e
References
ADB. (2004). SSA Nepal. Retrieved 06 2021, from
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/linked-documents/38426-023-nep-ssa.pdf
DoLIDAR. (2014). Nepal Rural Road Standard (Revised 2071). Kathmandu: GoN.
Dunffa, A. K., Quezon, E. T., & Agon, E. D. (2017 June). Comparative Study of Labour-Based
Method and Machine-Based Method at Rural Road Construction and Maintainance in
Jimma Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. American Journal of Civil Engineering.
Makenya, A. &. (2018). Analysis of Participation of Labour Based Road Contractors in Rural
Road Works in Tanzania. Ardhi University, School of Architecture, Construction
Economics and Management. Tanzania: International Journal of Science and Research.
Retrieved 06 2021, from https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v7i2/ART20179739.pdf
Shrestha, D. K. (2014 July). Labour-based Construction Technology for Sustainable Rural
Development Infrastructure. Journal of Advanced Academic Research, 9-18.
UNDP. (2011). Economic Analysis of Local Government Investment in Rural Roads in Nepal.
Pulchowk, Lalitpur: Ministry of Local Development.
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