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68-403: In the construction industry, mud is a semi-fluid material that can be used to coat, seal, or adhere materials. The term "mud" can be used for various semi-fluid materials used in construction including slurry , mortar , plaster , stucco , and concrete . Mud, cob , adobe , clay , and many other names are historically used synonymously to mean a mixture of subsoil and water possibly with

136-476: A designer , a contractor , a construction manager , or other advisors); such specialists are normally appointed for their expertise in project delivery and construction management and will help the owner define the project brief , agree on a budget and schedule , liaise with relevant public authorities, and procure materials and the services of other specialists (the supply chain , comprising subcontractors and materials suppliers). Contracts are agreed for

204-408: A meter or more downwards. This means that the burrowed mud is a productive habitat , providing food and shelter for a wide range of mud-dwellers and other animals that forage in and over the mud. Mud can pose problems for motor traffic when moisture is present, because every vehicle function that changes direction or speed relies on friction between the tires and the road surface, so

272-422: A "live" environment (where residents or businesses remain living in or operating on the site) requires particular care, planning and communication. When applicable, a proposed construction project must comply with local land-use planning policies including zoning and building code requirements. A project will normally be assessed (by the 'authority having jurisdiction', AHJ, typically the municipality where

340-445: A building or other asset that affect safety, including its use, expansion, structural integrity, and fire protection , usually require municipality approval. Depending on the type of project, mortgage bankers , accountants , and cost engineers may participate in creating an overall plan for the financial management of a construction project. The presence of the mortgage banker is highly likely, even in relatively small projects since

408-640: A business to lead both design and construction ( design-build ); or they may directly appoint a designer, contractor and specialist subcontractors ( construction management ). Some forms of procurement emphasize collaborative relationships ( partnering , alliancing) between the client, the contractor, and other stakeholders within a construction project, seeking to ameliorate often highly competitive and adversarial industry practices. DfMA (design for manufacture and assembly) approaches also emphasize early collaboration with manufacturers and suppliers regarding products and components. Construction or refurbishment work in

476-479: A conceptual cost estimate performed by a building estimator . As portions of a project are completed, they may be sold, supplanting one lender or owner for another, while the logistical requirements of having the right trades and materials available for each stage of the building construction project carry forward. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) or private finance initiatives (PFIs) may also be used to help deliver major projects. According to McKinsey in 2019,

544-490: A layer of mud on the surface of the road or tires can cause the vehicle to hydroplane . People and cars can also become stuck in mud, as in quicksand . Heavy rainfall , snowmelt , or high levels of groundwater may trigger a movement of soil or sediments , possibly causing mudslides , landslides , avalanches , or sinkholes . Mudslides in volcanic terrain (called lahars ) occur after eruptions as rain remobilizes loose ash deposits. Mudslides are also common in

612-422: A material can be determined by microscopy or spectroscopy . In engineering , materials can be categorised according to their microscopic structure: A metamaterial is any material engineered to have a property that is not found in naturally occurring materials, usually by combining several materials to form a composite and / or tuning the shape , geometry , size , orientation and arrangement to achieve

680-419: A required shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln which removes all the water from the clay , which induces reactions that lead to permanent changes including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their shape. A clay body can be decorated before or after firing. Prior to some shaping processes, clay must be prepared. Kneading helps to ensure an even moisture content throughout

748-433: A rule is inapplicable (the bridge design will not cause a collapse), or that the custom is no longer needed (acceptance of live-work spaces has grown in the community). During the construction of a building, a municipal building inspector usually inspects the ongoing work periodically to ensure that construction adheres to the approved plans and the local building code. Once construction is complete, any later changes made to

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816-519: A well-drained flat roof may be protected with a well-prepared ( puddled ) and properly maintained dried mud coating, viable as the mud will expand when moistened and so become more water resistant. Adobe mudbricks were commonly used by the Pueblo Indians to build their homes and other necessary structures. In some countries there are entire cities made of mud brick houses. Cow dung and biomass are added to regulate indoor climate. Mud that

884-481: Is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object . Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties , or on their geological origin or biological function. Materials science is the study of materials, their properties and their applications. Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or

952-407: Is a stage in the process of refinement of the materials , since larger particles will settle from the liquid . Mud can provide a home for numerous types of animals, including varieties of worms , frogs , snails , clams , and crayfish . Other animals, such as hippopotamuses , pigs , rhinoceroses , water buffalo and elephants , bathe in mud in order to cool off and protect themselves from

1020-519: Is generally a chocolate or cornstarch-based sludge used more for visual appeal than actual taste. However, it does not contain real mud. A mud bath is a bath of mud, commonly from areas where hot spring water can combine with volcanic ash . Mud baths have existed for thousands of years, and can be found now in high-end spas . Mud wallows are a common source of entertainment for children . Mud wallows can be any shape, size, depth and some can have water as well as mud. Usually wallows are shallow dips in

1088-400: Is mostly clay, or a mixture of clay and sand may be used for ceramics , of which one form is the common fired brick . Fired brick are more durable but consume much more energy to produce. Stabilized mud (earth, soil) is mud which has had a binder such as cement or bitumen added. Examples are mudcrete , landcrete, and soil cement . Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of

1156-405: Is the discipline of safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures . Demolition contrasts with deconstruction , which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for reuse purposes ( recycling – see also circular economy ). The output of the global construction industry was worth an estimated $ 10.8 trillion in 2017, and in 2018

1224-937: Is the process of adding structures to areas of land, also known as real property sites. Typically, a project is instigated by or with the owner of the property (who may be an individual or an organisation); occasionally, land may be compulsorily purchased from the owner for public use. Residential construction may be undertaken by individual land-owners ( self-built ), by specialist housebuilders , by property developers , by general contractors , or by providers of public or social housing (e.g.: local authorities, housing associations ). Where local zoning or planning policies allow, mixed-use developments may comprise both residential and non-residential construction (e.g.: retail, leisure, offices, public buildings, etc.). Residential construction practices, technologies , and resources must conform to local building authority's regulations and codes of practice . Materials readily available in

1292-413: Is the second largest construction market with a 2018 output of $ 1.581 trillion. Construction is a major source of employment in most countries; high reliance on small businesses, and under-representation of women are common traits. For example: According to McKinsey research, productivity growth per worker in construction has lagged behind many other industries across different countries including in

1360-562: The Bronze Age , a class of professional craftsmen , like bricklayers and carpenters , appeared. Occasionally, slaves were used for construction work. In the Middle Ages , the artisan craftsmen were organized into guilds . In the 19th century, steam-powered machinery appeared, and later, diesel- and electric-powered vehicles such as cranes , excavators and bulldozers . Fast-track construction has been increasingly popular in

1428-486: The Latin word constructio (from com- "together" and struere "to pile up") and Old French construction . To 'construct' is a verb : the act of building, and the noun is construction: how something is built or the nature of its structure. In its most widely used context, construction covers the processes involved in delivering buildings , infrastructure , industrial facilities, and associated activities through to

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1496-606: The United States and in European countries. In the United States, construction productivity per worker has declined by half since the 1960s. The twenty-five largest countries in the world by construction GVA (2018) Some workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers; they may be skilled tradespeople; or they may be supervisory or managerial personnel. Under safety legislation in

1564-474: The architect , engineer or builder acts for the client as the project coordinator. They design the works, prepare specifications and design deliverables (models, drawings, etc.), administer the contract, tender the works, and manage the works from inception to completion. In parallel, there are direct contractual links between the client and the main contractor, who, in turn, has direct contractual relationships with subcontractors. The arrangement continues until

1632-446: The sun . Submerged mud can be home to larvae of various insects . Mud plays an important role in the marine ecosystem . The activities of burrowing animals and fish have a dramatic churning effect on muddy seabeds . This allows the exchange and cycling of oxygen , nutrients , and minerals between water and sediment . Below the surface, the burrows of some species form intricate lattice-like networks and may penetrate

1700-414: The type of building , non-residential building construction can be procured by a wide range of private and public organisations, including local authorities, educational and religious bodies, transport undertakings, retailers, hoteliers, property developers, financial institutions and other private companies. Most construction in these sectors is undertaken by general contractors . Civil engineering covers

1768-438: The western United States during El Niño years due to prolonged rainfall. Geophagia is the practice of eating earth or soil-like substances, also known as geophagy, and is practiced by some non-human primates and by humans in some cultures. In other human cultures it is considered an eating disorder and classed as Pica . Mississippi mud pie is a chocolate based dessert pie. Children's recipes for "mud" also exist, which

1836-581: The "vast majority of large construction projects go over budget and take 20% longer than expected". A construction project is a complex net of construction contracts and other legal obligations, each of which all parties must carefully consider. A contract is the exchange of a set of obligations between two or more parties, and provides structures to manage issues. For example, construction delays can be costly, so construction contracts set out clear expectations and clear paths to manage delays. Poorly drafted contracts can lead to confusion and costly disputes. At

1904-461: The 21st century. Some estimates suggest that 40% of construction projects are now fast-track construction. Broadly, there are three sectors of construction: buildings, infrastructure and industrial: The industry can also be classified into sectors or markets. For example, Engineering News-Record ( ENR ), a US-based construction trade magazine, has compiled and reported data about the size of design and construction contractors. In 2014, it split

1972-447: The 21st-century introduction of building information modeling (BIM) processes has involved the use of computer-generated models that can be used in their own right or to generate drawings and other visualisations as well as capturing non-geometric data about building components and systems. On some projects, work on-site will not start until design work is largely complete; on others, some design work may be undertaken concurrently with

2040-599: The United Kingdom, for example, construction workers are defined as people "who work for or under the control of a contractor on a construction site"; in Canada, this can include people whose work includes ensuring conformance with building codes and regulations, and those who supervise other workers. Laborers comprise a large grouping in most national construction industries. In the United States, for example, in May 2021

2108-453: The addition of stones, gravel , straw , lime , and/or bitumen . This material was used a variety of ways to build walls , floors and even roofs . For thousands of years it was common in most parts of the world to build walls using mudbricks or the wattle and daub , rammed earth or cob techniques and cover the surfaces with earthen plaster. Mud can be made into mud bricks, also called adobe , by mixing mud with water, placing

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2176-413: The area generally dictate the construction materials used (e.g.: brick versus stone versus timber ). Costs of construction on a per square meter (or per square foot) basis for houses can vary dramatically based on site conditions, access routes, local regulations, economies of scale (custom-designed homes are often more expensive to build) and the availability of skilled tradespeople. Depending upon

2244-554: The asset as an advanced technological system requiring close integration of many sub-systems and their individual components, including sustainability. For buildings, building engineering is an emerging discipline that attempts to meet this new challenge. Traditionally, design has involved the production of sketches , architectural and engineering drawings , and specifications . Until the late 20th century, drawings were largely hand- drafted ; adoption of computer-aided design (CAD) technologies then improved design productivity, while

2312-434: The body. Air trapped within the clay body needs to be removed. This is called de-airing and can be accomplished by a machine called a vacuum pug or manually by wedging . Wedging can also help produce an even moisture content. Once a clay body has been kneaded and de-aired or wedged, it is shaped by a variety of techniques. After shaping it is dried and then fired. In ceramics , the making of liquid mud (called slip )

2380-419: The budget on the job, and a construction manager , design engineer , construction engineer or architect supervises it. Those involved with the design and execution must consider zoning requirements and legal issues, environmental impact of the project, scheduling , budgeting and bidding , construction site safety , availability and transportation of building materials , logistics, and inconvenience to

2448-447: The client enters into separate contracts with the designer (architect or engineer), a construction manager , and individual trade contractors . The client takes on the contractual role, while the construction or project manager provides the active role of managing the separate trade contracts, and ensuring that they complete all work smoothly and effectively together. This approach is often used to speed up procurement processes, to allow

2516-410: The client greater flexibility in design variation throughout the contract, to enable the appointment of individual work contractors, to separate contractual responsibility on each individual throughout the contract, and to provide greater client control. In the industrialized world, construction usually involves the translation of designs into reality. Most commonly (i.e.: in a design-bid-build project),

2584-675: The construction sector employed just over 7.5 million people, of whom just over 820,000 were laborers, while 573,000 were carpenters , 508,000 were electricians , 258,000 were equipment operators and 230,000 were construction managers. Like most business sectors, there is also substantial white-collar employment in construction – 681,000 US workers were recorded by the United States Department of Labor as in 'office and administrative support occupations' in May 2021. Large-scale construction requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. A project manager normally manages

2652-750: The data into nine market segments: transportation, petroleum , buildings, power, industrial, water, manufacturing, sewage/waste, telecom , hazardous waste , and a tenth category for other projects. ENR used data on transportation, sewage, hazardous waste and water to rank firms as heavy contractors. The Standard Industrial Classification and the newer North American Industry Classification System classify companies that perform or engage in construction into three subsectors: building construction, heavy and civil engineering construction, and specialty trade contractors. There are also categories for professional services firms (e.g., engineering , architecture , surveying , project management ). Building construction

2720-426: The delivery of services by all businesses, alongside other detailed plans aimed at ensuring legal, timely, on-budget and safe delivery of the specified works. Design, finance, and legal aspects overlap and interrelate. The design must be not only structurally sound and appropriate for the use and location, but must also be financially possible to build, and legal to use. The financial structure must be adequate to build

2788-440: The design provided and must pay amounts that are legally owed. Legal structures integrate design with other activities and enforce financial and other construction processes. These processes also affect procurement strategies. Clients may, for example, appoint a business to design the project, after which a competitive process is undertaken to appoint a lead contractor to construct the asset ( design–bid–build ); they may appoint

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2856-451: The design team is employed by (i.e. in contract with) the property owner. Depending upon the type of project, a design team may include architects , civil engineers , mechanical engineers , electrical engineers , structural engineers , fire protection engineers , planning consultants , architectural consultants, and archaeological consultants. A 'lead designer' will normally be identified to help coordinate different disciplinary inputs to

2924-821: The design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment , including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, airports, water and sewerage systems, pipelines, and railways. Some general contractors have expertise in civil engineering; civil engineering contractors are firms dedicated to work in this sector, and may specialise in particular types of infrastructure. Industrial construction includes offshore construction (mainly of energy installations: oil and gas platforms , wind power ), mining and quarrying , refineries , breweries , distilleries and other processing plants, power stations , steel mills , warehouses and factories . Some construction projects are small renovations or repair jobs, like repainting or fixing leaks, where

2992-443: The desire to prevent indisputably bad phenomena, e.g. explosions or bridge collapses. Other legal requirements come from malum prohibitum considerations, or factors that are a matter of custom or expectation, such as isolating businesses from a business district or residences from a residential district. An attorney may seek changes or exemptions in the law that governs the land where the building will be built, either by arguing that

3060-514: The desired property. In foams and textiles , the chemical structure is less relevant to immediately observable properties than larger-scale material features: the holes in foams, and the weave in textiles. Materials can be compared and classified by their large-scale physical properties. Mechanical properties determine how a material responds to applied forces . Examples include: Materials may degrade or undergo changes of properties at different temperatures. Thermal properties also include

3128-535: The early stages of on-site activity (for example, work on a building's foundations may commence while designers are still working on the detailed designs of the building's internal spaces). Some projects may include elements that are designed for off-site construction (see also prefabrication and modular building ) and are then delivered to the site ready for erection, installation or assembly. Once contractors and other relevant professionals have been appointed and designs are sufficiently advanced, work may commence on

3196-467: The end of their life. It typically starts with planning , financing , and design that continues until the asset is built and ready for use. Construction also covers repairs and maintenance work, any works to expand, extend and improve the asset, and its eventual demolition , dismantling or decommissioning . The construction industry contributes significantly to many countries' gross domestic products ( GDP ). Global expenditure on construction activities

3264-412: The first feature of the permanent structure has been put in place, such as pile driving, or the pouring of slabs or footings. Commissioning is the process of verifying that all subsystems of a new building (or other assets) work as intended to achieve the owner's project requirements and as designed by the project's architects and engineers. A period after handover (or practical completion) during which

3332-410: The ground that have been flooded and were full of dirt and those two have mixed to make a squishy mud wallow. Mud sports are sports that take place in, or heavily incorporate, mud. Examples include: Construction This is an accepted version of this page Construction is a general term meaning the art and science of forming objects , systems , or organizations . It comes from

3400-421: The introduction of other materials. New materials can be produced from raw materials by synthesis . In industry , materials are inputs to manufacturing processes to produce products or more complex materials. Materials chart the history of humanity. The system of the three prehistoric ages ( Stone Age , Bronze Age , Iron Age ) were succeeded by historical ages: steel age in the 19th century, polymer age in

3468-412: The middle of the following century (plastic age) and silicon age in the second half of the 20th century. Materials can be broadly categorized in terms of their use, for example: Material selection is a process to determine which material should be used for a given application. The relevant structure of materials has a different length scale depending on the material. The structure and composition of

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3536-534: The mixture into moulds and then allowing it to dry in open air . Straw is sometimes used as a binder within the bricks , as it makes them a composite . When the brick would otherwise break, the straw will redistribute the force throughout the brick, decreasing the chance of breakage . Such buildings must be protected from groundwater , usually by building upon a masonry, fired brick, rock or rubble foundation, and also from wind-driven rain in damp climates , usually by deep roof overhangs. In extremely dry climates

3604-486: The overall budget is adequate, presenting a temporary issue. Cost overruns with government projects have occurred when the contractor identified change orders or project changes that increased costs, which are not subject to competition from other firms as they have already been eliminated from consideration after the initial bid. Fraud is also an issue of growing significance within construction. Large projects can involve highly complex financial plans and often start with

3672-441: The overall design. This may be aided by integration of previously separate disciplines (often undertaken by separate firms) into multi-disciplinary firms with experts from all related fields, or by firms establishing relationships to support design-build processes. The increasing complexity of construction projects creates the need for design professionals trained in all phases of a project's life-cycle and develop an appreciation of

3740-409: The owner may act as designer, paymaster and laborer for the entire project. However, more complex or ambitious projects usually require additional multi-disciplinary expertise and manpower, so the owner may commission one or more specialist businesses to undertake detailed planning, design, construction and handover of the work. Often the owner will appoint one business to oversee the project (this may be

3808-405: The owner may identify any shortcomings in relation to the building specification ('defects'), with a view to the contractor correcting the defect. Maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery , building infrastructure, and supporting utilities in industrial, business, governmental, and residential installations. Demolition

3876-478: The owner's equity in the property is the most obvious source of funding for a building project. Accountants act to study the expected monetary flow over the life of the project and to monitor the payouts throughout the process. Professionals including cost engineers, estimators and quantity surveyors apply expertise to relate the work and materials involved to a proper valuation. Financial planning ensures adequate safeguards and contingency plans are in place before

3944-414: The project brief and then selects a preferred supplier. Often this will be a consortium involving a design firm and a contractor (sometimes more than one of each). In the United States, departments of transportation usually use design-build contracts as a way of progressing projects where states lack the skills or resources, particularly for very large projects. In a construction management arrangement,

4012-435: The project is ready for handover. Design-build became more common from the late 20th century, and involves the client contracting a single entity to provide design and construction. In some cases, the design-build package can also include finding the site, arranging funding and applying for all necessary statutory consents. Typically, the client invites several Design & Build (D&B) contractors to submit proposals to meet

4080-405: The project is started, and ensures that the plan is properly executed over the life of the project. Construction projects can suffer from preventable financial problems. Underbids happen when builders ask for too little money to complete the project. Cash flow problems exist when the present amount of funding cannot cover the current costs for labour and materials; such problems may arise even when

4148-528: The project site. Typically, a construction site will include a secure perimeter to restrict unauthorised access, site access control points, office and welfare accommodation for personnel from the main contractor and other firms involved in the project team, and storage areas for materials, machinery and equipment. According to the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction's definition, construction may be said to have started when

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4216-745: The project will be located) for its potential impacts on neighbouring properties, and upon existing infrastructure (transportation, social infrastructure, and utilities including water supply, sewerage, electricity, telecommunications, etc.). Data may be gathered through site analysis , site surveys and geotechnical investigations . Construction normally cannot start until planning permission has been granted, and may require preparatory work to ensure relevant infrastructure has been upgraded before building work can commence. Preparatory works will also include surveys of existing utility lines to avoid damage-causing outages and other hazardous situations. Some legal requirements come from malum in se considerations, or

4284-642: The public, including those caused by construction delays . Some models and policy-making organisations promote the engagement of local labour in construction projects as a means of tackling social exclusion and addressing skill shortages. In the UK, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported in 2000 on 25 projects which had aimed to offer training and employment opportunities for locally based school leavers and unemployed people. The Foundation published "a good practice resource book" in this regard at

4352-662: The same time. Use of local labour and local materials were specified for the construction of the Danish Storebaelt bridge , but there were legal issues which were challenged in court and addressed by the European Court of Justice in 1993. The court held that a contract condition requiring use of local labour and local materials was incompatible with EU treaty principles . Later UK guidance noted that social and employment clauses, where used, must be compatible with relevant EU regulation. Employment of local labour

4420-473: The start of a project, legal advisors seek to identify ambiguities and other potential sources of trouble in the contract structures, and to present options for preventing problems. During projects, they work to avoid and resolve conflicts that arise. In each case, the lawyer facilitates an exchange of obligations that matches the reality of the project. Design-bid-build is the most common and well-established method of construction procurement. In this arrangement,

4488-588: Was about $ 4 trillion in 2012. In 2022, expenditure on the construction industry exceeded $ 11 trillion a year, equivalent to about 13 percent of global GDP . This spending was forecasted to rise to around $ 14.8 trillion in 2030. The construction industry promotes economic development and brings many non-monetary benefits to many countries, but it is one of the most hazardous industries. For example, about 20% (1,061) of US industry fatalities in 2019 happened in construction. The first huts and shelters were constructed by hand or with simple tools. As cities grew during

4556-455: Was forecast to rise to $ 12.9 trillion by 2022, and to around $ 14.8 trillion in 2030. As a sector, construction accounts for more than 10% of global GDP (in developed countries , construction comprises 6–9% of GDP), and employs around 7% of the total employed workforce around the globe (accounting for over 273 million full- and part-time jobs in 2014). Since 2010, China has been the world's largest single construction market. The United States

4624-572: Was identified as one of several social issues which could potentially be incorporated in a sustainable procurement approach, although the interdepartmental Sustainable Procurement Group recognised that "there is far less scope to incorporate [such] social issues in public procurement than is the case with environmental issues". There are many routes to the different careers within the construction industry. There are three main tiers of construction workers based on educational background and training, which vary by country: Material A material

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