Practice of Concrete Production in Gaindakot Municipality, Nepal
Abstract
Concrete is one of the most used construction materials. Quality of concrete depends upon its ingredients and workmanship. The paper aims to assess the practice of concrete production and knowledge among practitioners regarding concreting at Gaidakot municipality which relies on manual concrete production. Only 30 under-construction houses in 10 wards of the Municipality were selected purposively for observation of concrete practice as field-based empirical research. A structured questionnaire was surveyed as scheduled with 30 practitioners (10 mixer operator, 10 ingredients pourer and 10 vibrator operator) and intensive observation by the researcher were recorded to analyze the practice for concrete production.
It was found none of the respondents was aware of concreting code of NBC. They had not attended any training to practice NBC of Nepal. Similarly, the majority of practitioners learned about the method of concreting through experience or coworkers by observing at sites during work. However, 77% of them responded that the process of concreting was good. Similarly, there were a lot of problems in workmanship. Quality in ingredients was not taken in due consideration and dosage of ingredients varies from batch to batch and placement was done in segment wise for slab and beam. Compaction as well as curing was inadequate.
Lack of formal education, inadequate guidance and training, proper skill and knowledge about NBC of Nepal among the workers involved directly in concrete production was making concrete production inconsistent and uncontrolled. The study will be significant for quality resident building construction by ensuring the effective implementation of building code, which is the minimum standard, the skill-oriented training and continuous supervision from the concerned local municipality.
How to cite this article: Aryal R, Mishra AK. Practice of Concrete Production in Gaindakot Municipality, Nepal. J Adv Res Const Urban Arch 2020; 5(1&2): 8-16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2456.9925.202001
References
Alam A, Habib ZS, Hasan AR. A Study on the Quality Control of Concrete Production in Dhaka City. (September). doi: 10.9790/1684-1303038998. 2016,
Bhattarai SK, Mishra AK. Existing Scenario of Building Code Implementation in Newly Formed. Nagarjun Municipality. Asian Journal of Science and Technology 2017; 8(11): 6751-6762.
Bollinger L, Sapkota SN, Tapponnier P et al.. Return period of great Himalayan earthquakes in Eastern Nepal: evidence from the Patu and Bardibas strands of the Main Frontal Thrust. Journal of Geophysical Research 2014; 119(9): 7123-7163. doi:10.1002/2014JB010970.
Brunauer S, Copeland LE. The chemistry of Concrete. Scientific American 1964a; 210(4).
Bureau of Indian Standards. Stacking and Storage of Construction Materials and Components at Site -Recommendation (Second Revision) IS: 4082 - 1992. Indian Standard Code, New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standards. 1996.
Bureau of Indian Standards. Plain and Reinforced Concrete - Code of Practice (4th Revision) IS: 456 - 2000. Indian Standard Code, New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standards. 2000.
Gambhir ML. Concrete Technology. Fifth edition. New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education (India) Pvt. Ltd. 2013.
GoN: Ministry of Physical Planning and Works. Nepal national building code. Department of Urban Development and Building Construction. Kathmandu. 1994.
Mishra AK, Chaudhary U. Assessment of Cement Handling Behaviour For Selected Construction Sites of Bhatbhateni Supermarket. J Adv Res Const Urban Arch 2018; 3(3): 1-11.
Okazaki K, Pribadi KS, Kusumastuti D. Comparison of Current Construction Practices of Non-Engineered Buildings in Developing Countries. 2012. [online] available at www.iitk.ac.in (accessed at 26 july 2019).
Parajuli YK, Bothara JK, Dixit AM et al. Nepal Building Code - Need, Development Philosophy and Means of Implementation. 2000; 1–7.
