1. The identification of a potential site management problem (this can relate to logistics, access or plant use for example) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

Assessment Description

You need to submit a portfolio of practice-based work, which will be made up of four separate elements - known as `patches`.

The patches are as follows:

1. The identification of a potential site management problem (this can relate to logistics, access or plant use for example) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

2. The production of a detailed Risk Assessment and associated Method Statement for one element of civil engineering work you have helped plan for.  Be sure to reference relevant legislation here.

3. The identification of a potential technical problem (for example a requirement caused by certain ground conditions) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

4. The identification of a potential problem relating to management controls (e.g. time, cost, quality) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

Each patch can include written work, photographs, other practice-based records (such as extracts from geotechnical reports etc.), mind-maps, evaluation tables and other evidence - all of which you should bring together in a short report format, with a clear structure and headings.  The RAMS document should follow conventional formatting, but can again include images to support your work.

All work should also include references to authoritative documentation (check the reading list out for some good robust sources - rather than just using google) and these should be cited correctly in the text like this.

The final report will also need a title page, contents page and you will need to scan and collate all your patches into one Turnitin submission.

In total the submission should not exceed 3000 words, but words can of course be replaced by images, mind-maps and other content as best suits your selected problems and solutions.

Please refer to the detailed Patch Briefs for more information and the marking criteria for each patch.

Patch 1: Description

1. The identification of a potential site management problem (this can relate to logistics, access or plant use for example) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

Details

For this patch you need to select a site management problem.  You might want to visit a site associated with work and see what potential problems you can identify. This could be, for example, a very constrained site - be that from an access or storage perspective, or a site where there are lots of residential neighbours nearby who are not happy about the construction work taking place next door!

Undertake an evaluation of the problem - this is where you can use references from other sources such as textbooks, good practice guides (the Considerate Constructor Scheme would fit in here) or even legislation (CDM2015 has lots of site management information in Part 4).  You can present your evaluation as a mind-map or comparison table, and use images or other documentary sources to back up your work. 

You then need to devise a solution - how could this best be overcome within the parameters of production?  Again, you might find a comparison table useful here, and again you should use sources where required to back up and justify your recommended solution - perhaps a manufacturer has invented something that could be employed here, such as quieter plant and machinery or it could be a management process such as timed deliveries and limited working hours (although remember those parameters of production!).

Finally, you need to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution in practice - if you are working theoretically, you could consider this with reference back to the parameters of production, or if this is a real-life problem you could use photographs or feedback from the site team as well - did it work in the end?  But you do need to reflect on this yourself - a paragraph or two on how well you think this solution resolves the problem, and remember you can again make reference to authoritative sources here too.

 You can include written text, photographs, maps, drawings and sketches, other practice-based records (such as extracts from geotechnical reports etc.), mind-maps, evaluation tables and other evidence - all of which you should bring together in a short report format, with a clear structure and headings.  

Marking scheme for Patch 1

Element	Marks Available
Description of the Problem and supporting evidence	10%
Evaluation of the Problem - clarity, criticality and depth of review	30%
Description of the Solution - including justification and evidence-based support for the decisions made.	30%
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Solution in practice	15%
Quality of Referencing and Citation	10%
Report structure, presentation and use of source materials	5%

Patch 2: Description

2. The production of a detailed Risk Assessment and associated Method Statement for one element of civil engineering work you have helped plan for.  Be sure to reference relevant legislation here.

Details

For this patch you need to select on element of civil engineering work and produce a RAMS for this one element.  So you could select, for example, excavation for manholes, or excavation for trial pits, or piled foundations, or grouting - be specific as you will need to be both focused and detailed and there isn`t enough room in the brief for a more generic RAMS which aims to cover ALL excavations, for eaxmple. 

We will be looking at the RAMS process in depth in weeks 5 and 6, including lots of practice in carrying them out, which gives you plenty of time to work on this patch before submission.

I highly recommend you DO use the Blank RA Form.docx we will be using in class, as this allows you to clearly demonstrate your own learning and thought processes here - so you can readily attract marks.  You should also develop your own simple MS structure.  I highly recommend you DON`T use a RAMS from work, or even a work RA and/or MS template.  Several things to consider here: 1. just because it`s from work doesn`t mean its perfect, 2. most industry RAs are over-complicated, lack focus and are too generic - this is why you are learning about them here so you can improve on that! 3. industry MS are often far too long (a consequence of misinterpreting the legislation as we will learn in week 5!) and so will almost immediately put you over word count for the assessment as a whole.  I will stop marking when you reach this... which might impact your other patches, so be mindful of this. 4. it`s a lot harder for me to award marks where its not clear what comes from a work template and what comes from your own efforts.

A really good mark is certainly achievable in this patch without a submission that looks like a book! 

So avoid all these problems and just use the RA template we do in class and a simple MS form that can easily attract marks for containing the relevant, rather than irrelevant, things!

Marking scheme for Patch 2

Element	Marks Available
Risk Evaluation for the selected element (including references to relevant legislation)	25%
Risk Mitigation for the selected element (including references to relevant legislation)	25%
RA overall format, presentation and clarity	10%
MS Content including reference to all key elements	25%
MS overall format, presentation and clarity	10%
Referencing and citation throughout	5%

Patch 3: Description

3. The identification of a potential technical problem and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

Details

For this patch you need to select a technical problem.  You might want to visit a site from work and see what potential problems you can identify or you could also use a design/construction technique that is currently under development.  For example, how best to improve the ground on a project, or which foundations would work best for the building structure?  Note that this is not necessarily a `problem` in the traditional sense of the word - as this could involves looking ahead and planning for future work.

You again need to undertake an evaluation of the problem - this is where you can use references from other sources such as textbooks, technical documentation and Building Regulations.  You can present your evaluation as a mind-map or comparison table, and use images or other documentary sources to back up your work. 

You then need to devise a solution - how could this best be overcome within the parameters of production?  Again, you might find a comparison table useful here, and again you should use sources where required to back up and justify your recommended solution - perhaps there are several potential solutions that will resolve the problem fully, so your evaluation will be focused on comparison and justification of the one you have chosen.

Finally, you need to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution in practice - if you are working theoretically, you could consider this with reference back to the parameters of production, or if this is a real-life problem you could use photographs or feedback from the site team as well - did it work in the end?  But you do need to reflect on this yourself - a paragraph or two on how well you think this solution resolves the problem, and remember you can again make reference to authoritative sources here too.

 You can include written text, photographs, maps, drawings and sketches, other practice-based records (such as extracts from geotechnical reports etc.), mind-maps, evaluation tables and other evidence - all of which you should bring together in a short report format, with a clear structure and headings.  

Marking scheme for Patch 3

Element	Marks Available
Description of the Problem and supporting evidence	10%
Evaluation of the Problem - clarity, criticality and depth of review	30%
Description of the Solution - including justification and evidence-based support for the decisions made.	30%
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Solution in practice	15%
Quality of Referencing and Citation	10%
Report structure, presentation and use of source materials	5%

Patch 4: Description

4. The identification of a potential problem relating to management controls (time, cost or quality) and the solution you have devised, including an evaluation of its effectiveness in practice.

Details

For this patch you need to select a management problem.  You might want to visit a site associated with work and see what potential problems you can identify. This could be, for example, problems with the quality of the work, or perhaps the programme is slipping (although be careful about any information you include around cost as this could be commercially sensitive).

Again, undertake an evaluation of the problem - this is where you can use references from other sources such as management textbooks, Codes of Practice or other academic sources.  You can present your evaluation as a mind-map or comparison table, and use images or other documentary sources to back up your work. 

You then need to devise a solution - how could this best be overcome without detriment to the other parameters of production?  Again, you might find a comparison table useful here, and again you should use sources where required to back up and justify your recommended solution - perhaps the programme could be re-sequenced to avoid undue pressure that is causing a drop in quality?  Or the method of work be reconsidered to enable an accelerated programme for one element of the works.  You don`t need to re-programme the whole project yourself!  But you should be able to sketch out and explain how your solution might work in practice, perhaps using a revised GANTT Chart.

Finally, you need to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution in practice - you could also seek feedback from the site team as to whether they think your idea would work/has worked in practice?  But you do need to reflect on this yourself - a paragraph or two on how well you think this solution resolves the problem, and remember you can again make reference to authoritative sources here too.

 You can include written text, photographs, maps, drawings and sketches, other practice-based records (such as extracts from geotechnical reports etc.), mind-maps, evaluation tables and other evidence - all of which you should bring together in a short report format, with a clear structure and headings.  

Marking scheme for Patch 4

Element	Marks Available
Description of the Problem and supporting evidence	10%
Evaluation of the Problem - clarity, criticality and depth of review	30%
Description of the Solution - including justification and evidence-based support for the decisions made.	30%
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Solution in practice	15%
Quality of Referencing and Citation	10%
Report structure, presentation and use of source materials	5%