Unit 6: Digital Applications for Construction Information Assignment Guidance

Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO1 Discuss the key types of construction information that may be produced in support of construction projects

LO2 Demonstrate the use of project standards and their setup in digital applications

LO3 Generate construction information for a given project using industry-standard digital applications

LO4 Present a package of construction information, including drawings, schedules and specifications for a given construction project.

Assignment Brief And Guidance

You started your HND in Construction Management this year and you have secured a placement in an architectural firm as it’s a mandatory requirement of your completion. The firm has just secured a design contract for a two-story residential house with two-bedroom site spanning 150 m² (Building dimension: 8 m x 10 m) in the UK. You have been granted the responsibility to develop the architectural design of the project including detailed architectural drawings, floor plans, elevations, and other technical drawings using AutoCAD software. This responsibility entails overseeing the creation of the following four distinct design documents as outlined below with an Evaluative statement;

A Construction Information Glossary will explain the various types of construction information necessary for the two-story house project. It will describe the relationship between construction drawings, and other essential information needed for the project, and their impact on costs. As part of your construction information explanation, you are expected to compare the use of digital applications with other forms of construction drawing production in terms of efficiency and accuracy. To ensure consistency, you are required to evaluate the use of project standards in the development of the construction drawings of residential houses project.

Given the company’s engagement in various project designs, it is crucial to maintain consistency in information. Hence, in addition to focusing on project documentation production, the Project Manager has requested the establishment of ‘Office Project Standards’ using the standard CAD package within the office. These standards are intended to outline essential symbols and reusable objects for the two-story residential project (like title blocks, sheet layouts, section marks, detail bubbles, north arrow, etc.), along with a set of layer standards that encompass line styles, colours, line weights and non-printing layers.

For the house, you are required to develop a Digital Construction Information Package that should include general arrangement drawings (e.g. plans, sections, elevations), selected details and door/window schedules. These drawings should include dimensions, annotations and appropriate hatching, based on your defined Office Project Standards. You should demonstrate how digital tools can be used to facilitate the modification of drawings.

Finally, you will produce a Construction Information Output using industry-standard sheets (A3 size) from the Digital Construction Information Package, while considering printing and non-printing layers to develop coherent construction information output. In addition to the construction drawings, you are expected to print (PDF – A3 size) and present the information produced in schedules and specifications.