Always have two good suppliers whom you think can render you the best service. Selecting the best suppliers is one of the challenging jobs, but 2-3 days of research are enough to arrive at the best for you. I recommend finding suppliers who are accessible, helpful and available near your site
Construction engineering is not just limited to design and supervision. It also involves selection of quality materials whose use influences the sustainability of a project. A construction site is one of those dynamic places where tremendous numbers of components come into the picture, and a small negligence can influence the efficiency to a great extent.
Improper use of materials at the site can influence more than 60 per cent of the construction. This implies that proper planning and time management in handling each of the construction components need to be taken care of.
Having the best design, best engineer, best planning, best material selection, best execution, proper supervision can assure you the best of your structure.
There are many parameters that need to be taken care of, but today I will be focusing on the selection of the right materials.
Materials make up a huge portion in construction.
At least 40 per cent of the total construction cost is said to be consumed by material procurement. Selection of quality materials is thus a pressing issue for everyone, and many queries about the materials being used and their quality are forwarded most of the time.
For residential construction, people do not have the right approach and tools to determine the quality of the materials, and many people find themselves trapped when suppliers do not provide quality products as per the commitment. We can't doubt every supplier, but it's better to check and tick the one that you will be approaching.
In most cases, the house owner is dependent on the supervisor or on the sole supplier. So he might not get the product he is actually paying for or looking for.
Here are some tips to help you in selecting the best products. Just investing money is not going to help you find the best products, your involvement and dedication are a must to find the best suppliers of materials in town. When you yourself are committed, the next step is research.
This is a powerful tool which can help you determine many things. Research helps to enhance your networking with suppliers, understand the services they provide, understand the basics of the materials they will be acquiring, understand the unique selling proposition they have, and understand the cost of the materials.
It is best if you do not depend on a single supplier to avoid any ambiguities in the future. So always have two good suppliers whom you think can render you the best service. Selecting the best suppliers is one of the challenging jobs, but 2-3 days of research are enough to arrive at the best for you. I recommend finding suppliers who are accessible, helpful and available near your site. Always commence with selecting one supplier who has a big platform and network, where you can get quality materials for an economical budget.
You need to understand the principal behind it – big suppliers have big demands, so they procure in bulk, and it is thus economical for them to sell you construction materials at prices others cannot provide.
They also ensure quality as they have many clients, and their reputation is at stake if there are complaints from the clients.
Meanwhile, you also need to have one small supplier who can take orders in case of an emergency.
Big suppliers have massive demands, so they may not be readily approachable to a customer. Following negotiations, linking your supervisor can be beneficial for overall planning.
For the quality of the products, you need to state your terms and conditions precisely to the suppliers.
You can tell them you will do some investigation before the products are delivered at the site. You can do a touch investigation, eye investigation or some basic impact assessment to identify whether a product is good enough. If the product is not up to your or your supervisor's expectation, you should be bold enough to return the product so that the suppliers become conscious during the next delivery.
Meanwhile, products such as steel and cement also have a batch-wise product quality report, which can be demanded.
This will assure you of the product's quality. Many suppliers do not demand such batch-wise reports from the company, and when they do, the material supplying company takes special care to ensure that the product is of good quality before delivering it to the suppliers.
In this chain, you have not just to ensure the delivery of quality products to your site but also ensure that the suppliers are careful, which can help enhance the standard of the goods supplied. When the material gets delivered at the site, we always recommend the house owner to store a small amount of it for further references. This can help you to be sure about the quality of the product in the future and can use it for insurance claim also. Many such activities can provide extra points for your astute approach.
This might seem like a simple approach, but it can help you in safe construction.
It is also advised to ensure the proper use of materials at the construction site. Just imagine, while making the mortar (which we call masala in Nepali) for a wall or for other purposes, such as a slab, beam or column, even the use of 10 per cent excess water or use of 10 per cent less water can influence the strength of the structure by up to 30 per cent. So adopting the best practices is the key to a strong and safe building.
Finally, the house is where your heart lies and your family stays. So the small steps you take can make the real difference in creating a real home. Understanding every component of construction will make it easy for you to take care of your house later on.
Think of it as giving birth to a new member, which, in return, will help you tremendously.
So be responsible and conscious while building your new house and work for its sustainability.
Bhattarai is a senior consultant engineer
A version of this article appears in the print on March 14, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
