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Construction Wiki

Construction involves the processes of building, repairing, and maintaining infrastructure, buildings, and industrial facilities. It typically starts with planning and design and continues until the asset is ready for use. Global construction spending exceeded $11 trillion in 2022 and is projected to rise to $14.8 trillion by 2030. Construction promotes economic growth but is also one of the most hazardous industries, with about 20% of US industry fatalities in 2019 occurring in construction projects.

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55 views2 pages

Construction Wiki

Construction involves the processes of building, repairing, and maintaining infrastructure, buildings, and industrial facilities. It typically starts with planning and design and continues until the asset is ready for use. Global construction spending exceeded $11 trillion in 2022 and is projected to rise to $14.8 trillion by 2030. Construction promotes economic growth but is also one of the most hazardous industries, with about 20% of US industry fatalities in 2019 occurring in construction projects.

Uploaded by

Sarmad Sonyal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Construction

Construction site and equipment prepared for start of work in Cologne, Germany (2017)

Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to


form objects, systems, or organizations,[1] and comes
from Latin constructio (from com- "together" and struere "to pile up") and Old
French construction.[2] To construct is the verb: the act of building, and the noun is
construction: how something is built, 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 the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design,
and 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 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 forecast to rise to
around $14.8 trillion in 2030.[3]
Although the construction industry promotes economic development and brings
many non-monetary benefits to many countries, it is one of the most hazardous
industries. For example, about 20% (1,061) of US industry fatalities in 2019
happened in construction.[4]

History[edit]
Main article: History of construction
See also: History of architecture
The first huts and shelters were constructed by hand or with simple tools.
As cities grew during 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 the 21st century. Some
estimates suggest that 40% of construction projects are now fast-track construction.[5]

Construction industry sectors[edit]

Industrial assemblage of a thermal oxidizer in the United States of America

Broadly, there are three sectors of construction: buildings, infrastructure and


industrial:[6]

• Building construction is usually further divided into residential and non-


residential.
• Infrastructure, also called heavy civil or heavy engineering, includes large
public works, dams, bridges, highways, railways, water or wastewater and
utility distribution.
• Industrial construction includes offshore construction (mainly of energy
installations), mining and quarrying, refineries, chemical
processing, power generation, mills and manufacturing plants.
The industry can also be classified into sectors or markets.[7] 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 the data into nine market segments:
transportation, petroleum, buildings, power, industrial, water, manufacturing,
sewer/waste, telecom, hazardous waste, and a tenth category for other
projects.[8] ENR used data on transportation, sewer, hazardous waste and water to
rank firms as heavy contractors.[9]
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).[10][11]

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