What is Civil Engineering?
As the name suggests, Civil engineering is a field of engineering that deals with the design and construction of public properties like roads, dams, bridges, and other large infrastructure projects.
Due to the historic significance of man-made physical monuments, it is safe to say that Civil engineering is one of the oldest engineering disciplines in human history. When we look at the olden days, the most common professions back then were related to the agricultural industry. Thus, it is interesting to note that the earliest innovations in the field of Civil Engineering came about in order to propagate and enhance agricultural output. The few most common examples of these innovations are dug wells and irrigation ditches. Furthermore, as Civilization grew and evolved, humans started constructing more sophisticated infrastructure projects to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population. This is when the concept of roads (to connect far-off areas) and water disposal (sewage) systems came into existence, all thanks to the bright Civil and Tunnel Engineers of the time.
What are Civil Works?
Civil works or Civil construction is a branch of Civil engineering that deals with the construction of infrastructure projects that have anything to do with land, water, and transport. This means that the field of civil works is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of natural and man-made physical projects such as roads, bridges, dams, reservoirs, airports, skyscrapers, and other infrastructure projects.
So the civil construction industry consists of a network of experts, companies, and clients that are part of the design and construction process. It is also imperative to mention that the tasks performed by the individuals and companies that are constituents of the Industry mostly include public infrastructure projects. For example, it is the responsibility of civil workers to study and analyse the sites where the construction is supposed to happen. In more technical terms, it is referred to as the “Feasibility report.” This report includes each and every factor that is evaluated before the green signal to proceed with the project is given by the relevant authorities.
What are the types of construction?
There are four major types of construction specialties within the Construction Industry. These include residential building, institutional and commercial buildings, specialized industrial construction, infrastructure, and heavy construction.
- Residential Building
This type of construction involves the building and maintenance of structures for accommodating people, supplies, or equipment. Residential construction mainly involves engineers and architects in the design process, while the construction itself is executed by the company hired subcontractors.
- Institutional and Commercial buildings
This includes public and private projects such as schools, sports arenas, shopping centers, hospitals, stadiums, and even retail stores. This category also involves both the construction of new projects and the maintenance of existing structures.
- Specialized Industrial Construction
This third type of construction requires a high level of technical expertise in the design, planning, and construction of specialized structures such as oil refineries, nuclear power plants, and hydroelectric power plants, etc.
- Infrastructure and Heavy Construction
The fourth and final type of construction entails the construction and maintenance of transport and communication networks like railways, roads, and bridges, etc. This type of construction is usually executed under government supervision.
A few projects iPS participates in or has worked on:
- Fehmarnbelt
- Thames Tideway East
- Rijnland Route
- The Palm Dubai
- Extension of Suez Canal
- Crossrail
- Westerscheldetunnel