SUBDIVISION DESIGN AND ESTIMATION GROUP PROJECT

2104ENG CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

PROJECT BRIEF

General Task Description

You are working for a consulting engineering firm whose client (Mr Saied Maboudi) is
planning to sub-divide and develop a large plot of land. The contour plan and land plot
dimensions are illustrated in Figure 1.

The client’s brief requires a feasibility design report with cost estimation for the land
development into residential lots including all associated roads, services, amenities and
landscaping.

The client is seeking to make a profit from this investment in excess of 20%. The land outlay
cost him $1.2 million, which was borrowed from a bank at a 7.5% interest rate. All additional
works associated with the development will be funded through a credit facility also at a bank
interest rate of 7.5%. Your financial assessment needs to consider the time period to develop
the land (i.e. feasibility, detailed design and tendering, construction) as well as the marketing
and sales period until all lots are sold (e.g. 1 year sales period). The local government has
zoned the land ‘Residential’ with an average development block size of approximately 600m2
expected, with individual blocks allowed between 400-1100m2. Some parkland is required in
the sub-division in order to meet local government standards.

In order for the client to proceed with the development, he needs to receive a positive
feasibility study that includes a workable schematic design, works estimate and profitability
assessment. This is the task of the design team (i.e. you).

Project Deliverables
1. Group Formation: Form a group of exactly five (5) persons (voluntary group
formation), which will serve as the feasibility design team. Create a group name (e.g.
Ginger Beers Consulting Engineers). All members will be required to make an almost
equal contribution to the project or penalties may be incurred to individual members
providing limited effort. Group formation is not the responsibility of the client. You
are required to indicate on the assignment cover sheet which member(s) of the group
were responsible for the production of each of the report sections. Each member of
the group will receive the overall mark for the report, based on even contributions
from members (i.e. 20% each).

2. Sub-division Schematic Design: Complete schematic design for the sub-division. A

schematic design ensures that the sub-division is workable; it is not a detailed design
for specific elements (e.g. stormwater pipe design). Detailed design of specific
elements is beyond the scope of this feasibility design report. The mains aspects to be
covered in the schematic design/specifications section, predominately displayed as
drawings and basic specifications, include: (1) sub-division layout including
precincts; (2) road layout and cross-section; (3) stormwater layout; (4) earthworks
(i.e. cut and fill) diagram and calculations including retaining wall locations and
 standard cross sections; and (5) services layout (i.e. electricity, water and
phone/cable). Well presented drawings are required (AutoCAD is not mandatory for
drawings). The specific requirements of these sections are described briefly below and
will be further discussed by the client in meeting periods. As a final note, this project
only covers land development and not housing (i.e. land sales only).

3. Project Cost Estimate: Once you have completed a schematic design and drawings, as
well as basic specifications, you will be able to build a cost estimate for the project.
The first step to building a cost estimate is to create a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) for the project; this will help you build the estimate. The cost estimate will
need to cover all aspects associated with the project, with the significant portion of
work being to estimate the labour, equipment and materials required to complete
construction works. Given that this is a feasibility study, your estimates can only be
made based on best available information. Rawlinsons Construction Guide provides
good cost accounts for different activities and is a good reference document.
Remember that your estimate should include as many periphery activities/
considerations required for completing construction projects (e.g. site establishment,
traffic control where applicable, weather lost time, etc.).

4. Financial Assessment: Once a sufficient cost estimate for the different phases of the
project has been developed, you will need to conduct a financial assessment. The
client is seeking at least a 20% profit margin so examine whether this is feasible. You
will need to apply your engineering economics principles to complete this assessment,
and consider the accumulation of interest into your financial model. Remember, that
all lots will not be sold in one day and there may be some sales commissions that need
to be paid, so the return from individual lots will not necessarily be the cumulative
sales price. Please indicate the profit to the client from this investment and make a
recommendation on whether he should proceed with the project.

Specific Project Inclusions

Earthworks and development layout
By using the borehole logs and the contour profile you need to determine, with justification,
the required cut and fill for the site. Also, boreholes will inform you of the type of material
being excavated, thereby assisting with earthworks productivity calculations.

Suitable structurally sound soil material must either be reached via cut or fill with appropriate
compaction for building areas and roadways. Potentially, suitable fill may also be imported to
the site where required. Suitability requirements of the soil may need to be interpreted from
the supplied information or researched in terms of council standards (i.e. Gold Coast City
Council), Ausroads Guidelines, Australian Standards (AS 1726-1993), and/or Earthwork
Guideline AS3798.

Earth retaining structures may be required where excessive slopes exceed standards. You will
need to examine design standards for types of retainers that are suitable for different heights
of retained earth and indicate where they are located in your schematic design.

The type of earthworks machinery required to complete earthworks needs to be explained and
justified and their time and cost requirements estimated. Earthworks include but are not
limited to: general levelling of the site, excavation, road and site preparations, and digging of
all services. Naturally the overall efficiency of the plant equipment must be considered. You
may wish to use a unit rate approach for some earthworks calculations (unit rate e.g. $/m3 and
quantity e.g. 265m3) and a lump sum cost for others (earthworks survey $4,200).

Services (water, sewage, electrical, communications)

Services to be considered include all those typically required for a development of this type,
including: stormwater pipe network (lot and road), sewage, reticulated water, electrical and
communication. Stormwater flow and drainage should consider the natural contours of the
land. Stormwater can be channelled using both overland and underground methods;
whichever is the most appropriate. Do not overly consider links with nearby lots adjoining
your development for the purposes of this design.

Maximum gradients and dimensions of stormwater and sewage pipes should be in accordance
with the appropriate guidelines and AS (Australian Standard). You are able to make your
own determinations on final connections to both stormwater and sewage bulk mains. All
stormwater drains/pipes must be appropriately drawn on your schematic layout plan. You
may consider having stormwater detention areas if this is appropriate for the site conditions
and will meet appropriate regulations.

Water and wastewater service pipes are connected to each lot. Supply lines, at required
depths and gradients are to be indicated on the site plan. Similarly, electrical and
communication lines are to be indicated on the site plan. Stormwater and other surface water
drainage by underground piping or surface diversions accordance AS/NZS3500. As a
feasibility design, you are not required to design pipes, electrical, etc. Instead you can
indicate where these services will be provided on a layout plan and refer to standard drawings
and specifications. Assumption for typical services sizing is expected, as this is purely the
feasibility design stage of the project; do not tackle detailed design.

Development local roads

Assume all roads are to have typical kerb and channel of appropriate dimensions and
structured to allow adequate drainage. Stormwater drainage inlet locations can be determined
based on contours, but number and spacing can be assumed. The road surface is to be normal
bitumen laid on suitable sound ground base as per Gold Coast City Council local road
guidelines. The design of the roads should consider aspects such as minimum radius of
curvature, minimum widths, turnaround requirements, and crest /dip radii as per relevant
Main Roads/Ausroads/ Council guidelines. All roads should be clearly drawn on the site plan.

Schematic design and drawings (including ‘basic’ specifications)

All site plans and designs should be produced professionally using hand or a software
drawing package. AutoCAD drawings are not mandatory but could be considered by the
team. It would be expected that you have ‘schematic’ design drawings covering the following
elements of design:
Sub-division lot layout and size schedule (including parks, easements, etc.)
Earthworks including cut and fill areas (including specifications e.g. retaining
structures)
Stormwater drainage (overland flow and pipe network)
Sub-division road network and connection to main road(s)
Water and sewage services schematic design and specifications
Electrical and communications services schematic design and specifications
Sub-division landscaping plan (only development and not individual lots)
 Standard sections from appropriate codes/standards/guidelines for key development
components (e.g. retaining structure, roads, services, etc.)

Project cost estimate

Once you have completed your schematic design and layout drawings, you will need to build
a ‘feasibility’ estimate for the project. This is not a detailed estimate for final contract pricing
but for determining whether the development should proceed or not. The first step to building
the cost estimate is to create a work breakdown structure (WBS), starting with the main
activity categories and then individual tasks underneath (search Google for examples of
WBS). As this is a feasibility assessment you will not be itemising individual bolts, so build a
structure that is realistic for the expected scope of the report. Once you have created your
WBS, proceed to determine resource requirements for each task (i.e. labour, machinery,
materials, etc.) and quantities (i.e. volumes, time estimates, etc.). Resource and quantum
helps inform the estimation. You may wish to develop general unit rates for each major task
in order to simplify calculations (e.g. road construction rate in $/m2 of road multiplied by the
area of road in development). Some activities could be estimated with a partially justified
lump sum where they are difficult to estimate. The Rawlinsons Guide or Civil Construction
Tender documents are excellent for getting a feel for the cost of construction activities. Make
realistic assumptions where information could not be sourced; don’t get bogged down in
excess detail for your estimate. Once you have completed the estimation process, build an
estimate summary for the cost of the development works. Note that site civil development
costs only form a portion of the total cost for the project. Microsoft Excel is sufficient for the
estimation process.

Project financial assessment

The project financial assessment can be completed in Microsoft Excel and cover the entire
development life cycle (conception to final sale, and potentially a post-completion
maintenance period). Basic engineering/financial economic principles should be applied.
Aspects to be considered in your financial assessment include, but are not limited to the
following elements:
Bank interest rate on annual average loan amount
Inflation rate
Project timeframe
Feasibility and detailed design phase costs
Land holding costs
Civil construction costs and any relevant development charges considered
Sales period, land sales prices for lots, sales commissions, etc.
Break even and profitability assessments

Assignment format and general requirements

Your final submission must be in a standard technical report format, with the usual basic
inclusions:
Technical Report cover page
Student contribution statement
Executive summary (1 page)
Contents page, list of figures, list of tables
Technical report main body
Conclusion and recommendations
References
 Appendices

Large tables of information (e.g. calculation sheets and large figures/tables) that may detract
from the overall flow of the report should be included in Appendices.

All estimations of each aspect of the subdivision should be discussed, explained, analysed
and justified, based on quoted references, guidelines or Australian Standards. Failure to
provide some form of reasonable justification may result in a loss of marks.

Group cover page and statement

Groups should provide a cover page similar to below, detailing their team members, student
numbers, responsible sections, and percent contribution of member. Each member’s signature
must also be provided.

It is expected that all members provide an almost equal contribution to the assignment (i.e.
20% each). Where one to two members contributions are significantly lower than others (e.g.
30, 30, 30, 10, 10), there may be reductions in marks for those members.

Example cover sheet

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY – GOLD COAST CAMPUS

GRIFFITH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

2104ENG CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

SUBDIVISION DESIGN AND ESTIMATION ASSIGNMENT

GROUP NAME:
Group member Student Section(s) Member Member
name number responsible Contribution (%) Signature

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
BH1
BH4

BH2

BH3

200 m

Figure 1. Site contour plan

APPENDIX A. GEOTECHNICAL REPORTS
D.I.G. BOREHOLE Suite 1, Unit 4
60 Riverview Road
Nerang 4211
Geotechnical Engineering Services Ph: 55 555555

Client: I.M. Multirich Borehole ID: BH1

Project: Random site location, Gold Coast City Job Number: 123
Equipment: Multi Bore 101, Bore Diam = 100 mm Date: 10/01/11
Depth (m), Material Consistency Sample Additional
RL 27 m Description Test/Results Information
0_ Topsoil : F SPT, N = 6 max Fill
_ Mid grey, MC = 8%
_
_ containing some pH = 5.6
_ sand and organic Wt = 1.9 t/m3
0.5 _ matter, slightly
_
moist.
_ SYC : St SPT, N = 22 av Alluvium
_ Grey brown, MC = 18%
1.0 _ moist. pH = 5.0
_ Wt = 2.3 t/m3
_
_
_
1.5 _
_ SDC : VSt SPT, N = 30 Alluvium
_ Grey, moist, sand MC = 22%
_
_ content fine to pH = 4.9
2.0_ medium grain Wt = 2.5 t/m3
_ size.
_
_
_
2.5 _
_
_
_
_
3.0
_ GW – XW MD SPT, N = 45 Wt = 2.4 t/m3
_ Grey and brown,
_
_ medium grained,
3.5 _ slightly
_ metamorphosed
_ sedimentary rock,
_ generally displays
_
engineering
4.0 _ properties similar
_
_ to very stiff silty
_ clay to dense silty
_
sand.
4.5
_ GW – HW D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.3 t/m3
_ Grey and brown
_
_ with iron staining
5.0 _ throughout.
_ Angular defects
_ with clay coated.
_
_
5.5 –
_
_
_
_
6.0 -
_
_
_
_
6.5 _
_
_
_
_
7.0
_ GW – MW: D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.35 t/m3
_ Brown grey,
_
_ lightly iron
7.5 _ stained, along
_ defects.
_
_
_
8.0 _
_
_
_
_
8.5_
_
_
_
_
9.0 _
_
_
_
_
9.5 _
_
_
_
_
10
Consistency / Density / Rock Strength
VS – Very Soft Hd - Hard VL – Very Loose VL – Very Low
S – Soft El – Extremely Low MD – Medium M - Medium
Dense
F – firm Lw = Low D – Dense VH – Very High
St – Stiff H – High VD – Very Dense
VSt – Very Stiff L – Loose Fb - Friable
D.I.G. BOREHOLE Suite 1, Unit 4
60 Riverview Road
Nerang 4211
Geotechnical Engineering Services Ph: 55 555555

Client: I.M. Multirich Borehole ID: BH2

Project: Random site location, Gold Coast City Job Number: 123
Equipment: Multi Bore 101, Bore Diam = 100 mm Date: 10/01/11
Depth (m), Material Consistency Sample Additional
RL 18 m Description Test/Results Information
0_ Topsoil : S SPT, N = 3 max Fill
_ Dark grey, MC = 11%
_
_ containing some pH = 5.0
_ sand and organic Wt = 2.01 t/m3
0.5 _ matter, moist.
_
_
1.0 _
_ SYC : F SPT, N = 19 av Alluvium
_ Grey brown, MC = 23%
_
_ with cream pH = 4.9
2.0_ streaks, moist. Wt = 2.35 t/m3
_
_
_
_
2.5 _
_ SDC : VSt SPT, N = 28 Alluvium
_
_ Dark grey, moist, MC = 21%
_ sand content fine pH = 4.8
3.0 _ to medium grain Wt = 2.45 t/m3
_ size.
_
_
_
3.5 _
_
_
_
_
4.0 _
_ GW – XW MD SPT, N = 43 Wt = 2.35 t/m3
_ Dark grey and
_
_ brown, medium
5.0 _ grained, slightly
_ metamorphosed
_ sedimentary rock,
_ generally displays
_
engineering
5.5 – properties similar
_ to very stiff silty
_
_ clay to dense silty
_ sand.
6.0 -
_
_
GW – HW D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.4 t/m3
_ Dark grey and
_
6.5 _ brown with iron
_ staining
_ throughout.
_ Angular defects
_
7.0_ with clay coated.
_
_
_
7.5 _
_
_
_
_
8.0 _
_
_
_
_
8.5_
_
_
_
_
9.0 _
_
_
_
_
9.5 _
_
_
GW – MW: D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.35 t/m3
_ Dark brown
_ grey, lightly iron
10 _ stained, along
_
_ defects.
_
_
10.5 _
_
_
_
_
_
11.0 –
Consistency / Density / Rock Strength
VS – Very Soft Hd - Hard VL – Very Loose VL – Very Low
S – Soft El – Extremely Low MD – Medium M - Medium
Dense
F – firm Lw = Low D – Dense VH – Very High
St – Stiff H – High VD – Very Dense
VSt – Very Stiff L – Loose Fb - Friable
D.I.G. BOREHOLE Suite 1, Unit 4
60 Riverview Road
Nerang 4211
Geotechnical Engineering Services Ph: 55 555555

Client: I.M. Multirich Borehole ID: BH3

Project: Random site location, Gold Coast City Job Number: 123
Equipment: Multi Bore 101, Bore Diam = 100 mm Date: 10/01/11
Depth (m), Material Consistency Sample Additional
RL 27 m Description Test/Results Information
0_ Topsoil : St SPT, N = 12 max Fill
_ Light grey, MC = 5%
_
_ containing sand pH = 5.4
_ and organic Wt = 1.8 t/m3
0.5 _ matter, slightly
moist.
_ SYC : VSt SPT, N = 28 av Alluvium
_ Grey to dark MC = 14%
_
_ grey, some pH = 5.5
1.0 _ moisture. Wt = 2.4 t/m3
_ SDC : VSt SPT, N = 32 Alluvium
_
_ Grey, moist, sand MC = 23%
1.5 _ content fine to pH = 5.0Wt = 2.5
_ medium grain t/m3
_ size.
_
_
2.0_
_ GW – XW MD SPT, N = 48 Wt = 2.45 t/m3
_ Light grey and
_
_ brown, medium
2.5 _ grained, slightly
_ metamorphosed
_ sedimentary rock,
_ generally displays
_
engineering
3.0 _ properties similar
_
_ to very stiff silty
_ clay to dense silty
_
sand.
3.5 _
_ GW – HW D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.35 t/m3
_ Grey and brown
_
_ with iron staining
4.0 _ throughout.
_ Angular defects
_ with clay coated.
_
_
4.5 –
_
_
_
_
5.0 _
_ GW – MW: D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.5 t/m3
_ Light brown
_
_ grey, lightly iron
5.5 _ stained, along
_ defects.
_
_
_
6.0 _
_
_
_
_
6.5 _
_
_
_
_
7.0 _
_
_
_
_
7.5_
_
_
_
_
8.0 _
_
_
_
_
8.5 _
_
_
_
_
9.0 _
Consistency / Density / Rock Strength
VS – Very Soft Hd - Hard VL – Very Loose VL – Very Low
S – Soft El – Extremely Low MD – Medium Dense M - Medium
F – firm Lw = Low D – Dense VH – Very High
St – Stiff H – High VD – Very Dense
VSt – Very Stiff L – Loose Fb - Friable
D.I.G. BOREHOLE Suite 1, Unit 4
60 Riverview Road
Nerang 4211
Geotechnical Engineering Services Ph: 55 555555

Client: I.M. Multirich Borehole ID: BH4

Project: Random site location, Gold Coast City Job Number: 123
Equipment: Multi Bore 101, Bore Diam = 100 mm Date: 10/01/11
Depth (m), Material Consistency Sample Additional
RL 18 m Description Test/Results Information
0_ Topsoil : S SPT, N = 3 Fill
_ Dark grey, max MC = 14%
_
_ containing some pH = 4.9
_ sand and organic Wt = 2.2 t/m3
0.5 _ matter, moist.
_
_
_
1.0 _
_
_
_ SYC : St SPT, N = 18 Alluvium
_
1.5 _ Light grey with av MC = 25%
_ red brown pH = 4.8
_ streaks, quite Wt = 2.2 t/m3
_ moist.
_
2.0_
_
_
_
_
2.5 _
_
_
_
_
3.0 _
_
_
_
_
3.5 _
_ SDC : VSt SPT, N = 32 Alluvium
_ Charcoal grey, MC = 23%
_
_ moist, sand pH = 5.0
3.5 _ content fine to Wt = 2.5 t/m3
_ medium grain
_ size.
_
_
4.0 _
_
_
_
_
4.5 _
_
_
_
_
5.0 _
_
_
_
_
5.5 –
_ GW – XW MD SPT, N = 48 Wt = 2.45 t/m3
_ Charcoal grey
_
_ and brown,
6.0 - medium grained,
_ slightly
_ metamorphosed
_
_ sedimentary
6.5 _ rock, generally
_ displays
_ engineering
_
_ properties similar
7.0 _ to very stiff silty
_ clay to dense
_ silty sand.
_
_
7.5 _
_
_
_
_
8.0 _
_ GW – HW D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.4 t/m3
_ Charcoal grey
_
_ and brown with
7.5 _ iron staining
_ throughout.
_ Angular defects
_
_ with clay coated.
8.0 _
_
_
_
_
8.5_
_
_
_
_
9.0 _
_
_
_
_
9.5 _
_
_
_
_
10 _
_
_
_
_
10.5 _
_
_
_
_
_
11.0 _
_
_
_
_
11.5 _
_
_
_
_
12.0 _
_
_
GW – MW: D SPT, N > 50 Wt = 2.4 t/m3
_ Dark brown
_ grey, lightly iron
12.5 _ stained, along
_
_ defects.
_
_
_
13.0 _
_
_
_
_
13.5_
_
_
_
_
14.0 _
Consistency / Density / Rock Strength
VS – Very Soft Hd - Hard VL – Very Loose VL – Very Low
S – Soft El – Extremely Low MD – Medium M - Medium
Dense
F – firm Lw = Low D – Dense VH – Very High
St – Stiff H – High VD – Very Dense
VSt – Very Stiff L – Loose Fb - Friable