An educational visit was organized by the Civil Engineering Department of Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon for the IInd year students to the construction site of Vrinda Country Homes Pvt. Ltd. at Chattarpur, New Delhi on 7th September 2015. The students were accompanied by faculty coordinators Mr. Malasani GopiChand and Mr. Amit Kumar.

The objective of the visit to multi-storey construction site was to provide practical experience to the students regarding the methods of construction of beams, columns and slabs.

The site in charge of Vrinda Country Homes Pvt. Ltd. disussed with the students the steps of building foundation work. He said that the type of foundation depends on the area of the foundation will be located on and the type of structure that will be placed on it. Adjustments to the form cannot be made after the concrete is poured. Post in ground construction may technically have no foundation. Timber pilings were used on soft or wet ground even below stone or masonry walls. In marine construction and bridge building a crisscross of timbers or steel beams in concrete is called grillage.

The students were shown the process of slab casting. The students were explained that the process includes marking the slab, placing the reinforcement, form work for slab and then placing the concrete. The purpose of providing formwork and shuttering during the casting of slab was taught to the students. Students were also guided about the design process of various components of building such as beam, column and slab and how the reinforcement detail for all this components is provided on the basis of its design.

The students were then shown the materials and the main purpose of using these materials in any construction work were discussed with them. These materials included were Cement, Aggregates (Fine as well as coarse), Sand, Various types of bricks such as clay bricks and fly ash bricks.

The technical experts also discussed the hazards that are involved in the process and the safety measures that are to be adopted at the construction site. It includes safety as well as health hazards for the workers, employees and the environment. These safety measures includes use of emergency alarms, safety guidelines for equipment use, safety belts, safety nets, safety inspections and other mitigating factors.

Finally in a question answer session the doubts of the students were clarified by the technical experts. The visits not only made the students acquainted of the current design methodologies but they were also exposed to the salient features of the project, safety requirements and precautions to be taken for various operation.