History of construction industry
Initially a man wasn’t a builder and he only started building comparatively recently.
He used to hunt wild animals and gather fruits for food and living in caves. It was not
until about 1000BC that man discovered agriculture, which necessitated safe and
‘permanent’ habitat to live in and store the agricultural produce.
Peoples like the Incas of Peru, Mayas of South Mexico and Guatemala, the Greeks,
the Egyptians etc slowly and gradually started making buildings despite their shallow
knowledge. To construct ‘permanent’ buildings required tools, materials, skills,
knowledge and means of transport which were a major challenge to man. The discovery
of iron smelting much later quickened the pace at which building developed. The real
breakthrough was in the 5th century when the arch was discovered in South Turkey
because it made it possible to construct tunnels. The development of knowledge in
Mathematics and sciences has further quickened the development of building. Man
developed interest for aesthetics in buildings and even the need to be buried in a tomb, a
monument to be remembered by, a palace to be governed from, and even a building for
holy activities. Religion has particularly brought the greatest diversity of building as it
has given the main impetus to new technical discoveries.
2. SCOPE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK
Construction work can generally be classified into two:
i) Building works: Construction of houses, flats, offices, schools, factories etc.
ii) Civil engineering works: construction of roads, bridges, airports, dams, canals etc.