T Level Technical Qualification in
Construction: Design, Surveying and
Planning
Additional Specimen Assessment Material for first
teaching September 2020
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes Paper Reference
XXXX/01
Construction
Paper 1: Science and Building Technology
You must have a pen, pencil, eraser, scientificcalculator, a ruler and an information booklet of formulae and constants.
You do not need any other materials.
Total Marks 100
Instructions
• Use black ink or a ball-point pen for written answers. A pencil may be used for drawings.
• Fill in the boxes at the top of this page with your name, centre number and candidate number.
• Answer all questions.
• Answer the questions in the spaces provided – there may be more space than you
need.
Information
• The total mark for this paper is 100.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets – use this as a guide to how much
time to spend on each question.
Advice
• Read each question carefully before you start to answer it. • Try to answer every question.
• For calculation questions you should show all of your workings. • Check your answers if you have time at the end.
T Level Technical Qualification in Construction: Design, Surveying and Planning Additional Sample Assessment Material – Paper 1: Science and Building Technology Pre-publication Draft – October 2020
2 SECTION A
Answer ALL questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided. 1 A civil engineering contractor has been appointed to design and build a bridge
to carry a railway line across a valley connecting two towns 15 miles apart. (a) List two geological features of the ground conditions that the contractor
will need to consider when designing the foundations of the bridge.
(2)
1 ... ... 2 ... ...
(b) The bridge will form part of a much larger infrastructure project to connect the two towns with the railway line.
Information will be shared between the main contractor and subcontractors through crowdsourcing.
State two benefits of crowdsourcing for the contractors.
(2)
(c) The bridge will be supported on piers on both sides of the valley. The supporting piers on both sides of the bridge will be constructed from Class A engineering bricks.
4 2 A national housing developer has construction sites throughout the
country. The houses are mostly of the same design, although some features are changed depending on local conditions.
(a) Explain one way that weather and climatic data would affect the selection of materials for the houses in different parts of the country.
(2)
... ... ... ...
(b) In a proposed new housing development, the houses have solar tubes installed in some rooms. Figure 2 shows a cross-section of a roof with a solar tube. Sunlight travels through the solar tube from the dome to the outlet.
Figure 2
The housing developer has a duty of care to its employees and contractors. As part of the duty of care it looks at accident statistics in construction to see if there are any trends.
Table 1 shows national statistical data for the estimated cost of construction accidents in the five regions of England.
Region of work Estimated Cost (£ millions)
North East 484
North West 540
Midlands 785
London and the South East 1105
South West 500
Table 1
(c) Calculate the mean cost of accidents in the five regions of England. Give your answer to three significant figures.
6 (d) Statistical data to calculate the standard deviation of the estimated
cost of accidents in the five regions of England is shown in Table 2. (i) Complete the table to show the missing values.
(2)
Table 2
(ii) Calculate the standard deviation for the cost of accidents in the five regions of England.
Give your answer to three significant figures.
(1)
Region of work
Estimated Cost (£ millions)
Estimated Cost - Mean Cost (£ millions)
(Estimated Cost - Mean Cost)2
North East 484
North West 540
Midlands 785
London and the
South East 1105
South West 500
total
(e) Table 3 shows data for non-fatal construction-related accidents on the housing developer’s sites.
Type of accident % of non-fatal injuries Total of non-fatal injuries Of which… Specified
(reportable) incapacitation Over-7-day
Slips, trips or falls on same level 25% 30% 22%
Injured while handling, lifting or
carrying 19% 7% 26%
Falls from a height 19% 33% 11%
Struck by moving, including
flying/falling, object 12% 13% 11%
Contact with moving machinery 6% 3% 8%
Other 19% 10% 9%
Table 3
Explain one way that the developer would use the accident data to reduce injuries on the construction sites.
8 3 A building services contractor carries out electrical installation work on building
projects, which includes the installation of ring main lighting and power circuits.
The contractor uses a range of approaches to make work activities safe for their employees.
(a) Explain one way that a method statement can improve workplace safety.
(2) ... ... ... ... ... ...
Safe systems of work used by the contractor are reviewed on a regular basis based on feedback from employees.
The contractor uses step-down transformers to provide a safe and appropriate power supply for equipment used on construction sites.
(c) Describe how a step-down transformer works.
(3) ... ... ... ... ... ...
As electrical installation work proceeds, the building services engineer will be required to take and record measurements of the alternating current (a.c.) in ring main circuits.
10 An electrical installation for an industrial building includes a distribution board,
socket outlets, lighting units and switchgear. The installation has been
documented in compliance with the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) format. The building is currently leased by its owner to
another business company.
(e) Explain one advantage of the use of COBie compliant records for the company that leases the building.
(2) ... ... ... ...
4 A local authority plans to implement a real-time monitoring system to assist with the management of urban spaces to reduce disruption to the transport network.
The local authority has an existing network of cameras and sensors that monitor traffic flows and numbers of pedestrians in retail areas. Further sensors monitor the weather and air quality.
The local authority would like to integrate these resources through the Internet of Things (IoT) into the real-time monitoring system. A mobile phone app will complement the system in managing congestion in the urban area by sending alerts to users.
Evaluate the suitability of the real-time monitoring system in reducing disruption to the transport network.
12 SECTION B
Answer ALL questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided. 5 A health authority is planning to close a number of small health centres and
build a large central health centre on a brownfield site.
The proposed new health centre will be constructed using a combination of traditional forms and modern methods of construction.
(a) As a public sector project, the new health centre will need to meet the requirements of the Common Minimum Standards for Construction.
Explain one way that the Common Minimum Standards for Construction will affect the design of this project.
(2)
... ... ... ...
(b) There will be a number of contractors involved in the project. The project management system will incorporate metadata.
Explain one way that metadata can be used in a construction project.
(2)
(c) The new health centre will have a basement parking area. In order to construct a basement, a reinforced concrete retaining wall will be used. Draw a labelled cross-section of the retaining wall, the floor level in the basement and the external ground level.
Your drawing should be clear and accurate.
14 (d) External windows on the ground floor of the health centre will be
glazed with electrochromic glass (smart glass).
Explain two advantages of using electrochromic glass for the ground floor windows. (4) 1 ... ... ... ... 2 ... ... ... ...
One of the reasons the health authority has decided to close the smaller health centres and build one larger health centre is to reduce the running costs of numerous buildings. The new health centre is designed to be a ‘smart building’ with embedded systems to measure and report performance indicators such as running costs.
(e) Explain one benefit to the health authority of the accurate measurement and reporting of running costs of the new health centre.
(f) The new health centre is going to be built on a brownfield site that was previously used for industry and a local authority landfill site. Before starting construction activities, the site needs to be surveyed for
contaminated ground. A desktop survey has been undertaken, however a site survey has not yet taken place.
Explain one disadvantage of relying on information provided by a desktop survey alone for contaminated land.
(3) ... ... ... ... ... ...
16 6 A developer has purchased a former primary school. The school has a main
building that was built in 1915 and two smaller buildings that were constructed in the 1970s.
The developer plans to demolish the smaller buildings. The main building will be converted into self-contained apartments. All of the new dwellings will make use of energy-saving technologies.
(a) Some of the timber in the existing school building has decayed over the lifespan of the building.
Explain one method that can be used to reduce further decay in the timber. (2)
... ... ... ... The developer will produce a digital twin of the existing main school building before they start work on converting the building into apartments.
(b) Explain one benefit of producing a digital twin of the existing main school building before starting any conversion work.
(2)
The new apartments in the existing school building will need to comply with Building Regulations Approved Document L: Conservation of fuel and power in new dwellings.
(c) Explain one way in which the apartments can be designed to meet the requirements of Approved Document L.
(2)
... ... ... ...
The school site is close to a river and slopes down from the access road to the level of the riverbank. The site has been affected by local hydrological conditions.
(d) Explain one way that hydrological factors would have a negative effect on the site. (2)
18 (e) To reduce the effects of hydrological conditions a water retention pond
will be excavated in the field. The retention pond will be cylindrical in design, have vertically excavated sides and will need to have a volume of 200 m3.
To reduce the amount of space taken by the pond, both the depth and the radius need to be kept to a minimum.
Calculate the minimum radius of the pond to achieve the required volume.
Give your answer to one decimal place.
(f) The main school building has internal decorative panelling made of fibrous plaster placed above the ground floor windows. The developer considers these to be an important feature that adds authentic character to the building.
Some of these panels have been damaged and the contractor would like to replace defected areas with 3D printed parts. The contractor has commissioned a surveyor to conduct a 3D scan so that replacement parts can be produced.
Discuss the suitability of 3D scanning and 3D printed parts to replace the damaged panels.
(6) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
20 7 A local community gym is having problems with the control of the internal
temperatures of different parts of its building. A building contractor has been appointed to provide a solution to control the internal temperatures within the building.
The gym is housed in a detached single-storey building that has brick and block external cavity walls and a pitched roof with concrete roofing tiles. The roof has exposed trussed rafters and there is no ceiling.
Users of the gym complain that the building is cold in winter and hot in summer, and that in some parts of the gym there is dampness in the walls. Evaluate how the building contractor can use insulation to control heat losses and gains to allow for a more comfortable environment for gym users throughout the year.
8 A construction contractor has been commissioned to build a hotel that will be located close to a motorway service area. The hotel building will have four storeys. Each floor will be made of reinforced concrete. The external walls will be built of brickwork and blockwork and a cavity filled with insulation. The roof is a reinforced concrete slab with insulation and an asphalt deck.
The ground on which the hotel is to be built has been levelled.
Surveys from when the motorway services were constructed indicated that soil conditions were variable and there is a possibility of historic coal mining in the local area. Groundwater is present at a depth of 0.4m below the ground surface.
Two alternative forms of foundation are being considered for the hotel building:
deep strip raft.
Evaluate which form of foundation is most appropriate for the hotel.
