Building Construction
onstruction project, the blocks in the foreground are to be use
d as fill behind a retaining wall. They are lifted by the man onto a woman's head, who walks less than 6 feet and pitches the block into the construction pit. I ask, why lift a heavy object six feet into the air and then throw it down? We would use a piece of wood as a ramp and slide the blocks into the pit. Much easier.
This man is pulling a rope on a pulley to lift a single cinder block to the top of a four-story building. Kids (yes, children work construction jobs) pull off the cinder block, and then the process repeats. He had better not let go of the rope! (Apparently no safety laws in India,either.)
There are skilled jobs in construction, and I believe that people do it well. The end product looks goo
d, the walls are straight, the finish smooth an
d without apparent defect. I spent some time watching workman putting in a marble staircase. He was practiced, patient and exacting. He used pieces of wood as spacers and fixed-length guides, but he also used a level and a plumb-bob and a tape measure.
The men on the left are smoothing the cement on the face of the building. Again, they were very careful in their work. The woman mixes the mortar. In the US, she would be called a "hod carrier". My uncle spent his working life doing this, and I have respect for the work. The mortar must be mixed to the right consistency if it's going to hold. The man on the right is smoothing the underside of an overhang. The result was absolut
ely smooth. Incidentally, their boss (whom I know) was not at the site that day; they did their jobs without supervision.
Finally, there are major construction teams that do use more standard construction techniques. A new Metro (subway) system is being built in Bangalore. The section below will be an elevated train. The most notable difference between these workers and the ones that I have gotten to know is that these men wear hard hats.
Tomorrow: Photos of kids!
Warning: This post may be of interest only to guys who are into buildings and construction. And possibly feminists. And possibly anyone who wishes they had a job that gets them outside.
I've been fascinated with the way that Indians build buildings. At times it looks impossibly crude, as if there's no way that they could ever erect a building. But they do, and in large numbers, and they do it well. They just use different techniques.
The first is scaffolding. Instead of standardized parts for scaffolding and support, they use irregular wooden poles, and lash them together with cord. On the left, the poles hold up the concrete floor above. In the center, you can see the way the poles are lashed. On the right is scaffolding in use.
The second thing to notice is how construction workers carry heavy objects: they always put them on their heads. They wear a pad of cloth to protect their heads and put the load in a large tray. I'm sure these loads weigh 50-60 pounds.
About 80% of laborers (those carrying heavy loads) are women (That's the feminist angle!) I have met at least one husband and wife team and heard of other instances. They earn somewhere around $1.20 - 2.00 per day. (Would you like to trade your indoor job for this one?)
Despite that, you can see that they can have fun showing off their skills.
There are over one
billion people in India, most of whom want and need to
work. One consequence of this is that there is no advantage to a labor saving device. If a job can be done with simple hard work, that's the preferred way. At the site shown below, a cement truck dumps part of its load on the ground. A man shovels it onto trays and then t
hey are lifted onto a laborer's head. They carry t
he cement up a ramp to the top of a wall being constructed. The cement is poured into the form
and tamped down. In the US, a single truck with a pump would move the cement from the road directly into the form. No one would handle a heavy load.
On this cI've been fascinated with the way that Indians build buildings. At times it looks impossibly crude, as if there's no way that they could ever erect a building. But they do, and in large numbers, and they do it well. They just use different techniques.
The first is scaffolding. Instead of standardized parts for scaffolding and support, they use irregular wooden poles, and lash them together with cord. On the left, the poles hold up the concrete floor above. In the center, you can see the way the poles are lashed. On the right is scaffolding in use.
The second thing to notice is how construction workers carry heavy objects: they always put them on their heads. They wear a pad of cloth to protect their heads and put the load in a large tray. I'm sure these loads weigh 50-60 pounds.
About 80% of laborers (those carrying heavy loads) are women (That's the feminist angle!) I have met at least one husband and wife team and heard of other instances. They earn somewhere around $1.20 - 2.00 per day. (Would you like to trade your indoor job for this one?)Despite that, you can see that they can have fun showing off their skills.
There are over one
billion people in India, most of whom want and need to
work. One consequence of this is that there is no advantage to a labor saving device. If a job can be done with simple hard work, that's the preferred way. At the site shown below, a cement truck dumps part of its load on the ground. A man shovels it onto trays and then they are lifted onto a laborer's head. They carry t
he cement up a ramp to the top of a wall being constructed. The cement is poured into the formand tamped down. In the US, a single truck with a pump would move the cement from the road directly into the form. No one would handle a heavy load.
onstruction project, the blocks in the foreground are to be use
d as fill behind a retaining wall. They are lifted by the man onto a woman's head, who walks less than 6 feet and pitches the block into the construction pit. I ask, why lift a heavy object six feet into the air and then throw it down? We would use a piece of wood as a ramp and slide the blocks into the pit. Much easier.
This man is pulling a rope on a pulley to lift a single cinder block to the top of a four-story building. Kids (yes, children work construction jobs) pull off the cinder block, and then the process repeats. He had better not let go of the rope! (Apparently no safety laws in India,either.)
There are skilled jobs in construction, and I believe that people do it well. The end product looks goo
d, the walls are straight, the finish smooth an
d without apparent defect. I spent some time watching workman putting in a marble staircase. He was practiced, patient and exacting. He used pieces of wood as spacers and fixed-length guides, but he also used a level and a plumb-bob and a tape measure.The men on the left are smoothing the cement on the face of the building. Again, they were very careful in their work. The woman mixes the mortar. In the US, she would be called a "hod carrier". My uncle spent his working life doing this, and I have respect for the work. The mortar must be mixed to the right consistency if it's going to hold. The man on the right is smoothing the underside of an overhang. The result was absolut
ely smooth. Incidentally, their boss (whom I know) was not at the site that day; they did their jobs without supervision.
Finally, there are major construction teams that do use more standard construction techniques. A new Metro (subway) system is being built in Bangalore. The section below will be an elevated train. The most notable difference between these workers and the ones that I have gotten to know is that these men wear hard hats.
Tomorrow: Photos of kids!
That reminds me of something I saw in Africa. There was a kid (a teenager) sitting by the side of the road next to a big pile of rocks. He was patiently chipping at the big rocks, breaking them into smaller ones. Cheap labor.
ReplyDelete