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Engineering Guides — Written for Working Professionals

11 guides covering IS standards, GST, labour law, tender pricing, and financial benchmarks — written for Indian site engineers, PMs, and contractors, not textbooks.

11
Guides & Articles
7
Categories
Free
Glossary Included
Finance & Profitability 2 articles
Finance & Profitability
How Indian Contractors Lose Profit Without Noticing
Seven hidden cost leakages that destroy construction project margins — from material wastage to billing delays and equipment idle time.
8 min read Nov 2024 #profit #cost control #cash flow
Hidden Loss Calculator → ERP: Finance & Analytics
Finance & Profitability
Contractor's Guide to Retention Money & Cash Flow
How retention affects working capital, when it must be released under Indian contract law, and how to negotiate retention reduction clauses.
8 min read Nov 2024 #retention #cash flow #billing
Retention Money Calculator → ERP: Finance & Analytics
Tendering & Bidding 2 articles
Tendering & Bidding
How to Price a Tender Without Guessing
A structured approach to tender pricing for Indian contractors: overhead recovery, site risk premium, escalation provisions, and bid strategy.
10 min read Nov 2024 #tender #BOQ #bidding
Tender Margin Calculator → ERP: BOQ & Estimation
Tendering & Bidding
CPWD DSR 2021 — How to Use Rate Schedule for Estimation
A practical guide to reading CPWD DSR 2021: understanding item codes, rate components, lead charges, and how to apply DSR rates to BOQ preparation.
10 min read Nov 2024 #CPWD #DSR #BOQ
Productivity Norms → ERP: BOQ & Estimation
Labour & HR 2 articles
Labour & HR
The Labour Productivity Metric Nobody Tracks (But Should)
Most contractors track headcount. The metric that actually matters is output per man-day — and how to measure it accurately against CPWD norms.
7 min read Nov 2024 #labour #productivity #CPWD
Labour Productivity Calculator → ERP: Labour & Attendance
Labour & HR
Labour Laws for Construction Companies — India Compliance Guide
BOCW Act, CLRA Act, EPF, ESIC, minimum wages — what every contractor must comply with, with penalties for non-compliance and a compliance checklist.
13 min read Nov 2024 #BOCW #CLRA #EPF #ESIC #compliance
EPF/ESIC Calculator → ERP: HR & Payroll
Materials & Inventory 1 articles
Materials & Inventory
The Real Cost of Material Wastage on Indian Construction Sites
Benchmark data: average material wastage percentages for cement, steel, bricks, and tiles on Indian sites — and how to reduce each by 30%.
9 min read Nov 2024 #material #wastage #inventory
Cement Wastage Calculator → ERP: Procurement & Inventory
GST & Compliance 2 articles
GST & Compliance
Why GST Input Tax Credit Gets Missed in Construction — And How to Fix It
GST ITC rules for works contractors are complex. This guide explains what is claimable, what is blocked, and the three most common filing mistakes.
11 min read Nov 2024 #GST #ITC #tax
GST ITC Calculator → ERP: Finance & Analytics
GST & Compliance
GST on Construction — Complete Guide for 2024
Everything a contractor needs to know: GST rates on works contracts, HSN codes, RCM, ITC eligibility, and GSTR-3B filing for construction companies.
14 min read Nov 2024 #GST #works contract #HSN
GST Calculator → ERP: Finance & Analytics
Equipment & Machinery 1 articles
Equipment & Machinery
Owned vs Hired Equipment: The Utilisation Threshold You Need to Know
At what utilisation rate does owning equipment beat hiring? The breakeven analysis every construction CFO needs, with worked examples.
9 min read Nov 2024 #equipment #owned vs hired #depreciation
Equipment Cost Calculator → ERP: Plant & Machinery
IS Standards 1 articles
IS Standards
IS 456:2000 — Plain English Guide for Site Engineers
The most important clauses in IS 456 explained for working engineers: cover, development length, mix design, curing, acceptance criteria.
12 min read Nov 2024 #IS 456 #RCC #concrete
Development Length Calc → ERP: Quality & NCR

Every guide here maps to a Rebota module — read about labour productivity, then measure it live. Rebota is a business platform →

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Why these guides are worth reading

Every guide is written to be checked against a real IS clause, a real Act, or a real government circular — not generic web content rewritten for SEO.

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38 key terms — sourced from IS standards, CPWD publications, and Indian construction practice. Search by term or browse alphabetically.

A
Aggregate
Coarse or fine granular material (sand, gravel, crushed stone) used as filler in concrete mix. Governed by IS 383:2016.
AIV
Aggregate Impact Value — measure of toughness. Max 30% for concrete in wearing surfaces per IS 383.
As-built drawings
Final drawings showing the actual built condition after project completion, including all deviations from design.
B
BBS
Bar Bending Schedule — list of all reinforcement bars with shape codes, dimensions, and weight. Per IS 2502:2014.
BOQ
Bill of Quantities — itemised list of work items with quantities, unit rates, and amounts used for tendering and cost control.
BOCW Act
Building & Other Construction Workers Act 1996 — governs welfare, safety, and health of construction workers.
C
CLRA Act
Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970 — regulates employment of contract labour and provides for its abolition in certain cases.
Cover
Nominal cover: distance from the outer face of concrete to the nearest reinforcement bar. Minimum 20–75mm per IS 456 based on exposure.
Critical Path
Sequence of activities in a project with zero float — any delay in these activities delays the project finish date.
D
DLP
Defect Liability Period — period (typically 12–24 months) after completion during which contractor rectifies defects at no cost.
Development Length
Minimum length of bar embedded in concrete to transfer full tensile/compressive stress. Ld = φσs/4τbd per IS 456 Cl 26.4.
DPR
Daily Progress Report — daily documentation of site activities, labour, materials, weather, and progress.
E
EAC
Estimate at Completion — projected total project cost based on actual cost to date plus remaining work estimate.
ESIC
Employee State Insurance Corporation — statutory insurance for workers earning up to ₹21,000/month. Rate: 3.25% employer + 0.75% employee.
Exposure Condition
Classification per IS 456 (Mild/Moderate/Severe/Very Severe/Extreme) determining minimum cover and concrete grade.
F
FIDIC
Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils — international standard contract conditions (Red/Yellow/Silver books) widely used in India.
Float (Total)
Time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish. Critical path activities have zero float.
FRL
Fire Resistance Level — number of hours a building element must withstand fire. Prescribed by NBC 2016.
G
GRN
Goods Receipt Note — document acknowledging receipt of materials at site, basis for vendor invoice payment.
GST ITC
GST Input Tax Credit — credit for GST paid on purchases offset against GST liability on sales. Governed by CGST Act 2017 Sec 16.
I
ITP
Inspection & Test Plan — document listing all quality checks, hold/witness/review points, reference standards, and acceptance criteria.
IS Code
Indian Standard Code — technical standard published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). E.g. IS 456:2000 for RCC.
L
Lap Length
Length of overlap where two reinforcement bars transfer stress. Minimum 40d (tension) / 30d (compression) per IS 456.
LTIFR
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate — number of lost-time injuries per million man-hours worked. Key safety KPI.
M
MB
Measurement Book — official record of quantities of work measured at site, basis for billing. Required for government contracts.
MRF
Material Requisition Form — formal request from site to store/procurement for materials.
N
NCR
Non-Conformance Report — documented evidence of work or material not meeting specified requirements, requiring corrective action.
NBO
National Buildings Organisation — under MoHUA, publishes construction statistics, cost indices, and building standards guidance.
P
PCC
Plain Cement Concrete — concrete without reinforcement, used as bed/blinding below footings. Typically M10 grade.
PTW
Permit to Work — formal safety document authorising high-risk activities (hot work, confined space, working at height).
R
RA Bill
Running Account Bill — progressive billing by contractor based on work completed to date, certified by engineer.
RERA
Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016 — regulates real estate sector, project registration, and consumer protection.
RMC
Ready Mix Concrete — concrete batched at a central plant and delivered to site by transit mixer. Grade per IS 456.
S
S-Curve
Graphical representation of cumulative cost/progress over time — shaped like an S due to slow start, rapid mid-phase, and tail-off.
Slump
Measure of fresh concrete workability. Target 25–100mm for RCC per IS 456. Tested per IS 1199.
SO
Service Order — contract document for sub-contractor services where payment is based on certified work progress.
W
W/C Ratio
Water-to-Cement ratio — most critical factor determining concrete strength and durability. Max 0.50 for moderate exposure per IS 456 Table 5.
Working Capital
Cash required to fund day-to-day project operations: mobilisation, material procurement, labour payment before billing cycle.

This glossary covers 38 terms. The full 500-term glossary is coming in Phase 2. Browse all Rebota Works resources →