Central Designs Organisation

Central Designs Organisation (CDO) is located in Nirman Bhawan as integral part of the office of Director General (W).CDO is headed by a Chief Engineer and it comprises of four units namely, the

· Design unit,

· Repair and Rehabilitation unit,

· Computer Centre unit and

· Technology Application Development Cell unit

Each of the above is headed by a Superintending Engineer.

Design Unit

The major functions of CDO are structural analysis and design of large projects and special structures, creation of design manuals, handbooks, technical circulars and special publications on important topics in the field of structural engineering.CDO has carried out structural designs of a number of major projects, latest notable project being the Parliament Library project costing Rs.200 crores approximately.Some of the features of this project have been of the nature of innovations in the field of structural designs, the most intricate being the design of domes.

Design Publications

The major publications in the field of structural analysis & design are Manual on Planning & Design of Reinforced Concrete Multi-storeyed Buildings Vol. I & II.CPWD excels in design and construction of engineered structures following Indian Standards in better & spirit. That is why CPWD structures had stood the fury of earthquakes in Uttarkashi, Jabalpur and Gujrat. CPWD has published reports on Bihar and Uttarkashi earthquakes.

Repairs and Rehabilitation Unit

In India , RCC has been used extensively in the last 50-60 years. During this period, we have created large number of infrastructural assets in terms of buildings, bridges, sports stadium etc., which are lifeline for the civilized society. Buildings and other structures have a certain useful life, which depends on the specifications adopted. They have shown signs of distress due to age, aggressive natural environment/industrial pollution etc. Further, distress gets aggravated due to overloading/misuse of buildings. A few buildings have also failed due to faulty design / construction. Deterioration of RCC is a natural phenomenon and has started exhibiting in large number of structures; a systematic approach is needed in dealing with such problems. The knowledge in this area among the Civil Engineers, in India is still at infancy stage and needs development and systematic dissemination. Repairs & Rehabilitation Unit under Central Design Unit was created on 1-1-96 with a view to develop in-house expertise in the field of Repairs and Rehabilitation. The unit is well equipped and a variety of equipments necessary for scientific condition survey of distresses buildings. Over sixty buildings have been investigated including monumental structures like Nabha House in Kurukshetra, Charminar at Hydrabad and Victoria Memorial, Calcutta . The expertise of the unit is well recognized outside the department as well.CPWD has in-house experience of rehabilitation of fire damaged Vigyan Bhawan, corrosion damaged Players building and Hall of Nations/ Hall of States. Repairs to Vigyan Bhawan were documented and a report was published in July 1993.

Documentation

Experience gained in investigation, remedial measures suggested/adopted for deteriorated buildings and extensive literature survey has given the courage to this unit to prepare the CPWD Handbook. An expert group in the field of repairs, rehabilitation and retrofitting, consisting of over fifteen experts drawn from Government and Non Government practicing engineers/ designers/ consultant/leading scientists was constituted for finalization of this Handbook. This was done with a view to ensure that all aspects required are covered in such a Handbook in a lucid form for reference and adoption. An interactive CD on handbook has also been released in July. Recently request has been received by CDO to undertake study of the national monument Taj Mahal.

Technology Application and Development Cell

This unit is headed by Superintending Engineer and assisted by 3 Executive Engineers. The primary responsibility of this unit is to develop new innovative technologies suited for the department, develop eco-friendly substitutes for incorporation in the work. New technologies and new products developed by manufacturers are evaluated by a committee headed by Chief Engineer (CDO) with SE(TADC) as member secretary. These materials after evaluation by this committee and approval obtained from DG(W) are put to trial use for six month to one year in different parts of India before adoption in the CPWD schedule of rates. To have in-house evaluation of technologies and products a centralized laboratory in Delhi having adequate testing facilities has been set up.

The materials and technologies approved by CPWD have recognition by other construction agencies and the manufacturers utilize this approval while advertising the products through electronic and print media.

The geo-technical laboratory conducts sub-soil investigation and submits reports for the allowable bearing pressure of foundations.CDO is also responsible for introduction of new construction materials and techniques.

Computer Centre

CDO is responsible for identification of areas of computerization and in-house development of software for use in the Department. CDO also carries out evaluation of software and recommends it for use in CPWD.Upgrading of software developed by CDO and trouble shooting of all software is carried out on continuous basis.

Development of Software

The computerization in CPWD started way back in seventies.Initially the computerization was by way of development of small utility software to assist the designers in carrying out their work more efficiently and with greater accuracy. In the process of development of these types of software, CDO published a large number of user manuals for guidance of the designers.The advancement in the computer technology and increased data processing capability the software development programme of CDO was revamped and as a result of lot of hard work and dedication software namely, Integrated Analysis & Design of Buildings (IADB) was developed. This software enables the user to perform very accurate detailed analysis and design of RCC framed structures.User Manual for this software was prepared to facilitate the designers. CDO also developed Integrated Planning Application (IPA) Software.This software helps preparation of detailed estimates & tender justification etc. User Manual was developed for this software to help the planning offices.