Working up quantities with the small digital computer
by Lai Pang Fee, ARICS, AIQS, AAI, MSIS, MIS (M)
Contracts Officer
Singapore Housing & Development Board
IT ALL started with the article pub- lished in the May 1968 issue of Far East Builder in which Mr. R.A. Callow and Mr. A.A. Bunting introduced me to the small digital computer known as the Olivetti Programma 101.
Eager to discover the potential of the small digital computer in the field of quantity surveying I contacted Oli- vetti (S) Pte., Ltd. in Singapore and was given a course of instruction for the programming of the computer. After the four-day course my interest was further aroused and for the next six months I was busy experimenting with the machine to exploit its poten- tial for the use of quantity surveyors in the working-up processes,
Having reached a stage where these programmes have been proved opera- tional and economical, I feel that they should be made known so that others may make use of them or proceed with further research.
The machine
As has already been described by Callow and Bunting, the computer has the capacity of accepting and record- ing programmes, storing programmes and making logical decisions. The machine has two
main registers (known as 'M' and 'A') for the receipt of digits and the execution of arith. metical processes.
It also has ten memory storage registers (known as 'Bl B', 'CI C', 'DI D', x 'El E' and 'FI F') and two in struction registers capable of receiving 48 instructions in one programme. The input device is fairly simple, using the normal Romanised letters and digits with certain simple symbols and there is no punch card punch tape device.
Programmes for squaring
Three programmes for squaring were written. One for the squaring of linear items, another for the squaring of squared items and the last one for the squaring of cubed items. The taking-off is best taken by the cut and
Job No:
Items
N
Fig. 1.
Job:
N = No. of times
L = Length
B = Breadth
H = Height/Depth
L
H
F.R. Y.R.
FS.
Y.S. F.C. Y.C.
Ref.
Side Cast
shuffle method with every item start- ing on a new sheet.
The sheet will have to follow the lines as shown in Fig. 1, and the taker- off needs to complete the N, L,. B, H columns, writing the number of timesing, the length, the breadth and the height or thickness respectively.
To operate, the operator will have to insert the relevant programme into the computer and then to type in the 'N', 'L', 'B' and 'H' in that order with the immediate print-out answer in both feet and yards (linear, squared or cubed). With the typing in of the
Job No: 3/70
Item: " thick cement and sand (1 : 3)
rendering to floors
second series of dimensions of the same item, the computer will print out the accumulated answers in feet and yards together with the answer for the particular series of dimensions.
When an item is completed the pressing of another button will ensure the erasure of the accumulated total from the memory of the computer.
To illustrate, an example is given in Fig. 2.
The printed result is as follows:-
4
V S
Job: Farrer Road Hostel
N = No. of times
L = Length
B = Breadth
H = Height/Depth
N
L
B
H
F.R.
Y.R.
F.S.
Y.S.
F.C.
Y.C.
Ref.
Side Cast
4
42.00 5.50
12 53.00 5.50
8
64.00 5.50
4
79.00 5,50
-
Fig. 2.
-
24
Far East BUILDER, August 1970