Chapter II

Construction Project Management

Fig.2.1 Interrelation between the Construction Stages.

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Introduction
Construction in the field of Architecture and civil engineering is a process of building infrastructure, which may be in the form of residential, commercial, institutional buildings, roads, bridges, airports, sea ports, dams, canals and factories etc. Project is a finite Endeavour - having specific start and completion dates, undertaken to create a unique product or service, which brings about beneficial change or added value. A project is a set of carefully defined activities that use resources (humans, materials, finance and time) to achieve the project goals and objectives. Management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing the resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

Project Characteristics
Construction project is a finite and temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product (any building or built entity) or service. Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. The end is reached when the projects objectives have been achieved, or it becomes clear that the project objectives will not or cannot be met, or the need for the project no longer exists and the project is terminated. Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration; many projects last for several years. In every case, however, the duration of a project is finite. Projects are not ongoing efforts. In addition, temporary does not generally apply to the product, service or result created by the project. Most projects are undertaken to create a lasting outcome. For example, a project to erect a national monument will create a result expected to last centuries. Projects also may often have intended and unintended social, economic and environmental impacts that far outlast the projects themselves. Uniqueness of the product or project is one other characteristics of the project. For example, many thousand office buildings are being developed but each individual facility is unique - different ownership, different design, different location etc. The presence of repetitive elements does not change the fundamental uniqueness of the project work.

Construction Project management

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and other techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. It is nothing but the integration of project management processes like initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. These processes are integrated in such a way to accomplish the project requirements. Project requirements includes the time limit within which one wishes to complete the project, the budget specified for the project and other such limitations or expectations which are mandatory for the successful completion of the Construction project.
Managing a construction project includes identifying the requirements for the project and also understanding the need and purpose of it establishing clear and achievable goals
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balancing the competing demands of cost, quality , scope and time management. adapting the necessary planning and scheduling tools or techniques to the different concerns so as to keep up to the expectations of various stake holders. The above processes are those that constitutes construction stages or Phases.

Significance of Construction management

Construction management is the process of managing the whole construction project Life cycle. When we say Construction Project Life Cycle, it means the processes involved between the Pre construction phase and the Project closure and termination phase. Sometimes it becomes mandatory to include post construction maintenance phase in this life cycle, as the constructed entity remains unoccupied for a certain time period. We have dealt about the Indian construction industry and its impact on the Indian and world economy in the earlier chapter. From that we understand the necessity of the construction industry and so the value of resources (monetary, human, and others) which supports the industry. This envisages the importance of Management of these resources which in turn manages the whole of construction project life cycle. Work plans are made on the assumption that adequate resources will be available at the right time and place, but in actual practice there is perennial shortage of resources including funds so there is great need to organize, plan and make best use of the available material and labor resources. Further there will be unforeseen breakdown of machinery, construction equipment along with unexpected weather conditions. There is always a measure of uncertainty in construction work, which may be due to unexpected site conditions, difficulties in the availability of material, particularly those in short supply and labor. Thus there is great need for skillful management of resources including time to complete the project in time and within the stipulated budget. The primary aim of construction management is to achieve all the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints - scope, quality, time and budget. The secondary and more ambitious challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of resources necessary to meet predefined objectives.

Knowledge areas of Construction Management

The construction project management system is nothing bur the set of tools, techniques, methodologies, procedures and resources used to manage a project. This system consists of various processes that are involved in the construction project. A process is a set of activities which are done to achieve a prespecified result or service or a product. These different processes gets classified into different categories under various construction project Phases (as discussed in 2. ). The construction project phases are a broad classification in which certain or much of the process are not well defined as they overlap and are interrelated. Thus the construction Knowledge areas are
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created which clearly demarcates the processes into definite sets under the 9 knowledge areas of Construction project management. One such knowledge area is the Construction Project Time management which wil be discussed in detail in the further Chapters.

Construction Project Management

Construction Project Integration Management

Project Scope Management

Project Time Management

Project Cost Management

Project Quality Management

Project Human Resources management

Project Communication management

Project Risk management

Project Procurement Management

Fig.2.2 Knowledge Areas of Construction Project Management

Construction Project Integration management

Developing Project Charter Developing Preliminary Project Scope Statement Developing Project Management Plan Directing and Managing the Execution of the Processes Monitoring and Controlling of Project Work Integrated Change Control Closure of the Project

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Construction Project Scope management

Scope Planning Scope Definition Creation of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Scope Verification Scope Control

Construction Project Time Management

Activity Definition Sequencing of the Activities Activity Duration Estimation Scheduling Methods and Techniques Schedule Development and Control

Construction project Cost Management

Cost Estimation Cost Budgeting

Cost Control Construction project quality management

Quality Planning Perform Quality Assurance Perform Quality Control

Construction Project Human Resource Management

Human Resource Planning Acquire Project team Develop Project Team Manage Project Team

Construction Project Communications Management

Communication Planning Information Distribution Performance Reporting Manage Stakeholders
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Construction Project Risk Management

Risk management Planning Risk Identification Qualitative Risk Analysis Quantitative risk Analysis Risk Response Planning

Risk Monitoring and Control Construction Project Procurement Management

Plan Purchase and Acquisitions Plan Contracting Contract Administration Contract Closure

Construction Project life cycle

Every project goes through a series of identifiable phases in wherein it is born, it matures and finally expires. For example, in case of a software project, the project starts with initial proposal, process engineering requirement analysis, process engineering - specifications, design, development, testing deployment and support. These different phases produce certain outcomes which in turn forms the base for the following phases. These different phases forms the project life cycle. Similarly the construction project has been divided into certain phases which form the construction project life cycle. These phase are classified based on the level and characteristic of the work carried out in different periods along the construction project time line. The owner has to take certain pre project decisions before the initiation of the construction project and in turn the planning and design process starts. In the next phase the project is handed over to the contractors after tendering etc. In the forthcoming phases the sub contractors come in to action and mobilization and operation of the project goes on. And finally the termination or close out phase of the project is reached. The figure below is the conceptual diagram which shows the different phases in a construction project life cycle. It also shows the relative time lengths and the percentage completion of work in the end of different phases. This in turn gives the owner in analyzing the amount of budget to be invested at the end of different phases. The different phases of the project life cycle do overlap with each other and their interdependence is important to understand. This can be understood by understanding the different phases and their characteristics individually as discussed below.

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Fig 2.3 The construction project life cycle.

Pre Project Phase

A construction project begins with an idea, a perceived need, a desire to improve or add to productive capacity or the wish for more efficient provision of some public service. Whether the idea will be converted into a completed project will be decided during the planning and design phase. However, prior to that, among the first things the owner must do is to decide what sort of project delivery system will be used. How will the various parties be related? Will the owner engage a design professional to prepare plans and specifications and then contract separately with a construction contractor? Or, will a single entity be responsible for the entire project? Other possible options include several separate specialty contractors, each related by contract with the owner, the use of a construction manager as an advisor to the owner, the use of the owners own construction forces and the phasing of the project such that individual portions of the field work are commenced prior to the completion of all design work. The other primary decision required by the owner early in the project relates to the type of contract to be used with the contractor. Will the contractor be paid a specified fixed price, regardless of the actual quantities used in the project and regardless of the contractors actual costs? Will the quantities of materials be measured and the contractor paid on the basis of those quantities and preagreed-upon unit prices for each material? Or, will the contractor be reimbursed for its actual costs, plus a fee, perhaps with an agreed-upon upper limit?

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The owner will also need to decide the basis upon which the design professional will be paid. Often these decisions are not made without consultation and advice. Depending upon the owners expertise and experience in administering construction contracts, the owner may engage a professional engineer, an architect or a project manager during this pre-project phase to advise on these important decisions.

Planning and Design Phase

The project is fully defined and made ready for contractor selection and deployment during the planning and design phase. It is convenient to divide this phase into three stages. The goal of the first stage is to define the projects objectives, consider alternative ways to attain those objectives and ascertain whether the project is financially feasible. In this process of planning and feasibility study, a project brief will be developed, more details will be set forth in a programme statement, various sites may be investigated, public input may be sought, a preliminary cost estimate will be prepared, funding sources will be identified and a final decision on whether to proceed with the project will be rendered. In the second stage, the design professional will use the results of the planning efforts to develop schematic diagrams showing the relationships among the various project components, followed by detailed design of the structural, electrical and other systems. This latter activity is the classical hard core engineering familiar to students in the design professions, in which various engineering principles are used to estimate loads and other requirements, select materials, determine component sizes and configurations and assure that each element is proper in relation to other elements. The output from this design development effort is used in the third stage, wherein contract documents are prepared for use in contractor selection and installation work at the construction site. The design professional prepares not only the detailed construction drawings but also written contract conditions containing legal requirements, technical specifications stipulating the materials and the manner in which they shall be installed and a set of other documents related to the process of selecting the contractor and finalising the contract with the successful tenderer.

Contractor Selection Phase

In anticipation of selecting a contractor, the owner must decide whether an open invitation will be issued to all possible tenderers or whether only certain contractors will be invited to submit offers and whether any sort of pre-qualification process will be invoked to limit the number of tenders. On the other side, contractors will have to consider a number of factors in deciding whether they will make the effort to assemble a proposal for a particular project. If a contractor finds the prospective project attractive, two major tasks will be required. First, a series of planning steps will be carried out, including studies of various methods and equipment that would be employed and the development of a preliminary project programme setting forth an approximate time schedule for each major activity. Second, a priced proposal will be prepared, including the direct costs of labour, materials, plant and subcontractors, various overhead charges and a sufficient added amount for profit. The last step in this phase is the submittal, opening and evaluation of tenders, the selection of the successful contractor and the finalisation of the construction contract.

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Project mobilisation phase

After the contractor is selected, a number of activities must be completed before installation work can begin at the project site. Various bonds, licences and insurances must be secured. A detailed programme for the construction activities must be prepared. The cost estimate must be converted to a project budget and the system for tracking actual project costs must be established. The worksite must be organised, with provisions for temporary buildings and services, access and delivery, storage areas and site security. The process of obtaining materials and equipment to be incorporated into the project must be initiated and arrangements for labour, the other essential resource, must be organised. With the completion of this phase, it is finally time to begin the actual field construction.

Project operations phase

In presenting the contractors activities on the construction site, we will suggest, perhaps too simply, that the responsibilities involve three basic areas: monitoring and control, resource management and documentation and communication. Five aspects of monitoring and controlling the work are important. Actual schedule progress must be compared against the project programme to determine whether the project is on schedule; if it is not, actions must be undertaken to try to bring the programme back into conformance. Likewise, the cost status must be checked to establish how actual performance compares with the budget. An equally important part of monitoring and control is quality management, to assure that the work complies with the technical requirements set forth in the contract documents. In addition, the contractor has an important role to play in managing the work safely and in a way that minimises adverse environmental impacts. In managing the projects resources, the contractor will, first, be concerned with assigning and supervising personnel and assuring that the labour effort is sufficiently productive to meet schedule, cost and quality goals. In addition, materials and plant must be managed so that these same goals are met. Because construction projects require large amounts of paperwork, a special effort is required to manage this documentation effectively. Examples include the various special drawings and samples that must be submitted to the owner or design professional for approval prior to installation, the frequent need to respond to requests for changes in the project after the on-site work has begun and the all-important process for periodically assessing the value of work completed and requesting payment for this work. Various on-line and other electronic means are available to assist contractors with document management and project communications.

Project closeout and termination phase

Finally, as the project nears completion, a number of special activities must take place before the contractors responsibilities can be considered complete. There are the various testing and startup tasks, the final cleanup, various inspections and remedial work that may result from them and the process of closing the construction office and terminating the staffs employment. In addition, a myriad of special paperwork is required, including approvals and certifications that allow the contractor to receive final payment, a set of as-built drawings that include all changes made to the original design, operating manuals, warranties and a final report. The contractor will also be responsible for transferring and archiving project records and will

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conduct some sort of project critique and evaluation; operator training may also be part of the contractors contractual responsibilities.

Fig.2.4 Typical Sequencing of Phases in project life cycle

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