ICFAI

UNIVERSITY
DEHRADUN
Gopal Krishan

[OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN CONSTURCTION]

IBS Enrollment No.: 09BS0002792

IUD No.: 0901202792

Course Code: SLOM502
Course title: Operations Management

Submitted to: Sanjay H. Rao

Submitted on: 4th Jan, 2010

Student Sign Faculty Sign

Contents
Introduction to the assignment:...................................................................................................... 4
Complexities in a construction project .......................................................................................... 4
Operations management in a construction project: ...................................................................... 4
1. Site of the construction .......................................................................................................... 4
Factors in the site that affects the construction ......................................................................... 5
 Geotechnical test .......................................................................................................... 5
 Boundaries: .................................................................................................................. 5
 Access Road: ................................................................................................................ 5
 Service availability: ..................................................................................................... 5
 Storage area .................................................................................................................. 5
 Logistics ....................................................................................................................... 6
 Waste disposal ............................................................................................................. 6
 Weather conditions and place of site .......................................................................... 6
2. Layout plan: ............................................................................................................................ 7
a. Accommodation............................................................................................................... 7
b. Raw material storage ................................................................................................... 7
c. Location of the fixed plant .............................................................................................. 8
3. Plan of the project................................................................................................................... 8
A. Constructability analysis ............................................................................................. 8
B. Code analysis ............................................................................................................... 8
C. Financial feasibility analysis:...................................................................................... 8
D. R-charts and P-charts: ................................................................................................. 8
E. Gantt Charts ................................................................................................................. 9
F. WBS ............................................................................................................................. 9
G. Interface mapping ...................................................................................................... 10
H. The network schedules .............................................................................................. 10
4. Material procurement: .......................................................................................................... 11
5. Quality management: ........................................................................................................... 11
6. Cost control:.......................................................................................................................... 12
Value chart ............................................................................................................................ 12

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 Critical ratio .......................................................................................................................... 13
7. Production control: ............................................................................................................... 13
Complete Kit: ....................................................................................................................... 14
8. Process control: .................................................................................................................... 14
9. Waste management and monitoring: ................................................................................... 14
A process for monitoring ..................................................................................................... 15
10. Safety management: ...................................................................................................... 15
References: .................................................................................................................................... 16

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Introduction to the assignment: Since World War II the infrastructure development
has taken a sky reaching height and construction projects are getting more and more complex
in nature. We see the apartments in our locality, infrastructure of the companies and admire
the beauty of them especially when we see the façade of the buildings. But what we overlook
is the pain, the work, the processes and the people who had worked day and night to build
that building. Because of the increasing complexities and the expanding sizes of the
construction projects, it became necessary to put in a serious study that can help us in solving
the problems faced by managers during the construction project life cycle. A very essential
part of the construction management is the operations management in it as there is
involvement of a lot of people, their individual interests, machines, tools, material,
equipments, place, organizations, wastages, pollution and disturbances in one single project.

Complexities in a construction project: To complete any project, there is a need

for proper planning and planning becomes more and more difficult with the complexity of a
project. However, complexity is just one of the dimensions of a construction project; it is a
major dimension and requires a special level of management.
Complexities are caused in a construction project because of the presence of a number of
factors that affect the movement of the project towards completion. Moreover, these factors,
though vary from each other, are interrelated to an extent that failure of one of the factors can
lead to a pause in the smooth functioning of the project.

Factors which are involved in the construction project run to a long list. Some of them which
are directly related to the success of the project are:

 Site of the construction

 People and area around the site
 Government, especially the municipal corporation
 Parties involved in the project
 Engineers
 Labours
 Raw material
 Machines and fixed plants e.g. cranes and concrete mixers
 Legal regulations
 Logistics
 Weather conditions
 Technology
To cater to the complexities of a construction project, we need to understand each of the
factors and plan for any consequences that can happen. Also it is important that all the
decisions are to be taken before the beginning of the construction project because any
decision taken in time and before always has a greater impact on the success of the project.

Operations management in a construction project:

1. Site of the construction

a. The site of the construction is the most important factor in a construction
project because
i. It costs a lot

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 ii. It is the place where the construction work is going to happen

Factors in the site that affects the construction :

 Geotechnical test: The site is first tested on the geo technical basis like the soil test,
the water level test which tells about the success and possibility of making the
construction project.
 Boundaries: The boundaries of the site are important factor when it comes to
operations management during construction. If the boundaries are too close to the
construction site, it becomes difficult for raw material storage, accommodation place
for labors, fixed machines like cranes to operate properly. Also, the cranes cannot
cross the boundaries because if the cranes are hanging over neighbor’s building it
becomes a matter of trespassing.
 Access Road: It is important that the site is accessible through roads. If it is not close
to the public roads, there is a need to build temporary roads for the transportation and
logistic operations. Building temporary roads also require material and therefore it is
important to see as to what is the best alternative of making an access road. For
example, places where there are heavy rains bricks road are required, if the
transportation is going to be too frequent and
heavy on the road one needs to build concrete or
tar coal roads. Also, if the construction is going
on too lose to the public road, appropriate safety
measures have to put hoardings to ensure the
safety of the public.
In case, if the road has to be blocked by the
construction works, there is a need to manage
the traffic by using man or to make an alternate
route for the traffic passing by that route. This
thing happened on the NH7 when the Hyderabad
International Airport was under construction.
Above is the diagram after the construction of
the over bridge and the roads was over but
before that, there was only the NH7 and a road
going towards the airport. Thus, traffic was
controlled there manually till the work was not complete.
 Service availability: during the construction and after the construction is over,
many a services are required. Water, power, sewerage, telephone line, etc. are
required during the construction itself. If there is no water supply at the place of
construction, appropriate measure
to store water must be taken
before itself. Similar thing is with
power. If there is no power or too
frequent power failure, generators
needs to be arranged. Sewerage
facilities are required for disposal
of the waste water.

 Storage area of the raw material

and the semi finished things
should be as close to the place as

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 possible. Just like it is shown in the picture, the under construction GMR airport
project at Hyderabad. There is a lot of area around the construction site and there is no
problem of the storage and processing the raw material. But at the same time, a
construction site which is right beside the public road, it is difficult to manage the raw
material storage because of less space availability.

 Logistics: The construction site, if it is close to a river bank or close to water bodies
it becomes even more difficult to manage the logistics part. Also, the material may be
so much that mere trucks cannot carry the raw material required. Thus there may be a
need for a railway track to get the raw material into place.

 Waste disposal: The waste of the construction site also have to be disposed off and
there is transportation required for that as well. If the construction site is over a river
for a dam or a bridge, the waste cannot be dumped into the river just like that. It has to
be taken out and then disposed off at a proper place.
 Weather conditions and place of site: A construction going on a plane is easier
than one going on at polar caps. ICEHOTEL, situated in the village Jukkasjärvi,
Sweden is build every year and there people have to work at a temperature of less
than -5 degrees. If the temperature increases slightly the ice will start melting and the
construction could not be done. Even then the project has to be finished within time
because one day delay in project completion can be a loss of millions of dollars to the
owners. Similarly, the construction project becomes difficult to complete in an area
where there are heavy rainfalls. If the weather conditions are too hot, the distance

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 between the concrete mixer and the place where it has to be set should be least
otherwise the concrete will dry up before setup.

2. Layout plan: In a huge construction project like that of the Hyderabad

International Airport, it is important to have a good facility layout plan so that the
costs of moving things, wastage of time due to distances, cost of installing the fixed
plants like cranes and concrete mixers etc. can be minimized.
a. Accommodation: For the working staff accommodation needs to be required
near the site itself. The eating places and changing places should be closest to
the site to reduce the time wastage. Places are required for the offices of site
manager, planner, site engineers, etc. The plan of the office also depends on
whom is the room meant for. For example, an engineer would require a large
table in his room to put the charts and maps whereas a planner would require
space on the walls to hang on the plans and diagrams etc.

b. Raw material storage: Raw material should be stored close to the

construction site itself. In certain cases it is possible that the area is not
sufficient around the construction site to do all the activities like in the case of
a flyover being built on a busy
road. Thus the components of the
flyover can be built at an open
ground nearby the construction
site and then the parts can be
transported to the site. The way
the raw material is stored is also
important because generally there
is an understanding between the
supplier and the user as to how
the raw material is going to be

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 stored. If not stored in a proper way, there is
no insurance claim or no return of the
material purchased. So to avoid this, the raw
material has to be stored in a proper way.
c. Location of the fixed plant: Fixed plants
like tower cranes, hoists and concrete mixer
need electricity. The concrete mixer has to be
closer to the place of main use to reduce
transportation time. Hoists should be placed
at the centre of the building so that the
distance is minimum and equal to all
directions. Positioning of tower crane can be according to the inner and outer
radius of the crane. As in the diagram, the crane is set at the center and the
inner and outer radius can cover the whole area of the construction site.
3. Plan of the project

Figure 1Management of Construction by F. Lawrence Bennett

A construction plan is made keeping in view the life cycle of the project. It starts right from
the pre-project phase where the decision about the organizational structure for the project is
decided. Also the relationship between the parties and the way the contractor will be paid is
decided. It lays the foundation of the construction project.

After that it is the planning that has to be done for the project. The construction planning has
to be done very carefully because decisions taken at the beginning of the project are going to
have a greater impact in the later stage of the project. There are a lot of tools that are used for
the construction project planning.

A. Constructability analysis: It is the analysis done by the experts in the construction

projects during the early design and planning phase to ensure that the project is
buildable, cost effective and efficient and maintainable.
B. Code analysis: There are a number of codes that have to be analyzed in a
construction design like fire code, building code, plumbing code, electrical code, etc.
C. Financial feasibility analysis: We can financially analyze the feasibility of the
project by using the project appraisal techniques like IRR, NPV, etc.
D. R-charts and P-charts: The P-graph is the product graph wherein the ordering of
production and materials, bills of materials and ordering the operation tasks are
represented. It defines the work to be done. The R-graph is the resource graph in
which the resources allocated to the different units, factories, departments and groups.

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 These resources allocated helps to control cost as well as the groups have to work
according to the resources provided. These resources provided gives capability and
capacity.
E. Gantt Charts: In large projects there are thousands of tasks involved and scattering
them becomes a difficult task. Gantt chart can be used to avoid this. Gantt chart is the
most widely used tool for planning a project and it is the same for a construction
project as well. Software like MS Project helps us making the Gantt charts in which
we can plan the schedule of the project.

To have an effective planning for the project and to scatter the tasks we have to
decompose the project into stages. This can again be done in several ways:
 Sequential processing: whereby the project is divided into separate stages and each
stage is carried out successively in sequence.
 Parallel processing: whereby the project is divided into independent parts such that
all stages are carried out simultaneously.
 Staggered processing: whereby the stages may be overlapping, such as the use of
phased design-construct procedures for fast track operation.

The decomposition of a project is important because there can be a problem of congestion.

Congestion may be in the form of part or workstation. Part congestion is a result of a lot of
activities going on at the construction site. Workstation congestion occurs because in a
manufacturing process the product or part can be at one workstation in one time but in
construction one part can be worked on by many a workstations at the same time. Thus along
with part congestion, workstation congestion also occurs in a construction project. Therefore
a lot of problems like material flow can be avoided if there are minimum numbers of
activities carried out on site.
F. WBS (work breakdown structure) and linear responsibility chart: The work
breakdown structure and linear responsibility charts are again effective tools to plan
for a construction project.WBS divides the whole project into smaller jobs to be
accomplished level by level. This is done by first identifying the jobs, and then
breaking that job into smaller parts again till a complete picture of the work is visible.

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 For example in the diagram below there is only one job of a complete bridge project
that is project mobilization and it has been broken down to lowest possible level.
Similarly, all the work is broken down. After this all the tasks are assigned to some
person giving direct and indirect responsibilities. This graph gives a clear picture as to
if a task is not done in time we can know who is the person directly responsible, who
is indirectly responsible and who are the people who are supposed to check the work
status. This is an effective way to plan and it also helps in the process control as
everyone knows one’s role to play and moreover when the work is getting measured,
it will be done anyways.

Figure 2 Management of Construction by F. Lawrence Bennett

G. Interface mapping: TREND (Transformed relationships evolved from network

data) This analysis is done to illustrate the important linkages between different
groups. It helps in determining the responsibility of every person in the project, the
contribution of each piece of work in the project, the budget allocated to a group and
schedule of the work to be done.
H. The network schedules: Also known as critical path method a network schedule is
used to know how the activities are inter-related and how long it is going to take to
finish each task. This further helps in making a critical path for the project and also to
make the Gantt chart because we must know what the pre-requisites for a task are and
when the task can be started.
In a network schedule model there is a limit given to the task and by this we can find
out the early start and early finish time. Similarly we can also assign the late time
when we can start the work and accordingly we will get the late finish time. The
difference between late finish and early finish is the slack time. Wherever the slack
time is equal to zero days, the task is critical and has to be considered.

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 A critical path method is based on certain assumptions like the time for the work to be
done can be estimated in advance and it is going to be the same which has a lot of
critics.

4. Material procurement: A construction project is an assembly operation. This

operation involves multiple purchased parts and processed things to be assembled into
one product and that becomes a building. Now to have an operation like this done, it
is important that all the required raw materials are present at the time when the work
is in progress.
For a construction project the material not only includes the concrete, bricks, tools
and equipments. It also requires the designs; workers, engineers, space, weather
conditions and connecting the workers. The variability in the availability is obvious.
The total probability of availability of all these things at the same time is the product
of probability of availability of individual items and this value becomes smaller and
smaller as the number of items increase. Thus it is crucial to make sure that the
availability is reliable.
Flows in the material from the suppliers vary. Things arrive early or late. This
variability makes it difficult to match load and capacity. Consequently, productivity
and progress are impacted by work flow, even if construction methods are adequate.
Moreover there is a process that has to be followed for the procurement. It is
important that the supply of the material in time is reliable. To tackle this Just in time
method can be used for material procurement. In this approach the construction
operations are viewed as flow and JIT and lean production systems are applied to the
construction wherein cycle time for the procurement process is taken into
consideration and the objective is to reduce the cycle time. Because there is a process
through which the materials are procured, the cycle time for this process has to be less
and that can only be achieved when there is absolute trust and reliance in the suppliers
about the standards, quality and quantity of the material supplied.

5. Quality management: The parties that are interested in the project are also
concerned about the quality of the project under construction. Thus quality check has
to be done on every stage and every step of the construction. Quality check for all the
material that is going to be used, the work which is done and then comparing it with
the standards helps in controlling the quality of the project. There are quality

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 standards also for the quality check like ISO. So if the suppliers have these quality
certifications it is good for the quality of the project as well. Moreover, during the
quality check following graph can be used which is used for more or less all the tasks
in the industry.
Respond immediately

Respond when there is time

Allowed variance

Standard Level
Allowed variance

Respond when there is time

Respond immediately

There should be standards laid down for every work let it be the plaster thickness,
concrete mixture, quality of raw material, fixtures fitting, etc. and then should be
checked with the actual work done standard. If the quality crosses the allowed
variation limits, there is a need for immediate action against it.
6. Cost control: Finance is a critical part of any project and the project if not finished
within the budgeted cost will take a lot of time to start giving returns. Therefore it is
very essential to control the cost of the project. It is done by budgeting, timely
reviews, milestone reports, comparison of total expenses with the actual cost, etc.
Also is becomes important to control cost in the very initial stage till the mid of the
project completion because as the project progresses the ability to control the cost also
reduces. As shown in the diagram below, as the project reaches the further stages, the
total cost increases and ability to influence decreases. It is important to finish the
project in the 100% cost that has been budgeted.

Value chart is a tool used for cost control in a construction project. As shown in the
figure below, a value chart gives us the comparison between the budgeted cost at
different stages of the project and the actual cost that has been incurred on the project
till a certain time.

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 The cost schedule plan here gives us the actual cost planned at the different stage of
the project. We plot the graph of the value of the work done and then we put on the
actual expenses that have been incurred on the graph. Value of the work is the cost
that should be incurred with relation to the amount of work done. The distance
between the cost schedule plan and the value completed gives us the schedule
variance. The difference between actual cost curve and value curve gives us the
spending variance.

Another dimension of a value chart is the Critical ratio. Critical ratio is calculated by
using a formula:

Critical ratio = x
The critical ratio tells us the variance of the project from the plan.

Cost can also be controlled by making the daily budget with the help of the network
schedule diagram. We already have the task that has to be accomplished in a day time
and we know the materials required for it so we can assign a budget to each day and
with that we can control cost.

7. Production control: In a construction project many a times there is a condition

that people work under suboptimal conditions and that becomes the cause of under
utilization of resources. Suboptimal conditions arise because of non availability of all
the resources at the same time. It so happens that workers have to work without all the
resources available. This thing is reflected in waiting time of labor and the machines.
This leads to increase in men and machine costs. Also lower production due to
starvation is commonly found in a construction project. Thus, our objectives in
production control are avoiding excessive buffers; avoiding lost production; avoiding
working in suboptimal conditions; avoiding the cascade of point wise deviation to
other tasks. To avoid such work under suboptimal conditions there should be some
buffer work always kept ready which is suitable for all the worker classes. With this if
a group of workers who cannot start their work because of some reason can be put to
the task and there will not be any waiting time.
Also the prerequisites for the tasks which are scheduled to be 3-4 weeks ahead must
be ready before hand. For example if there is an independent task which is a

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 prerequisite for another task scheduled for future can be worked upon so that there is
no waiting for the next task to begin.
Complete Kit: This is another way to control the production which says that work
should not start until all the materials are present. This will avoid the work in
suboptimal conditions.
Measurement and monitoring aspect of construction: The tasks when are broken in the
WBS, we know the amount of work to be done. With the help of that we should have
a regular check on the tasks completed. Gantt charts again are useful in monitoring
the progress of the project and then a PPC (percent plan completed) report should be
made. This report helps in controlling many a things at the same time like cost,
production, schedule, etc.
Change without communication: It is a major cause of delay in projects. If there is
any change in the project due to customized requirements by the parties or due to any
other reason, it becomes a difficulty to manage it and if it is not properly
communicated it becomes a cause for delay of the project. Therefore, any change in
the tasks should be properly communicated to avoid any confusions and unnecessary
delays.

8. Process control: Process control can be done by various methods like work
study, time study, stemming and congestion study. The basic aim of process control is
to maintain the continuous flow and completion of tasks. The problem of stemming
from the one-of-a-kind features can be alleviated by using standard parts, solutions
etc. Interference between tasks can be reduced through procurement strategies for
example there should always be only one company working on site. This also reduces
the chances of congestions that arise due to crowding at the site. There may be
congestion due to oversize of the group onsite. The work is done in suboptimal
conditions, there will be less planning and no proper insight into the problem if any
problem is faced, there will be multiple stops and starts, etc. This leads to
underutilization of resources. Thus planning in WBS should be done carefully to have
a proper control on the processes.
Another important thing is to make individual work at the level of the project. If the
project is going at a high pace and individual should also have the same pace to finish
the identifying tasks for a time frame within the time frame otherwise all the further
tasks will get delayed. In order to achieve this, there has to be a proper link between
the input of raw materials and the output that is the construction. Following measures
should be taken further to ensure proper process:
Engineering design professionals to provide sufficient manpower to complete the
design within a reasonable time limit.
Construction supervisors with capacity and experience to direct large projects.
The number of construction workers with proper skills to do the work.
The market to supply materials in sufficient quantities and of required quality on time.
The ability of the local infrastructure to support the large number of workers over an
extended period of time, including housing, transportation and other services.
Technological problems should be eliminated and technology compatible to the
project should be used.

9. Waste management and monitoring: Wastes in a construction project

affects the total cost of the project. In order to control costs it is crucial to manage the
wastes. Buffer of stocks should be avoided at every stage of the project. Material

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 waste due to rain, theft, handling, are all buffer in the material. Buffer in the work
flow is the time for the project completion. It leads to the loss of site costs, financial
costs, and fluctuation in prices and lost of opportunity. In order to control wastes,
there is a need to monitor well. Tools which can be used for monitoring are:
Milestone reports: These are preplanned reports which are to be generated at a certain
stage in the project. These reports tell the project completion and cost incurred status.
Also we know the material used for the part of work done. Comparing it with the
planned material consumption we can know the excess of material used and then we
can put control on the waste.

A process for monitoring can be:

Objective of the monitoring, budget allocated technology and method used:
objective of monitoring, budget allocated for monitoring, etc.
Collect data: about the work that has been done till date.
Make charts and graphs: make the cost incurred charts, material used graph,
etc.
Reports: by using the data reports like routine, exception and special analysis
reports should be made.
Measure statistically: everything should be measured in numbers so that
controlling becomes easier.
Audit the data: the data that has been collected should be audited to check the
authentication of the data because it may be possible that the person at the site
may manipulate the data in order to cover the delays in the project.
Early warning signals to potential problems
Flag the deviations
Meetings: meetings should be conducted to take the corrective measures to
bring the work back to the normal track as have been planned.
10. Safety management: Construction is a hazardous business and though it is not
one of the major objectives of management, it has to be followed. There are a lot of
causes of accidents on construction sites like trapped by something, falls from height,
struck by moving objects, etc. There should be hoardings, fencing and nets should be
put in places where there are chances of things falling from height and where there are
pits dug. Proper first aid kits available, ambulance available in case it is a huge project
and if the site is far from a hospital.

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 Proper warnings also should be placed wherever required. This helps in avoiding
accidents to a greater extent and it is abiding by law also to have proper warnings
placed.

References:
1. The management of construction, a life cycle approach by F. Lawrence Bennett, PE,
PhD, published 2003 by Butterworth-Heinemann
2. Construction Supply chain modeling: A research review and interdisciplinary research
agenda by William J. O’Brien, Kerry London and Ruben Vrijhoef, Aug-2002, Brazil.
3. Project management: A managerial Approach 4/e by Jack R. Meredith and Samuel J.
Mantel, Jr. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4. http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/02_Organizing_For_Project_Management.html
5. Management of production in construction: A theoretical view by Lauri Koskela, 26 th
to 28th July 1999, University of California, CA, USA
6. A concept of project complexity – a review by David Baccarini, International Journal
of project management Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 201-204, 1996
7. Operations management in construction by Chris March, Spon Press Publication

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