PROJ 6010 Project Management Application: Construction Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : PROJ-6010
• University : Laureate International Universities My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Project management (Case Study)

Implementing a Construction Project

Part A: Project Contracts

Construction project management could be referred to as the direction, regulation, and administration of a project from initial development to completion. The final goal of construction project management is the full satisfaction of the client’s requirement for a workable project both in terms of functionality and cost. There are various construction project types, like heavy civil, residential, business and industrial (Butt et al., 2016). The basic concept of construction project management is closely related to technical framework like cost and execution but it also needs solid communication between all the agents like stakeholders, contractors, community. In the construction project it's very important to keep in mind the legal benefits and challenges. Some these are:

Stipulated or lump-sum contract:

A lump sum contract or a stipulated sum contract will need that the contractor agrees to provide specified services for a stipulated or fixed price. In a lump sum contract, the owner has basically assigned all the risk to the contractor, who in turn can be expected to ask for a higher markup in order to take care of unexpected contingencies (Cambridge & Saint, 2018).

Cost of work plus fee contract:

The cost plus contract is an agreement which includes the buyer’s agreement to pay the complete cost for material and labor in addition to the number for contractor overhead and profit. This contract type is recommended where the range of work is highly uncertain or indeterminate in addition to the types of labour, material, and articles being similarly uncertain in nature.

Cost of work plus fee with guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contract:

A Guaranteed Maximum Price contract is a cost type contract where the contractor is compensated for actual costs suffered plus a fixed fee subject to a ceiling price. The contractor is in charge of price overruns, unless the guaranteed maximum price has been expanded with official change order only as an output of extra scope from the client, not cost overruns, errors, or deletion (Saurin, 2016). Savings resulting from price underrated are returned to the owner. This is separate from a lump-sum contract where price savings are regularly retained by the contractor and essentially become additional profits.

Construction management (CM) contract:

A construction management contract is a lawful binding agreement between the project owner and the business building contractors where the manager is charged with the responsibility of engaging with the sub-contractors and supervising the construction while providing the owner with a warranty as to the standard of the work.

Design-build or design-and-construct (D&C) contract:

A design-build contract is relevant when the project delivery method is design-build. Traditional contracts are awarded using a design-bid-build system, where the project owner starts by recruiting an architect. The contractor with the lowest offer is awarded the project and is responsible for completing the job according to the plans made by the architect.

To mitigate or reduce the potential challenges of these contract types one has to plan accordingly. Also follow the laws and regulations as per the contracts, if one finds an issue with the contracts the approach that can be used here is arranging a meeting and discussing on the points which are creating risk. One must always read the terms and conditions mentioned in the contract so as to be assured before signing it. For this construction project every contract plays an important role but the contract that we would recommend is the Construction management contract as without this contract the company won’t be able to work on the project and all the other contracts come under this contract.

Part B: Pre-Planning

The motive of pre-planning is to identify the possible risks in the starting stages of the project. When the risks are clearly recognised, the resources can be alloted to minimize those risks and avoid time and cost overrun. Construction planning and management is focused on creating the right order and performance of activities during the project implementation. The major risks or challenges we can face prior to beginning construction projects are waste management reports and conditions of the council.

Waste management report has been made for the removal of waste on the site, which needs to be addressed mainly with delicate items such as asbestos removal. There are some terms and conditions of the council which are to be kept in mind before starting the construction project. These conditions are not limited to noise control, work protection and dust control. It is suggested that the builder review the council conditions as part of their due diligence. To reduce the risks we have to plan a construction keeping these challenges in mind.

Construction projects are known for their perplexity, as they involve a huge number of tasks and stakeholders. The different project parties come together with the main goal of delivering outcomes both on time and on budget. It goes without saying that the more representative involved, the tougher it gets for everyone to stay in the same state (Nataliia et al., 2018). Depending on their specialization and allocated tasks, project stakeholders have different time frames and responsibilities. In some instances, the starting of their task is inextricably related to the completion of another task. In other words, we are discussing a chain of tasks and obligations the disruption of which can lead to costly delays and project overruns.

However, this doesn’t mean that contractors are not able to deliver construction projects on time and on budget. With the correct plan and correct digital tools, construction managers can feel assured that their project will be completed within the agreed time frame.

Estimation of the cost of construction projects is a very complex procedure consisting of many variable factors. This skill is not comfortably obtained. Proper research, training and experience are required to become experienced in construction project cost estimating (Salah & Moselhi, 2016). There are various classifications that can have remarkable impacts on project costs. The estimator should be aware of them and accordingly evaluate their results, before finalizing the cost estimate. To organise the project’s cost we use project cost breakdown (Safapour et al., 2019). While early estimates can hardly be totally correct, it’s possible to increase the accuracy by preparing a complete project cost breakdown. Relying on accuracy level, it can be used on various steps of project planning, from a ballpark estimate to an authentic forecast of the resulting cost. Project cost breakdown can be applied for the following purposes:

● Internal use: estimating work costs, calculating project profitability, etc.

● Coordinating estimated project costs with clients and getting their approval of the final price.

Depending on the purposes of your project cost breakdown and the project’s nature, you can categorise the cost data by different parameters like time periods. This data grouping can be used for estimating monthly, weekly, quarterly etc. costs like by cost types. When no time breakdown is required, building cost data by cost types is a common approach. This helps identify key cost drivers and their influence on the final figure. This method is considered when the purpose is defining manageability of particular cost components and discovering ways to decrease the total cost. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into achievable sections.

The work breakdown structure is a hierarchical decomposition of the entire scope of process to be carried out by the project team to achieve the project objectives and create the essential deliverables. A WBS also supplies the required framework for extensive cost estimating and control along with providing directions for schedule development and control. Work breakdown structure figures out the project and breaks it down into compact, more manageable portions (Xu et al., 2019).The steps below outline the main steps taken for creating a Work Breakdown Structure.

● Define the scope of the project on the initial level of the WBS

● Project management results should be outlined at level two of the WBS

● Decompose project results into work packages, to a level that can be planned, cost estimated,controlled and monitored.

● Apply the WBS to plan the development and resource tasks.

● Apply the WBS to, as required, change control, challenge, budget, cost, and communication management.

Part C : Controlling Communication

To control the communication it's very important to develop a communication plan but before that, we have to identify the stakeholders, list the communication items and methods. The first thing you need to lay out is who all the stakeholders are in your project and, therefore, who needs to be included in the communication (Lin & Fan, 2018). This will be the keystone in any communications plan and will affect how you approach it. We will have to sit down and create a complete list so there are no surprises later. Also, we need to go through all of our communications for our last project. We will have to create a spreadsheet and differentiate these stakeholders into categories.

In this project the main stakeholders will be me, my workers, clients, Sub-contractors and other people involved in the project. After identifying the stakeholders we need to list all the communication items. A communication item is anything that is required to be communicated over the course of a project (Oppong et al., 2017). That could be something like a main milestone, a problem on the work site or an everyday inspection report. You should involve every communication that affects the victory of your project. These communication item are:

● Regular reports on the progression of the project

● Status of the budget

● Status of the project timeline

● Achievement and milestones

● Any changes in project

There are various communication methods that are required before developing the communication plan. These methods are as follows:

In-Person Meetings

● Ideal for: Main milestones and project updates where numerous stakeholders need to be present (Pivec & Maček, 2019).

● How to record for later: Have someone take minutes so that what we discuss in the meeting can be analysed at a later date mainly the next meeting to analyse your progress.

Email

● Ideal for: Daily or weekly updates involving one or many stakeholders.

● How to record for later: We can create a folder in our email inbox to save each of these updates for easy to use later.

On-Site Discussions

● Ideal for: Regular inspections including one or two stakeholders.

● How to record for later: Write down quick notes regarding what we discuss after our in-person meetings and file them away for later.

Instant Messaging

● Ideal for: Quick updates for single stakeholder that needs quick action, such as notifications of issues on the job site.

● How to record for later: Make sure the settings on your instant messaging app allow you to archive these messages so you can analyse at a later date if need be.

After communicating methods we will develop a communication plan. For developing a communication we have to put it altogether. What we want to do here is create a rough draft of your communication plan where you match up each stakeholder with a communication item.

We have to create a spreadsheet that lists:

● The person

● Their title

● The stakeholder category

● Communication item

● Frequency of communication

● Communication method for the communication

● Any notes you want to include, such as exactly what information should be included in the communication.

Part D : Project Close-out

Construction project closeout is often overlooked as an important component of the construction process. The project closeout stage can make or break an otherwise successful construction project. Construction project closeout is the final stage of a construction project and an essential part of construction management services. This stage occurs after physical construction has been completed, but before the project is actually turned over to the owner. Construction project closeout is a complex process that requires taking a moment to consider construction projects in general (de Oliveira & Rabechini, 2019).

Project closeout also includes handing over relevant documentation to the owner. All documentation explains in detail each stage of the project, including what each entity involved in the project has completed and in some cases, their correspondence must be provided to the owner. All financial documentation for the project must also be organized and provided to the owner. The Essential Components of Project Closeout are as follows:

Punch list

Once the physical construction of a project has been completed, the construction project manager and architect will do a walkthrough of the project and note any changes that need to be made. This is known as the punch list and is an important component of the post-construction phase of a construction project.

Inspections

Once construction is completed, any required inspections will also need to be completed. The project manager will need to meet with the authorities inspecting the premises to ensure that the inspection goes smoothly and that any identified issues can quickly be addressed.

Site Cleanup

Ensuring the project site is ready for handover requires cleaning up any traces of the construction process. Site cleanup is itself a massive undertaking. In many cases, you have temporary buildings to break down and move, temporary utilities to remove, waste to remove, and rental equipment to return. Insufficient site cleanup results in a property that isn’t quite ready for turnover, and can introduce project delays at the last minute.

Document Collection and Handover

It is one of the most critical components of construction project closeout management. Throughout the process of the project, our construction project management team will be generating a large amount of paperwork. This paperwork is important for record keeping purposes for the owner’s team members.

Training

Most people forget that a new building comes with all new equipment to work. While we should have documentation for all machinery and systems involved in the document handoff, we’ll have to be sure that our people can operate that equipment. Training on the equipment before you become operational is one of the best ways to ensure a smooth transition (Derakhshan et al., 2019). The main component of project closeout management is making sure this training takes place. Mostly, the construction project management team will coordinate with the owner and their staff to schedule a time where training can take place.

During construction project closeout, any last changed orders are completed, the work site is cleaned up and prepared for occupancy, the owner’s staff is trained on all necessary equipment, all documentation related to the project is organized and turned over to the owner, and any necessary inspections are completed (Ding et al., 2017).

In order for construction project closeout to be as complete and seamless as possible, you’ll want to work with a construction management team that oversees this process. Through effective organization and oversight, many of the potential problems associated with project closeout can be avoided from the beginning. Managing the construction project closeout operation requires open communication and effective planning (Senaratne & Ruwanpura, 2016). Working with a construction project management team that understands the importance of project closeout management can help avoid costly delays and ensure that your project is completed smoothly and seamlessly.

References

Butt, A., Naaranoja, M., & Savolainen, J. (2016). Project change stakeholder communication. International Journal of Project Management, 34(8), 1579-1595.

Cambridge, M., & Saint, J. (2018). Facility Quality Control, Inspection and Monitoring. In The Hydraulic Transport and Storage of Extractive Waste (pp. 221-266). Springer, Cham.

de Oliveira, G. F., & Rabechini Jr, R. (2019). Stakeholder management influence on trust in a project: A quantitative study. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), 131-144.

Derakhshan, R., Turner, R., & Mancini, M. (2019). Project governance and stakeholders: a literature review. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), 98-116.

Ding, L., Li, K., Zhou, Y., & Love, P. E. (2017). An IFC-inspection process model for infrastructure projects: Enabling real-time quality monitoring and control. Automation in Construction, 84, 96-110.

Lin, C. L., & Fan, C. L. (2018). Examining association between construction inspection grades and critical defects using data mining and fuzzy logic. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 24(4), 301-317.

Nataliia, D., Dmytro, C., & Igor, C. (2018, September). Modeling of the processes of stakeholder involvement in command management in a multi-project environment. In 2018 IEEE 13th International Scientific and Technical Conference on Computer Sciences and Information Technologies (CSIT) (Vol. 1, pp. 29-32). IEEE.

Oppong, G. D., Chan, A. P., & Dansoh, A. (2017). A review of stakeholder management performance attributes in construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1037-1051.

Pivec, M., & Maček, A. (2019). Employment background influence on social media usage in the field of European project management and communication. Journal of Business Research, 94, 280-289.

Safapour, E., Kermanshachi, S., Kamalirad, S., & Tran, D. (2019). Identifying effective project-based communication indicators within primary and secondary stakeholders in construction projects. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, 11(4), 04519028.

Salah, A., & Moselhi, O. (2016). Risk identification and assessment for engineering procurement construction management projects using fuzzy set theory. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 43(5), 429-442.

Saurin, T. A. (2016). Safety inspections in construction sites: A systems thinking perspective. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 93, 240-250.

Senaratne, S., & Ruwanpura, M. (2016). Communication in construction: a management perspective through case studies in Sri Lanka. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 12(1), 3-18.

Xu, Q., Chong, H. Y., & Liao, P. C. (2019). Collaborative information integration for construction safety monitoring. Automation in Construction, 102, 120-134.

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