AR12- 98 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

MODULE 1

Ar. BENEDICTSURESH GIA

 TOPICS TO BE COVERED :

▪ Introduction to construction management,

▪ need and importance,

▪ objectives of project management

▪ types of construction management,

▪ introduction to traditional management systems,

▪ role of Project or Construction Managers in the building industry.

▪ Project management cycle-planning, scheduling, monitoring and controlling

Introduction to Construction Management
Construction Management is both an art and a science, and is something that is usually quite
hard to do. It is hard because one has to look at a broad range of variables, and try and guess
what effect each variable will have on a construction project.

For example, a construction manager in the middle of a project will have to take into account
the following:

▪ the weather,
▪ the availability of construction workers who may be sick or may not feel like showing up
for work,
▪ the fact that some materials are out of stock just when they are needed,
▪ the availability or non-availability of key equipment like cranes,
▪ changes made to the existing design by architects and clients the previous evening,
▪ juggling the work of 20 or more different trades at the same time,
▪ surprise discoveries of electrical cables below the ground that no-one knew about,
▪ inspections and permitting delays by government authorities
It is the inter-relationships between all these variables and the effect they will have on the
project that creates complexity in project management.

Compounding these problems is the team from the owners of the building, who often sit in
plush offices far from the construction site, have little understanding of the difficulties in
building construction, and demand that the project be finished before time.

It is these difficulties that make it both extremely challenging, as well as extremely rewarding
if done right.

Construction management is best done by people with a detailed knowledge of building

construction, such as civil engineers or architects.

However some aspects of this work, such as financial planning or procurement, can be done
by people who do not have a construction background. With enough training and experience,
a layman can gain enough expertise to work as a construction project manager.
Construction management can be performed by different agencies in a project. It can be done
by the contractors working on the project, by the owners of the project, by independent
consultants hired by the owners, by the designers of the project, or by the investors in a
project. It is important to note that each agency may have differing aims and motivations in a
project.
For example, a contractor may want to increase the costs of the building, and an owner may
want to decrease it. Independent consultants may wish to delay the project, as they are paid
a monthly fee to monitor it.
The main aspects of construction management are:

▪ construction scheduling

▪ quality control

▪ contract management

▪ procurement management​

▪ construction finance management

Need of Construction Management:

Construction management is the overall planning, coordination, and control of a project from
beginning to completion. The role of the construction manager (CM) is to deliver a
functionally and financially viable project, coordinated seamlessly between multiple trades.
Need and importance of Project Management:

Project management is important because it ensures proper expectations are set around
what can be delivered, by when, and for how much. Without proper project management,
budget estimates and project delivery timelines can be set that are over-ambitious or lacking
in analogous estimating insight from similar projects.

Objectives of Project Management:

In brief, project management objectives are the successful development of the project's
procedures of initiation, planning, execution, regulation and closure as well as the guidance
of the project team's operations towards achieving all the agreed upon goals within the set
scope, time, quality and budget standards.
Traditional Management Systems
Functions of construction management:
• Specifying project objectives and plans including delineation of scope, budgeting,
scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants.
• Maximizing the resource efficiency through procurement of labor, materials and equipment
• Implementing various operations through proper coordination and control of planning,
design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.

• Developing effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts.

The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) states the most common
responsibilities of a Construction Manager fall into the following 7 categories:

Project Management Planning, Cost Management, Time Management, Quality Management,

Contract Administration, Safety Management, and CM Professional Practice

which includes specific activities like defining the responsibilities and management structure
of the project management team, organizing and leading by implementing project controls,
defining roles and responsibilities and developing communication protocols, and identifying
elements of project design and construction likely to give rise to disputes and claims.
CM professional practice includes specific activities, such as:
• defining the responsibilities and management structure of the project management team

• organizing and leading by implementing project controls

• defining roles and responsibilities

• developing communication protocols
• identifying elements of project design and construction likely to give rise to disputes and
claims
Residential Housing Construction:
• Residential housing construction includes houses and high-rise apartments.
• During the development and construction of such projects, the developers usually serve as
owners and take charge, making necessary contractual agreements for design and
construction, and arranging the financing and sale of the completed structures.
• Residential housing designs are usually performed by architects and engineers, and the
construction executed by builders who hire subcontractors for the structural, mechanical,
electrical and other specialty work.
Institutional and Commercial Building Construction:
• Institutional and commercial building encompasses a great variety of project types and
sizes, such as schools and universities, medical centers and hospitals, sports facilities,
shopping centers, warehouses and light manufacturing plants, and skyscrapers for offices
and hotels.

• The owners of such buildings may or may not be familiar with construction industry
practices, but they usually are able to select competent professional consultants and
arrange the financing of the constructed facilities themselves
• Specialty architects and engineers are often engaged for designing a specific type of
building.
• The builders or general contractors undertaking such projects may also be specialized in
only that type of building
Specialized Industrial Construction:
• Specialized industrial construction usually involves very large scale projects with a high
degree of technological complexity, such as oil refineries, steel mills, chemical processing
plants and coal-fired or nuclear power plants.
• The owners usually are deeply involved in the development of a project, and prefer to
work with designers-builders such that the total time for the completion of the project can
be shortened.
Infrastructure and Heavy Construction:
• Infrastructure and heavy construction includes projects such as highways, tunnels, bridges,
pipelines, drainage systems and sewage treatment plants.
• Most of these projects are publicly owned and therefore financed through taxes

• This category of construction is characterized by a high degree of mechanization, which

has gradually replaced some labor intensive operations.
The Owner (The Client):
• The owner is the individual or organization for whom a project is to be built under a
contract.
• The owner owns and finances the project
• Depending on the owners’ capabilities, they may handle all or portions of planning, project
management, design, engineering, procurement, and construction
• The owner engages architects, engineering firms, and contractors as necessary to
accomplish the desired work.
The Design Professionals:
• Examples of design professionals are architects, engineers, and design consultants.
• The major role of the design professional is to interpret or assist the owner in developing
the project’s scope, budget, and schedule and to prepare construction documents.
• Depending on the size and sophistication of the owner, the design professional can be part
of the owner’s group or an independent, hired for the project.
• In some cases design professional and construction contractor together form a design-
build company.
The Construction Professionals :
• The constructions Professional are the parties that responsible for constructing the
project.
• In traditional management where the owner, design professional, and contractors are
separate companies, the contractor would be termed a prime contractor.
• The prime contractor is responsible for delivering a complete project in accordance with
the contract documents.

• In most cases, the prime contractor divides the work among many specialty contractors
called subcontractors.
The Project Manager:
• The project manager is the individual charged with the overall coordination of the entire
construction program for the owner.
• These include planning, design, procurement, and construction.
Duties of Project Manager:
• Clear definitions of the goals of the project
• Investigate alternative solutions for the problems.
• Develop a detailed plan to make the selected program reality
• Implement the plan and control the project.
Project organization:
• There is no single organizational approach to projects.
• Each project is organized to accomplish the work effectively and efficiently
• Several factors influence the organizational approach to execute a project.
Factors influencing project organization:
• The complexity profile of a project
• The culture of the parent organization
• The preferences of the project manager
• The knowledge and skills of the team
• Parent organization with a project management
• In developing the project organizational structure, the project manager considers the span
of control for each manager.
• The span of control represents the number of people reporting to a manager.
• For example, the project manager does not want all the engineers on a project reporting
to the engineering manager and assigns senior engineers to report to the engineering
manager with other engineers reporting to the senior engineers.
Construction Planning and Scheduling :
• Planning, scheduling is an important part of the construction management
• Planning and scheduling of construction activities helps engineers to complete the project
in time and within the budget.
• The term ‘Construction’ does not only denotes physical activities involving men, materials
and machinery but also covers the entire gamut of activities from conception to realization
of a construction project.
• Thus, management of resources such as men, materials, machinery requires effective
planning and scheduling of each activity.
Importance of construction project planning:
• Planning helps to minimize the cost by optimum utilization of available resources.
• Planning reduces irrational approaches, duplication of works and inter departmental
conflicts.
• Planning encourages innovation and creativity among the construction managers
• Planning imparts competitive strength to the enterprise
Strategic planning:
• Strategic planning is done by the owner’s corporate planners

• In this they decide what project to build and what the completion date has to be to meet
the owner’s project goals.
• The construction teams formulates the master construction execution plan within the
guidelines set in the strategic and contracting plans.

Operational Planning:
• Operational planning is done by construction teams. They ask certain questions before
making operational plan for the project.
What is Construction Master Plan?
• A construction master plan addresses how will the project be planned, organized, and
major work activities be controlled to meet the goals of finishing the work on time, within
budget and as specified
• Contracting plan is the major consideration in formulating the master construction plan,
which answers a lot of questions.
• Questions related to government and social restraint, resources for construction, owner’s
policies or legal requirements, contractual requirement affecting master plan are not
answered by contracting plan.
• Answers to these questions must be found during the development of the project
execution plan
• Project execution plan shall be reviewed and evaluation shall be done as the work
progresses. Minor variations are common but major changes shall be considered with
extreme caution.
• The construction project master plan shall be completed and approved and after that time
plan (scheduling), budget plan, resource plan shall be carried out.
Scheduling in Construction Management:
• Scheduling is the fitting of the final work plan to a time scale.

• It shows the duration and order of various construction activities. It deals with the aspect
of ‘when to do it’.

• Scheduling of the programming, planning and construction process is a vital tool in both
the daily management and reporting of the project progress