CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
CHAPETR III
CONSTRUCTION MANAGMENT
In this chapter the basics of project/project management and construction management and
their relation will be discussed. Additionally, one aspect of construction management namely
Resources Management focused on Human Resource management will be viewed.
3.1. Project and Project Management
A project is a unique process, consisting of a set of co-ordinated and controlled activities with
an assumed start and known finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective conforming to
specific requirements including constraints of time, cost and resources.
Projects are understood to be parts of the main business of organizations with the following
identifying characteristics:
Unique, involving innovative characteristics;
Temporary, for it has a definite ending – constrained by time, finance & other borrowed
resources;
A component of a certain business, requiring predetermined goals and courses of actions; and
Complex (if applicable), associated with size, variety, handling difficulty, importance, urgency,
changes or a combination of two or more of them. It is also related to inter related and
numerous activities involved, the context in which their management processes were built in
and their decision making procedures.
Among these characteristics, the first two are most acknowledged in several project
management literatures. For instance, PMIBoK uses these two characteristics as the main
elements to define a project. However, it is also acknowledged that the degree of uniqueness
varies among different projects.
Three broad categories of projects can be identified (Dennis Lock, 1987) each with its own
characteristics:
A. Manufacturing projects,
B. Projects requiring external organizations, and
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
C. Management projects.
A. Manufacturing projects:
In this category projects involve the following activities: original design work, prototype testing,
if necessary, manufacturing, assembling, and installation and commissioning.
Except installation and commissioning works, most of the activities are carried out under the
control of the manufacturer. Such projects are often made for a fixed price, promised delivery
dates, and a set of unambiguous data – specifications – that define the performance.
B. Projects requiring external organizations:
Such projects include civil engineering, construction, petrochemical, mining, etc; which aims to
establish buildings or operating plant on required sites requiring external or supplementary
organization to the mother organization on these sites. Such projects need more attention to the
problems of communications and organization than the manufacturing projects.
C. Management projects:
The employment of an external manager or managing teams offering services to
organizations: to ensure effective and efficient management system, to ensure efficient installation and
start up of new approaches, to follow projects of the above nature on behalf of clients and / or financiers,
etc.
In project management the different constraints have been identified as the Triple
Constraints which are managing Quality, Schedule (time) and Cost simultaneously. Projects
can better be managed in ways that balance these constraints as shown in Fig. 3.1. But, overly
emphasizing one of these aspects may compromise another. Changing any of the three
without adjusting one or all of the others may affect the quality of the project outputs.
Quality
Balance
Time Cost
Figure 3.1. Triple Constrains
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
3.2. Construction Project Management
The construction industry by enlarge uses projects to accomplish its tasks. In due time
Construction Management developed as disciple from Project Management as a result of the
growing challenge to complete projects within the allocated budget, time and assumed quality
standard.
The Construction industry is the major and direct beneficiary of innovations from the field of
General and Project Management. For effective and efficient accomplishment of construction
projects and to increase their probability to success, project management concepts are
undoubtedly necessary. The Professional Construction Management (PCM) itself is young
and still is not widely assimilated into the construction industry.
A constant challenge faced by today's project management is change. On the one hand
change represents growth, opportunity and development, and yet on the other hand change
represents threat, disorientation, and upheaval. All management concepts would admit that
there is no single prescription or formula possible for successes of projects. However, by
applying the various new project management concepts, most, if not all, present problems can
be solved.
3.2.1. Objectives and Functions of Construction Management
3.2.1.1. Objectives of Construction Management
The main objectives of the construction management team should include:
Project completion within the allocated budget and duration,
Ensure that the production of construction works satisfy the client’s functional
requirements,
Construction to specified standards,
Provision of safe and satisfactory working condition.
Accordingly, construction project management may be defined as the overall control of the
total management process to optimize the three attributes of the process: Quality, Schedule
and Cost.
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
3.2.1.2. Functions of Construction Management
The functions of construction management are the same to that of the five managerial
functions defined by Henry Fayol. The following seven functions can better classify the
different functions: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Motivating, Communication, Measuring
and Correcting, and Coordinating.
i. Planning
Planning is a function of devising the cause for the future with a vision, formulated for the
future state of the organization or the project. Planning also involves preparation of
alternatives for achieving specified objectives.
In preparation of plans the following questions should be addressed:
What to do?
How to do?
Where to do?
Who is to do it?
How much does it cost?
The detailing of the plan depends on:
Size of the project
Degree of difficulty
Knowledge and experience
Degree and extent of indeterminate operations
Extent of internal and external constraints
Scheduling:
Scheduling is timing of the work activities. During scheduling questions like when to do it
and how long it takes should be addressed.
Please refer to Chapter 2, Page 17 – 28 of your text book for details and advantage of Planning
Studies.
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
ii. Organizing
Organizing is required to achieve effective utilization of the people, facilities, equipment and
money available to the Organization. Organizing also involves establishing a workable
organizational structure to divide the work into manageable department/sections and delegate
tasks accordingly.
iii. Staffing:
Staffing involves assigning (employing) people to fill the posts created within the
organizational structure. Staffing also involves matching the organization’s needs with each
employee’s goals and desires, and it requires adherence to equal opportunity regulations.
iv. Motivating:
Motivation can be defines as follows:
• Motivation is the set of processes that moves a person towards a goal.
• Motivation is the internal or external forces that act on a person that arouse
enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action.
Motivation is important in management of people because a motivated workforce will “go the
extra mile” to exceed performance expectations on the job. There are a number of theories
which formulate why people are motivated, from those Hertzberg’s two factor theory and
expectancy theory from content and process theories respectively are worth mentioning.
Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory:
Considers factors that motivate, and reduce motivation (motivators & de-motivators) and Key
part of this theory is that two separate sets of characteristics affect motivation and employee
performance.
It considers Motivators as Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Advancement,
the Work Itself, and Job Content.
And De-Motivators (Hygiene) factors like Salary, Technical Supervision, Company
Policies and Administration, Interpersonal Relations, Working Conditions, and Job
Context.
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
Expectancy Theory:
A person’s motivation is a multiplicative function of expectancy, instrumentality, and
valence:
M=ExIxV
Motivation is sharply reduced when, expectancy, instrumentality, or valence approach zero
and Motivation is high when expectancy and instrumentality are high and valence is strongly
positive.
v. Communication:
Communication is a multifaceted management responsibility. Communication can be formal
and informal; it is both written and oral. It utilizes paper, telephone, face-to-face, and
electronic means. Construction Managers communicate goals and purposes; information,
instructions, and inducements. They also ensure that the messages are sent and received in
the multitude directions.
vi. Measuring and Correcting:
Measuring and Correcting involves:
Measuring the actual performance
Identify plan and schedule
Compare plan against performance
If there is discrepancy, identify the reasons
Analyze the costs incurred
Take remedial measures
Observe quality of work
NB: - “People work for what you inspect, not for what you expect.”
vii. Coordinating:
Coordinating – conduct regular departmental and section heads meeting for discussion.
3.3. Resource Management – Human Resource Management
Human resource is probably the most important of all the resources involved in the
Construction Industry. Usually Labor in the form of technical and managerial personnel and
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
work forces in various trades and professions are essential to carryout projects efficiently and
effectively. Thus any construction manager shall have the necessary knowledge on personnel
management.
Any Human Resource management has to be based on the existing Labor and other civil codes
related to worker’s right. Many construction projects face a challenge when it comes to labor
force management as they are not aware of the prevailing laws and decrees. The detail view of
labor management will presented as all construction projects and construction firms are effective
as long as there employees are effective.
3.3.1. Labor Management: -
There are three types’ labor relations:
• Industrial relation: refers to all types of relationships between the parties concerned
within industrial undertakings including construction, agriculture, mining, commerce
finance, transport and other services
• Labor relations: refers to the relationship between the labor union and management
• Employee relation: describes the relationship between management and individual
employee in that light it is some times called “Employee-employee relations.”
3.3.1.1. Objective of Labor Relation Management
Thus the main objectives of Labor Relation management are:
• To bring about healthy relations between employee and employers
• To minimize Industrial disputes
• To secure harmonious relations among all who are concerned with production and
operation process
• To increase productivity of workforce
• To give workers their desired place by considering them as partners and associating
them with management
• To give the workers their due share in profit, improve their working conditions and
their by eliminating the possibility Industrial unrest such as strikes, lockout etc.
3.3.1.2. Managing the Labor Relations Process
The labor relation management process has three phases.
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
• Union Organizing
• Collective Bargaining
• Labor Contract Administration
A. Union Organizing
In this phase the union organization management confronts the issues involved with union
solicitation, election or reelection conduct, and the certification election.
B. Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is the phase that management representatives negotiate with union
representatives on terms of workplace. The end result of collective bargaining is the labor
agreement or contract.
Mandatory Bargaining Topics: Wages, Hours and Employment Conditions are usually
mandatory bargaining topics.
Wages: - Base pay rates, Overtime pay rates, Retirement benefits, Health benefits, Travel pay,
and Pay incentives.
Hours: - Overtime, Holidays, Vacation, and Shifts.
Employment Conditions: - Layoffs, Promotions, Seniority provisions, Safety rules, Work
rules, Grievance procedures, Union shop, and Job descriptions.
Collective bargaining requires negotiating skills such as the understanding of conflict and
conflict management. The principles of negotiation include:
Honesty: telling the truth
Working out the essential elements of disputes
Not to inject considerations that are not relevant to the disputes
To have patience
To get prepared to work hard and keeping oneself physically fit
To empathize
To be flexible
It is advisable to follow the 9, 9 style for negotiation management. The (9, 9) style is table format
having nine grid lines and plotted on the X- and Y- axis where concern for employees is plotted
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CEng 512 – Construction Management Lecture Notes
on the X- axis and concern for employers is plotted on the Y- axis as shown in Figure 3.2. The
aim to reach at the (9, 9) part and have a win/win result.
Figure 3.2. Negotiation Scenarios by using the 9,9 style.
C. Labor Contract Administration
The union contract is a collective agreement that spells out the conditions of employment and
work rules that binds the labor union and management. It is the result of collective
bargaining. Top management together with the labor union leaders administer the contract
and fulfill its objects.
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