1. Project Planning

Indian Railways (IR) is one of the major beneficiaries under the policy arrangements, and project justification is a key concern from IR’s point of view for the Golden Quadrilateral Railway project. To ensure comprehensive transparency in the project planning, execution, and monitoring of the Central Electrical Organization (CORE), New Delhi, the electro entities of Electrical Engineers in Southern Railway have conceived, devised, developed, and structured a standard cost item for the preparation of an estimate consisting of sub-structure works and the catenary work in line with the guideline note issued by CORE. A blend of civil, mechanical, electrical, and sub-technical details are arithmetically reconciled with considerable detail, accuracy, and vetted with due depressing and TPC sanction before any further new project.

Project planning for a construction project begins with the generation of a comprehensive, realistic, and feasible project plan that is consistent with the objectives of the proposal. Overall, it signifies the areas that have to be conceived and dealt with disciplined emphasis to enhance the worthiness of the project economically. The principal funding, of course, is keen about the unique set of benefits spelled out in the study. They are also interested in the other factors that are of interest to the government such as engineering feasibility, environmental soundness, technical justification, cost, and the policy framework, the budget control and management procedures in follow-up activities. Each of these areas has to be addressed and synthesized on an equally weighted scale insofar as possible. Especially with the works, the designers of the project detailing the Chronology Groundwater table profile, location, and altitude of the formation of hazardous gas, land and soils, climate, weather data, magnitude of served Earthquake event of the concerned area, railings, Offtake capacity of meat and crops lands.

1.1. Defining project objectives

Project management (PM) is a subject that is becoming vitally important in the construction industry, and it is the center of attention of professionals, both in the public and private sectors. With recent developments in technology, the role of management of the construction project has increased significantly. It is well recognized that construction projects in Bahrain are invariably complex and unique, and innovation in management practices is required to address those unprecedented challenges. In a standard of practice, PM will result in cost savings and the reduction of delays, leading to greater project effectiveness. PM deals with various applications of theories, processes, methods, and tools for goal-oriented and economically effective realization of such projects in professional practice.

Project management is the application of skills and knowledge within a structured project framework to deliver the output most effectively. It is a concept of achieving appropriate project solutions to meet the customer’s needs. The focus in project management is on delivering products rather than performing various tasks. It is about integrating the customer’s requirements and needs into an effectively managed project to deliver the required product. Effective project management needs a clear understanding of the customer’s requirements and needs to deliver an appropriate project solution. Defining the objectives of the project is one of the most important steps that shall be done to achieve this.

1.2. Creating a project timeline

This chapter presents a framework that couples work breakdown structures to activity networks with a scheduling algorithm and a labor management model. Efficient management of information and decision timelines allows firms to address the critical trade-off between construction operational and project delivery performance in ways that make them more competitive in the production of durable goods. It can be expected that information flow and decision timelines in construction will become a key performance and strategic indicator. Decision timelines are closely associated with flow and accuracy in the transmission of instructions from the client to the operator and the regularity with which schedules and budget updates are provided.

When construction projects are small or simple, it is worth discussing the project timeline with the builder before proceeding further to ensure that schedules and priorities are in line with client expectations. The intricacy of construction projects, the specificity of problem conditions, and the expansive knowledge base necessary to manage information effectively and make sound decisions make project delivery a challenging task that influences the success of capital construction projects. By linking models that describe the building and its construction methods to the project scheduling realm, project delivery performance can be studied within a broad range of construction types and market conditions.

1.3. Identifying project stakeholders

It includes key South African construction challenges as well as best practice approaches. The approach to identify project stakeholders and align their roles is derived from these inputs. It is used to develop the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) communication matrix and the project stakeholder engagements table. Long or short-term tenure companies from all mediums can use this methodology, especially when dealing with southern stakeholders. A good understanding of the context of the hypothetical case study shows that the approach is borne from a literature review of construction challenges and best practices for dealing with the same. Upper middle to lower senior management, as these stakeholders manage the activities at the management level in South Africa. This methodology aligns stakeholders to key issues researched and addressed in previous studies and select global examples.

Stakeholders identified in the identification phase are then moved to a table known as ‘RACI matrix’. In this table, stakeholders are divided into responsibility centers, showing who is responsible, who is accountable, who must be consulted, and who must be informed in every phase of the project. The approach allows for the identification of construction project managers and other relevant project stakeholders. Three main contributions of the approach have been found: firstly, the identification of project stakeholders leads to efficient communication, thereby reducing unnecessary project delays. Secondly, the competencies required, as well as the roles of a project manager, can be defined when you consider the associated stakeholders. Lastly, the effectiveness of a given project manager in managing a project can be measured by the number of identified project stakeholders he/she is familiar with and how urgent project delays are resolved due to satisfactory communication amongst the stakeholders. The ten steps required to carry out the approach proposed can be used as guidelines when planning to undertake a construction project in a developing country. The cultural issues, which are often an issue when a project with global stakeholders is undertaken, are addressed as the approach is qualitative.

1.4. Developing a project scope

There are major reasons why scope creep is a cause of construction projects added cost and time. One of the reasons is related to the optimism bias of planning construction projects. Project planners usually have an incentive to submit an overly “convincing” estimate for project cost and duration. This may also result in pressure from external influences to keep the submission as low as possible. In order to secure a project, a project planner may decide to submit an estimate that is at the low end of the acceptable cost range. Research indicates that detailed design can cut cost overruns significantly. When owners underestimate the importance of detailed design, they will probably become victims of the optimism bias. If the scope definition of a project is incomplete (whether it is intentionally incomplete or because of the absence of expert knowledge), the project’s budget will only contain the known parts of the project. This underestimation may result in budget overruns during the planning stage. If the scope definition of the project is considered to be complete, the completion of detailed designs throughout the procurement stage will certainly identify all the new issues and requirements related to the project. If this is not the case, it means that the project definition is considered to be incomplete.

In construction, the project process is driven by the scope of work, schedule, and budget. Developing a project scope or a clear understanding of what the project will entail are very important steps in project planning. The scope, with the aid of drawings, describes the visible end product to the owner, architect, and the contractor. The goals of the scope are to define the work that needs to be done and to prevent changes later in the construction process. What contractors need to be careful of is being overly aggressive in the development of the scope. An overly aggressive scope can contain unconstructible design details, abbreviated or missing performance specifications, or the generation of artificially high costs. A well thought out project scope will outline any areas for clarification to facilitate contractor involvement while dictating to the contractor what performance details are expected to be contained in the contractor’s bid.

1.5. Establishing project deliverables

In the end, there must be some proof that the project approach is practical and realistic. This is why interim deliverables are so fundamental. Only then will that fund be spent progressively until it rises and levels off at peak during the operations readiness. A project is deemed complete when a project selects its deliverables. Not only are the project’s deliverables important, but also that each deliverable is not only necessary but sufficient. The prioritization decisions that ideally have been made earlier during the feasibility study and supported by strong go/no-go factors further help eliminate deliverables to the minimum and any of them in that section of the project.

Once the major project goals are established, it is important to define major project deliverables at a high level in order to understand what the project is attempting to achieve. This is why it is key to invest the effort early in the project planning phase to identify these main project deliverables. This is in keeping with PMI and PMBOK Guide practices. It may not be entirely noticeable, but the project team is not working continuously to deliver the project’s main deliverable, i.e. the new or reconfigured asset. There are several interim deliverables that are created along the way to provide the assurance that the direction of the project makes sense, satisfies the stakeholders’ requirements and issues, is realistic, and the best solution for the organization and is affordable. These interim deliverables provide just enough information that serves as the basis for the project plan.

2. Budgeting

Apart from budget control, most resources in project management are typically constrained, and this also becomes common due to purposeful cost savings. These limitations can include money, materials, labor, the owner’s budget, and time itself. A project’s chances will be increased when the owner, the project team, and the project manager are proactive about budget limitations and not just passive about meeting budgets after the work begins. A budget is commonly established during preconstruction and matches progress data. This helps the project manager recognize where unforeseen issues may occur and how to avoid the negative impacts of these issues. Issues resulting in project cost tergiversation and post-construction financial claims often come from misunderstandings and disputes between the design professionals. Careful review of value engineering opportunities should be taken in order to avoid the risk of belated complications through the optimization of possible materials.

After project time, cost management is possibly the second biggest issue commonly encountered on a construction project. There are various different techniques and approaches to construction project time and cost management, including the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) approach. Time and cost management are crucial for successful project execution and involve planning for various activities that need to be performed in order to execute a project within its budget and according to a particular project schedule. Time and cost management also involve controlling the consequences of project delay on progress and project cost, since the two variables can occur concurrently. Good project time and cost management and control practices provide a clear indication of whether a construction project is behind or ahead of schedule and how the construction cost versus the budgeted cost compare.

2.1. Estimating project costs

The multimillion rand question causing sleepless nights to many entrepreneurs is how to estimate the cost of a construction project. Misoneism, a deep aversion to rapid technological change, disliking of construction, aggravated by either prejudice or ill-founded suspicion, also worsens the situation. It is aggravated because there are many unemployed graduates in construction project cost management. Large scale technological unemployment, which disproportionately impacts blue-collar workers, has created a high demand for unique skills which can only be possessed by pursuing studies in the fields of cost management and commercial management from recognizable higher education institutions. A way of containing this problem will be the utilization of the students who can use their graduation projects to solve real-life problems, supervised by potential employers in the construction sector.

The task of project cost estimation is best approached by considering the vital role played by the quantity surveyor/commercial manager or those designated as such in the organization and the manner in which the cost estimation function is organized in the relevant project environment. In both cases, the conceptual framework for the organization of the effort contains adequate and sufficient methodologies – these are furnished through the quantities and subsequent financial and contractual control functions. The distinctions listed illustrate the fact that the effective provision of these services, functions, and roles is dependent upon the expertise and knowledge married to the circumstances facing the organization undertaking construction work. The matter of finding and appointing the best qualified and most knowledgeable candidate for such work may be facilitated by his or her respective companies being members of a recognized professional body and possibly also of a socially conscious society. The ideal or ultimate multi-faceted cost estimation process contains elements of social consciousness or economic awareness, claims management, a sound understanding of the principles and application of property in particular the physical make-up of a building, time and production management, quality management, cost management (quantities infrastructure objects and cost per square meter of building floor area for highways) initially, using the principles as discussed in the body of the work.

2.2. Allocating budget for resources

The percentage method, also known as the method of parametric cost estimating, is one of the best methods and commonly used in construction management. It can be accurate provided it is based on solid historical data. In this method, when estimating the rank-and-file personnel, the total average labor cost of a project is multiplied by the required number of workers. A similar process may also be applied to other resources such as purchasing supplies, equipment, hiring subcontractors, or putting a proposal for a marked up buyout cost and others. The percentage method is highly recommended when other estimating methods are not available to assist the allocation of the budget. It is the fastest method for estimating and is appropriate when detailed estimating is not yet available.

The client may prepare the conceptual budget for the project, but does not allocate the budget for their resources. As such, the construction manager or the contractor is expected to make an assumption on the allocation of the budget for the whole project, either in terms of the duration or percentage. Hence, in order to make the correct scenario of the resources allocation to meet the planned cost, the construction manager should prepare the estimate themselves in the first place. There are qualitative and quantitative methods that may be used to prepare the estimate. However, there is no single best method to prepare the estimate and few methods can be used in combination, provided they are employed correctly. PM/CCM or the contracting construction manager may use the percentage method if that is the only available information.

2.3. Tracking project expenses

The assumption is that all the variable costs and fixed charges can be found in the “cash flow” of your project. The cash flow allows the tracking of actual expenses against the budgeted expenses (or approved cost) for any given time frame. The project manager can access the project work itself, identify if part of the work took place according to plan, and if part of the work is now reflected in the costs. If the project costs are higher or lower than those planned, you decide if you go into more detail to understand if part of the work already performed still includes some unforeseen events (changes in contracts, etc.). This detailed analysis shall then help the project manager to assess the risks related to the development of the project and make an early estimate of the project behaviors on the main costs/components trends.

During the life cycle of a construction project, it is very common for the project manager to track the monthly or even daily progress of all the items related to the mitigation of potential risks that were identified in the risk management plan. It is all about preventing those risks from happening. Monitoring the daily progress of all items previously assigned is the only way to trigger those corrective actions that were initially established to prevent any possible problem affecting the time performance, cost performance, quality requirements, safety requirements, or any other agreed project performance requirement. The basic requirement is to begin the monitoring of your project by tracking the financial progress.

2.4. Managing cost overruns

Integrators could surprise the underestimate in their detailed estimates all over the project. The integrators should make a bottom-up estimate of the entire project, obtaining first the estimates for the lower WBS levels. In this way, they will understand early where the miscalculations are and they will be able to modify the estimates well in advance of the final project proposal. Integrators may not want to make huge changes in lower-level (contractor) estimates because they may not think it is possible to renegotiate the costs once they have been put in place. Integrators will therefore have to modify the estimates obtained by the contractors at a higher WBS level. The costs would become more reliable if the lower-level estimates were similar to the overall project estimate, probably resulting in a lower bid price at the project proposal stage.

When provided with the project budget at the project proposal stage, the integrators must manage the project in such a way as to avoid going over the budget. Planners must also include in the estimate enough contingent money to cover unforeseen expenses. The user may not see individually the items that are too expensive, but a batch of apparently reasonable items can put a strain on the budget with the result that the project will run over budget. It is then necessary to find a source for the overruns. The sources of the overruns can be many. They may depend on the contracting procedures, on the management organization responsible for the implementation of the project, or on the project design. In what follows, one of the main reasons for project overruns, the underestimation of costs, is considered; the use of detailed estimates throughout the project, rather than a single top-down estimate, is explored and.

3. Risk Management

In our construction area, the dynamic and complex nature of a project makes it very difficult to achieve risk management in a project. Project professionals have summarized conventional risk management strategies into the relatively simple form of the risk management cycle consisting of identifying, analyzing, and responding to risk. Yet, the practical design of the risk management cycle often falls victim to the temptation of convenience and is confined to a single stage or to the effects of potentially manageable or singular project events with little regard for the relationship between events or the connection to the numerous subsystems and interacting components of the project systems themselves. However, project systems pose and respond to a complex array of singular and interconnected events that depend on a variety of external nodes. Many systems interact with each other posing a complex interrelationship of risk that is not easily or singularly exploited for the benefit of successfully growing a project. Owing to the enormous population of interconnected subsystems that define the project’s many-layered risk profile, the generic project management process may be incapable of managing risks that tarnish the probability of project success.

This chapter discusses the process of risk management of construction projects in detail and proposes a systematic strategy for risk management. Based on the systems approach, ten major systems of construction projects are identified, together with their corresponding sub-systems and elements. To provide useful reference indicators for risk management, the general characteristics and some basic properties of the sub-systems and elements in these systems are studied. Approaches of identifying and analyzing project risks are discussed, risks of different types are classified, and the sources and possible causes of various risks are analyzed based on the project systems. Cause-effect relationships of different elements under different systems are investigated, and a methodology of risk assessment and management that considers the project systems is discussed. Singular risk treatment design options related to the project systems are reviewed. Risk responses and antecedents form an effective mechanism for combating project risks, controlling and reducing the impact of adverse events. Case study is presented in which the strategy is applied to a large multi-staged construction project using concepts and methods discussed in the chapter.

3.1. Identifying potential risks

After the risk identification workshop, the existing risks should be screened to ensure their accuracy, completeness, inconsistency, and priority. While on the one hand, it is important to prevent the oversimplification or complexification of the existing risks on the construction project, these concerns must be weighed against the accuracy of the scope of the identified risks with the priority they need to accomplish. Furthermore, the ambiguity of the risks must be explored against completion before being evaluated, since a vague presentation of risk would not only omit important details that may affect the assessment of the impact and especially the feasibility of the proposed strategies, but also their accuracy. It is important to link the sources of risks to an invoiced item so that when proposal strategies are determined, it will be possible to develop a final integrated master list of risk items.

As advised above, the process of risk management must first begin with an exhaustive identification of all imaginable risks that may happen during the life cycle of a construction project. In order to do this, it is important to gather information from relevant stakeholders, such as the project management board (PMB), project team, design professionals, cost estimators, consultants, field personnel, and experienced peer managers. This is because stakeholders differ in job function, responsibilities, and experience on similar construction projects, and knowledge has to be captured from all groups, compiled during meetings, and systematically identified as possible risks on a first-day risk assessment process. This day, also introduced as a risk identification workshop, is an important kick-off meeting in which project personnel think out loud, brainstorm by discussing with their peers, their potential risks, and most importantly, these risks are collected, systematically analyzed to evaluate their effects and probabilities of their occurrences, and documented on a standardized form to be evaluated further for risk management strategies later on. This risk identification process must be a continuing effort until the risk list is complete and extensive enough to capture knowledge based on project experience, historical data, and best practices. The importance of conducting an extensive risk assessment cannot be overstated as the quality of the results of the risk management process depends heavily on the knowledge required during the risk identification process.

3.2. Assessing risk impact and likelihood

In the red area, action is required; in the yellow area, action refinement is added; in the green area, only management. Risk flow will require setting the depth of the investigation required for the risks. Risk flow will traverse from the origination of the risk event, as stated in assessments, to the actual detailed causes and sources of the risk event, through assessment work. This process is reminiscent of the concept of cause and effect. The above-mentioned belief is that the problem with assessing risks and using the use of checklists as an assessment method is that management beliefs and training of the users of the checklists can negatively affect this data as it being conservative. This is the same problem associated with the use of expert opinion mode. It is invariably considered conservative. In this research, whilst expert opinion is used, once the assessment is through the subject matter expert group, a second assessment is done by a group having a very general knowledge of the project or element being assessed. Any variance generated in the second assessment will be redone in a full assessment meeting.

Assessing risk impact and likelihood assessment is the second step in the risk management process, as it begins to set priorities and determines the magnitude and characteristics of the risk faced. “Do nothing” could be the result of the assessment, the assessment may indicate that the risks are low. During the assessment, an evaluation is done of what can go wrong, the probability of something going wrong, and then flowing from this, the potential consequences if stuff does go wrong. The greater the impact and/or the more likelihood of occurrence indicates a higher risk. Normally, the ACR (organization’s risk criteria) are specified to indicate at what level the risk should be treated. There are various methods to assess consequences and likelihood, and only a working knowledge will be provided here. The assessment methods are expanded on in 3.5.

3.3. Developing risk mitigation strategies

Risk management responds to a diverse set of strategic and operational needs. In private-public-sector partnerships, different stakeholders may have different opinions on what level of risk control is appropriate or cost-effective. Private entrepreneurs may seek to use more aggressive strategies to maximize short-term profits. On the other hand, public bodies may wish to adopt less risky strategies to protect citizens and maximize the sustainability and longevity of the infrastructure. Opinion also varies on the “right” time to implement an action to proactively manage risks. Addressing risks as part of the normative planning stage when all relevant and interested parties are within the reach of the whole value chain may help to identify interests and vulnerabilities, and then may enhance the potential for long-term success of a project. Building on these strategies, the definition of an effective risk management plan and an RMP effectiveness tracking mechanism becomes a crucial factor in the success of the project both from a construction and operational point of view.

Finding the right trade-offs in risk management is crucial for the contractor to generate an appropriate response to the project’s setting. This can be achieved by considering the strategic choices available to the contractor as a response to possible threats and uncertainties, the objectives driving this choice, and the possible risk management practices required. Based on this knowledge, contractors can make informed decisions regarding the best risk mitigation strategies available in specific project alignments or conditions.

3.4. Implementing risk response plans

If the initial risk assessment and subsequent identification of the possible cloud of risks, it should therefore be assumed that businesses are either active and striving to live life on the edge or conservative but prepared to walk on the edge. It should also be assumed that the element of chance, risk, and uncertainty lies ahead for most businesses. However, the analysis of the probability distribution of the range of project outcomes can help to guide or identify the appropriate responses to counter or manage inherent project risks. Often, the implementation of risk response plans and risk management is seen as an afterthought and as a waste of time. However, the argument and use of an informal decision analysis to buy equipment or to manage large projects in the resource development industry helped to identify and prioritize the method of effective risk responses requiring managerial involvement from the project inception.

Once the risk response plans have been developed and approved, they need to be implemented. Decisiveness is one of the key elements to the success of the implementation process. It is also important to analyze and plan the necessary details as the implementation process moves forward. This involves developing and implementing various actions or steps undertaken to improve chances. Successful implementation of the risk response plans involves ensuring proper check and control processes to measure the risk actions, to ensure that these actions are completed timely and legally, and to ensure that they are indeed effective. The project execution according to contract documents, standards and codes, and business development results should be regularly checked to verify that they are being executed satisfactorily. Quality management is also important to verify that all of the necessary legal obligations are being fulfilled.

4. Leadership Skills

Project managers are, quite often, the hub of project connections. A greater number of connections will promote leadership emergence. Because the project manager often is intimately involved in various stages of project work, the project manager is usually the leader whose skills emerge. Simultaneously, it is clear that the project manager needs more connections than typical team members to promote effective leadership. More connections imply growing emergence potential. Consequently, successful leaders in project settings are those who can use their multiple connections to best advantage. This repeatedly echoes the point that effective leadership depends on the demands and nature of the project and project activities. Therefore, project managers must be ready to scrutinize and understand the strength of their leadership from the unique relationships during processes of a particular project or activity set. This understanding will provide the information they need to make changes, such as increasing or decreasing member decision-making opportunities, as needed to enhance group or team leadership effectiveness.

Leadership skills. An effective leader needs a variety of traits and characteristics to encourage success in a project. The specific abilities and characteristics that make the best leader of a project team or a leader of a construction company vary according to the makeup and needs of that company and/or team. Nevertheless, effective project managers appear to share certain leadership abilities that allow them to keep in tune with their team members. These abilities are being sensitive to the critical problems important to the team or company, showing enthusiasm, and practicing empathy. Other leadership characteristics that are associated with success as a project manager include being able to articulate the group’s mission in a way that excites and motivates the team. Apart from these associated leadership skills, the ability to recognize emerging leaders among employees can also aid the project manager in achieving team success. Since leadership does not involve a standard set of characteristics and actions that will fit into every team or company, the successful project manager is said to be one who is able to identify a successful approach for all these different situations.

4.1. Effective communication with project team

A Gantt chart is simply a bar chart of activities in a project and the time required to perform each activity. The Gantt chart conveys much more information than just the length of an activity and the dependency. It conveys the work effort and resources needed to complete the project on time. The level of detail in the Gantt chart is a function of how the project manager wants to use the Gantt chart. Some project managers want the Gantt chart to motivate the project team as they make good progress, while others find the Gantt chart to be demotivating as it emphasizes how far they have to go to complete the project.

Communication is the exchange of ideas, thoughts, and emotions with one another in such a way that language remains meaningful. It involves the transfer of information from one or more persons, things, or groups of people (sender) to one or more people, things, or groups of people (receivers). Therefore, communication is very much essential in people and project management. It is essential to keep the intended readers in mind when writing a report. Reports are expected to guide, inform, influence, and persuade. At the very least, they must carry required information in such a way that it will be comprehensible, characterized by clarity, conciseness, and absolute accuracy. The first step in any type of communication is to establish who the users are and what potential for action. The next step is to determine how, specifically, what the medium will be. In addition to verbal or written reports that require the use of language in the form of speech and writing respectively, and the indicator-based communication that uses numerical and graphic notation of a system of notation in the presentation of information, includes the calendar and Gantt chart.

4.2. Motivating and inspiring team members

Recruitment of new employees during an interim but high workload for existing employees increases the potential that required levels of motivation will not be maintained. This results in despondence of existing employees leading to low levels of satisfaction in their employment. Growth in optimized expectation experiences followed by growth in professional judgment in employees also lead to conflicts in interest where expectations of career growth are concerned. It is evident of how professional judgment in newcomers can inhibit the judgment capabilities of more experienced employees. Unemployed residents who have become available and who have skills of the tasks can be carefully selected to deliver a service under the mentorship of experienced employees. By employing residents and providing them with on-job training capabilities which can employ subcontracted means, provide the means of reducing the competition of employees who have reputation and experience of how quality service can be executed.

The construction industry is highly project-oriented and occasionally commences with low levels of enthusiasm given by the construction work. These are the challenges faced by construction project mentors. They must find means of motivating and inspiring team members, including the clients, and ensuring that they put in their all towards meeting the goals of the projects and overall expectations. A construction contract is usually in place for a given period and can be an annual ongoing basis or fluctuate in contract periods. However, some projects and construction do not require contracts and are short-term projects and can be in the best interests of all parties involved if the agreed scope is to be met without failure.

4.3. Resolving conflicts within the team

Solving conflict within the team is becoming very important because the future of any construction projects certainly depends on several key players who come directly and indirectly from within the client, the management, and most importantly, the project team. Based on the conducted literature, it is concluded that the root causes of conflict are communication, design, incomplete design, additional work, inflation, and the owner’s financial problems. Conflict in a team could result in unnecessary delays, decreased team effectiveness, and costs that could go through the roof. It has many frameworks by which to diagnose and craft remedies for the causes or the conflicts themselves.

Resolving conflicts within the team is very important because conflict has always been an inseparable part of any developmental process in the construction industry. Every member within a team has their individual ideas based on their individual education background and personal experience. Failure to control and manage the conflict among the team will lead to conflict. The construction project process will come to a standstill and the members of the team will work with ego, which will bring failure to that project. An effective way to resolve, prevent, and settle the resulting controversy is an essential ability of a construction manager of Klang Valley (the manager) to understand and manage the previous causes of conflict resulting from various ways.

4.4. Decision-making and problem-solving

To summarize a decision-making study, we need some model to generalize observations over only part of a population’s descriptions to some description about the whole population. The four models that have been identified for understanding how construction project management firms perform their principal strategic management function are linear, adaptive, processual, and subjectivist. A subjectivist prescriptive model attempts to generalize observations of how least is required in any particular strategic management situation. It sees every issue of managing strategy as quite unique. The emphasis is upon the pragmatic understanding of the differing requirements of differing situations, a rich literature offering theories that help to explain the dynamics of strategy. Neither do subjectivists deny the potential value of theories and models developed by others, nor research into the practices of others. The theories about managing strategy developed by others, even linears, may indeed be relevant to the understanding of managing strategy in a different context. Subjective modeling can offer some guidelines as to how one should act, and one should not ignore the means by which others, in similar strategic circumstances, have realized that they should act.

Many of the decisions made during the life of a construction project are beneficial to the project and are a direct result of the work performed to understand the project’s requirements and functions, the constraints within which the project must be done, the project alternatives that are feasible, and the performance and other consequences of the project alternatives. To make the right choices involved in the complex problem-solving environment represented by a construction project, you need multiple knowledge sources of both qualitative and quantitative data that is often not entirely known. This data usually is not certain enough in magnitude to warrant any level of confidence about the possible outcomes or impacts of the different project alternatives. So at the root of the project’s decision-making and problem-solving process are experience and judgment. This requires skill, knowledge, and training in both hard or qualitative and soft or quantitative methodologies by the construction project manager tasked with making these decisions.

4.5. Delegating tasks and responsibilities

In addition, it is critical that frequent short meetings are held to coordinate the PM’s work with the subcontractors who have been assigned tasks. The project management templates the authors have employed and delegated to the subcontractors have proven invaluable to the construction project manager. It is important, that, prior to this datum, the project managers and the project owner’s representatives have also reviewed and approved changes. Assuring the project’s timely completion is more likely if generic and specific project management templates that detail project tasks, institutions, and responsibilities, hold the different contractor accountable to these issues, and emphasizes the urgent need for immediate work completion in order to get the project on its planned and preferred schedule. Mandatory project pre-attitude conferences may be appropriate if the project goals are well understood in advance. This thesis concludes that in order to meet the project goals, the project manager must use the prior to the construction project strategies of the last chapter, must employ this set of generic and this set of contractor specific management templates. No one likes to attend meetings, least of all large groups of independent construction contractors. However, progress can frequently be hastened if the subcontractors now understand the critical need for coordination and will usually appreciate the opportunity to inspect the pre-start-up and submittal shop drawings and schedules. This requirement is particularly true if substitutions are required and incentives are present.

The fourth managerial process is nothing less than management itself. And management has many variables that can either enhance or greatly complicate delegated management tasks. The effort required to manage a project can be enhanced if the project manager can delegate a large percentage of that effort to the subcontractors. Subcontractors should be prepared to assist the PM by accepting the need to strictly adhere to and compose with the other contractor’s work. The authors suggest that there are templates that project managers can use to delegate tasks to subcontractors and thereby assure the project’s progress and completion. It has been the authors’ experience that cost plus contracts can allow for advanced delegation of tasks to and by subcontractors. Construction review courses and project management education concentrate on the most this need for urgent delegation of project tasks. It has been the authors experience that when the project manager has provided the subcontractors with a CSI specification, a few multiple contractor sequencing and scheduling documents and these multiple contractor task delegation spreadsheets, and a pre-attitude project conference has addressed the project’s tasks, institutions and relationships that the project’s management especially project status update and completion date schedule update report automatically to the preferred schedule.

5. Quality Management

In the construction industry, customer satisfaction is the most important measure of quality since the standards of understanding of quality vary depending on the level of satisfaction of the customers. Quality should be considered as the joint responsibility of all participating in the project. Of the components of quality, where product is the most important and architectural projects are multi-sala, with hundreds or even thousands of different features. A high-quality product should therefore be carried out one by one individually, taking into account all these properties. In all tasks, especially in high-quality sensitive tasks, it is more logical to prevent errors at a lower cost or to determine them earlier to be corrected rather than to control the products at the end of the project. In this context, an important part of quality is to ensure the communication between the parties to take the necessary decisions to ensure that the required quality is reached, to establish the required standards and regulations, to determine the required control and inspection points, and to ensure the implementation of these decisions.

Quality is the operation of the actions of the project manager that describes the procedures and standards that need to be done about a product or service. In addition to meeting the requirements for quality of the employer, it also covers standards such as the ISO 9001 quality management system certificate. Not only quality management but also quality control management may also be considered as a part of quality management. Project quality management involves three processes, namely 1) Quality Planning; Trial Planning, 2) Quality Assurance; Ensuring that the project is done in accordance with the planned quality, and finally 3) Quality Control; Ensuring the quality of the workplace.

5.1. Setting quality standards for the project

The cost of work is a prime concern in ensuring the maximum value for the money invested in a construction project. The value of work depends on its performance and durability, which in turn is financial as well as functional. The construction work should be able to meet all of the performance criteria of the project. Depending on the project, many specialties should be consulted and coordinated to set quality performance criteria. Clients should contract construction professionals to help both set and achieve performance goals. A performance specification is required to provide the best results for all parties. Performance criteria or performance specification ensures that decision-making is focused on the results and not the means of meeting them. With the performance specification, the contractor has the onus of selecting the best quality materials within the budget available. The performance is assured in that once the materials are selected by the contractor, the designer has the onus of demonstrating that there are no obstacles to meeting performance criteria before work begins. How work is done in the field is of no concern as long as the end product meets performance criteria.

The traditional approach to quality in the construction industry is to make sure the project objectives are met as stipulated by the client. Following this norm, the final product should be defect-free. A quality control directive gives control methods and acceptance standards. Work can only be certified when the last operation has been satisfactorily performed. In contrast, the quality assurance directive embraces all phases of a project from planning through handover. Mechanical, electrical, and final finishes are identified as vital disciplines in achieving a high level of quality in finished facilities. The criteria outlined in the directive may also be applied in the construction work.

5.2. Conducting quality inspections

The necessity of reconnaissance (site inspection) may exist. It may be general or specific depending on the needs of the project. For federal projects, a reconnaissance trip is usually a requirement. Before equipment and construction materials can be transported to the site, a check of the access roads and conditions of route takes place. Large machinery and supplies may have to be shut down due to muddy and unstable routes transporting or removing the entire delivery process. When the contract is granted, the construction inspector must also perform pre-inspection on the materials that are to be provided, including fittings, PC items, and other materials. The inspector would be able to review the items and approve their use before they are approved.

The objectives of inspection are to determine that work is being done in conformance with contract requirements and that materials, workmanship, and quality are becoming the standards set forth in the project plans and specifications. The process of inspecting project construction work is important to both the company financing the work and the community where the structure being built is built or will be built if it is to be a public project. To add to this concern is the issue of safety in the construction management of these facilities. The safety and welfare of the project workforce are affected by construction management and activities. It is necessary, therefore, to conduct inspections during construction to ensure that the work is being performed safely. Employ dedicated inspectors, provide hands and eyes for the construction engineers, who still oversee safety and quality in compliance with specifications and standards.

5.3. Implementing quality control measures

Quality is for the client needs. For the construction works, the owners are clients. The quality of construction is a way to satisfy the client needs. These client needs could be divided into major five parts. They are functional/performance ability of building/bridge, working life of building/bridge, aesthetical appearance of building/bridge, cost economic considerations, and time duration of the construction work. A project can achieve these five components only because of having quality of construction. Hence, the quality management of construction is very, very important. For the buildings and other construction work, prior planning will begin from an idea. Based on this, a preliminary report is to be prepared with respect to the work estimations. There are three stages. They are feasibility report, detailed project reports. Preliminary reports compare the construction methods and select one to suit such conditions and estimations include material cost, equipment cost, and labor cost. Such preliminary reports should be having sufficient data so as to calculate the costs regarding the said work in various construction methods.

Our country is lacking in inviting modern new technology for construction work and creating an environment to obtain technology to improve the quality of construction. Hence, it is utmost regarding to create an environment to obtain technology from internal as well as external sources. Some quality of construction is treated as opinion-oriented and subjective matter. However, to bring down the level of subjectivity in practicing quality of construction, the concept of quality is to be adopted at every stage of activity viz., design, planning, execution, and maintenance.

5.4. Continuous improvement strategies

There are quite a few action items that would be considered by many to be continuous improvement tools, while at the same time make up some of the basic aspects of quality management on a project. The lack of basic project documentation is a very well-known problem. Educating your project managers and outlining strong department to change these guidelines is the first step of any effort. The second step is developing good quality manual standards, giving the managers the documentation they need to do their job on the project. While the document is by no means a panacea to the ever-growing paperwork we have on projects, it does attempt to strike a balance between the quality needed to minimize administrative costs and the project’s actual profit potential. “What carrier that wants to maintain good quality throughout the lifecycle of the project does is assign low project estimates and execute within those estimates using low bid, low quality subcontractors.

It is estimated that more than 75% of the quality problems encountered on a project are due to decisions made by the project manager. Project managers are in unique positions to dictate the probability of a quality project. Using superior management skills can only increase the chances for successful quality on a project. Here are some strategies that can be used to help increase your quality management skills. Our written policies, procedures, and guidelines designed to assist project managers and their staffs in ensuring the quality of construction activities are a good first step. These collectively would be considered our manual on standard practice. They are divided up into different functions typically associated with a project.

6. Procurement and Contract Management

The contractor will be responsible to meet the BCA requirements and deliver the project to the owner, principal. The contractor will be required to secure work-based inspections and delivery of ‘compliance certificates’ from consultants, sub-contractors and suppliers who are engaged for the project. These are outlined in the PSD requirements for AS4904 – 2002 Appendix. The contractors’ key role is to ensure day-to-day operations and that safety and work-border inspections are carried out as per contractual responsibilities, schedules and safety requirements. Inspections of works and reports will be carried out as well as costs-in-progress updates which are to be verified by the superintendent prior to advocate payment.

All major and defective works are to be brought to the attention of the contractor for rectification. However, works unsatisfactory and defective are to be immediately rectified if the contractor fails to take prompt action. A program for the project specifying building works and purchase orders is to be prepared by the project officer. This will allow stakeholders a clear understanding of their role and their expected outcomes and obligations. Clearly understood requirements by all stakeholders will ensure a better outcome and performance, and be reasonable and commit to the agreed contractual dates.

The commencement of works stage is initiated following council approval. During the construction process, it is the aim of the superintendent to ensure that the mood and intention created at the pre-contract stage is seamless through to the final practical completion stage in the following manner. The superintendent will supervise the works on behalf of the principal to ensure that the contractor constructs the building in accordance with the approved working drawings and specifications, and in accordance with the BCA, warranties and statutory requirements.

6.1. Identifying project procurement needs

That far-sighted owners commence the project procurement process by focusing on the client’s requirements. Among other reasons, they realize that unless these needs can be identified, documented, and agreed upon, an appropriate facility (we can use the term facility generically to include the spectrum of projects addressed in the broad-ranging definition of Chapter 3) cannot be built. While this “owner’s needs” focus is not new, it must include a more detailed and clear understanding of the requirements of potential “customer users” of the facility. Only in this way can an integrated operating entity that meets client and user satisfaction criteria be created. That final entity is the one alone that can produce the energy, house the occupants, manufacture the product, transfer the information, or satisfy any of a number of other outcomes inherent in the project need. Indeed, there should be concern over the deficiencies of projects that fail to meet usability side requirements. Redevelopment or abandonment of these defective and deficient projects often follows.

Every project starts with an identified need. Clients (owners who gain by a successful project) initially identify this need, often in very general terms on purpose. Owners have an idea, say of a new or expanded service that their clients need or an enhanced manufacturing process and facility that will make economic sense given current market conditions. They may have disaggregated this general need into sub-needs and laid out identified areas of conflicts, but often their view is quite vague, permitting scarce preliminary work to address these conflicts and specifying the project that can address the identified need. Often, the real need is hidden, and all that is known is that there is potential revenue, and therefore potential profit, to be had if the alternative that is under discussion can be realized. On the other hand, project champions (those who are committed enough to the need to advance the project) often allot greater energy on clarifying the elements that are important to them as advocates of the preferred alternative.

6.2. Developing procurement strategies

Procurement strategy has been linked with financing the project. Issues about contractor qualification, project types, and the risk allocation are important during the design stage of the project. It is also linked with management strategies that will be supportive for efficient project delivery for projects with large degrees of complexity or those with unique designs, materials, or technology. The selection of a procurement strategy, though instrumental to the success of the project, will depend on the individual circumstances of each case. It is accepted that a set of preconditions must be satisfied by the project to justify the selection of a procurement strategy. Its viability should also be examined in relation to the prevailing regulatory environment (policies, processes, and other mechanisms) that are in place to govern the procurement of civil works. Beyond that, it involves careful investigation of the key characteristics of the project as well as the track records of the prospective contractors. It also requires some knowledge about the performance implication of certain procurement strategies particularly during implementation.

The various procurement strategies or forms of contract have been mentioned throughout the previous chapters. It was shown then that the choice of contracts would depend on several factors, including the project-specific characteristics, the client-specific requirements, and the prevailing regulatory framework. In this chapter, general procurement strategies will be discussed. It should be noted that these are not exhaustive, and the combination of different strategies is possible as long as they are complementary for the client or the project. Management contracts and some forms of design and build contract are techno-economically feasible only when the contractors have direct control over the design of the projects. In such instances, the client’s constraint that should be taken into account is ensuring the qualifications of the contractor.

6.3. Creating and managing contracts

Guaranteeing the right contract is procured in the construction delivery process is of the utmost importance. Whether the design-build model is used or a public private partnership, if the wrong contract is selected, one of the parties involved will not receive the reward for the risks taken. Contracts allocate tasks and responsibilities and provide the baseline against which performance is to be measured. Improved performance through innovation and can encourage accountability in the end use. The project manager considers and makes decisions about methods for quantifying work. Once the quantities are determined, and the scope of work costs are developed, the project team discovers the potential effect on the project budget and evaluates the final design for product value during the engineering development phase before concurrent design and development work.

Once the decision is made on a particular procurement method for a construction project, and the team compiles and awards a signed contract or a group of contracts, the team will manage these contracts throughout the entire construction phase of the project. It is essential to manage them properly to ensure that the project is done correctly with respect to the end use of the project. A contract is an agreement between the project owner and the contractor and/or material or equipment supplier. The agreement consists of a promise or a set of promises for a performance or a promise, and the project team can enforce the agreement in case the contractor does not fulfill their obligations. The contract also sets out the remedies to be applied if one or more parties do not fulfill their obligations. There are four main components of construction contracts, which are required before the contractor can start fulfilling the contract.

6.4. Supplier evaluation and selection

In a qualitative evaluation, a list of potential suppliers is made and various criteria including technical performance, quality, product delivery time and other capabilities are used to rank the suppliers. The potential supplier is the one that provides the highest advantage in all criteria. If the potential suppliers cannot provide an identical result using these criteria, a different set of criteria to be used for the evaluation is necessary. However, potential suppliers may not have identical abilities and the dependence relationships among the criteria of different potential suppliers are also possible and should be considered. A project manager should evaluate the potential suppliers by employing the effective evaluation methods and techniques.

Supplier evaluation and selection is an important task in project management since it plays a key role in the management of external resources. There are many factors affecting supplier selection. Managers usually evaluate potential suppliers based on various associated criteria including technical capability, price, quality, performance measures, competitive capabilities, and other capabilities. A project manager would select the best supplier by considering these criteria to enhance the competitiveness of the project. In practice, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) is applied to identify the relevant factors and evaluate supplier performance.

7. Safety and Compliance

From this perspective, it is possibly claimed that site management begins before the implementation of the construction works to finish it only after the object is integrated into the socio-economic circuit. It follows that, by specifying the term “construction site”, the legislator wanted to make more explicit the fact that treating the execution of the work as an economic, technical, and spatial organization is justified only if it is carried out through an impact action that targets the environment. This legal provision establishes the delimitation of the site with a relative significance, with the possibility of extension to all other types of construction. Then, the execution of the construction works in the village may adversely affect the local population’s livings. The latter situation will find a solution by isolating the risks resulting from the execution of the works and ensuring that the personnel involved in the execution of the works comply with the general provisions regarding the protection and safety rules.

All areas where work is being executed are interpreted as a construction site. This industrial project encompasses tourist, as well as agricultural zones. According to this comprehensive definition, the construction activity covers all acts or actions implemented at the construction site for the purpose of a construction project, and any work equipment used. It should be noted that these definitions are set at the level of the Civil Code and only partially respond to the specific needs of site management. On the one hand, this is noticed in the interpretation of construction works, which, after all, do not bring any new relevant elements compared to the ones given by the Urban Planning Code. In this context, from the point of view of the management and implementation of the construction works, it is more efficient to mention that it is about the totality of operations and the incorporations necessary to finalize the object of the investment.

7.1. Ensuring compliance with regulations

Ensuring that projects comply with regulations and standards is another major function of the project manager, though constraints of both design and the need to meet safety and planning requirements must be understood and taken into account. In recognition of these requirements, various statutory authorities have been established to regulate various facets that impact the construction of buildings or infrastructure projects. Accordingly, project managers would be expected to interact with various statutory bodies like state pollution control boards, urban town planning development authorities, national highways authority of India, the airport authority of India, environmental protection agencies, and other authorities, depending on the particular project they are associated with. Cost expectations are a major factor in determining the level of completion and the associated quality standards expected of the outputs. Additionally, the heterogeneous nature of the stakeholders involved in the projects and the presence of an enormous number of influencers can significantly influence the project outcome.

Urban infrastructure and building projects incur many challenges in the execution. They are complex and challenging due to the number of stakeholders, stringent regulatory requirements, limited availability of space, materials, labour, rehabilitation and resettlement issues, and security implications. A project manager recognizes the complexity of the construction projects due to numerous interactions among the construction strategic variables. Some of these variables, or the key performance indicators (KPIs), or the success factors related to construction projects are time, cost, quality, safety, and environmental sustainability, and so on. KPIs may vary from project to project based on the kind of project, client, consultants, etc.

7.2. Implementing safety protocols

Because accidents oftentimes happen when people don’t know the best thing to do, it is the construction manager’s job to ensure they are aware of all standard operating procedures that pertain to safety at work. If you implement safety into your daily routines, employees become accustomed to considering how safety can be incorporated into any task they complete. If an employee becomes injured at work, he or she will start the accident report, which you must complete. Don’t waste time and argue, simply fill the accident report and the fact and details of the situation will be confirmed by your insurance who will deal with the insurance company of the injured worker. Complications will be dealt with if there are any. Always report the accident within 24-48 hours of when the accident took place and remember to always avoid making any statements that could be interpreted as admitting fault in the incident – all accident fault determinations will be carried out by your insurance company.

The first step to ensuring that your construction management role or company is safety compliant is to create a policy in respect to safety at work. Your policy should outline the overall approach of safety within your company and what you hope to achieve. Safety protocols will help ensure that everybody is on the same page. Any and all of your responsibilities, roles, tasks, and duties need to be redefined on a regular basis by using safety. No project will be successful if these components aren’t performed well.

7.3. Conducting regular safety inspections

On accepting the conclusions and suggestions that have been recognized by the implementation of a regular facility safety evaluations program, construction safety research has moved on to determine a frequency for conducting such evaluations. Numerous model inspection programs produce a detailed plan for the inspections and tests to be performed, including specific items and systems that are to be evaluated. The model plans vary in implementation and detail, but even if properly performed, only when performed will the program be beneficial. These model programs assist the safety management team in determining the frequency with which more formal evaluations are to be conducted, and also what the informal evaluations will be looking into.

An area that will complement these improvement measures is on-site safety inspections. The required frequencies of conducting these routine inspections will naturally vary between construction sites, as to the complexity and size of the project, the number of participating contractors and the experience level of the management team. For a well-organized and established site, a fortnightly safety audit might be sufficient. It was observed on new construction sites in Bulgaria that this frequency is more of an exception; routine occupational safety inspections of the various construction sites were generally non-existent. On projects accountable for a higher level of exposure to hazards, a more stringent scrutiny could be required – a weekly tour on the site for installations, assuming new hazards are being supplied by incoming contractors. For projects located in hazardous environments, for example, power stations, additional reviews might be required.

The prevention of accidents needs to receive more emphasis and be implemented as a primary objective by the management and by all employee levels. Accident prevention programs can also be established by the project teams to help achieve this objective; safety procedures can be established that involve the entire team; managers and supervisors can be trained on accident prevention.

7.4. Training and educating project team on safety measures

Inexperienced and uneducated on safety management, persons are known to do unsafe work. Research is necessary to see whether manufacturers’ safety instructions and legal regulations are sufficient to ensure safety and to endorse precautionary measures. If accidents reoccur despite compliance with legal regulations and industrial safety directives, then management bears the responsibility and can be liable for protection and the employees’ safety. The United States Department of Labor stated in a workplace safety and injury report that construction workers are one of the top eight most likely professionals prone to workplace injuries. The report recommended continual safety education for workers in order to maintain a workplace free of hazards.

Project team needs to be given safety training. PM should continuously educate project team on working safety measures and safety management. PM should conduct periodical safety audits and safety management check-up, from time to time and also incorporate safety management system (SMS) check in the milestone lists, project reports and dashboards and closing out nonconforming activities; track safety and quality related 10% of work productively and have goal setting ceremonies and recognition for highest performers; incentivize and disincentives, safety and quality performance in milestones and monitor close out of post construction additional works (PCAW), additional works (CAW) related issues and building commissioning, operational testing and acceptance, operational life and product warranties.

8. Stakeholder Management

More investment is made in neighborhoods that are called Opportunity Zones with social programs that have greater potential to improve troubled neighborhoods with the potential of raising their real estate values. Is it reasonable to select a CM at Risk for some other reasons knowing that it might also achieve its stated Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Plan (the Plan) M(W)-OB goals with an employed construction workforce that is about 50% being workers that are a part of target groups from the community residents and also beneficial hire and good faith efforts? Yes. Proposal team discussions with knowledgeable faculty at several HBCUs indicated that these workers often belonged to the unskilled and semi-skilled groups. It may also require providing special training and does require different prequalification characteristics. Such training programs are essential for these unskilled and semi-skilled target group workers. Aren’t the prequalification characteristics that led to the selection of CM at Risk and the attributes in the RFP, which are, in fact, the requirements of the contract language that the selected CM at Risk should include for these targeted groups in the community socio-economic plan, social plan, and general plan similar?

Stakeholders in construction projects are governmental authorities, public and private utilities, neighboring property owners, community organizations, owners of commercial facilities, future users like students and/or teachers of schools or hospitals or patients of clinics belonging to a hospital complex and occasionally hotel and sports ground users, construction workers, subcontractors, suppliers, and special interest groups. The CM at Risk approach used in this study will offer selected MCs. Sometimes, the CM at Risk’s selection is made for use of special skills, knowledge, and techniques provided by MCs that are part of the specific terms and conditions associated with the prequalification requirements. It is anticipated that construction jobsites will reflect the team members that will be found as workers at the actual plant that the MCs will use. Their direct hire is an essential feature of their contractual requirements and will be their contribution to beneficial house and local employment. There will be minority-owned and women-owned businesses M(W)-OBs. Subcontractors. Unfortunately, my discussions with industry leaders indicated that their M(W)-O goals that were achieved through non-CM at Risk contractors were rarely met. Often asked, could contracted M(W)-OBs and subcontractors hire construction workers that are a significant part of the targeted groups in the communities necessitating the social program?

8.1. Identifying project stakeholders

The most important factors contributing to a project’s success were the participation of the relevant stakeholders. It was vital that any project identify the stakeholders involved. The design of a project was influenced from an early stage by the needs of its stakeholders, and it was only through the collaboration between the client, the design team, and other stakeholders that these needs were properly addressed. The first, most fundamental challenge in developing the communications in a project environment is identifying who the project stakeholders are. Before communications can be strategically planned, a project manager must first determine who the stakeholders are – all stakeholders. Any individual with an interest in the project must be considered.

Stakeholders are defined as those with a ‘stake’ or ‘interest’ in the project. These may include an individual or group who may influence or be influenced by the project outcome. They were generally recognized as among the most important factors determining a project’s success. The construction industry involves a wide range of stakeholders with a complex relationship. Proper identification of these stakeholders is important to ensure the success of the construction project through active participation, support, and commitment from the stakeholders, as well as to develop the communications in a project.

8.2. Analyzing stakeholder interests and influence

The related stakeholders can be identified through a literature review and can be added based on the practical situation of construction projects. Stakeholder mapping and analysis are performed in two steps. The first step is to divide the number of stakeholders into two to identify their interest and power levels. The second way is by conducting field surveys to collect data and then determine the matrix position. The data is then discussed by project team members or experts from various backgrounds such as universities, contractors, consultants, and governments regarding the prioritization of stakeholders. The result is ranked based on the determination of the priority matrix. There are four (4) priority matrix categories that are generally used to manage building projects (or other projects): caring for stakeholders who are participants (Supportive); they are of little concern to stakeholders who are not participants in encouraging the project (Neglect); stakeholders who have high concern but do not engage in the project have little interest; and lastly, energizing stakeholders, with the power they have, can be used to support the projects undertaken by the project, which can be considered in drafting policy decisions in the project being implemented.

After listing all stakeholders, it is necessary to map and analyze their interests and influence related to the construction project. High stakeholder interest may significantly affect the project. Moreover, influence can have an effect on stakeholders and might be important to gain stakeholder satisfaction or support during the construction project. The construction project that ignores stakeholders can have potential risks, therefore it can lead to stakeholders rejecting their support for the construction project. It is important to divide and consider the interests and influence of the related stakeholders during all stages of the construction project. Therefore, the process of stakeholder analysis can include: defining who the stakeholders are; identifying related stakeholders; mapping and analyzing their interests and influence; and selecting and classifying stakeholders. As mentioned, stakeholders refer to people who pay attention, whose interests have the potential to be affected, or who may have the power to influence the results of the project or organization.

8.3. Engaging and communicating with stakeholders

The matter of understanding stakeholder concerns should begin before the project work starts. Every group will likely have at least two interests: they will be interested in the benefit the new system will bring and they will also be concerned about aspects of the change. These concerns should not be neglected; it is important to keep reminding the stakeholders of the key business need the project is there to address. The more the project changes, the less likely the overall business goal reasons are communicated. It is easy to be dismissive of stakeholders who appear to have no involvement in the project. Dealing with this group may involve providing no more communication than is currently available. Some early studies of communication on democracy projects showed that irrespective of methods, time or effort devoted to communication, the trust equity of this group increased from its starting point at the end of the project.

Throughout the project delivery sequence, it is essential to keep stakeholders fully informed. Basic communication does not necessarily mean effective communication. It is important that each communication is meaningful to the recipient and includes an opportunity for feedback. Even though an individual stakeholder may have only one area of concern, there is an overarching theme to their need for information; that is, the impact of the project on them (both the good and the bad). If a stakeholder believes they have no involvement in the project, it is important to provide them with that information as well. At its simplest, the communication procedure could be implemented following a 3-week cycle, breaking down to one week responding to stakeholder concerns, one week developing and updating a project scope item information page, and one week for internally focused team matters related to system improvement.

8.4. Managing stakeholder expectations and concerns

The views of the sensu stricto project stakeholders were considered in this research on what they have identified as best practices for managing their expectations. Each of the ten stakeholders summarized best practice expectations and identified KPIs specific to these. It emerged that best expectations differ depending on whether the stakeholder was from the client or the project team. For clients, the highest ranked expectations centered on informing and consulting on project matters and performance, and ensuring project performance. They expected fairly frequent communications at monthly or bimonthly intervals and that they are consulted and informed at each stage of the project, with a zoomed-in focus level of detail. They also expected the monitoring of defects of the delivery of the work, together with their rectification. They expected regular deliveries, a zoomed-out focus area. This reflects their underlying assumptions that early delivery creates value and risk management, and that the project was still on track. Clients also expect the team to understand organizational and program requirements, with managing project and stakeholder risks high on their agenda.

Stakeholders play a critical role in a project. In a broad definition, all participants in the project are stakeholders, as well as individuals and organizations who have an interest in the project. The issues and concerns of stakeholders drive the scope and costs of the project. Effective management of stakeholders is important for the successful delivery of the project. The key stakeholders are usually referred to as sensu stricto stakeholders.

9. Project Documentation

For each of the following documents, as dictated by the State, submit the planning document to this committee for proposed approval requirements: each fill-in of the document must be approved by each of the people on the Document Distribution List noted on the Planning Document form. If an individual does not sign, an appropriate waiving notation must be made. Proposal requests must then be submitted to and approved by this committee. After all the details have been set, then the forms may be filled in and issued. All forms must bear signatures dated no earlier than the approval date of the planning document and shall not be changed after that date. Lists of known changes, proposed changes, and/or significant changes must be attached as Close-Out for SWG approval.

C. Document Approval – for Class ‘A’ and ‘B’ projects

Define, for each of the three project classes, the list of documents that must be issued, giving a full title and change history or revision level if appropriate. Also, state its purpose and distribution list.

B. Document Contents

The numbering of documents must be controlled and consistent. State the numbering policy here, together with a cross-reference to the relevant section of SP 1, and a statement on the approval procedure for changes in document numbering.

A. Document Numbering

9.1. Creating project plans and schedules

Irrespective of the size of the project, which may be large or small, planning and scheduling are a must. The project manager should ensure that correct construction methods are adopted, sufficient resources are available with the contractor, skilled and efficient labor is employed, and a proper schedule is framed at the beginning of the construction project. Most of the failed projects can be attributed to the mismanagement of resources and delay in mobilizing materials and labor. Delay is one of the most common issues in construction. The implications of those delays can be dire or minor, depending on the seriousness of the problem. Courts often review the liability of the various parties associated with any construction delay. Particular care should be provided in creating an appropriate construction project schedule. It includes key aspects like the progression of the construction activities, the date for ordering materials, and the date for purchasing equipment. A fine project schedule aids in project time management, reduces project cost, and conforms to the budget.

Scheduling the different steps of a construction work right from the beginning is a very important aspect. It can affect project costs, the project duration, and productivity of resources/labor. Good project schedules can be noticed in the form of work accomplished on time and on budget. Poor project schedules are noticed, eventually, in the form of failed projects. This fact is known quite well by the contractor. Even then, many a time contractors have neglected their interests in planning and scheduling. When it comes to construction, planning and scheduling becomes very challenging. This is due to the unpredictable nature of the construction industry and also due to the uncertain availability of resources. But one must realize very clearly that without proper planning, construction becomes chaotic. To have the project done within the stipulated time frame and in an economic way, planning and scheduling should be done from the very beginning.

9.2. Maintaining project records and reports

After the construction is completed, the property holder needs a set of manuals for building services to help manage and repair their installation. The responsibilities of the whole team have been dealt with as noted Living Buildings, the construction of a proposal existing under construction stage Leer’s. At each stage of construction, a proposal is developed from the planning phase to the post-construction phase manuale. Many of these documents will form part of the contractual terms under which the Building Services Designer and Developers are employed. The manuals provide the operators with the information they need to successfully and safely use and maintain installations. It is important that the manuals are directly applicable and contain reader-friendly information necessary for the end user of the building. Practical solutions to various problems help improve the operation of the building and increase the level of property management.

9.2.2 Project records

Maintaining a complete and accurate set of project records is an important part of any maintenance procedure. This task cannot be overlooked as it is very important from the point of view of adhering to building laws and requirements. A building standard requires that all final as-built designs are deposited, whether construction was at any stage, in the building control office. In addition, legal requirements for as-constructed designs are also important. The completion project records include contractor documentation, as-built drawings, and other documents necessary to ensure the future maintainability of the finished work. The maintenance requirements must be determined upon completion of the work when BSRIA application guide 11/92. In the document ‘As-constructed information, handover procedure for building services,’ it is fulfilled. Contractors must obtain information during and maintain the information necessary to help future workers maintain the finished system. In addition, the rest of the team will process some of the information in order to provide and maintain documentation. Clear instructions for final storage and archiving must be notified by proper commission documentation or replacement requirements, descriptions, and building goals-specific succession targets.

9.2.1 Introduction

9.3. Documenting project changes and updates

9. Documenting project changes imposes a workload on the project team at the time of the change. In our experience, however, the time lost in communicating the change is usually less than that spent in formulating an acceptable document. In contrast, unaccepted changes or delays often result from the failure to document earlier engineering decisions. The documentation of the overall design of a system has to be both precise and specific. In fast track projects, this necessary detail on the impact of a particular engineered action has to be reduced to an essential minimum needed by those who have to implement the decision. Documents originating from the project have to be distributed to a wider and wider band of people.

9.3. Documenting project changes and updates. The problem of dealing with time-related risks in mega-projects is the subject of project management and oversight. As previously mentioned, the decisions of the team have to be available to all. In a paper project, the necessary communication of the impact of a system design decision may have a relatively small audience and can be confined to the active engineers of the project. In a building project, on the other hand, an immediate decision has to be passed on to all the activities that are to be affected by the action. In addition, it has to be done twice in separate documents, in order for the building agency and local inspectors to agree with the action or require some specification for the work being performed.

9.4. Archiving project documentation

The responsible client’s team may start the delivery preparation while the project is still a work in progress. This involves the collection of available project data from all construction teams (client, EPCM, EPC, staff, and contractors) that are required to create client deliverables for project operational readiness, as per the project’s scope of work. Additionally, all the required handover training and commissioning handover documents can be projected, estimated, coordinated, and delivered by the project operations team based on a prerequisite client’s training plan and scope of work requirements for a successful project handover. The project data collection process and workload analysis can start during the project engineering information management set-up activities with planning and the definition of the project’s document handover templates by the construction project engineers and EPCM/EPC discipline managers.

Project documentation is one of the post-project outputs, and it should be delivered along with all the other handover deliverables as defined in the project’s scope of work and within the handover milestone. As construction projects, by their nature, contain a significant amount of documentation, a client may use an online archival system to host project documentation to maintain availability and continuity for several stakeholder teams, such as operations, maintenance, and facility management.

10. Team Building and Collaboration

The team building process begins when the project manager receives the green light from the organization to begin a project. The project manager plans the project’s construction activities even in the early stages. This first approximation of the activities will imply an analysis of the initial resources available, the work packages, their requirements, and the necessary cooperation between the different scanning functions. A work breakdown structure, WBS, which is a graphic representation of how the project’s tasks will be divided into smaller deliverables levels that are assigned to organizational units, can be used. The work breakdown structure is created from the project scope, which is developed when the project’s requirements, objectives, and constraints are defined. This is proposed by different organization’s functional scanning. In creating the scanning functions, the project manager must take into account the possible interest of their synergies for the construction of the project. A strategic decision during this presentation of work breakdowns is whether to select a functional or matrix organizational set-up.

The success of construction projects, and projects in general, depends in large part on the ability of the project manager and the project team to work together cohesively and collaboratively. This requires that the project team be built progressively from the very first stages of the project’s life to create a unified team where all members work together in the interest of the project and take advantage of the synergies produced by the team. That sense of support and strength will be added to the team collaboration if the team members have competence, professionalism, understanding of the project and the specific interests of the different organizations, and mutual cooperation and respect. The project manager must gradually build, strengthen and sustain the team over the project’s life.

10.1. Building a cohesive project team

The geographically distributed position of other large organizations approached for this project was initially a source of concern in maintaining an effective team. This concern was de-emphasized in two ways. First, a project director with significant local organizational support (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories – LANL) was established. Project management performed by LANL was considered to make those groups feel most comfortable with the administration between those locations. Second, weekly G scheduling and videoconferencing, as well as a collaborative Intranet, were made available to project participants. The former enabled interfacing between teams of managers to resolve any growing concerns. The practice of an integrated partnership was used to attract the necessary resources to accomplish the project goals. Formal NSF grade and IDAT technical reviews were voluntarily organized, and successful negotiations with the National Oceanographic Data Center were undertaken to review the strategy and project progress, ensuring that all are on track.

Included in the process was a discussion of the project mission with senior players from the twenty-five organizations initially represented. A unique mission statement was developed during a retreat and committed to by all participants. GFiveH was used to clarify, prioritize, assess, and integrate the project’s goals. It was emphasized that the project needed to be worth the effort. Consistent vision and shared goals were also emphasized among all project participants. To address this, a campground retreat was used where members interacted with each other at all levels. Five H was used at this retreat to determine the vision, goals, planned approaches, and periodically adjust actions, schedule, responsibilities, and resources. At Best Challenge during the initial strategic planning session, the project mission, vision, and coherent goals were distilled. Once the operation was underway, project status was periodically evaluated using G scheduling meetings by management to ensure that activities are realistic. Activities were promptly rescheduled when circumstances changed.

10.2. Fostering collaboration and teamwork

The success of our work depends upon all team members working together effectively and cohesively in pursuit of our definition of done. For this reason, we have outlined the role of each of the following key parts in the process of delivering new system functionality to the business. An architect’s aim is to take the business challenges, model them into a solution space, and bring those sketches back into the business as new system functionality. Information analysts continuously work with the architects to convert those sketches into true requirements. Developers actually deliver in code the solution to the business challenges and system requirements. Maintenance developers help new system functionality to see the light of day and ensure that it does not sour over time. Furthermore, maintenance developers work to continuously apply legacy, defect, and refactoring changes to programs. Data modelers lead the team in creating the source of truth. This shared vision of these data elements is expressed through a conceptual model documenting each field value. This exercise ends when the team agrees on the meaning of the concepts being articulated to and outside of the team.

The project manager is responsible for providing the leadership and guidance that will enable the project to succeed. Some important roles and responsibilities include: regularly providing such documents as user stories and model business rules for feedback; narrative reporting of the week’s activities against relative story point burn-up and velocity; team performance within the iteration by keeping track of the count of completed stories; actively participating in the daily stand-ups; quickly addressing the removal of impediments that the team cannot resolve on its own; tracking and regularly communicating the team’s velocity; sprint cycle burndown or burn up chart; iteration and release backlog details, whether on a wall, through a wiki, or on some other collaborative document; stopping the production line if the quality of the product falls below acceptable standards; team satisfaction through coaching and mentoring; promoting sustainability throughout by finding ways to maintain the team’s velocity; team continuous effort through full participation in all iteration ceremonies.

10.3. Encouraging knowledge sharing and learning

Encouraging knowledge sharing and learning among team members, as described in the Knowledge Sharing component of the Construction Management Accountability Framework, is essential for a high-performance organization. In the area of KM, efforts need to be aimed at the organizational level. This part calls for an appropriate approach to KM to be described and demonstrated in the PWGSC Construction Project Management System Manual as part of the knowledge area of integration management. PMs must work to be continuous learners, fostering KM among their teams. KM is one of the essential ingredients of PM competency, enabling them to better practice their other competencies. PMs should not be expected to expertly know everything about the project at project start-up, but they should be able to tap into organizational knowledge and to know the tools, other resources, and the experts they need and develop skills in the course of the project to become experts. Some researchers argue that building collaboration, interpersonal trust, and a strong team culture is key to managing construction projects.

This part provides recommended practices for the project implementation of construction management at the construction project level for CM transfer to Government projects. This part guides the implementation of construction management in construction projects to meet the essential requirements of construction management.

6. Construction Project Management

10.4. Resolving conflicts and promoting harmony

Conflicts may arise due to difficult or unacceptable tasks. Worker’s resistance can create conflicts. Conflicts can arise when contributions of other team members are not sufficiently acknowledged. Concurrence or conflict over scheduling of job, relative priority, performance rates or required dates of completion among different projects may bring undue tensions among the project team members. The project manager should know at least the basic life experiences of all members of the team. Based on this knowledge, the manager should be prepared to provide proper guidance and support to the team members, and project a considerate attitude. When the project team is given the responsibility, they become determinants in defining and resolving conflict problems.

Resolving conflicts and promoting harmony: The essential duties of a project manager also include resolving conflicts and promoting harmony among the members of the project team. Whether the conflicts are of major or minor concern, intense or mild, they should be resolved for maintaining the peace and efficiency of the project team. Conflicts may be due to personal differences among the project team members, conflicts of interests, competing demands or scheduling of activities. They arise also due to change of work methods, low performance due to changes in design, or elimination of scope. Sudden withdrawal of a time-consuming team member from the team due to some personal problems may create undue tensions in the team.