CE168P/A1

Principles of Construction
Management
 Module 1
Introduction to Construction
Management
Project Management
is the application of knowledge, skills,
tools, and techniques to project activities in
order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs
and expectations from a project.

Meeting or exceeding stakeholder needs

and expectations invariably involves
balancing competing demands among:
Scope, time, cost, and quality.
Stakeholders with differing needs
and expectations.

Identified requirements (needs)

and unidentified requirements
(expectations)
The term project management is
sometimes used to describe an
organizational approach to the
management of ongoing operations.
This approach, more properly called
management by products, treats
many aspects of ongoing operations
as projects in order to apply project
management to them.
 Although an understanding of
project management is obviously
critical to an organization that is
managing by projects in detailed
discussion of the approach itself is
outside the scope of this document.
Construction Management

refers either to the study and practice

of the managerial and technological aspects
of the construction industry (including
construction, construction science,
construction management, and construction
technology), or to a business model where
one party to a construction contract serves
as a construction consultant, providing both
design and construction advice.
Management Functions or
Objectives
Planning

is the ongoing process of developing

the business' mission and objectives and
determining how they will be accomplished.
Planning includes both the broadest view of
the organization, e.g., its mission, and the
narrowest, e.g., a tactic for accomplishing a
specific goal.
Organizing

is establishing the internal

organizational structure of the
organization. The focus is on
division, coordination, and control
of tasks and the flow of information
within the organization. It is in this
function that managers distribute
authority to job holders.
Staffing

is filling and keeping filled with

qualified people all positions in the
business. Recruiting, hiring, training,
evaluating and compensating are the
specific activities included in the
function. In the family business, staffing
includes all paid and unpaid positions
held by family members including the
owner/operators
Leading or Directing

is influencing people's behavior

through motivation, communication,
group dynamics, leadership and
discipline. The purpose of directing is to
channel the behavior of all personnel to
accomplish the organization's mission
and objectives while simultaneously
helping them accomplish their own
career objectives.
Controlling

is a four-step process of
establishing performance standards
based on the firm's objectives,
measuring and reporting actual
performance, comparing the two,
and taking corrective or preventive
action as necessary.
 Eight M’s of Management

MANPOWER (MEN) – skills, talents,

team
MONEY – cost, budget, finance
MACHINES – tools, equipment, systems
MATERIALS – facilities, supplies
METHODS – traditional, scientific
MOMENT – time
MANAGEMENT – management
information systems
MOTHER NATURE – environment
 Project
is defined as an endeavor wherein people,
supplies, and money are coordinated in an
unusual way to undertake a unique scope of work
of a given standards and specifications, within
constraints of cost and time, so as to accomplish
beneficial change defined by quantitative
objectives. This connotes that a project has
specific objectives, time boundaries, and an
explicit budget that limits the amount of human,
financial and material resources that can be used
to complete a unique venture.
The Six Main Characteristics of a
Project are:
1. It is a temporary endeavor with a specified
beginning and end and it involves definable
sequences of steps of activities
2. It uses resources like manpower,
equipment, and money that have been
specifically apportioned to each phase of the
project.
3. It produces a unique outcome, wherein
such outcome also has specific goals of
quality and performance.
4. It follows a planned and organized
scheme to meet their goals and
objectives

5. It depends largely on a group of

people called Project Team to get it
done.
6. It always has a unique set of
stakeholders.
Project success can be measured
as follows:
1. Stakeholder needs and Customer
Satisfaction. Customers are satisfied when
you provide a deliverable that meets their
needs and exceeds their expectations. The
project team must identify early the project
stakeholders, determine their requirements
and find ways in managing and influencing
those requirements in order to ensure a
successful project.
2. Organizational Approval.

Identifying and satisfying the

needs of the organization, wherein
these needs will result in making a
profit or developing capability in a
new area of technology.
3. Gained Experience and Knowledge
by the Project Team and the
Organization.
The team and the organization learn
something as a result of the projects so
that next time they can build their
success and avoid mistakes.
The success of projects varies according
to the nature of the project, and culture
of the organizations the person involved.
Key success factors for
project implementation:

1. Project Mission
Project Mission represents the overall
goal of the project. Goals and
objectives must be clear and concise
where all team members know and
fully understand. Without clear goals
and agreement among all
stakeholders, it will create chaos and
devastating effects.
No project can be successful unless
everybody concurs that they want
the same thing done.
The aim of identifying the mission of
the project is to:
Set direction for the project
Identify expected outputs
Ensure that the final deliverables will
satisfy the customer
Define constraints on the project
2. Top Management Support
Developing and maintaining a good
relationship with the top management is a
key to making the overall project and its
execution successful. The project
managers need the support from the top
management to supply all resources
needed and remove organizational
obstacles, since they rarely have enough
authority of their own to execute the
decisions and policies necessary to
complete a project.
The top management is:
An important ally in the project
Shares the team to be successful
Provides authority for the project to
proceed
Gives approval to changes
Assist in overcoming organizational
and political obstacles
3. Project Schedule/Plan.

Project planning and scheduling

organizes and summarizes the tasks
necessary to complete the project.

The following criteria are to be

considered before the project
schedule/plan is made:
Charter of the project

Scope, goals, and objectives of the

project
Major milestones
Detailed plan listing the major
activities needed to be completed for
each milestone
Outline of the risks and concerns
4. Client Consultation and
Acceptance
Projects exist to satisfy a customer.
Project teams often have difficulty
identifying the customer,
understanding clearly what the
customer needs and wants, and then
translating that set of wants into
customer requirements that the
customer can understand and agree
to.
The best way to ensure that the
deliverable from the customer meets
the customer needs and wants is to
involve the customer in project process,
particularly in the early stages when the
scope of the project is being defined.
This helps to avoid dissatisfied
customers, continual change to scope,
and it also creates customer buy-in and
ownership for the project and its result.
5. Project Teams and
Technical Tasks
Project teams are responsible in
accomplishing the technical tasks
in the project. These tasks are the
major activities that will make sure
that the mission of the projects are
realized. Team typically go through
a team building process.
The five stages of team building are:
Forming Stage – wherein team members
are hired and get to know each other
Storming Stage – team members know and
question project objectives
Norming Stage – project policies and
procedures are in-place
Performing Stage – team members work
effectively
Disbanding Stage – team members are
released from the project
6. Monitoring and Feedback
Monitoring the current status of
the project allows the project
manager to track the progress of
the project against the project
plan. Tracking and getting
feedbacks is not only done in the
team meetings but also in the
review meetings with key
stakeholders.
A need for continuous monitoring of
the environment within and around the
project will ensure that the :
Final deliverables meet the customer
acceptance criteria
Project is on time and budget
7. Communication
Communication is a challenge in
project implementation, but it is
particular challenge when it involves
many people working in the
organization. Lines of
communication between the team,
customer and other stakeholders
must be established.
There are two kind of
communication.
Internal Communication

Internal communication happens

primarily through team meetings, voice
mail and e-mail. The project manager
must establish a schedule for a team
meeting using good meeting-
management techniques. Effective
meetings go a long way to establish
productive lines of communication.
External Communication.
External communications are those between
the project manager, sponsor, and customer.
In addition to the interactions that occur in
developing and approving the project, the
sponsor and customer need on-going
updates on project status and change
requests.
8. Trouble-shooting
All projects experience problems
during the implementation stages.
The process of handling these
problems is a big challenge for the
project teams. A project manager
is informed on problems being
encountered in the project and he
allocates it to the person that he
thinks is responsible.
Project Management Knowledge
Areas
1. Project Integration Management
gives a detailed account on the
processes required to ensure that the
various elements of the projects are
properly coordinated. It consists of
project plan development, project plan
execution, and integrated change
control.
2. Project Scope Management
gives detailed account on the
processes required to ensure that the
project includes all work and only the
work required, to complete the
project successfully. It consists of
initiation, scope planning, scope
definition, scope verification, and
scope change control.
3. Project Time Management gives
detailed account on the processes
required to ensure timely completion
of the project. It consists of activity
definition, activity sequencing, activity
duration estimating, schedule
development, and schedule control.
4. Project Cost Management gives
a detailed account on the processes
required to ensure that the project is
completed within the approved
budget. It consists of resource
planning, cost estimating, cost
budgeting, and cost control.
5. Project Quality Management
gives a detailed account on the
processes required to ensure that
the project will satisfy the needs for
which it was undertaken. It consists
of quality planning, quality
assurance, and quality planning,
quality assurance, and quality
control.
6. Project Human Resource
Management gives a detailed
account on the processes required to
make the most effective use of the
people involved with the project. It
consists of organizational planning,
staff acquisition, and team
development.
7. Project Communications
Management gives a detailed
account on the processes required to
ensure timely and appropriate
generation, collection, dissemination,
storage, and ultimate disposition of
project information. It consists of
communications planning, information
distribution, performance reporting,
and administrative closure.
8. Project Risks Management gives a
detailed account on the processes
required concerned with identifying,
analyzing, and responding to project
risk. It consists of risks management
planning, risk identification, qualitative
risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis,
risk response planning, and risk
monitoring and control.
9. Project Procurement Management

gives a detailed account on the

processes required to acquire goods and
services from outside the performing
organization. It consists of procurement
planning, solicitation planning, solicitation,
source selection, contract administration,
and contract close-out.
References:
Fryer, Barry, Fryer, Marilyn, et. al. The Practice of
Construction Management, Balackwell Pub. 2004

Gould, Frederick E. Construction Project

Management. Prentice Hall. 2009.

Levy, Sidney M. Project Management in

Construction. Prentice Hall. 2000.

Nunnaly, S. W. Construction Methods and

Management. Prentice-Hall. 2001.
References:
Oberlender, Garold P.Project Management for
Engineering, McGraw-Hill. 1993.

Sarausad, Fidel R. Construction Project

Management User’s Manual. 2004

Schexnayder, Clifford J. Construction Management

Fundamental. McGraw-Hill. 2004.

Tiongson, Alicia, et. al., NCPDP – Construction

Management Handbook,”Introduction to
Construction Industry”. First Edition. Construction
Manpower Development Foundation, Inc. 1998
Thank you very much!