BSc (Hons) Construction Management

1. BSc (Hons) Construction Management Management of Building Production (UEMC2433) Mr. Chia Fah Choy BAppSc (Hons), MSc.

2. Synopsis This unit enables the students to explore the intricacies and complexities in managing Building Projects. It facilitates the acquisition of a rounded as well as detailed knowledge of technology, design and management of production process, emphasizing on skills associated from the initiation to the successful completion of buildings.

3. Objectives • To provide an understanding of the production management skills associated with the initiation, commencement and successful completion of buildings and the technology required.

4. Learning Outcome On completion of the unit, the student shall be able to: • Identify the stakeholders involved in the project and the line of communication and its contractual link between the various parties. • Demonstrate an understanding of the methods applicable in the monitoring of the progress, document required for valuation of time and cost of the project. • Determine the location of the temporary buildings, vertical and horizontal transport system, fabrication and storage yards to minimize double handling and maintaining control and site safety. • Understand the requirements of safe and effective production system and the appreciation of ISO guidelines in maintaining the quality management at project site.

5. Topics • Construction Development Process • Project Team Organisation • Project Administration and Documentation • Site Layout • Waste Control • Quality Management • Factors Affecting Site Productivity • Production Improvement

6. Construction Development Process • Project Brief • Conceptual Design • Schematic Design • Detail Design • Documentation for Building Production

7. Project Team Organisation Organisation concepts of the design and construction team of a project; • Functional • Task force • Line and staff • Matrix Factors that determine the organisation of a project team; • Contractual relationships • Size and complexity of project • Pace and intensity of work • Location of project site • Organisation of project team; • Owner-consultant team • Site management team

8. Project Administration and Documentation • Line of authority and communication among owner, consultant and contractor. • Project meetings, client-consultant and site meetings. • Progress documentation and reports. • Site diary. • Records of drawings. • Records of change orders, claims and delays, and plant • Resource planning, coordination and control

9. Site Layout • Layout of preliminary items to achieve optimum site operations: • Site office • Access and movement routes • Stores and fabrications yards • Tower cranes and hoists • Workman hutments

10. Waste Control Factors affecting wastage: • Scheduling and order and delivery • Storage • Security • Handling and usage • Periodic auditing of material usage

11. Quality Management • Quality Assurance (QA)(BS5780, ISO 9000), definition of quality; design and production and QA; quality assurance and quality control, cost and value; approaches to quality audit. • Total Quality Management (TQM) – characteristics and implementation.

12. Factors Affecting Site Productivity • Techniques to improve productivity • Safety and productivity

13. Production Improvement • Lean Construction • Just-in-time • Constructability • Modular Coordination

14. Assessment • Coursework: 30% • Assignment: 10% • Quiz: 10% • Mid-Term Test: 10% • Final Exam: 70%

15. Additional Reference • CIDB (1992) Raising Singapore’s Construction Productivity, Construction Industry Development Board, Singapore • CIDB (2002) Modular Design Guide, Construction Industry Board Malaysia. • CIOB Code of Practice for Project Management for Construction and Development 3rd Edition • Dale B. G. (2004) Managing Quality, 4th Edition, Blackwell Science • Denny McGeorge & Angela Palmer., (2002), Construction Management – New Directions, 2nd Edition, Blackwell Science. • Kwakye AA (1997) Construction Project Administration In Practice, Pearson Logman • Olomolaiye PO, (1998) Construction Productivity Management, Addison Wesley Longman • Thorpe B (2005) Quality Management in Construction, Gower • Walker A (1996) Project Management in Construction, 3rd Edition, Blackwell Science

16. The Construction Industry • Public Perception is often: • One of Lazy, shovel-learning, • Cheating Cowboys who bodge, rather than build. • In reality, the vast of construction activities is carried out by professional to the highest standard. Changes have often been slow – but what are apparently small developments can have quite significant effects on productivity

17. What are the Problems • Adversarial and fragmented processes. • Very little time spent on design development. • Minimum communications and interactions between the construction team. • High out-turn compared to initial cost. • Poor site construction planning.

18. The Construction Revolution • Modernisation • Client Satisfaction • Team work • Innovative processes, products and tools • Whole life cycle approach

19. Comparisons of traditional and parallel processes Range of options Time Range of options Time Client-Arch-Stru.-Env.-Others Conventional Processing Parallel processing