Saint Louis College

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT

SY: 2019-2020

ELECTIVE 1
(RSW-01)

 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
 HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
 PRE-CONSTRUCTION PLANNING
 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

STUDENTS:

CASTILLO, DELAMAR KAYE I.

INSTRUCTOR:

Ar. ALVIN PADUA

 A. What is Construction Management

Construction management is a professional service that provides a project’s owner(s) with effective
management of the project's schedule, cost, quality, safety, scope, and function. Construction
management is compatible with all project delivery methods. No matter the setting, a Construction
Manager’s (CMs) responsibility is to the owner and to a successful project.

At its core, a capital project is made up of three parties (excluding the CM):

 The owner, who commissions the project and either funds the project directly or finances it
through a variety of methods.
 The architect/engineer, who designs the project.
 The general contractor, who oversees day-to-day operations and manages subcontractors.

The CM represents the owner’s interest and provides oversight over the entire project directly for the
owner. His/her mandate is to work with all parties to deliver the project on time, at or under budget,
and to the owner’s expected standard of quality, scope, and function.

CMs are uniquely qualified through combined education and experience to work with the owner,
architect, general contractor, and other stakeholders to determine the best possible sequence of
construction operations and develop a detailed schedule and budget, while also establishing plans for
project safety and security and helping the owner manage risk. This requires using project management
information systems (PMISs) and complex planning techniques, like critical path method, as well as
knowledge of construction methods.

A 2013 study by McGraw-Hill Construction and supported by the CMAA Foundation showed that using
professional CMs saved money, avoided or mitigated problems, and produced higher quality results for
owners.

Professional CMs use industry-standard practices to manage projects successfully. The CM Body of
Knowledge and Standards of Practice address all six areas of construction management services:
schedule, cost, safety, quality, function, and scope.

The role of a contractor

Contractors are assigned to a construction project during the design or once the design has been
completed by a licensed architect or a licensed civil engineer. This is done by going through
a bidding process with different contractors. The contractor is selected by using one of three common
selection methods: low-bid selection, best-value selection, or qualifications-based selection.

A construction manager should have the ability to handle public safety, time management, cost

management, quality management, decision making, mathematics, working drawings, and human
resources.

The functions of construction management typically include the following:

1. Specifying project objectives and plans including delineation of scope, budgeting, scheduling,
setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants.
2. Maximizing the resource efficiency through procurement of labor, materials and equipment.
3. Implementing various operations through proper coordination and control of planning, design,
estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.
4. Developing effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts.

The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) states the most common responsibilities

of a Construction Manager fall into the following 7 categories: Project Management Planning, Cost
Management, Time Management, Quality Management, Contract Administration, Safety Management,
and CM Professional Practice. CM professional practice includes specific activities, such as defining the
responsibilities and management structure of the project management team, organizing and leading by
implementing project controls, defining roles and responsibilities, developing communication protocols,
and identifying elements of project design and construction likely to give rise to disputes and claims.
B. HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
 The Ancient Egyptian were among the first to record the names of key individuals in a society
who were not royalty or members of government.
 The pyramids are among the first and certainly the grandest of construction management
projects.
 To this day we theorize on the methods utilized by builders to construct these huge monuments.
 STEP TEMPLE, ZAHARRA, EGYPT

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE OF IMHOTEP

THE PROJECT MANAGER

 Imhotep has been credited as the first recorded name of an architect.

 Imhotep is actually translated from ancient Egyptian as Builder, and his talent was clearly as a
construction manager as much as it was an architect.
 THE
ACROPOLIS, ATHENS, GREECE

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

 The Ancient Greeks utilized a construction management system very similar to the traditional
Design/Bid/Build system that we use today.
 The individual components of a building were sent out to bid, and contracts for the work
awarded to individuals.
 CHARTRES CATHEDRAL, FRANCE

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

 The French during the Middle Ages expressed the Power of God in the Church through the
erection of huge Gothic Cathedrals.
 The process often took one or two hundred years or more to complete one theses giant
structures.
 No Architect was involved.
 No detailed plans were developed.
 The Construction Manager was a job that took a lifetime, and was then passed on to the next.
This was done many times during the construction of just one building.
 II DUOMO,
FLORENCE, ITALY

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

 Philipo Brunelleschi was awarded the contract to complete the dome on the Cathedral in
Florence, based upon his “Secret Plan” to build an unsupported dome over the transept of the
building.
 He had no real construction experience before this project.
 He utilized a double doe solution one inner made of wood, and one outer made of brick and tile.
 The dome has stood for nearly 600 years.
II DUOMO MODEL OF INNER AND OUTER DOMES
 THE CRYSTAL PALACE, LONDON, ENGLAND 1850

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

 Joseph Paxton, a gardener, came up with the idea of creating an exhibition hall that was light
weight and could be erected quickly from pre-fabricated parts.
 He worked with a structural engineer and the building was erected in two years.
 It is created as one of the most influential structures erected at the dawn of the industrial
revolution.
 After the exposition, it was disassembled and moved, then re-erected.
 C. What is Pre Construction

Pre construction services are preliminary planning and engineering services that are offered by
construction companies before a construction job even begins. This pre construction planning
stage involves the definition of the project, the identification of potential issues, planning and
scheduling, the scope, cost estimation, and analysis of needs for the job.

Good pre construction will help a client decide if they can follow through with the construction project.
They may find during this pre construction phase that the work is either too expensive, or not feasible
for the space they have. If the contractor and client agree work to be done is viable, the contractor will
then provide the client with a cost and schedule for the construction project.

The pre construction phase should give the construction team a clear outline to follow during the job, as
well as educate the owner/client on what they will need to do to make their project functional, as well
as what they can expect it to cost. This process helps the client better understand the project before
they even commit to any work being done.

Pre construction services themselves come at a cost, which will depend on a number of factors,
including the type of job, your location, and the scope of the project. The pre construction cost will be
separate from the cost of the actual construction.

If the client is unsatisfied with the contractor, or if the project isn’t feasible for the client because of cost
or constructability, then the client can terminate the relationship before any construction begins. This is
a much better option (and much less costly) than figuring out you aren’t happy with the work being
done, aren’t confident with the contractor’s abilities, or realize the project’s scope is too large for the
allotted space after construction has begun.

Outline of the Pre Construction Process

The pre construction process is vital to the success of the entire construction project. Also sometimes
referred to as the design phase, pre construction gives owners a full understanding of the cost, scope,
and schedule of a project. The project’s success will often be dependent on this phase before a single
nail is driven or brick is laid.

Construction managers will form an understanding of the project, assemble a team to do the work,
create a strategy and schedule, develop an understanding of the owner’s business goals, and align the
project to match.

While it sounds like a lot, and it is, it’s not that daunting for clients, since they don’t have to do any of
the work. To help put your mind at ease, here is a step-by-step look at the pre construction process.

Meeting with the Client

The pre construction process should always start with a meeting between the client and general
contractor. During this meeting, the two will get a better sense of each other, and the general contractor
will gain an understanding of the client’s wants and needs. Goals and objectives will be defined, and any
questions or issues the client has will be laid out for the general contractor to resolve.

More than anything, the client will give the general contractor their vision for the project, and the
general contractor will then get to work to see if that vision is feasible. From this initial meeting, the
general contractor will determine the project’s feasibility, and will then assess how much work is
required to get the job done. Deliverables will be properly defined and a schedule will be outlined.

Develop an Initial Design

Once the meeting has occurred, the general contractor gets to work on the design phase of the project’s
pre construction. They will go into the field and visit the construction site to produce a digital schematic
of the design and layout. This will then be presented to the client so they can visualize how the project is
going to look after construction.

Helping clients visualize their project is extremely important for the general contractor to land the
construction job. It will allow them to see that there will be sufficient space for all of the components,
equipment, furnishings, and other elements that they want or need.
Assessment of Engineering

During this portion of the pre construction phase, the contractor must look into the existing conditions
of the space or construction site and figure out what needs to be done for the project. This will include
checking on existing components such as the electric, plumbing, and HVAC systems to ensure that they
will perform in the new construction. If not, they will need to recommend that these items be updated
or replaced.

Cost Estimating

The contractor will then be able to put together a preliminary construction budget based on of their
design and engineering assessment. But how does the contractor come up with a number?

Beyond materials needed and whether or not the components listed in the step above are needed, they
will also factor in the budgets used for comparable projects. While this estimate will be another vital
part of the process, it’s important to note that the cost estimation is not necessarily a bid.

The bid document will be prepared later after other parts of the pre construction phase are complete, as
other elements, such as the final design, will help to create a more accurate bid. Here, the contractor is
mainly looking to get a close ballpark to the actual price so the client can see if the project will be
feasible.

Forming a Responsibility Matrix

The responsibility matrix is used in pre construction to identify deliverables by all parties involved. This
will specifically outline who is responsible for what, including who is providing what item, and who will
be handling the installation. Since when the project is underway, the client, contractor, and building
owner may all have a part to play, this responsibility matrix will keep all parties involved on the same
plan and give a clear outline on who has signed up for what.

Clear communication will help to ensure that the construction project flows smoothly and is done
correctly, on time, and on budget.
Define an Initial Schedule

Now that the majority of the project scope has been laid out, it’s time to formulate a schedule. The
preliminary schedule serves more as a guide to show the client when certain aspects of the job will
begin and end. This will be fine-tuned as final decisions for the project are made, but it gives the client a
better idea of the timeline for construction.

The contractor will lay out an estimation for the number of days it will take to complete each different
task within the job, and provide a rough idea of when the project would be completed based on a
certain start time.

Guidance & Leadership

Pre construction services will involve more than just documents that the general contractor provides to
the client. The contractor also will need to guide their client through every step of the process and
educate them on what is going on. The contractor should be able to talk to the client about their options
and give them recommendations and what the contractor thinks will be best for their budget or to meet
their goals.

The ongoing consultations should help the client feel more comfortable about the construction process
and ultimate help the contractor win the bid based off their familiarity. Not only will it give the client
peace of mind, but it will also save time during the construction phase.

Despite the initial investment, pre construction is also proven to save money on construction projects
because of the value it provides. Good pre construction allows for value engineering and helps to
prevent issues from arising, each of which can be extremely costly on a construction project.

Good contractors are able to provide this guidance because they are the leaders of the project. They
lean heavily on their expertise to anticipate potential issues and provide solutions to any of these
problems. They will effectively coordinate all efforts between the owner, client, architect, and
contractor and manage any subcontractors needed for the project.
The contractor should have vast knowledge of all legal issues, permits, and building codes involved so
the project stays on the straight and narrow. They will also be mindful of controlling cost and assessing
risk throughout the pre construction and construction process.

Pre Construction Checklist

Here are some of the items you can expect to cover during the pre construction phase:

 Initial meeting to discuss the project

 Planning the design
 Estimating costs and offering cost-saving options
 Managing project scope
 Identifying potential issues & outlining solutions
 Determine any options for value engineering
 Site selection and study feasibility
 Evaluating soil condition on site
 Checking existing utilities
 Determining equipment required
 Check for green building options and viability
 Life-cycle analysis
 Outlining contingencies for both client and contractor

Expected Outcomes of Pre Construction

The main outcomes of pre construction can provide include the scope, schedule, and estimated cost of
the project. Having all of these elements accurately outlined give the client the necessary expectations
going into construction. The process also helps to make sure the project is feasible before issues are
encountered along the way. As a precaution, a post construction phase is commonly used, which also
ensures issues are taken care of after the pre construction and building phases. Read more in our
related article, 
Post Construction Phase: What to Expect.

Benefits of Pre Construction

Pre Construction offers a number of benefits to both the clients and contractors. Pre construction can
remove a lot of the unknown variables for the client and give them a clear picture for what the project is
going to look like, how it is going to get done, and when it will be completed. The contractor should also
present potential options for further savings, which are an obvious benefit to the client.

Being able to evaluate all possible scenarios up front gives the client confidence that the contractor they
are working with knows what they are doing, and having realistic expectations helps to avoid issues
while the project is underway. It’s a real win, win for everyone involved.

How Much Does Pre Construction Cost?

Pre construction costs will depend on the scope of the project, the location, and more, but will usually
be somewhere in the range of one to three percent of the total cost of the project. The cost of Pre
Construction is a separate fee from the construction cost, as it comes before a bid for the actual
construction is even in place. But as we mentioned above, the potential savings it can provide in
addition to the peace of mind make pre construction well worth it.

D. PROJECT ORGANIZATION

THE PROJECT ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

A project organization is a structure that facilitates the coordination and implementation of project
activities. Its main reason is to create an environment that fosters interactions among the team
members with a minimum amount of disruptions, overlaps and conflict. One of the important
decisions of project management is the form of organizational structure that will be used for the
project.
Each project has its unique characteristics and the design of an organizational structure should
consider the organizational environment, the project characteristics in which it will operate, and the
level of authority the project manager is given. A project structure can take on various forms with
each form having its own advantages and disadvantages.

One of the main objectives of the structure is to reduce uncertainty and confusion that typically
occurs at the project initiation phase. The structure defines the relationships among members of the
project management and the relationships with the external environment. The structure defines the
authority by means of a graphical illustration called an organization chart.

A properly designed project organization chart is essential to project success. An organization chart
shows where each person is placed in the project structure. An organization chart is drawn in
pyramid form where individuals located closer to the top of the pyramid have more authority and
responsibility than members located toward the bottom. It is the relative locations of the individuals
on the organization chart that specifies the working relationships, and the lines connecting the
boxes designate formal supervision and lines of communication between the individuals.
Creating the project structure is only a part of organizing the project; it is the actual implementation and
application that takes the most effort. The project organization chart establishes the formal
relationships among project manager, the project team members, the development organization, the
project, beneficiaries and other project stakeholders. This organization must facilitate an effective
interaction and integration among all the major project participants and achieve open and effective
communication among them.

The project manager must create a project structure that will meet the various project needs at
different phases of the project. The structure cannot be designed too rigid or too lose, since the project
organization's purpose is to facilitate the interaction of people to achieve the project ultimate goals
within the specified constraints of scope, schedule, budget and quality. The objective in designing a
project structure is to provide a formal environment that the project manager can use to influence team
members to do their best in completing their assignment and duties. The structure needs to be designed
to help develop collaboration among individual team members; all in a cost effective way with a
minimum of duplication of effort and overlaps.

TYPES OF PROJECT ORGANIZATIONS STRUCTURES

Of the several factors to consider when deciding on the design of project organizational structures,
especially within an existing organization, the factor that has a significant is the extent of authority and
responsibility top management is prepared to delegate to the project manager. An important function
of the organizations’ top management is to design an organization that fully supports project
management. This is done by redesigning the organization to emphasize the nature of the projects and
adapting how roles and responsibilities are assigned.

The organization needs to define the project manager’s job, degree of authority and autonomy, and
relationship to both the organization, other projects and to other units in the organization. Upper
management also should specify communication channels, methods of conflict resolution between the
project and the rest of the organization. Development organizations are usually organized around
programmatic focus areas such as health or education. These areas are usually called program units and
are centered on a specific development field. In this environment a project has three organization
structures available for design and all are defined by the level of organizational authority given to the
project manager:
The Project Management Structures

 Programmatic based, in which project managers have authority only within the program focus or area
 Matrix based,, in which the project manager shares responsibility with other program unit managers

 Project based, in which project managers have total authority.

Programmatic Based

The programmatic focus refers to a traditional structure in which program sector managers have formal
authority over most resources. It is only suitable for projects within one program sector. However, it is
not suitable for projects that require a diverse mix of people with different expertise from various
program sectors. In a programmatic based organization, a project team is staffed with people from the
same area. All the resources needed for the project team come from the same unit. For instance, if the
project is related to the health area, the project resources come from the health unit.

The most obvious advantage of programmatic based projects is that there are clear lines of authority, in
large projects the project managers tend to also be the program unit manager. There is not need to
negotiate with other program units for resources, since all of the staff needed for the project will come
from the same program area. Another advantage of this type of organization is that the team members
are usually familiar with each other, since they all work in the same area.

The Project Management Structures

The team members also tend to bring applicable knowledge of the project.

A major disadvantage of the programmatic based organization is that the program area may not have all
of the specialists needed to work on a project. A nutrition project with a water component, for instance,
may have difficulty acquiring specialty resources such as civil engineers, since the only people available
will work in their own program unit. Another disadvantage is that project team members may have
other responsibilities in the program unit since they may not be needed fulltime on a project. They may
be assigned to other projects, but it is more typical that they would have support responsibilities that
could impact their ability to meet project deadlines.

Matrix Based

Matrix based project organizations allow program units to focus on their specific technical competencies
and allow projects to be staffed with specialists from throughout the organization. For instance,
nutrition specialists may report to one program unit, but would be allocated out to work on various
projects. A health specialist might report to the health unit, but be temporarily assigned to a project in
another project that needs health expertise. It is common for people to report to one person in the
programmatic unit, while working for one or two project managers from other projects in different
programmatic units.