CA4413 Construction Project Management

Xianfei YIN
[email protected]
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
City University of Hong Kong
 The basics
• Room and time: Y5-204, Lecture: 16:00-17:50; Tutorial: 18:00-
18:50 (Optional)
• Instructor: Xianfei YIN, [email protected]
• TA: Bin SHUI, [email protected]
• Office: MMW-5442
• Office hours: By appointment
• Course material: lecture slides (mandatory)
• Recommended books (not mandatory):
• Harris, F., McCaffer, R., Baldwin, A., & Edum-Fotwe, F. (2013). Modern construction
management. John Wiley & Sons.
• Hendrickson, C., Hass, C., & Au, T. (2024). Project Management for Construction (and
Deconstruction) – Fundamental Concepts for Owners, Engineers, Architects and Builders.
Carl Thomas Michael Haas.
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/projectmanagementforconstructionanddeconstruction/
What about you
• What do you know about construction project
management？
• Which year are you in?
• What are the related courses you have taken?
• Any keywords you can think of for CPM?
Course outline—subject to change
Week Lecture/Seminar
One Introduction to Construction Project Management
Two Organizing for Project Management
Three Resource management
Four Economic Evaluation
Five Public holiday
Six Construction Planning
Seven Scheduling techniques
Eight Mid-term test
Nine Sustainability in construction management
Ten Digital technologies in construction management
Eleven New trends in construction project management
Twelve Group presentation
Thirteen Review + Q&A
Assessment
• Coursework (45%)
o Two individual assignments (each 15%, I hope you
can finish most of these in class)
o One group assignment (each 15%)
o Form a group to present a research paper to
introduce new developments of CPM

• Mid-term examination (25%)

o 2 hours closed book exam

o Final examination (30%)

o 2 hours closed book exam
Course materials are available on CANVAS
 Disclaimer

The lectures slides and their related videos are provided for
the individual learning purpose of the learners registered
with the course. No part of the lecture slides and their
related videos can be reproduced or used for any other
purposes without specific writing permission from the
provider. All liabilities are disclaimed and all rights are
reserved.
Management of Construction
Projects
Outline

• What is construction project management? Why study it?

• The main stages of a typical construction project
• Design process - design brief, conceptual design, concerns
in design management
Learning Outcomes

• Describe the concept and importance of construction

project management
• Describe the main stages of a typical construction project
• Describe the design process
• Explain the importance of design brief and conceptual
design
• Explain the current concerns in design management
Outline

• What is construction project management? Why study it?

• The main stages of a typical construction project
• Design process - design brief, conceptual design, concerns in
design management
What is construction
project management?
What is a Project

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique

product, service, or result.
——PMBOK® Guide by Project Management Institute (PMI)

• A project is a temporary organization to which resources are assigned

to do work to deliver beneficial change.
——Handbook of Project-based Management by Prof Rodney Turner

• Temporary management environment, usually undertaken in phases,

created for the purpose of delivering one or more business outputs or
outcomes
——BS 6079: 2019 Project management
 What is a Project

A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that:

● Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications
● Have defined start and end dates
● Have funding limits (if applicable)
● Consume human and non-human resources (i.e., money, people, equipment)
● Are multifunctional

Examples of projects

Developing a new product Organizing a conference Conducting a Constructing a bridge

or service research study

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
What is a construction project

Construction is a process of building

or assembling something (structure,
facilities, infrastructure, …)

Characteristics
• Large Scale (Scope)
• Site specific, ever-changing and complex environment, high risk
• Multi-disciplines (civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, geotechnical, etc.)
and multiple project stakeholders
• Large Investment (Cost)
• Time-consuming (Time)
• One-of-a-kind product
• …
Construction projects should simultaneously address the geography, site conditions,
communities, physical environments, existing infrastructure, as well as a wide range
of stakeholder requirements.
What is a construction project

• For the successful execution of a construction project,

these must be considered carefully:
• Budgeting / Cost (Cost exceeds budget)
• Scheduling (Construction delay)
• Site safety (Accidents)
• Availability of resources (money/capital, labor/people,
equipment, materials)
• Environmental impact
• Specification compliance
• Logistics
• Inconvenience to the public
• …
 Construction project types
• Types of construction projects could be described/grouped:
• By its scope, budget and duration
• By nature
o Building construction
o Heavy/civil construction
o Industrial construction
• By works type
o New works
o Maintenance works
• By finance arrangement
o Financed by government
o Financed by private sector
• By project delivery methods (directly impact on the contracting strategy)
o Design-Bid-Build (DBB)
o Design-Build (DB)
o Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
o Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
 Construction project stakeholders
• Stakeholders are individuals or organizations that can be favorably or
unfavorably impacted by the project.
• Stakeholders can affect many aspects of a project, e.g. scope/requirements,
schedule, cost, project team, plans, outcomes, culture, quality, risk…
 Construction project stakeholders

• The client team/client/owner

o A construction project starts with a client. The client is the commissioning entity for a
project.
o A client could be the Government, institutions, property developers, private businesses
and individual owners.

• The design team/designer

o The design team are responsible for the design of the facility and for producing the
information required to construct it.
o Designers can be architects/engineers/surveyors/planners who contribute to or have
responsibility for the design and/or drawing up of the specifications of any part of the
project works.

• The construction team/contractor

o The construction team are contracted to undertake the construction works
o A main contractor is the company who builds and put things for real
o A sub-contractor is one of many others who are contracted to carry out specific task(s) or
trade(s) forming part of a main contract.
Project Management

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools,

and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Project management involves five process groups:

• Initiating: best project selection given resource limits; benefits recognition; document preparation
to sanction the project; assigning of the project manager WHY
• Planning: definition of the work requirements, work quality and quantity and resources needed;
activity scheduling; risk evaluation WHAT and HOW
• Executing: negotiating for the project team members; directing and managing the work; working
for improvement DO
• Monitoring and controlling: tracking progress; comparing actual to predicted outcome;
analyzing variances and impacts; adjustments DO
• Closing: verifying that all of the work has been accomplished; contractual closure; financial
closure; administrative closure DONE

by PMBOK® Guide
Project Management

Project Management Goals / Constraints

• Trade-offs:
o e.g. If the project team want to shorten/speed up a project,
additional cost may needed (e.g. work on weekend, add labour,
new technologies), otherwise the quality will be affected.
o e.g. If we add new scope to the project, then?
Project Management

The absence of project management may result in:

• Missed deadlines,
• Cost overruns,
• Poor quality,
• Rework,
• Uncontrolled expansion of the project,
• Loss of reputation for the organization,
• Unsatisfied stakeholders, and
• Failure in achieving the objectives for which the project was undertaken.

Successful project management can having achieved the project objectives:

• Within the allocated time period
• Within the budgeted cost
• At the proper performance or specification level
• With acceptance by the customer/user/client
• With minimum or mutually agreed upon scope changes
• Without disturbing the main work flow of the organization
• Without changing the corporate culture
 Construction Project Management
• “The planning, co-ordination and control of a project from
conception to completion (including commissioning) on behalf
of a client, requiring
• the identification of the client’s objectives in terms of
utility, function, quality, time and cost;
• the establishment of relationships between resources;
• integrating, monitoring and controlling the contributors
to the project and their output;
• and evaluating and selecting alternatives in pursuit of the
client’s satisfaction with the project outcome.”

Defined by Walker, A. (2015)

Project management in construction, six edition. John Wiley & Sons.
 Construction Management
addresses…
“the effective planning, organizing, application, coordination,
monitoring, control and reporting of the core business processes
of marketing, procurement, production, administration, accounts
and finance necessary to achieve economic success and/or
profitability for an enterprise or organization engaged in the
provision of construction facilities.”

From: Modern Construction Management, Seventh Edition. Frank Harris and

Ronald McCaffer with Francis Edum-Fotwe. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Construction Project Management
focuses on…
“the delivery of a specific solution by contracting with stakeholders who
undertake combinations of the following indicative sub-processes
relating to a specific project.”
• Scoping and budgeting the project • Cost and budgetary control, including cash flow
• Design coordination/management forecastings
• Establishing the management structure of the • Quality management
management team • Contract and progress payment administration
• Marketing and procurement • Legal issues
• Defining roles and responsibilities • ICT management
• Estimating and tendering • Health and Safety management, education,
• Stakeholder management training and welfare provision
• Project and construction methods planning, • Corporate Social Responsibility
coordination and control • Management of the potential environmental
• Value and risk management impacts of construction
• Organizing, leading and implementing controls • Commissioning, auditing and recording of the
• Production and productivity management project(s).
• Management of labor resources, temporary
works provision,
• Equipment, plant, subcontractors and suppliers
• Time and subcontractor interface management
F. Harris and R. McCaffer (2013)
 Construction Project Management

Project management in construction encompasses a set of objectives which may be

accomplished by implementing a series of operations subject to resource constraints.
The functions of project management for construction generally include the following:
1. Specification of project objectives and plans including delineation of scope,
budgeting, scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project
participants.
2. Maximization of efficient resource utilization through procurement of labor,
materials and equipment according to the prescribed schedule and plan.
3. Implementation of various operations through proper coordination and control of
planning, design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.
4. Development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts
among the various participants.

Hendrickson, C. T., & Au, T. (1989). Project management for construction:

Fundamental concepts for owners, engineers, architects, and builders.
• Cost and schedule overrun

• “98% of megaprojects suffer cost

overruns of more than 30%; 77% are

at least 40% late”

• Labour problem
• The industry is losing skilled workers

• Hard to recruit/maintain young people

• Profit rate decrease

Source: McKinsey Productivity Sciences Center (2015). Reproduced with permission of McKinsey & Company.
 Megaproject Management
Photo: GovHK. Official planning launched: 1991
Planned to open: 2011; Opened: 2020
Budgeted: €2.83 billion; Cost: €7.9 billion

Berlin Brandenburg Airport

Planned to open: 2015; Opened: 2018

Budgeted: HK$65 billion; Cost: HK$84.42 billion Photo by Arne Müseler

• Nine out of ten megaprojects have cost overruns. Overruns up to 50% in real
terms are common, and over 50% overruns are not uncommon.
• It seems that megaprojects follow the so-called “iron law”: Over budget, over time,
over and over.
• Weak front-end planning and poor downstream management

Flyvbjerg B. (2014) What you should Know about Megaprojects and Why: An Overview. Project Management
Journal, Vol 45 (April/May), Number 2.
Outline

• What is construction project management? Why study it?

• The main stages of a typical construction project
• Design process - design brief, conceptual design, concerns in
design management
 The construction process

The general construction process involves:

1. The owner/client comes up with a concept for something to
build; prepares a feasibility analysis; acquires the land.
Feasibility study/pre-design phase
2. The owner/client hires a designer (architects/engineers) to
prepare a design. Design phase
3. The project is tendered out for bidding and a contractor is
hired. Project procurement
4. The contractor constructs the project based on drawings and
specifications. Construction phase
5. The completed facility is turned over to the owner/client.
Closeout
The Project Life Cycle of
a Constructed Facility
Some of the stages require iteration, and others may be
carried out in parallel or with overlapping time frames,
depending on the nature, size and urgency of the project.

The Procurement Strategy needs to

be considered from an early stage as
it has a fundamental impact on how a
project is organized.
who employs the design team?
who is responsible for the design?
when the construction team are appointed?
who might inspects the building works?
who is contractually responsible for project risks?
…
by Chris Hendrickson
Influence Construction Cost Over Time

Ability to Influence Construction Cost Over Time

Process maps/plans of work

To guide clients through briefing, design and construction, handover and beyond.

Comparison of international plans of work (from RIBA 2020)

RIBA Plan of Work
By Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Stages
1. Strategic Definition Pre-
design
2. Preparation and Briefing
3. Concept Design Design

4. Spatial Coordination
5. Technical Design
5. Manufacturing and Construction
6. Handover
7. Use
Project life cycle

A Linear Project Life Cycle of a Constructed Facility

 Circular Economy Perspective

• Construction is responsible for roughly 50% of materials

consumption and 40% of our solid waste.
• According to the “The 2020 Global Status Report for Buildings and
Construction” [United Nations], it is responsible for 5% of our
energy use and 10% of energy related emissions.
• Strategies: restoration, refurbishment, retrofitting, deep
renovation, reuse and adaptive reuse of materials and space,
deconstruction, disassembly and recycling.
Circular Economy Perspective

Circular Capital Program Life Cycle

Operating Energy and Embedded Energy of
Our Building Stock as Time Progresses
Project life cycle

• No single best approach in organizing project management

throughout a project’s life cycle
• Consider type, size, location, etc for the project
• Balance the initial cost and operation cost
Outline

• What is construction project management? Why study it?

• The main stages of a typical construction project
• Design process - design brief, conceptual design,
concerns in design management
Design Brief

Construction projects are planned to meet specific needs,

whether of the public (e.g. transport),
or of a private organisation (e.g. commercial building),
or of an individual (e.g. house).

How to meet Client‘s needs?

Design Brief

Key project planning document that specifies what the

project has to achieve, by what means, and within what
timeframe (BusinessDictionary), which contains:
• Purposes & Objectives
• Regulatory Issues
• A statement of the client’s requirements
• Constraints & Priorities in terms of Time and Costs
• Plans
• Formats
• Other information as appropriate
Design Brief

Preliminary Design Brief

• Included in the Project Plan developed by the Client or the Client’s Project
Manager
• A statement of the Client’s requirements, constraints and priorities, e.g. in
terms of time and costs

Detailed Design Brief

• Developed by a Designer (or Design Team) selected and appointed based
on the Project Plan and Preliminary Design Brief along with the Client /
Client’s Project Manager
• Different stakeholders from multi-disciplines should work together in
extracting the real needs of the client and translating them to a proper
project design, e.g. functional area statements, envisaged performance
levels, environmental constraints, financial constraints and targets.
Design Brief

It is important to know what the Client’s needs are

• The Designer should know the “Right Answers” to the design
problems, but…
• Because the Client often does not know what is needed,
• The Designer should be able to:
• Ask “Right Questions” to the Client and
• Interpret the Client’s answers in formulating the actual needs
 Outcome: Project Brief
approved by the client, and
confirmed that it can be
accommodated on the site.
Project Brief
Feasibility Studies
Site Information
Project Budget
Project Programme
Procurement Strategy
Responsibility Matrix
Information Requirements
Outcome: Architectural
Concept approved by the
client and aligned to the
Project Brief.
Engineering Design

Engineering design is the process of converting an idea or market

need into the detailed information from which a product or technical
system can be produced.
(Managing Engineering Design by Hales and Gooch, 2004)

In the construction industry, engineering design is the process of

converting the client/owner’s need into the detailed information
(design) in the forms of drawings and specifications from which a
facility can be constructed.
Conceptual Design

• Vital to the viability of the project

• Design decisions affecting roughly 80% of the building
cost are taken by the time a sketch design is formulated
(by Peter Brandon)
• Also see Pareto 80/20 Rule and Gini Coefficient
 Client’s Cost Commitment vs. Time

Client’s (Cumulative)
Cost Commitment
Approximately
20%?

Approximately
80%?

20% 80%
Time

Brief and Design Development

Conceptual and Detailing
Design
 Conceptual Design: Design Alternatives

A
Cost Commitment vs. Cost Expenditure
Cost of Design Changes with Time

Melissa Cousineau, Thomas W. Lauer, Eileen Peacock, (2004) "Supplier source integration in a large
manufacturing company", Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 9(1), 110-117.
Conceptual Design

• Evaluation of more design alternatives in the Conceptual Design

phase is more valuable than later phases (detailed design and
construction phases)

• Value Engineering has become popular to find the design solution

for the best “Value for Money”

• Standardized approaches to typical projects would help

increase efficiency and minimize omissions
Design Methodology

Definition or description
of a design problem

Change in the solution Refines the problem

or re-design if needed definition or description

Describes the Involves gathering a set of

chosen solution potential solutions

Potential solutions are

evaluated and compared
until the best is obtained

Conceptual Design Process

(R.W. Jensen and C.C. Tonies, Software Engineering, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979, p.22)
 Design Methodology

• As the project moves from conceptual planning to detailed design, the

design process becomes more formal.
• Since design problems are large and complex, they have to be decomposed
to yield subproblems that are small enough to solve, such as by functions
of the facility, by spatial locations of its parts, or by links of various
functions or parts.
• Different design styles may be used.
o Top-down design. Begin with a behavior description of the facility
and work towards descriptions of its components and their
interconnections.
o Bottom-up design. Begin with a set of components, and see if they
can be arranged to meet the behavior description of the facility.
• The design of a new facility often begins with the search of the files for a
design that comes as close as possible to the one needed.
• The design process is guided by accumulated experience and intuition in
the form of heuristic rules to find acceptable solutions.
 Some of Items to Check at Design Stage
• All factors relevant to the design of permanent works, possible
temporary works, constructability
• Sought approval/consent from stakeholders if any of the above mentioned
lie within their jurisdiction area
• Schedule coordination with other interfacing works,
• Resolve issues that may arise during construction, e.g. dumping of construction
waste
• Resolve objections from public
• Land available by the scheduled date
• Compliance with statutory requirements
• Agreement on the division of maintenance responsibility
• Provisions made available (funding and lead time) to deploy resident site
staff (RSS) resources to supervise the construction
• …
 Current Concerns in Design Management

Buildability/Constructability of design: “the extent to which the

design of a building facilitates ease of construction (Simonsson, 2011)”
Note: the term “buildability” was coined by CIRIA (Construction Industry Research Information
Association) in the UK, whereas the term “constructability” originated from the CII (Construction
Industry Institute) based in the USA, originally presented in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Many designs are neither easy nor cheap to construct
• Difficult to construct or unrealistic design: requires special resources and
extra efforts
• Safety: Poor constructability may cause accidents in the field
• Construction time and cost can be saved by more constructable design
through well structured appraisal of constructability
• Easier to access the construction area
• Design that does not require complex formwork
•Heavily influenced by the amount of information designers collect from
experienced contractors in ensuring their design is feasible and realistic

Simonsson, Peter (2011), Buildability of Concrete Structures: Processes, Methods and Material.
Examples of Tips for improving
buildability/constructability
1. Investigate thoroughly
2. Consider access (at the design stage)
3. Consider storage (at the design stage)
4. Design for minimum time below ground
5. Design for early enclosure
6. Use suitable materials
7. Design for the skills available
8. Design for simple assembly
9. Plan for maximum repetition / standardisation
10. Minimize wetwork (plastering, concreting, etc.)
11. Increase precasting / prefabricated components
12. Maximise the use of plant
13. Allow for suitable tolerances
12. Allow a practical sequence of operations
14. Avoid return visits by trades
15. Plan to avoid damage to work by subsequent operations
16. Design for safe construction
17. Communicate clearly
 Buildability in Singapore
Buildability legislation was implemented in 2001

• The Buildable Design Score measures the potential impact of a building design on labor usage
• The Constructability Score measures the adoption level of labor-efficient construction methods
and construction processes
 Design for Buildability in Hong Kong

• Development Bureau’s Technical Circular (Works) No. 6/2018 – Buildability Evaluation System
to mandate the implementation of Buildability Evaluation System (BES) for vetting and monitoring
design of public building projects.
• An assessment and scoring approach to rationalise project designs and facilitate asset maintenance;
promote mechanisation and prefabrication; enhance construction productivity and project cost
management to achieve value for money in public building projects (by ArchSD).
• Extended to Buildability Evaluation System for Public Engineering Works Projects (BES(E))
Current Concerns in Design Management
Integration of the design activities
• Toreduce/minimize coordination errors, disagreements, and wasted time
• Easier with the rapid Information Communication Technology (ICT) advances
• More efficient and effective coordination
• Close monitoring
• Real-time updates
• Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Visualization
• Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and many others

Integration of design strategies and parameters

• With construction priorities/ preferences /requirements for better
constructability
• Integrated Project Delivery (IPD)
Building Information Modeling and Visualization

• Process Modeling
• Data Modeling
• Information Exchange
• Visualization
Current Concerns in Design Management
Life cycle concerns, including Sustainability and Maintainability
• Sustainable construction aims to reduce the environmental, social and
economic impact of a construction project throughout its lifecycle, while
satisfying the owner and the occupants
• Key Areas that people pay attention to
• Reduce carbon emission from construction projects
• Construct energy efficient buildings
• 90% of electricity consumed by the building sector in HK
• Sustainable construction materials
• Renewable energy
• And many others …
 Learning Outcomes

• Describe the concept and importance of construction

project management
• Describe the main stages of a typical construction project
• Describe the design process
• Explain the importance of design brief and conceptual
design
• Explain the current concerns in design management