Construction Project Planning

Managing a construction project can be quite complex as there are so many people, processes, resources, technology, etc. integrated into one package. The final goal is delivering a highly successful project to a client(s) on budget & time, whilst churning in substantial ROI or profits for subcontractors and project stakeholders.

But, getting to that milestone isn’t simple. Construction Project Planning or Construction Project Management is dependent on various parameters viz. budgeting, coordination, planning, tracking, managing, reporting, and more. In practice, a construction project manager take responsibility of more than 100 project responsibilities.

Whilst, all these responsibilities can make your head go spiral, it is important for a construction project manager to stay composed, and be more manageable. Furthermore, technology serves as an important conduit to simplify complex processes like coordinate responsibilities, track project progress, enhance communication & coordination, and streamline the whole project.

Key functions of Construction Project Planning

·         Planning

·         Coordination

·         Management

·         Directing

·         Regulating

·         Supervising    

These functions can be applied to various construction domains viz. Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure, Hospitality, and more.

Key skills of Construction Project Managers

Construction Project Managers need to garner exceptional management skills to manage a construction project. This can be done through years of expertise and experience, but modern construction professionals do not have to wait anymore.  A Project Planning Course or Construction Project Planning Course can be leveraged to get certified globally, and certified professionals can begin managing projects right after completing these courses.

Some of the key skills can be listed as –

·         Communication

·         People skills

·         Knowledge skill-set

·         Technical dexterity

·         Managerial skills & key stakeholders

·         Overseeing budget analysis

·         Control on-site construction  

What is the project management process?

The most crucial point of clutching a project would be the bid – there are two types of bids viz.

·         Open Bid – Public Projects – any contractor can make an offer

·         Closed Bid – Private Projects – Bids sent to specific contractors

The project owner can select these bids based on 3 important parameters viz.

·         Low bid – lowest bid gets selected based on reduced project costs

·         Best value – bids selection based on budget, quality, and contractor experience

·         Qualifications-based – bids solely selected on contractor experience

After the right bid is selected, the project owner needs to select the said contractor based on these contract types

·         Unit Price – owner provide necessary building material or resources at a unit price to reduce expenditure cost

·         Cost Plus – contractors usually benefit from this contract type with a fixed fee, and fee percentage for unanticipated project expenses

·         Guaranteed Maximum – similar to cost plus, but the percentage on additional costs is fixed

·         Lump Sum - fixed fee between the owner and contractor irrelative of lower or higher final project costs

Moving forward, once the bidding process and contract selection is complete, owners can handover the project to contractors wherein the construction management team can begin their work. Construction Project Planning consists of a globally accepted lifecycle viz.

·         The Work that must be accomplished

·         Generation & review of deliverables

·         People that need to be involved in the project

·         Controlling and approving each project phase

Here are some of the construction project phases explained in brief –

Initiate – Define the objective and feasibility using project planning tools. Create a PID or Project Initiation Document that serves as a groundwork for the project plan

Plan – Create a project management plan using the following parameters – cost, time, and resources. Other plans or documents in the planning phase includes –

·         Scope – define objectives, scope, benefits, etc.

·         Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – breakdown the scope into smaller sections for each team

·         Communication – create and manage an efficient communication flow between various team members

·         Risk Management – identify risks in terms of costs, time, change orders, lack of resources, etc.

Execute – execute the project plan whilst assigning roles and resources, it also involves project monitoring, tracking, schedule updates, modifications, etc.

Monitor – monitor project performance based on budget and time

Closing – final phase of the construction project through a complete handover to the owner

Some of the strategies that organizations can implement are listed as follows –

Managing Records – keep track of project documents, be it physical or digital copies

Managing Contracts – set project procedures and expectations for contractors and how contracts are monitored, payments are done, and modifications are taken care of

Procurement – set contract pricing, work scope, standardize documents, etc.

Commissioning – use the commissioning plan to set a direction for the commissioning process, and resolve problems based on responsibilities, scheduling, approvals, reporting, and project coordination

Control – track and manage cost, scope, and schedule. It also helps construction project managers create a project baseline to monitor performance

Documentation – tracking and securing documentation of the complete project is crucial. It includes logs, activities, or any other information that can help maintain the project after handover

There are several project management techniques that can be applied viz.

·         Bar Charts or Gantt Charts – create a construction schedule using bar charts and Gantt charts

·         Critical Path Method – determine timeframe of each activity or task. Also used in categorizing important and non-critical activities or tasks

·         Line of Balance Scheduling – used for repetitive tasks, assigning resources, meeting project milestones

·         Q-Scheduling – used to create a sequence of project activities, and their relationships. Also balances repetitive tasks like Line of Balance Scheduling

Conclusion

Construction Project Management is one of the key roles for AEC projects. Construction professionals who are willing to upgrade their skills and become astute project managers can take an online project planning course.

Online Project Management courses mostly include high-impact industry techniques like Earned Value Management, Agile Project Management, Critical Chain Technique, Waterfall Technique, etc. These online courses are best-in-class as they are built on robust LMS platforms that contain rich learning content in the form of text, audio, video, PDF’s, and more.

Course participants can leverage question sets or quiz to test their knowledge at the end of each module or course, and gain certification after passing the subsequent test.  

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