CEM 483

CHAPTER 2
HISTORY and CURRENT
DEVELOPMENT IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
 LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

Illustrate the history and

Analyze project management current development in
benefit and tradeoff . project management
[CO1:PO1] [CO1:PO1]

Demonstrate the overview of

Identify the characteristic of Project management.
a project. [CO1:PO1] [CO1:PO1]
INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION

There is probably no other discipline that

is more difficult than construction project.
The general goal is to build a project on -
time, within budget, with the stated
quality standards and in a safe
environment.
Easy right? Wrong! Research shows that
less than 20% of most construction
projects meet these four requirements.
CONT

Construction project is known for

continual problems. Contractors have a
continual record of poor performance.
Over the last 20 years construction
project management has developed in
knowledge, management skills and
increased performance and quality.
Today there are many excellent
contractors that perform well in time,
budget, quality and safety.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

One of the biggest industry but majority of

participants are small businesses.
Compare with other industries,
constructions technological advanced are
trivial.
Manufacturing & service industries.
Highly fragmented & divisive.
Custom-oriented, incentive-oriented
unique, complex.
CONT

Major Health & Safety and Environment

issues
Poor R&D
General goal: build a project on-time,
within budget, with the stated quality
standards and in a safe environment.
 CHALLENGES IN
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
OBJECTIVES OF CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT

Time

Quality
money
MANAGE HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGE CONSTRUCTION PLANT
MANAGE MATERIALS
ONCE UPON A TIME
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
LITTLE TOWN
THEN, CIT Y
THANKS TO THEM
 CLASSIFICATION OF
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Industrial
Building 5%
31%

Residential
47%
Heavy
Engineering
17%
 RESIDENTIAL

Residential construction includes single -family homes,

multiunit town houses, apartments, high -rise
apartments and condominium.
Residential housing designs are usually performed by
architects and engineers, and the construction executed
by builders who hire subcontractors for the structural,
mechanical, electrical and other specialty work.
market is heavily af fected by general economic
conditions, tax laws, and the monetary and fiscal
policies of the government.
RESIDENTIAL
 BUILDING/COMMERCIAL

small retail stores to urban redevelopment

complexes, from grade schools to complete new
universities, hospitals, commercial office towers,
theatres, government buildings, recreation centres,
light manufacturing plants, and warehouses.
Most of these structures are financed and built by
the private sector of the economy .
Specialty architects and engineers are often
engaged for designing a specific type of building,
while the builders or general contractors
undertaking such projects may also be specialized
in only that type of building.
 HEAVY ENGINEERING

Include roadways, bridges, canals, dams, and tunnels,

ports and harbour.
Both the design and construction phases of heavy
construction are primarily the domain of civil
engineers.
Construction phase is much more equipment -
intensive, characterized by fleets of large
earthmovers, cranes, and trucks, working with
massive quantities of basic materials such as earth,
rock, steel, concrete, timber, and pipe.
Require much greater expertise in engineering and
geology
 INDUSTRIAL

include petroleum refineries and petrochemical

plants; synthetic fuel plants; fossil -fuel and nuclear
power plants; mine developments, smelters, steel
mills, and aluminium plants; large heavy -
manufacturing plants; and other facilities essential to
our utilities and basic industries.
Both design and construction require the highest
levels of engineering expertise, from not only civil,
but also chemical, electrical, mechanical, and other
disciplines.
This work tends to be much more labour -intensive,
though some of the largest hoisting and materials -
handling equipment is also required.
 CURRENT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
SCENARIO (CONT.)

There are many stages and par ties involved in a particular

construction project. The problems facing by construction industr y
currently (2004) are:

a) Highly traditional and fragmented

b) Slow to embrace new technology
c) Restrictive / outdated building codes
d) Labour agreements and craft jurisdictional issues
e) Liability and legal considerations
f) Lack of profit motive or other incentive
 CURRENT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
SCENARIO (CONT.)
Malaysian construction industry strategic and operational
challenges are as follows:
a) Inefficient and ineffective method and practices in contractors
registration and administration procedure, procurement methods and
practices, contracting approaches, construction methods, planning
submission and building plan approval procedures.
b) Inability to attract and develop local workforce for the industry
mainly due to the Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult image of the industry.
c) Difficulty in securing timely and adequate financing at the various
stages of construction, and difficulty in repatriating
profits/dividends.
d) Inability to provide total integrated solutions in foreign projects,
unlike Japanese, Korean and German construction companies which
could provide total solutions that include financing package and
equipment.
 T Y P E S A N D R O L E S O F I N S T I T U T I O N A N D PA R T I E S I N VO LV E D I N
C O N S T R U C T I O N I N D U S T RY

A civil engineering graduate may be attached to one

of the following:
a) Owner or client or developer firm
b) Consultant firm
c) Contractor firm
d) Sales and marketing company
e) Relevant authorities / departments
 Those work with a developer firm may be a project
coordinator / project manager. They should be familiar with
the role of consultant and contractor. Those serve the
relevant authorities may be categorized as project co-
coordinator. Their job includes:
a) Incorporate function of consultant and contractor.
b) Engage of consultants and contractor.
c) Co-ordinate and supervise project.
d) Prepare memorandum of a project.
e) Prepare progress report.
f) Prepare payment to consultant and contractor.
 T Y PE S A N D ROLE S OF I N ST ITUTI ON A N D PA RT IE S I N VOLVED
I N C ON ST RUC TION I N DUSTRY ( C ON T.)

Graduates attach to a consultant firm may be a consultant

with the designation of design engineer, civil & structural
engineer, draughtsman, resident engineer, or clerk of work
(COW). They have to carry out the:
a) Feasible study
b) Site Investigation
c) Preliminary study
d) Design work (reinforced concrete, timber, and etc.)
e) Preparation of specifications and report
f) Quantity take-off and estimate
 T Y PE S A N D ROLE S OF I N ST ITUTI ON A N D PA RT IE S I N VOLVED
I N C ON ST RUC TION I N DUSTRY ( C ON T.)

If they were attached to a contractor company, they may

be a site agent, site engineer, site supervisor, technical
assistant, and etc. their works include preparing:
a) Feasible study
b) Site investigation
c) Specification and report
d) Quantity take-off and estimate
e) Construction program
f) Progress report (weekly/monthly)
g) Progress payment to sub-contractors
h) Supervise day-to-day work in site
CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT - Public Sector
- Private sector - Project Management Consultant

PARTICIPANTS
- Partner
- Architect
- Engineers: Civil, Structure, M&E
CLIENT / OWNER - Quantity Surveyor
- Land Surveyor
- Federal - Interior Designer
- State - Landscape Architect
- Local - Other Specialist

AUTHORITIES CONSULTANT

FINANCIER

- Bank
- Financial Company
- Credit Corporation
- Leasing Company

SUPPLIER CONTRACTOR

- Nominated Supplier - Main Contractor

- Manufacturer - Nominated Sub-contractor
- Importer
- Distributor

MANPOWER

- Technologist
- Technician
- Skilled Worker
- Semi Skilled Worker
- Unskilled Worker
 T Y P E S A N D R O L E S O F I N S T I T U T I O N A N D PA R T I E S I N VO LV E D I N
C O N S T R U C T I O N I N D U S T RY ( C O N T. )

1. Client
Anyone who has landed properties and the financial means to develop
them can be considered as client who required project consultancy
services.
2. Consultant
Designs the plans to be used by the construction contractors.
3. Contractor
Contractors principal business is the performance of the construction
work in accordance with the plans and specifications of the owner. A
general contractor takes full responsibility for the completion of the
project.
4. Supplier
Provide the raw materials used in the construction project.
5. Project Manager
Coordinates the construction project.
 PROJECT MANAGER

is a client representative.
sometimes consultant may be the project manager.
term project manager usually applied to projects in the
private sector, it is known as Superintending Of ficer (S.O.)
for the projects in the public sector.
may be an architect if it is a building work or an engineer if
it is a civil engineering work.
 Project Manager Roles and
Responsibilities
Integrator
PM is the most likely person who can view both the
project and the way it fits into the overall plan for the
organization.
Must coordinate the efforts of all the units of the project
team.
Communicator
Communicates to upper management, the project team,
and other stakeholders.
The PM who fails to decipher and pass on appropriate
information to the appropriate people can become a
bottleneck in the project.
The PM has the responsibility of knowing what kind of
messages to send, who to send them to, and
translating the messages into a language understood
by all recipients. 36
 Decision Maker
Makes key decisions such as allocation of resources,
costs of performance and schedule tradeoffs, changing
the scope, direction or characteristics of the project.
This is an important role with significant consequences
for the project as a whole.

Climate Creator or Builder

The PM should attempt to build a supportive
atmosphere so that project team members work
together and not against one another.
Seek to avoid unrest and negative forms of conflict by
building supportive atmosphere early.

Team Leader
Must be able to solve problems

Guide people from different functional areas

Coordinate the project to show leadership

capabilities 37
General Advice on Teams

Focus on meeting project objectives and producing

positive results
Make sure everyone understands the goals
Fix the problem instead of blaming people
Establish regular, effective meetings
Use PM tools and reports to help focus
Remember the product is important, not the paper
Nurture team members and encourage them to help
each other
Acknowledge individual and group accomplishments
Free Lunch etc.
Establish accountability

38
More Advice
Project managers should
Treat people with consideration and respect
Understand what motivates them
Communicate carefully with them
Never confuse people
Goal is to enable project team members to
deliver their best work
Motivation and morale helps meet schedules
Use Accountability to your benefit
SOMETIMES FIRING A TURKEY HELPS

Project Management - Project Bailout - www.ProjectBailout.com 39

 DUT I E S A N D RE SP ON SIBILI TIE S OF A PROJE C T M A NAGE R

The main responsibility of a project manager (or project engineer) is

to monitor, the work of RE and contractor to ensure the project
complete in the shor test period, at the lowest possible cost, with the
best value for money (quality).
The other duties and responsibilities of a project manager (or project
engineer) are:

1. Advising
Advise the client over the appointment of consultant and contractor
Responsible for calling and recommendation of tender

2. Coordinating
Coordinate the project with the Local and Federal Authorities
Certify progress payment to consultant and contractor
3. Leading
Acts as a leader of the planning team

4. Liaising
Liaise with various parties engaged to prepare project brief

5. Monitoring
Keep the record of work progress and report to the client

6. Motivating
Motivate various parties engaged in the design and construction

7. Problem solving
Liaise between management and parties concerned with the
project (in the design and construction problem).
 TIME CONTROL

To fulfill his main responsibility regarding time control, a project

manager should ensure that:

Owners firm up early on all chargers

Shop drawings are produced early for consultant approval.
Construction drawings are issued early to contractors for planning
and ordering of materials.
Critical nominated sub-contracts are called early and concerted
effort is made to tackle the critical path areas.
The use of materials and equipments that need a long lead-time
shall be approved early for the procurement
Purchasing of equipments and materials are placed early to avoid
possible factory or shipping delay.
 TIME CONTROL (CONT.)

In the initial planning before tendering phase, a project

manager can shor ten the construction period by:
Prevents time-consuming construction details from getting into
design.
Prevents time-consuming sequence for constructing a par ticular
work from being written into the specifications and drawings.
Prevents unnecessar y stringent conditions from getting into the
specifications and drawings.
 TIME CONTROL (CONT.)

During the construction stage, a project manager can ensure

speedier completion of the project by:
Give over time most commonly use
Improve productivity the cheapest method; hire qualified
people (good for long term)
Increase staf fs
Reduce works eliminate cer tain works
Subcontract par t of the works
Expedite owners decisions, and the flow of consultants
instructions and drawings to maintain job progress.
Ensure that material deliver on time to the site.
Ensure that priorities are given to critical areas of work to start
early.
 Ensure that proper method of construction is available to do work.
Encourage of settle site problems among trades.
Highlight and attempt to solve construction site problems with all
parties.
Re-schedule the work of all trades if necessary to ensure that they do
not hold up each other.
Think of the problems ahead anticipate the difficult and get rid of
them rather than trying to get problems.
Using extensive checkpoints in the sequence of work for design and
construction.
 SKILLS OF AN EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGER

1. Tec hnical
ability to apply specific methods, procedures and techniques in specialized
field.
A PM should be able to identify, develop and improve the technical skills
according to the situation.

2. Human relationship
dynamic ability of a PM to lead, motivate, manage conflict and work with
others.

3. Conceptual
Conceptual skills involve the ability to:
See the organization as a whole and recognize its relationship to larger
business world.
Understand the relationship among each department or functions or
organization (dependency among each other); and changes in one part can
affect the others.
Know how to diagnose and assess different types of management problems.
 SKILLS OF AN EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGER
(CONT.)

4. Communication
shall be considered as exchange of idea or giving direction/instruction.
important as a mean to transmit and share information between
departments and individuals for the distribution of knowledge.
Effective communication is necessary at every level of an organization to
ensure:
Effective flow of information
Accelerate work
Avoid miscommunication
Avoid false information
Ensure right instruction received by all parties.

Communication skills reflect PM ability to send and receive information,

thoughts, feelings and attitudes in every means. Therefore a PM should
possess certain capacity such as writing, oral/verbal and nonverbal (facial
expressions, body posture) communication skills. Top management may
convey their message (i.e. communicate) through face to face (talk)
instruction, circulars (write), or internet.
 CLIENT/OWNER
No construction would ever be accomplished without
owners who must make the decision to build the
facility, define the need, provide the financing, and
manage the construction process.
Most public owners are experienced construction
managers.
Most private owners, such as small manufacturing
companies, have little or no construction management
expertise and depend on consultants to help them
through their projects.
CONT
In property circles he is known as the
developer.
He is also the initiator and the financier.
The typical client is one that expects the best
quality in the shortest time possible and with
the lowest cost.
They are interested in the end products.
CONSULTANTS/DESIGN PROFESSIONAL

Architects and engineers are the principal

designer of construction project.
Architect is the lead-designer, engineer design the
building systems.
Architect concentrate on unique image, concept,
appearance etc(commercial buildings,
residential)
Engineer more to functional aspects
(heavy and industrial).
 ARCHITECT

Translate and develop an owners requirements and

graphically represent them so that contractor can
accurately price, schedule and implement the
design.

Drafter, CAD operators.

Specification writers.
Interior designer.
Landscape architect.
 ENGINEER

Understand owner's requirements; budget,

operations, durability and intended use of space.
Choose structural support, air-cond., lighting and
power, plumbing capacity etc
- Structural engineers.
- Mechanical engineers.
- Electrical engineers.
- Civil engineers.
- Surveyor.
CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONAL
(CONTRACTORS/CONSTRUCTOR)

Responsible for construction activities.

Most contracts are awarded to a main
contractor who manages the project, and
subcontracts portions of the work .
The primary job of the main contractor is to
manage the job, keep it on schedule, control
costs, ensure the work is well coordinated
and performed in a safe manner.
SUBCONTRACTORS / SPECIALT Y
CONTRACTORS

All subcontractors have a specialty such as

electrical or mechanical, steel erection,
acoustical, excavation and demolition.
Hired by and work directly for the general
contractor.
 FINANCIERS

A project can be financed in many ways, for

example; it can be from internally generated
funds or from banks and financial institutions.
Feasibility reports, cash flow projections,
project costing can be presented to banks /
financial institutions for a term loan.
 AUTHORITIES

Authorities requirements vary from project to

project and from place to place.
The Project Manager needs to be aware of the
departments involved, its submission
requirements, activity flow procedures and the
approximate time frame required to secure the
necessary approvals such as density, zoning,
plot ratio, height, massing and other technical
requirements.
Jabatan Kawalan dan Bangunan, Fire
Department, Police Department, Telekom
Malaysia, Jabatan Kerja Raya, Tenaga Nasional
Berhad (TNB), Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran,
Jabatan Bekalan Air (JBA), Land District Office
and Health Department.
 TRADERS & SUPPLIER

Traders: piledrivers, ironworks, cement

mason, sheetmetal workers, plasterers,
plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, glazier
and etc
Material supplier.
Equipment supplier: excavators, loaders,
trenching machines, cranes, generators,
pumps, compressors and etc
Current Construction Industry Scenario (cont.)
PARTIES FUNCTION EXAMPLE

Financial Provides credit and financial facilities

Institution includes bank, financial companies,
credit cooperation.

Owner/ Initiates the project, assumes risk, and

Client/ enjoys the profit or meets the loss.
Developer

Consultant plans and designs projects, prepare

tender documents, advice on the
award of contracts, supervises
implementation and administers
contract include architect / engineer /
quantity surveyor (QS) / Project
Management Consultant (PMC)
 PARTIES FUNCTION EXAMPLE

Main First-Hand-Contractor sector that

Contractor physically translates the project from
Sector their blue print stage to reality, by
coordinating the works of various
contractors through the construction
program.

Sub Contractor Sectors that actually carry out the

Sector physical work include the sub-
contractor (SC), supplier, nominated
sub-contractor (NSC) who is normally
a specialist sub-contractor, nominated
supplier (NS), labour sub-contractor.
 PARTIES FUNCTION EXAMPLE
Local Represents the government
Government approving authorities for the various
Agencies/ documents approval.
Local Authority
 PROJECT DELIVERY METHOD

Owner's approach to organizing the project team

that will manage the entire design and
construction process.
Governed to a large extent by risk but also by the
owner's desire to find a method that will deliver the
project on time, within budget, and in a form that
will meet the owner's needs most effectively
 TRADITIONAL METHOD

OWNER

RM
Completed project
design fee

Contract $
documents Bid price

DESIGNER CONTRACTOR

$ Completed
Consultant fees trade work

INFORMAL RELATIONSHIP
Design $
documents Sub-bid price

DESIGN SUBCONTRACTORS
CONSULTANT & SUPPLIERS
 DESIGN & BUILD METHOD

OWNER

$ Completed
Project cost project

DESIGN & BUILD

FIRM
$ Completed
Consultation fees trade work

Design
documents

$
Bid price
Design Subcon. &
consultant suppliers
 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

$ Design Fee
Owner Management Services

Contract $ Management
Documents Fee Construction
Designer
Manager

Completed
$ Bid Prices
Trade Work

$ Consultant Design
Fee Documents

Subcon. &
Design Consultant
Suppliers
END OF CHAPTER