Construction Management - Construction Scheduling, Management & Cost Control

Schedule Control

• Critical path - By definition, activities on the critical path will delay the entire project if they are delayed
• Physical progress can be compared with the financial progress to determine if the project is:
  • on schedule or late
  • over budget or under budget

Materials Management

Ensure that materials are delivered in a timely manner to the site in the quantity and quality required. When materials arrive they are:

• Counted
• Inspected
• if necessary, Tested
  

Must determine the latest order date accounting for the:

• shop drawing
  • Preparation
  • submission and
  • approval time
• lead time required for fabrication
• shipping
  
• Too many materials stored on the site can lead to problem of:
  • space allocation
  • weather damage
  • theft

Construction Related Design

Temporary structures such as:

• Scaffolding
• Forms
• Temporary bridges
• Shoring
• Cofferdams
• Rigging must be designed by the contractor

Risk Management

Risks are inherent in construction

• Industry is moving toward allocating risks to the party most able to control the specific risk
• Managing risks means:
  • minimizing risks
  • insuring against risks
  • and sharing risks
    
• Construction risks - inability of a subcontractor to perform
• Economic risks - cost escalation
• Political/public risks - disapproval of the required project permits
• Physical risks - subsurface conditions
  
• Contractual and legal risks - risks assigned by contract over which the contractor has no control
• Design risks - a project design that is not constructible
• Worker injured or kille
• A job accident that injures the publi
• A construction vehicle is involved in an accident off the project

Risks are best assumed by the party with the ability to best control the risk
The best way to manage risks is to avoid them, but the construction industry is characterized by risks!

• Contractors manage risks by purchasing insurance
• Examining the contract language addressing changed conditions…
• Contractor safety programs
• Subcontracting is also a form of risk management –require performance and payment bonds

Value Engineering (VE)

• Function analysis or value analysis
• Main objective to reduce project cost, without reducing the quality of the structure
• VE exists because contractors know better ways to build projects, and owners are willing to pay for that knowledge!!