Project and Construction Management

Lecture #30

Planning

Luis Prieto-Portar 2009

Planning the Construction Process.
The planning of a project is application of common sense to the logical analysis of
each step of the process. Before the timeline and list of activities is prepared,
these questions need to be asked:
1) Long-lead purchases. Some items, such as elevators, special structures, etc
require to be purchased and manufactured a long time before they are installed
in the project. These items must be resolved very early in the process.
2) Utility interruptions. Will a major electrical, water, sewer or gas line be
interrupted for the neighborhood in order to connect to the project? If so, the
utility company must prepare for this major event, by knowing the date it must
take place, how long will the interruption occur, etc.
3) Temporary utilities. What provisions are made for temporary electrical, water
and sewer for the construction? Who supplies these utilities?
4) Labor. Is the project union or open shop? Can labor be mixed?
5) Storage and work areas. Is there enough space to work on the project? Is a
remote site needed, say for parking, storage, etc?
6) Traffic requirements. Will large cranes be allowed to work from the street? Will
special operations require temporary closure of the street?
7) Subcontractors. How are other contractors planning to use the common space?
Also, how are these subcontractors affected in their schedules by others?

8) Environmental controls. What environmental restrictions are in place?

9) Special regulations. Are there special restrictions on the times construction can
take place?

10) Special construction equipment. Will very large crawler cranes be required? Will
special roads be necessary to move very large equipment?

11) Time. Will ordinary crews complete the project on time, or will special crews be
required to attain a special early completion?
Conventional versus phased (fast-track) construction.
Coordinating a phased (fast-track) construction project.
The S-Curve is one
of several ways to
show the percent
completion of a
project within the
calculated time.
Using a Gantt bar chart to revise a schedule. In this instance, the originally scheduled
completion after 10 months has been reduced to completion in 6 months.
Planning Project Life Cycles.
Civil engineering projects, and military operations, are each unique. They also have a
time cycle of their own. Projects can be divided into pre-funding and post-funding
phases. The pre-funding consists primarily of planning. The post-funding consists
primarily of execution (construction).
Wideman in 1983 suggested that it is convenient to divide a project into four phases:
Conceive (C), Develop (D), Execute (E) and Finish (F), which are simplified by their
initials C, D, E and F.
The Conceive phase identifies the needs. Alternative solutions to the needs are analyzed
via block diagrams and preliminary drawings. These are followed with preliminary
schedules and budgets. If everything is still viable, the project moves to the next phase.

The Develop phase takes the block diagrams and converts them into process flow
sheets. Preliminary engineering evolves into detailed drawings and specifications.
From these, better budgets, cash flows and schedules are prepared. Environmental
impact statements are prepared, and government permits are obtained. The project
brief is prepared. The brief is a document that provides a summary of the project for
financing. Funding may come from government agencies, banks or private investors.
This provides the “go - no go” decision point.

After the decision to “go” is taken and funding is approved and the Execution phase
can commence. This phase requires the greatest effort and the highest expenditures.
Engineering, procurement and construction take place in this phase, based on the
scope defined by the cost, the time frame and the quality requirements.

The project is concluded in the Finish phase, with government inspections and their
certificates of completion or occupancy (CC or CO), testing all systems, training
operators, and emitting warrantees and final funding closures. Ownership is
transferred to the client. Simple projects have short C and D; complex projects have
long C and D. Montreal’s 1980 Olympic stadium had too short a C and D and resulted
in a 400% cost overrun during E and F.
Owners have demanded that project management control costs and time. Companies in
the past used functional lines to control projects. These lead to diluted responsibilities.
Hence the need for project specific engineers, who take all the blame and pressure. One
of many models of PM is shown here as a 3-D matrix, where functions, processes and
phases are all interlinked.
Project Management versus Traditional Management.

What is the difference between these two?

Traditional management (TM) measures effectiveness upon the return on investment on

an annual basis, using the previous year as a comparison. PM is based on the
individual project, a one-time basis, and effectiveness is based on the planned goals.
In TM, the corporate goals are commonly the personal objectives of the founder or the
chief executive officer (CEO). In PM, the project defines the goal.
In TM change is gradual, and commonly resisted. In PM change is constant in order to
optimize the project process; time spans are much shorter than TM. As the world
globalizes, companies will gradually need to adopt the PM time scales.
TM is common in service and manufacturing industries, where products evolve slowly.
Manager responsibilities are static, and repetitive. In civil (and military) projects,
each project is different, and time is always critical.
In TM, the organization has many vertical layers of management (departments), and
communications and the flow of responsibilities are vertically between the lower,
middle and upper management levels. In PM the flow is primarily horizontal, which
leads to smaller and leaner management teams (see U. S. Marine Corps’ “leaner and
meaner” structure, referenced in “Semper Fi: The USMC Management Method”).
Responsibility for failure is diluted in the TM structure. The PM is singularly
responsible, with a single focus: the specific project.
Planning is the primary task of a PM.
The process of planning is the selection of the most important objectives of the project,
and choosing the optimal methods of reaching those objectives.

Proactive managers prepare a plan, and constantly work towards it. It is the opposite of
reactive management, also called crisis management, which is the result of insufficient
or poor planning. Planning permits the PM to control the project, whereas poor
planning (reactive or crisis) robs the manager of any control, who panics and faces
targets that shift from day to day.

Planning forces the engineer to meticulously visualize the design and construction of
the entire project in his head, multiple times, until the whole process is clear of
obstacles. Confidence is thus attained through systematic planning.

Planning breaks up the project into phases. The completion of each phase is a milestone
along the timeline.

The exercise of planning trains the engineer to visualize the requirements for
execution, monitoring and controlling the project. Therefore, whoever plans the project,
is the “de facto” PM.
The Systems Approach to PM.
A system is an assemblage of things that forms a more complex unitary whole.

A project is created because somebody determined that there was a need. That need is
then satisfied via a system that receives input of goods and intelligence, and outputs a
finished project. For example, an automobile is a system (of parts) that solves an
individual’s transportation needs.

In engineering projects, the system approach combines the project components and a
problem solving technique. A common technique is the Kepner-Tregoe System, also
known as the lack-solution system:

1) Define the need.

2) Clearly describe the objective of the project. Write it out as a single sentence.
3) Develop the design criteria that clearly lead to a solution.
4) Propose and study as many alternate solutions as possible.
5) Consider above all the physical, economic and financial feasibilities of each.
6) Optimize each alternative solution. Choose the best. List its drawbacks.
7) Plan and implement the best solution.
8) Use feedback to continuously improve the process.
The lack-solution system is made up of components (for example, slabs, columns, CBS,
roof trusses) that form the structural sub-system. Other sub-systems are electrical,
plumbing, mechanical, etc., that form a whole system called “a house”.
The lack-solution system’s eight steps start with synthesis in steps 1 to 3, analysis in 4
and 5, finalizing with selection in steps 6 through 8.

In a construction project the key systems are organization, planning, management

information, project control, and techniques and methodologies.
The Different Types of Plans.
Planning is extremely effective at the beginning of the project, that is, stages C and D,
and decreases as the project progresses into E and F.
Schedules are for example, plans for time.

Other type of plans are,

Organization,
Staffing,
Procurement,
Contracting,
Safety,
Materials management,
Total quality management (TQM),
Communications,
Information,
Commissioning,
Turnover,
Completions,
Fabrication,
Promotion,
Marketing,
Sales,
Publicity.
Projects are becoming increasingly complex, driven by improved technology, code
requirements, scarce trained labor, the increased transient nature of labor and global
competition. That is why PM is increasing in demand. The increasing costs of financing
(capital), changing demands from owners and third parties, and increasing exposure to
aggressive litigation have increased the risk element in engineering projects. That risk
can only be mitigated through forethought and the development of alternative
solutions. That is planning.

Labor strikes, inclement weather, delayed or lost shipments of materials, and a

thousand other events can (and usually, will) change the best laid plan. Therefore,
continuous or dynamic planning is necessary.

As plans become extremely large, the PM will be forced to manage by exception. If the
project is on track, no exception report is necessary. An exception report is required
from the manager only when management actions are required. In addition to the
exception report, the PM will also issue an accomplishment report.

Each civil and military construction project is unique, and differs radically from the
products of industrial, electrical and mechanical manufacturing. Therefore, a project
can not easily be judged against a “standard”. The only instrument capable of serving
as a “standard” is the plan. The actual performance must be judged against that plan.
That target plan’s objectives are time, cost, quality and goodwill.
The Planning Steps.

A good plan starts by asking good questions: what, why, how, where and by whom. The
most successful REs develop checklists, based on experience, that reduce forgetting
important steps:

Define the work breakdown structure (WBS), that is, the elements, the activities.

2) Identify all the participants: owners, banks, public agencies, sub-contractors,

vendors, designers, inspectors, insurance agents, etc.

3) Assign a responsibility to each element (activity), such as a name, title, e-mail, etc.

4) Identify the milestones of the project: start, finish, etc.

5) Identify the sub-projects and their connections to the main plan.

6) Identify the interfaces between sub-contracts (for example, the openings in the
structural slabs to pass MEP utilities, etc).

7) Identify who needs to be informed at each key event or milestone.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Planning consists of breaking down a large project (the ‘work”) into small pieces.

This breakdown will initially be different from one RE or PM to another, based on

their respective experiences. Therefore, each plan is initially a bit subjective. As the
plan progresses and all the participants add their sub-plans, the evolving plan will
tend to be remarkably similar to another experienced PM’s plan.

As the plan progresses and expands, it resembles the building of a pyramid from the
top down. Large divisions lead to sub-divisions, groups and sub-groups. The base of
the pyramid keeps expanding in size and complexity. This process is known as the
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). At the lowest level are the work packages.
Some projects are controlled both by the PM and the owner. The owner may decide
when and who gets the sub-contracts. These work packages are also cost centers (CC).
Each cost center has its own budget, expense account and charge number. The charge
number is called a code of accounts. The PM plan and the owner’s WBS (the CCs) now
overlap, as shown below.
The Organizational Responsibility Chart (ORC or OAT).

Each work package is assigned to an individual person to be solely responsible. These

individuals have clearly defined lines of communication and reporting. The term
Responsible Agency (RA) is a front line supervisor, whereas Performing Agency (PA)
is the contractor’s individual that is responsible for the work package. Typical titles
used in the industry range from project engineer at the front line, up to supervisor,
coordinator and finally, project manager.
References:

1. Gould F., “Managing the Construction Process”, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, New
Jersey, 2001;
2. Fisk E., “Construction Project Administration”, 6th Edition, Prentice hall, New
Jersey, 2000;
3. R. Wideman, “Cost Control of Capital Projects and the Project Cost Management
System Requirements”, AEW Services, Vancouver, Canada, 1983.
4. John E. Schaufelberger, Len Holm, “Management of Construction Projects”,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2002.
5. Robert L. Peurifoy PE, Clifford J. Schexnayder PhD, PE, Aviad Shapira DSc,
“Construction Planning, Equipment and Methods”, Seventh Edition, McGraw-
Hill, New York, 2006.
6. Northwest Center for Professional Education, “Financing Income Property”,
Portland, Oregon, 1986.
7. Hira N. Ahuja, S. P. Dozzi, S. M. Abourizk, “Project Management”, Second
Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1994.
8. D. Carrison, R. Walsh, “Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way”,
American Management Association, New York, 2005.