Production Management

in Construction
Sina Rezvani D.Eng. MRes, PhD, MIEE, MEI
University of Ulster, Jordanstown
School of the Built Environment
Course outline
§ Introduction
§ Resource allocation
§ WBS
§ Time management: Gant Chart
§ Critical Path method
§ Budgeting
§ Statistics
§ Test
 The nature of a project

A project is a sequence of unique, complex, and

connected processes and activities having one goal
or purpose and that must be completed by a
specific time, within budget, and according to
specifications.
 Projects are
§ Sequence of connected activities
§ Interrelated activities
§ Complex
§ Unique
§ Temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product or service
 Projects have
§ Purpose
§ Goal
§ a definite beginning and end
§ Specific outcome

Failure often results from flawed perceptions of

what is involved in successfully managing
complex system development from inception
through completion.
Kevin Forsberg: Visualizing Project Management
Source: Humor in Systems Analysis
What is the need? Who is your customer?

What is the product? What is its application?

Can we do it? Do you have the capability?

Can we win? Why will the customer buy it?

Is it worth it? Does it fit your goals?

How will we do it? What are the major tasks?

Projects require
§ Budget
§ Human resources
Being temporary, projects often bring together
people unknown to each other.
§ Problem solving skills
§ Resources
§ Planning
§ Organisation
§ Control
§ A detailed project schedule
§ List of all works
Project limitations
§ Controllable:
Specifications
Deadlines
Budget
Skills
Experience
§ Beyond our control:
Environmental
Political
Global
Projects involve
§ New people, new teams
§ Collaboration
§ Communication
Explaining tasks to all team members
Assigning tasks
Defining success
Keeping everyone informed
§ Interaction with a wide range of people
Tracking system
Comparing performance with plan
§ Assumptions
§ Risks
§ Decision making process
Project Characteristics Summarised
§ Capital investment
§ Finite duration
§ Involvement of people and groups with different
expertise
§ Complex tasks
§ Time limitation
§ Different phases
§ Risky at the start
 Project inception
§ Projects don’t fall from sky, they are created
§ Feasibility studies / Project evaluation
§ Planning
§ Coordination of interrelated activities
§ Resource allocation
Project planning
§ Historical Records – need to collect and use for
planning, estimating and risk
§ Meetings to consult on project scopes
§ Work Breakdown Structures
§ Do not introduce benefits that are not stated in
requirements
§ Needs of all stakeholders should be taken into
account during all projects
§ Team Members must be involved in project
planning
§ Project Manager must be pro-active
Examples
§ Building a power plant
§ Installing a new subway systems
Implementation
§ The application of knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities in order to meet or
exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from
a defined project – balancing the following:
Scope, time, cost, and quality
Stakeholders’ expectations
Requirements (needs) vs. unidentified
requirements (expectations)
 Resources

Success

Time Costs
(Schedule, Deadline)
 Products

§ Created as a result of a project

§ Complex objects with many dimensions
§ Functionality
§ Manufacturing process
§ Product management
§ Quality control
§ Marketing
§ Maintenance of the manufacturing line
§ Service and support
§ Product life cycle
§ Development cost vs. manufacturing cost
Management
Defining
Planning
Organising
Staffing
Executing
Controlling
Directing
Completing
Documentation
Feedback
 CLASSIFICATION OF PROJECTS

In-house Small Large Aerospace

R&D Construct. Construct. /Military MIS

Interpersonal skills Low Low High High High

Organisational structure Low Low Low Low High

Time management difficulties Low Low High High High

Number of meetings Excessive Low Excessive Excessive High

PM's supervisor Middle M. Top M. Top M. Top M. Middle M.

Project Sponsor present Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Conflict intensity Low Low High High High

Cost control level Low Low High High Low

 LIFE-CYCLE PHASE DEFINITIONS
Engineering Manufacturing IT Construction

Start-up Formation Conceptual Data gathering

Definition Buildup Planning Planning

Main Production Definition Basic Eng.

Termination Phase-out Design Major review

Final Audit Implementation Detailed Eng.

Conversion Construction

Commissioning
 Project Plan

• Why? • Objectives

• What? • Products
• When?
• Milestones
• Who?
• Responsibilities
• How?
• Approach
• How Much?
• Resources & Effort
 Project Scoping
§ An early planning step in the development of a project where
all project requirements are defined and a plan is developed to
address them.
Google web definition
§ A Project Scoping Study gives the project manager the
opportunity to look at and assess the project before it
becomes formally "live". Not so much to query whether the
project should go ahead but to establish how it needs to be
organised and managed, specifically:

üwhat the project aims and objectives should be

üwhat the risks and possible difficulties are,
üand how the project should be organised and tackled.
Lindsay Sherwin 2007
 Project Scoping Form

Project Name Project Manager Team Members

Problem / Opportunity (Why do this project?):

Project Goal:

Objectives (Specific, Measurable, Assignable), Duration? Cost?

Success Criteria (Outcomes):

Assumptions, Risks, Obstacles:

 Human resource planning
§ Definition:
“The process for ensuring that the HR
requirements of an organisation are identified
and plans are made for satisfying those
requirements.”

§ Activities involved:
Identify and acquire the right number of people
with the proper skills.
Motivate them to achieve high performance.
Create interactive links between business
objectives and people-planning activities.
 Aims of HRP
§ Attract and retain the number of people required
with the appropriate skills, expertise and
competencies
§ Anticipate the problems of potential surpluses or
deficits of people;
§ Develop a well trained and flexible workforce to
contribute to the organisation’s ability to adapt to
an uncertain and changing environment;
§ Reduce dependence on external recruitment
when key skills are in short supply by formulating
retention, as well as employee development
strategies;
§ Improve the utilisation of people by introducing
more flexible systems of work.
Practice
§ Resourcing strategy
§ Scenario planning
§ Estimating future requirements
§ Labour turnover
§ Action planning
 ‘HARD’ and ‘SOFT’ HRP
Hard HRP
Quantitative analysis to ensure
that the right number and sort
of people are available when
needed
Soft HRP
Ensuring the availability of
people with the right type of
attitudes and motivation
who are committed to the
organisation and engaged
in their work and who
behave accordingly
Soft HRP
§ Soft HRP is based on assessments of the requirement for
these qualities and measurements of the extent to which
they exist, by:

Using staff surveys

Analysing outcomes of performance
management reviews
Analysing opinions generated by focus groups
The HRP Process

Four main categories of staff:

§ Existing staff
§ New recruits
§ Potential staff
§ Leavers
 WBS

§ Functional decomposition of a system

§ Breaks the project into chunks of work at
a level of detail that meets planning and
scheduling needs
§ Object oriented WBS
§ Task oriented WBS
http://www.successfulprojects.com/
 WBS ? Organisational chart

BEST Management
Books
1.

Project Management
- An Introduction
1.1

Writing Editing Publishing

Text Book Text Book Text Book
1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Editing Editing Editing

1.1.1.1 1.1.1.2 1.1.1.3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
1.1.2.1 1.1.2.2 1.1.2.3

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1.1.1.1.1 1.1.1.1.2 1.1.1.1.3 1.1.1.2.1 1.1.1.2.3 1.1.1.3.2
Preparing a WBS
§ Iterative consideration of the project’s purpose
§ Functional/performance design criteria
§ Project scope, technical performance
requirements
§ Conceptual stage: A high-level WBS
§ Specifications at lower levels
§ Think deliverables
§ Clear vision of the end product
 Assumptions

§ Aggregation of all subordinate works

§ Decomposition to the level of production
§ Each element => a single tangible deliverable
§ Avoid duplication of efforts

§ Each subordinate element => Only one single parent

§ Logical partitioning of deliverables
§ Deliverables unique and distinct from their peers
§ Deliverables: optimised in size, controllable
§ Costs, resources and manpower
§ Consolidation of the whole project cost
 Level of details
§ Improving the accuracy of the estimation
§ Defining a responsibility for each deliverable
§ Number of deliverables for each WBS elements
§ Accuracy of the work processes timing
§ Cost definition
§ Time gaps in the execution of the work processes
§ Resource requirements changes over time within a
WBS element?
§ Prerequisites among internal deliverables
§ Objective criteria for measuring progress
§ Risks
§ Dependencies between deliverables
§ Aggregation of a portion of the work as a unit
 Cost estimation

1. Exergy cost Analysis

§ Evaluation of the cost for each stream
§ Internal cost/ not market cost
2. Parametric estimation
§ Based on historical data
§ Mathematical modelling of available key features
3. Factored Cost estimate/Bottom-up approach
§ Work breakdown structure
§ Allocation of costs to individual elements
4. Analogous system estimate/Top-down approach
§ Case based approach/inferential cost estimation of the entire system
§ Comparison and extrapolation
§ Cost adaptation and optimisation
§ Cost breakdown
5. Vendor quotes
§ Costs are obtained from vendors.
6. Cost scaling
§ Factors used to scale up/down costs
 Days Labour Cost (£) Materials cost (£)
1.1 Clear and mark out the Site Erection of a small
1 workshop
75 0
1.2 Dig soakaway and drain trench 1 150 0
1.3 Formwork for base 1 50 40
1.4 Concrete base 1 80 150
2.1 Cure time for concrete base 5 0 0
2.2 Position door frame 1 10 100
2.3 Build walls 5 700 750
2.4 Install window frame 50 75
3.1 Install RSJ Lintel over doors 1 100 30
3.2 Finish brickwork 2 200 30
3.3 Cut and fit roof timbers 3 400 180
3.4 Cap parapets 1 75 40
4.1 Fit roof sheets 2 220 200
4.2 Seal roof sheets 1 110 70
4.3 Fit gutters and rainwater pipes 1 100 60
4.4 Hang doors 1 80 25
5.1 Prime doors and window frame 1 80 20
5.2 Glaze Windows 1 50 30
5.3 Paint doors and windows 1 200 20
5.4 Fit door furniture 1 50 35
6.1 Concrete hard standing for cars 1 70 60
6.2 Install electrics 2 250 160
6.3 Connect electric main supply 1 0
Source: Denis lock 0
6.4 Clear away (requires skips) 1 80 120
Total estimates costs 36 3180 2195
 Factored cost estimation

n m k n m
c = b + ∑ α i ⋅ ri + ∑ β j ⋅ p j + ∑ ς l ⋅ ql + ∑ ∑ hij ( ri , p j )
i =1 j =1 l =1 i =1 j =1

Investment costs + fixed engineering costs + Soft costs + variable engineering costs

§ Costly: significant effort (time/money) required

§ Insight into major cost contributors.
§ Relationships among cost elements
§ Not responsive to "what if" requirements
§ Possibility to forget important elements
 Analogous System Estimate

§ Based on actual historical data

§ Relies on extrapolation and expert judgement
§ Relies on single data point
§ Difficult to identify appropriate analogues
§ Quick way of estimation
§ Readily understood
§ Select adaptation method
§ Combined with Parametric and scaling methods
§ Complexity factors (CF)
• Assess the complexity of the new subsystem compared to that of the
selected analogues
• Make a quantitative judgment for a value of the complexity factor
 Cost scaling
(CS)
(CS)

•CYA = Cost in year A

•CYB = Cost in year B
•IYA = Cost index for year A
I YA
CYA = ⋅ CYB •IYB = Cost index for year B

I YB

S
κA  •CκA = Cost at capacity A

CκA =   ⋅ CκB •CκB = Cost at capacity B

 κB 
•κA = Equipment or plant capacity A
•κB = Equipment or plant capacity B
•S= Scaling factor
ü(Values can be found: Haselbarth, Galagher)
 Building cost index

§ Steel frame construction cost index

§ Concrete frame construction CI
§ Brick construction CI
§ Labour cost index
Estimating Building costs: Calin M Popescu et al.
 Exercise 1

§ Cost of a building in 1985: £5M

§ Construction Cost Index 1985: 374
§ Construction Cost Index 2009: 817
§ Estimate the cost of a similar building in 2009.
 Exercise 2

§ A. Construction of a building with 300sqm space

Cost 1.5 M
§ B. Similar building
30% smaller
§ Scaling factor: 0.75
§ What is the cost of B?
 Project Planning: Resources
• People - skills and value
• Facilities/Equipment/ Materials
• Systematic task allocations
• Capital cost estimation/Economic
Analysis
• Time (project duration)
• Relation ship and dependencies
 Duration - Estimation

• Similarity to other activities

• Historical data
• Expert advice
• Mathematical models
 Duration is a Cause of Variation

• Sources of variation:
– Varying skill levels
– Unexpected events
– Efficiency of work time
– Mistakes and misunderstandings
 Relationships

• Network diagram
• Finish to start
• Predecessor Task: A A B

• Successor Task: B
• Activity A Must Be Finished Before B Can Start

• Arrow head indicates dependency relationship:

Task B cannot begin until Task A is complete
Consider lag and lead time
 Sheet
Rock

H
E
Frame D HVAC

Rough
Electric
G
 Exercise 3: Dependencies

1. Activity C and D both follow A

Activity E follows C
Activity F follows D
Activity E and F precede B

2. Activity G and F precede H

Activity G and D precede J
Activity M and H precede L
Activity F follows A
Activity A and D start at the same time
Activity J and L finish at the same time
Activity K and A precede L
construction of a
single family home.
 Building a house

Time Immediate
Required Predecessor
Activity Description (in days) Activities
A Excavate --
B Lay foundation A
C Rough plumbing B
D Frame/walls B
E Finish exterior D
F Install HVAC D
G Rough electric D
H Sheet rock C, E, F, G
I Install cabinets H
J Paint H
K Final plumbing I
L Final electric J
M Install flooring K, L
 Time Immediate
Required Predecessor
Activity Description (in days) Activities
A Excavate 3 --
B Lay foundation 4 A
C Rough plumbing 3 B
D Frame 10 B
E Finish exterior 8 D
F Install HVAC 4 D
G Rough electric 6 D
H Sheet rock 8 C, E, F, G
I Install cabinets 5 H
J Paint 5 H
K Final plumbing 4 I
L Final electric 2 J
M Install flooring 4 K, L
 CPM

§ Most important chain of tasks in a project

§ The start of each task depends on the completion of the

previous task.

§ The tasks are carried out by a person or a group.

§ If CPM is completed later as it was scheduled the entire

project completion will be delayed.
 CPM in construction

§ Sequence of construction operation

§ Predict construction completion time
§ Identification of critical activities
§ Project time reduction measures
§ Balanced scheduling of manpower
§ Progress report
§ Project evaluation
 Milestones
§ Milestones are significant events on a project that normally have
zero duration
§ You can follow the SMART criteria in developing milestones that
are:
Specific
Measurable
Assignable
Realistic
Time-framed
CPM: Definition
§ CPM is a project network analysis technique used to
predict total project duration
§ A critical path for a project is the series of activities that
determines the earliest time by which the project can be
completed
§ The critical path is the longest path through the network
diagram and has the least amount of slack or float
Finding CPM
§ First develop a good project network diagram
§ Add the durations for all activities on each path
through the project network diagram
§ The longest path is the critical path
 CPM

§ EST, LST, EET, LET

§ Critical path
§ Buffer time=LST-EST or LET-EET
 PERT

§ Programme
§ Establishing project baseline
§ Bottlenecks
§ Evaluating progress
§ Resource levelling
Project duration
Shortening project time
§ Shorten durations of critical tasks by adding
more resources or changing their scope
§ Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount
of schedule compression for the least
incremental cost
§ Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or
overlapping them
 Activity Pred. Duration Cost Trade/Plant
N. Cr. N. Cr.
1 A Start 4 3 4 7 Excavator
2 B Start 5 3 7 10 Concrete Gang
3 C Start 6 4 3 6 Excavator
4 D Start 3 2 8 12
5 E A 4 3 5 8 Concrete Gang
6 F B, D 2 1 6 10
7 G C 4 3 9 14 Concrete Gang
8 H D 5 3 5 8
9 I E 6 4 4 7 Excavator
10 J E 6 4 8 11
11 K A, F 2 1 4 6 Concrete Gang
12 L J, K, G 4 3 6 9 Concrete Gang
13 M G, H 3 2 3 5 Excavator
Total 72 ?
Original
schedule

Shortened
duration thru
crashing

Overlapped
Tasks or fast
tracking
 Activity Preceding Duration Resources
1 A Start 2 4
2 B A 1 2 2
3 C A 1 3 2
4 D A 1 5 3
5 E B 2 2 2
6 F B,C, D 2, 3, 4 4 3
7 G D 4 6 4
8 H E 5 4 2
9 I E, F 5,6 2 2
10 J F, G 6, 7 4 3
11 K H, I , J 8, 9, 10 2 2
 1 excavator, 1 concrete gang,
1 joiner team and 4 labourers.
Duration Cost in k£
Predece
Task No. Task ssor Resources Normal Crash Normal Crash

1 Start None None 0 days 0 day 0 0

2 A Start 4 Labourer 2 days 1 day 8 12

3 B Start 1 Excavator 5 days 3 days 25 30

4 C A 1 Concrete Gang 4 days 3 days 24 36

5 D A, B 1 Concrete Gang 3 days 2 days 20 26

6 E C, D 1 Labourer 3 days 2 days 3 4

7 F D 3 Labourer 6 days 4 days 18 25

8 G E 1 Joiner team 4 days 3 days 16 20

9 H F 4 Labourer 2 days 1 day 8 11

10 I F 1 Joiner team 3 days 2 days 4 6

11 End G, H, I Milestone 0 days 0 day 0 0

£142K
 Gantt Chart
• Visual scheduling tool
• Graphical representation of information in WBS
• Show dependencies between tasks, personnel,
and other resources allocations
• Track progress towards completion
• Dependencies: Show dependencies between activities with
arrows
– E.g., activity 2 cannot start until activity 1 is complete

Activity 1
Activity 2
Milestone

Time Frame: day 1 day 2 day3… day 23

Building a Gantt Chart