CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT-IX

TOPIC: WBS AND OBS

SUBMITTED BY:
AASTHA
GARIMA TOOR
MADHURI THAKKAR
SARU ARORA
 ROLE OF ARCHITECT IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

An architect is expected to :- Visit the site from time to time to familiarize himself with the progress and
quality of the work being performed by the construction team.
To keep the owner informed of the progress and quality of the work.
To protect the owner of a project against defects and deficiencies in the work of the contractor
The architect is called upon to interpret and decide matters concerning the performance of the owner and
the contractor. He is expected to interpret fairly what the contract documents require.
When acting as the interpreter of building contract documents and the judge of contract performance, an
architect shall render decisions impartially, favoring neither party to the contract.
When the work requires changes, the architect often designs or specifies the change and oversees the
contractor's implementation of the change.
In a sense, the architect is acting as an advocate for the owner's interests.
WBS (WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE)
A work breakdown structure is an extremely valuable and important project management tool. It sets the
foundation for the rest of the project planning.
There are multiple ways that a project can be broken down so it is possible to have more than one project
management WBS. For example, the project might be broken down by phase, function or discipline.
The work breakdown structure, WBS, can be used to identify tasks in project planning models such as the
Critical Path Method (CPM), or Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Both CPM and
PERT model the activities and events of a project as a network. The first step in these project planning
models is to specify the individual activities.
The work breakdown structure, WBS, can be used to make a listing of activities in the projects, which can
then be used as a foundation to add other information in the other steps of the project management model.
The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can
understand, as each level of the work breakdown structure provides further definition and detail. Figure
1(below) depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined.
WHY USE A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE?

The work breakdown structure has a number of benefits in addition to defining and organizing the project
work.
A project budget can be allocated to the top levels of the work breakdown structure, and department
budgets can be quickly calculated based on the each project's work breakdown structure.
By allocating time and cost estimates to specific sections of the work breakdown structure, a project
schedule and budget can be quickly developed.
As the project executes, specific sections of the work breakdown structure can be tracked to identify
project cost performance and identify issues and problem areas in the project organization
Project work breakdown structures can also be used to identify potential risks in a given project. If a work
breakdown structure has a branch that is not well defined then it represents a scope definition risk.
When a project is falling behind, referring the work breakdown structure will quickly identify the major
deliverables impacted by a failing work package or late sub- deliverable.
The work breakdown structure can also be color coded to represent sub- deliverable status. Assigning
colors of red for late, yellow for at risk, green for on-target, and blue for completed deliverables is an
effective way to produce a heat-map of project progress and draw management's attention to key areas of
the work breakdown structure.
OBS(ORGANIZATIONAL BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE)
The organizational breakdown structure is an intermediate step in this process. It helps identify the
employees who will be responsible for project work. When you complete the entire project-planning process
with regard to tasks and responsibilities, the OBS deals with the organizational side of the project.
The preparation of the OBS uses a process similar to that of the WBS but for the organizational structure
instead of the work.
WHEN IS IT USED?
An Organizational Breakdown Structure is used in complex projects and in conjunction with the Work
Breakdown Structure. It is used whenever a WBS would be helpful. It allows an at-a-glance look at the
organizational resources structured in a hierarchical manner. An OBS is helpful in:
Project Management
Workforce Management
Work Breakdown Strucutres
Having a visual reference of the resources for any project
Viewing costs by resource
Viewing responsibilities by resource
AN OBS IS NOT TASK-FOCUSED. For visual representation of tasks within a project, a Work Breakdown
Structure would be used.