AET 4243
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Chapter Conclusions - 8
The construction period can be the most exerting part of the design/build cycle. Every day the conditions of the job change. There will always be problems to solve, logistical challenges to meet, new people to work with, daily satisfactions in getting specific tasks accomplished. It also can be the worst part of the design/build cycle. If the project gets out of control from a cost, schedule, or logistical standpoint, it is very difficult to get it back on track. Tempers get short, motivation to cooperate is lessened; efforts to blame increase. The only way to avoid this negative cycle is to ensure that the job is planned well and that contingencies are built in. These contingencies can be money, time, or alternate methods of accomplishing the work. In any case, the construction project manager must be quick to recognize when the project is going off track and be prepared to act decisively to get it back on track, often before anyone else notices that it has strayed. This is especially true toward the end of a job, when money and time are tight and there is little room to maneuver. Here is where the true worth of a construction professional is tested. Last minute details, pressures from the owner to finish, loss of staff and subcontractors as the project winds down all play against getting the project 100 percent complete. However, that is the goal and the expectation. It takes specific planning and vigilance to ensure that this happens.
How the job is staffed,
relationships between the home and field offices, and the specific form of
the company will all contribute to the success of the construction phase.
Class
Index
Dr. Wahby's
Site
School
of Technology
Lumpkin
College of Business & Applied Sciences
Eastern
Illinois University