How to Promote the Implementation of Project Management Innovations - Coursework Example

How to Promote the Implementation of Project Management Innovations Introduction The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has been trailing behind other production industries in terms of efficiency development and innovation of project implementation for the last four decades. This is because project implementation in the AEC-industry requires a combination of the collaborative needs in performing construction projects, particularly due to the fragmented nature of the industry (Isikdag et al. 2007). The characteristic view of the industry is of a brought together multidisciplinary group, hence making coordinating issues very imperative to the success of the projects undertaken by the industry. Failure to acknowledge coordination issues as an imperative facet for the success of projects is one of the reasons why the AEC-industry has been trailing behind other production industries in terms of efficiency development and innovation of project implementation. Another reason that has resulted in this trend as Lamont (2001) identified, is that industry lags behind other industries in terms use of technology and innovation. Caledonian Contractors are bidding for a major contract for the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools in the next eight years. So as to successfully bid for the schools framework and similar future work, Caledonian Contractors will come up with a solution which will address the issues of effective communication and collaboration within its multidisciplinary departments as well as issues pertaining to technology and innovation in the implementation of the project in its different phases. This report aims to show how Caledonian Contractors will come up with solutions to the problems noted above, so as to emerge as the best bidders for the delivery of the framework involving 12 schools. To achieve this conceivably impossible objective, this report will show how Caledonian Contractors will employ technologies and innovative strategies such as the use of Construction Project Extranets (CPE’s) e.g. building information modelling (BIM). The report will also show Caledonian Contractors will employ psychological strategies to complement the technological and innovative strategies in the process improving communication and coordination issues within its multidisciplinary departments. Adoption of the Construction Project Extranets in the Implementation of a Construction Project Construction Project Extranet (CPE) can be defined as any electronic or internet-based technological platform that enables communication via the Internet, electronic exchange of data, electronic project management, and virtual teamwork for AEC-projects. Benefits of CPEs The major roles of CPEs in the construction process are exchange and transfer of building designs and blueprints, and keeping records and files used in the construction. The adoption of CPE’s in AEC-projects has the benefits of making communication, exchange and transfer of building designs and blueprints, and keeping records and files used in the construction more proficient. This in turn makes the contractors meet the necessities of end users while saving on cost and time. The adoption of CPE’s will help Caledonian Contractors achieve the standards that were identified by the Network for Construction Collaboration Technology Providers. These standards state that for contractors be competent, they should be able to have a platform that enables 24/7 access the project files, low couriers/post budget, better storage condition of the project files, and a better audit trail. The platform should also reduce the expenses in the distribution/production of the files, ease the process of finding specific files about the project (i.e. files should be stored chronologically and with order). The most significant benefits of CPEs to the AEC-industry are enhanced communication between the various multifaceted and fragmented departments in the construction industry (Griffith et al 2000) and enhanced cooperation of the various teams involved in the project (Saxon 2003). These two major benefits will endow Caledonian Contractors with the indispensable foundations that are imperative for the successful completion of AEC industry ventures. Barriers to implementing CPEs Technical Barriers Becerik (2004) argued that the success of the adoption of CPEs platforms is contingent to their ease of use. This is because the activities of AEC-industry projects are usually developed rapidly hence most parties operate on limited time, thus making it very difficult for them to commit time trying to figure out or operate a CPE platform. As a corollary, CPEs need to be fashioned in a manner that they will be fast to activate for their users. CPE designers should improve the design of their CPE platforms so that they can improve the ease of use (Becerik 2004) People Barriers Wilkinson (2005) concisely articulated that that the successful adoption of of CPE’s is contingent to the aptitude of workers to use them. This means that CPEs should not be crafted in ways that are too intricate for the users to understand. Griffith et al (2000) also had the same argument where they asserted that that an essential element of the successful adoption of CPE’s is the their ability to be understood by their users. Managerial Barriers Managers of a project that uses CPEs can also impede their success. Becerik (2004) reckoned that the role of project managers is of utmost importance for successful implementation of CPEs in an AEC-project. This is because the adoption of any new policy should start from the top, then follow gradually to the lowest point of the hierarchy. If the project managers are not devoted to completely embrace the implementation of CPEs then their subordinates will follow suit. The CPE platform that seems to have been crafted in a way that enables easy negation of these barriers is the Building Information Model (BIM). As a result, Caledonian Contractors will employ the use of BIM solutions as a technological and innovative strategy in the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools Adoption of the Building Information Modelling In the Implementation of a Construction Project BIM is a technological platform used in the construction industry that entails generation and utilization an intelligent 3D model to inform and exchange project data and materials. In other words, BIM entails the generation of a visual model of the construction project. BIM also incorporates aspects of data, management of the project at the design phase, during the construction period and throughout the life cycle of the project. Characteristically, BIM utilizes instantaneous, dynamic construction modelling software that works in 3D, 4D (issues regarding workflow) and even 5D (issues regarding quantity surveying) to augment output and efficiency, minimize the expenditure in the design and building phases, and to minimize management costs, after construction. BIM solutions offer better precision about the project to all stakeholders involve in the entire life cycle of the project. As a result, BIM makes it easier to accomplish the objectives of the construction project. Building information modelling (BIM) has been presented as a way of addressing these issues and thereby improving productivity in construction projects. BIM is a tool to improve processes in order to reach certain goals, not a goal in own right. The basic theory behind Building information modelling is well described by Thompson and Miner (2007), in that; if all relevant data connected to a project were stored in a single online system, the project could be executed in a virtual environment first. When dimensions of time (scheduling) and costs are added to the model this enables easy, cost-time-benefit analysis of different options almost instantaneously. (Thompson and Miner 2007) When developing such models for the entire project, more stakeholders, than it is practiced today, can be included in the early phases of a project. These stakeholders can inject their business- and engineering knowledge into the design of the facility, its schedule and its organisation; thereby improving coordination in all phases of the project (Fischer and Kunz 2006). The resulting BIM model, which is a data-rich, object-oriented parametric representation of the facility, will serve as a repository for data which can be extracted and analyzed to suite all different users needs throughout the buildings entire Lifecycle (Azhar et al. 2008). As a result, Caledonian Contractors will involve more stakeholders phase one will involve the construction of 2 schools, than the other two phases. Potential Benefits That Will Accrue To Caledonian Contractors for Adopting BIM The possible economic benefits and improvement of productivity with successful implementation of BIM is well acknowledged and gradually better understood within the AEC-industry (Bernstein and Pittman 2005). Several studies have made conclusions regarding the advantages and possible benefits with this new technology in comparison to traditional 2D CAD. Howell and Batcheler (2005) reckoned that BIM is undoubtedly more viable than 2D CAD and particularly because it presents more achievable advantages than CAD. Azhar et al (2008) concisely articulated that BIM accelerates cooperation within the multiple departments within the construction company, thus, bring about enhanced time management, better productivity, and better customer/client associations. Fischer and Kunz (2006) asserted that BIM is imperative to any construction industry wants to explore innovative strategies because it enables communication of information between software hence speeding up the analysis cycle times and minimizing data input and exchange errors. BIM is however not a goal in itself, but rather a tool to enable this higher productivity (Kiviniemi 2013; Eastman et al. 2011). In addition to improving productivity during the project itself, BIM has been presented as a tool to increase performance after the project, in the facilities management phase. According to Ding et al. (2009) the three aspects most beneficial with adopting this new technology are: Digitalization, procurement and benchmarking. Ability to use the model to support these three aspects will improve the facilities management system and make it more sustainable. It will provide better productivity and efficiency of both the facilities management team and the organization as a whole; also it increases the return on investment for the owner. (Ding et al. 2009) Most facilities management systems do have access to all available information. These systems also have problems with capturing potentially useful information from the facility and its linked activities in an integrated reusable way. BIM can be used to support the facilities management system by serving as an information storage platform throughout the life cycle of the project, where it can serve as commissioned or as maintained model rather than the traditional ‘as built drawings’. (Ding et al. 2009) Barriers that may hinder the adoption of BIM by Caledonian Contractors There are problems when implementing BIM in the very fragmented AEC-industry and In order for BIM to be adopted on a bolder front in the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools, Caledonian Contractors must consider all of these issues. The two largest challenges for technology developers in regards to BIM have ended up being interoperability in existing BIM systems and creation of multi accurate models to fulfill different purposes (Thompson and Miner 2007). Other barriers might include different views about BIM by different professionals, legal issues and lack of expertise to operate the technology by employees in construction industries. The implementation process of BIM by Caledonian Contractors To improve the implementation rate of BIM, it has been argued that the actor who should drive the development towards BIM is public clients. Project owners are generally the actor in the project in the best position to put pressure on other project participants to follow the new processes needed. Generally, public clients also have both a long term perspective in their projects as well as many consecutive projects. This enables them to benefit from experiences in earlier projects. It can also be argued that these public actors have a responsibility to make their experiences public, for the benefit of the whole industry, as higher productivity in the AEC-industry has socioeconomic benefits. For BIM to be adopted successfully, all actors in the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools project must participate in this change. Therefore, there is a need for the ability to make requirements regarding how BIM is will be used. This is because if a single actor fails to contribute to its adoption, much value in the model will be lost leading to the derailment of the project Drawing reference to these studies and findings, the adoption of BIM technology by Caledonian Contractors in the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools will start by involvement of numerous stakeholders in phase one of the project. The participants will be reduced as the phases proceed because the project will have already have gained momentum. The adoption of this technology by Caledonian Contractors will ensure that all the departments involved in the project communicate efficiently and on a timely basis. This will result in a quicker, more efficient, and economical implementation of the project. During the 6 months break between the completion and start of each phase, an analysis of how effective the BIM technology has been in the implementation of the project will be conducted so that rectifications can be done in the next phase to improve any flaws that may be identified. Caledonian Contractors will counter the barriers identified above using the following innovative strategies: To solve the interoperability barrier, it is suggested that the designers of the BIM platform that will be used in the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools to incorporate both the native formats and in IFC. Together, this means that a normal delivery will be in three formats: The file format agreed upon based on the facilities management guidelines, Original file formats, and Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). It is suggested that the IFC-files are used during the design phase to ensure that they are of high quality. The project managers, consultants, and contractors who do not have experience with BIM tools will be engaged in a one month training prior to the initiation of the project so as to ensure that the project is not derailed by the lack of expertise by the stakeholders. Finally, Caledonian Contractors will seek legal help from its lawyers to ensure no legal issues impede the process of implementation. How Caledonian Contractors will use Psychology as an innovate strategy in project management Psychology may seem as an insignificant discipline in the construction industry, but the intrinsic hindrances that impede the construction cycle call for psychological intervention in the industry. Some of the challenges that necessitate the employment of psychological measures include: changes of workers within the different phases of the construction project, the intricate communication between personnel in the different phases of the project, the bespoke nature of AEC-projects, and lack of trust between managers and employees. Psychological interventions help in the improvement of understanding, communication, and team working thus surmounting these challenges Brewer and Thayaparan, (2011) reckon that utmost advantages from IT based technologies in the AEC-industry can only be attained if they are implemented collaboratively where the personnel interact in a harmonious and understanding context. Brewer and Thayaparan, (2011) concisely asserted that the success of construction projects has as much to do with psychological intervention as it has with technological strategies. As a result, Caledonian Contractors will employ psychological measures throughout the project life cycle to ensure not only the success of the project but also the motivation of the personnel. In the recruitment of workers, Caledonian Contractors will use psychometric evaluations to identify with the personality traits of prospective applicants. Subsequent training will then be conducted on the basis of the personality traits observed. Psychometric evaluation results will also be used to form strong teams that will enable better efficiency of all the activities in the project. With the augmented adoption of technology in the AEC-industry, virtual teams are increasingly becoming popular (Brewer and Gajendran 2010). The greatest drawback of virtual teams is communication. This is because the communication between virtual teams is devoid of the non-verbal component. Caledonian Contractors will, however counter this by giving training to the personnel on how to express themselves and the information effectively in virtual communication platforms. Conclusion With a strategy that incorporates concepts of BIM and psychology in project implementation, Caledonian Contractors are bound to successfully bid for the delivery of a framework involving 12 schools. This is because Caledonian Contractors’ strategy is not only innovative but as effective in that it will augment output and efficiency, minimize the expenditure in the design and building phases, and to minimize management costs, after construction. In addition, it will enhance motivation, better coordination, and better teamwork among the personnel. References Azhar, S., Hein, M., and Sketo, B. (2008). “Building Information Modeling (BIM): Benefits, Risks and Challenges”. Proceedings of the 44th ASC Annual Conference, Auburn, Alabama, Becerik, B, (2004). 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