Project Management as the Application of Knowledge - Essay Example

 Project Management as the Application of Knowledge 1. Aim, objectives and feasibility of the dissertation (first draft required in Week 2 of RM module) The construction industry in the Gulf has witnessed a colossal leap in the past decade. This is rather paradoxical in the context of the global economic slowdown, which negatively influenced the real estate sector in most parts of the world. In particular, the construction industry in the United Arab Emirates has bounced back on to the fast – track, rapidly taking on massive projects towards development of tourism, housing, industrial and commercial facilities, education and healthcare amenities, transportation as well as expansion of ports and airports. The construction sector has been a key source in driving growth for the nation’s economy and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 9.5 per cent during 2012 - 2016. What you write here is good context for the study – place this in your aprt 1,m this area is for the lit review itself This trend has been possible largely due to the affluence of the local Arab community, wealthy expatriates as well as favourable Government policies. The United Arab Emirates is witnessing huge investments from both, public and private enterprises in the construction sector, focussing on the development of infrastructure for hospitality, retail, real estate and the healthcare industry.  Interestingly, Dubai is recognized to hold the ‘highest per square kilometre’ of construction activity in the world (Faridi& El-Sayegh, 2006)! Yet, it is observed that there are recurring problems of time and cost overruns in the UAE’s construction industry. This is a major cause for concern, prompting a thorough understanding of the current scenario and the proposal of solutions to mitigate these issues in the construction industry. ‘Project Management’ is defined as the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to the project activities, in order to meet project requirements in an effective and timely manner. Project management typically includes identification of requirements, establishment of clear and achievable objectives, balancing the demands of quality, scope, time, cost and importantly, adapting specifications to meet the expectations of the various stakeholders. The application of ‘Project Management’ to the construction industry as a ‘scientific approach’ to mitigate time and cost overruns has been detailed by various researchers. There is a popular belief that “time is money” and any delay is sure to have a significant impact on the costs incurred. The interplay of contractors, consultants, supervisors and owners must be managed diligently by an effective manager, utilising project management techniques. The following will serve as a research proposal for a project that is concentric upon the role of ‘project management’ in mitigating the cost and time overruns and construction projects in the United Arab Emirates. As per the background, the situation is in relation to the means by which a prior research indicates that cost and time overruns rob efficiency from many of the construction projects undertaken within the United Arab Emirates. As such, a great need is evident within current literature to determine the true cause, nature and more importantly, the means of amelioration the might be suggested. Though there are a host of factors that can and will necessarily impact upon the means by which cost and time overruns are realized, this analysis will be focussed upon determining the role of the project manager. It does not mean that the project manager is somehow solely responsible for all problems; in fact, with regards to the firm or entity in question, the means by which government bureaucracy runs or other aspects of international or regional economy functioning do not fall under the Project Manager’s purview. Ultimately, they are only capable of directing within their own scope and utilizing their own people as a means of effecting noticeable positive change with respect to the overruns which are to be discussed. It is hypothesized by this researcher that adequate project management within the United Arab Emirates with regard to construction projects has a noticeable effect on the means by which time and cost overruns are realized. Of course, the difficulty with regard to this particular research is the level and extent to which corresponding research questions can effectively be engaged and answered as a means of drawing inference upon the preceding analysis. As a function of this, the following research questions will be asked: Does length of service in the Project Management role affect project success? To what extent are Project Management skills and experience a contributing factor, for those projects that fail? What percentage of firms operating within the United Arab Emirates, utilize project managers for the purpose of time management, as compared to monetary reasons? What is the optimal level of interaction between project managers during the course of their duties? To identify those factors critical to stakeholders success The process of collecting information would involve the use of questionnaires and survey methods. Moreover, the research objective is to determine the extent to which project management positively and / or negatively affects the rate at which cost and time overruns are experienced in construction projects within the United Arab Emirates. It is indeed my endeavor that through such an analysis, the United Arab Emirates construction industry experiences an increased level of efficiency and resource utilization What you write and ask here need not be asked. This is part of your reasoning for choice of research methodology surely ? Similarly, with regards the overall feasibility of the study, it must be understood that this it is only constrained by the level and extent to which the researcher is able to go in order to gain the necessary feedback and input from the stakeholders within the process. If the study is performed to a sufficiently small number of firms and/or stakeholders, the level to which inference can be drawn will necessarily be reduced due to the fact that the results will not be able to shed light upon a broad range of issues and will otherwise really focus upon the means by which if you entities without for sponsoring to the survey/questionnaire. Conversely expanding the survey/questionnaire to include a very large number of respondents will mean that the researcher will spend the majority of time gathering tabulating information without having enough time to sufficiently extrapolate based upon the inputs that are thus far been received. Would the best approach with regard to the given situation be to approach it from a moderate standpoint and seek to gain the inputs of at least 25 different firms? Would the results be able to show a tendency towards a median or average approach to project management within the United Arab Emirates? Although it is impossible for any single approach to completely negate the dangers of bias, incorrect or incomplete data, the approach that has been detailed, proposes to offer the most benefits, with the least number of drawbacks. 2. Literature review (first draft required in Week 3 of RM module) In a study by Faridi & El-Sayegh (2006), 44 major factors for construction delays in the UAE were identified. These causes were grouped in to eight categories and structured to form a detailed survey questionnaire to rank the factors in order of their intensity and frequency. The research methodology adopted by Olawale & Sun (2010) included a two – stage process; Stage 1 involved a quantitative method of questionnaire surveying from a large sample population, followed by Stage 2, a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews. Using the Relative Importance Index to analyse the delays, findings showed that 58% of respondents always applied time controls while 29% did so frequently. In comparison, it was observed that in fact, all respondents almost always applied cost control techniques to their projects. Despite these control mechanisms, delays are observed from the contractors, consultants as well as the owners of the construction project. Often, there is an inadequacy of time allotted to the ‘design phase’ of a project. This results in a ‘Design change’ or a ‘Variation Order’, which is considered to be the most influencing factor contributing to cost and time overruns in global construction projects. This change of design involves the issue of a ‘scope change order’ which forms an important part of Project Management, requiring experienced handling. Contractors need to adequately manage manpower, materials and machines, which are key resources that affect skill and productivity, efficiency and reliability of machines respectively, at each stage of construction. Project management can play a significant role here in the stages of project planning, scheduling, monitoring and control. The causes of delay within the Consultant’s domain relate to designs, change orders, inspection and quality control. Delays are also observed due to the slow decision – making process, sudden change of material or specification requests or excessive bureaucracy on the part of the owner. Finance and government regulations are other major causes of delay for construction projects. A study conducted by Koushki, Al-Rashid & Kartam (2005) reveals that more than 65% of owners in Kuwait did not check the size of the contracting firm, before contract sign – off. Insufficient time was spent on selection of construction materials for residential projects, leading to delays and changes at a later date. Cost increases, on the other hand, were caused mainly due to contractor-related problems, owner’s inexperience in construction, material – related problems, weather – related, labour - related issues as well as frequent ‘change orders’. From the Project Management perspective, there are various control techniques and project control software that are currently being used in the construction industry to ensure that projects finish on time and within the stipulated budget. Popular ‘time planning and control’ methods include the usage of the Gantt Bar Chart, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM), along with software such as Microsoft Project, Asta Power Project and Primaveira, which aid in application support. Owing to ease of use and applicability to this industry, the Gantt Bar Chart is used by 35% of contractors and 33% of consultants, making it the most popular time planning and control technique, followed by the Critical Path Method which is used by 28% of contractors and 34% of consultants. The other lesser used project management techniques are Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT), Precedence Network Diagram (PND), Milestone Date Programming Technique, Simulation, Elemental Trend Analysis and Line of Balance (LOB). Results of the survey by Olawale & Sun (2010) demonstrate that Microsoft Project is used by 35% contractors and 57% consultants; Asta Power Project by 44% of contractors and 19% of consultants while Primavera is used by 15% of contractors and 19% of consultants. What would be the best measures in the context of the UAE, to maximize on time planning and control? Specialist cost control software such as Project Costing System (PCS), Construction Industry Software (COINS) and WinQS are also used. An important question is whether ‘cost control techniques’ including ‘project cost – value reconciliation’, ‘overall profit and loss’, ‘profit and loss at valuation dates’, ‘unit costing’ and ‘earned value analysis’ are a better means to ensuring successful project management?. The concepts of project management such as planning, scheduling and the establishment of a sound contractual relationship between the parties along with a mutually acceptable responsibility matrix are the need of the hour. Statistics show that the pre-planning phase (including financial, size, type of materials, design, contractors, etc.) is vital in minimising time delays (Koushki, Al-Rashid & Kartam, 2005). In the UAE, “approval of drawings” on the part of the consultant / designer has been ranked as the greatest cause of construction delay, followed by inadequate planning, owner’s slow decision – making, manpower shortage, lack of supervision and financing issues, to name a few. Interestingly, results show that productivity, skill and the shortage of manpower are now emerging as major causes of delay in this industry in the UAE. In stark contrast, ‘manpower productivity’ has been of no major concern in the neighbouring Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This difference may be due to the fact that the UAE construction industry is still on the learning curve. In Lebanon too, manpower shortage is not a major concern due to the easy availability of foreign labourers. Kuwait has been plagued by unqualified contracts, leading to court cases to resolve conflicts between stakeholders (Koushki, Al-Rashid & Kartam, 2005). In the United Kingdom, it was found that design changes, risks and uncertainties, inaccurate evaluation of project time and duration, complexities and non performance of sub-contractors were the major contributors to delays and overshooting of the budget in the construction sector (Olawale & Sun, 2010). This proposal is proposed to determine the extent of correlation between time and cost overruns and the appropriate measures that must be deployed to mitigate the same. This includes incorporation of a mutually agreed schedule between all parties for the preparation, planning and approval of drawings. The involvement of effective Project Managers can minimise delays, allow co-ordination with contractors for early approvals from Government agencies and ensure labour productivity. The measures to overcome challenges in the construction industry can be collated through literature reviews, surveys, interviews and in – depth analysis and may be broadly classified in to 4 categories, namely: ‘Preventive measures’, ‘Predictive measures’, ‘Corrective measures’ and ‘Organisational measures’. Thus, effective project management would ensure control of changes, early identification of risk, accurate evaluation of time duration for project completion and co-ordination between the various stakeholders of the project, for its timely and cost – effective execution! 3. Research methodology and methods (first draft required in Week 4 of RM module) In this section, you will discuss your research methodology. What is your epistemological approach—positivist, relativist or constructionist? This will inform the research design you choose as well as the research methods that you will use to collect both the secondary and primary data. You must be able to justify your choice in terms of your learning objectives, your research question and your research approach. 4. Timing mileposts NB: You must reach Stage 8 at least 4 weeks before your deadline. A 30-day contingency provision is also advisable to allow for potential slippages. This will enable your DA to give you sufficient feedback on your final draft. You should produce a final Proposal for submission to the FM for approval (as agreed with your DA) within 1 to 2 months from your module start date. However, please aim for 7 weeks from your start date at the latest, to ensure time for any necessary revisions and final approval by the 8 week cut-off. Milestone Description Due date Remarks 1 Stage 1: Area of interest identified 04/2013 2 Stage 2: Specific topic selected 17/04/2013 3 Stage 3: Topic refined to develop dissertation proposal 24/04/2013 4 Stage 4: Proposal written and submitted 06/06/2013 5 Stage 5: Collection of data and information 01/08/2013 6 Stage 6: Analysis and interpretation of collected data/information 19/09/2013 7 Stage 7: Writing up 26/09/2013 8 Stage 8: Final draft prepared— submission of dissertation 01/12/2013 9 Final Deadline—9 months from module start date. 05/01/2013 References: 1. Sundaram, V. (2008) ‘Essentials of design phase cost management and budget control’, Cost Engineering, 50 (2), pp.24-28. Available from: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1108/14714170910995921 [Accessed 17 April 2013]. 2. Olawale, Y. & Sun M. (2010) Cost and time control of construction projects: inhibiting factors and mitigating measures in practice, Construction Management and Economics, 28, 509–526. 3. Biffi, M.-H. (2008) ‘Linking the estimate, the schedule and the cost control through a standardized WBS’, AACE International Transactions, pp.1-11, Discover [Online]. Available from: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=33720054&site=eds-live&scope=site (Accessed: 17 April 2013). 4. Faridi, A. & El-Sayegh, S. (2006) Significant factors causing delay in the UAE construction industry, Construction Management and Economics, 24, 1167–1176. 5. Koushki, P., Al-Rashid, K. & Kartam, N. (2005) Delays and cost increases in the construction of private residential projects in Kuwait, Construction Management and Economics, 23, 285–294. 6. Robert K. Wysocki (2009) Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme. 5th ed. Indiapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing, Inc. Read More