Management in Civil Engineering - Book Report/Review Example

UNDERSTANDING HOW MANAGEMENT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS FOR THE PROFESIONAL APPLICATION OF ENGINEERING IN THE ACTUAL WORLD OF PROJECT CONTRACTS Introduction Management is an inevitable process that must be recognized by everyone in the industry of completing tasks as part of their responsibilities in their professions. For civil engineers, management is something that needs a huge consideration both during the years of learning towards the years of actual work. Of course, every project that civil engineers accept are bounded by contracts and agreements that ought to be followed by both stakeholders of the situation, namely, the Engineers themselves and their clients. This is the reason why it is very important that management be given a fine understanding among civil engineers in the field of client service industries today. In this paper, an evaluation of two major studies with regards the connection of management in the field of Civil Engineering shall be discussed and presented so as to pick the right resources needed for furthering studies with regards the same topic. One of the studies to be cued is that of the research and understanding performed by Oakland and Albridge (1995) reported in the International Journal of Quality and Reality Management entitled “Quality management in civil and structural engineering consulting”. This study is noted as a major writing that has been proposed and completed by the authors to pursue an understanding on the importance of quality management upon the projects accepted by civil engineers and how these process affects the reputation of the said professionals who are aiming not to simply please their clients but to do the best they could for the human society. The other study to be cued is that of the one written by Hinkelmann (2004) entitled KM-SISO: An approach for knowledge management in civil engineering, which is an obvious description of the major procedure on gaining the right knowledge on how engineering projects should be managed. Comparison and Discussions To compare both studies, the researcher of this paper aims to present the vital parts of each study in a table format that would work best in identifying the key sections of each journal allowing the readers of this comparison paper a clearer view on what each study aims to promote with regards the importance of management in the field of Civil Engineering. TOPIC J.S. Oakland, A.J. Aldridge. (1995). Quality management in civil and structural engineering consulting. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. HINKELMANN Knut. (2004). KM-SISO: An approach for knowledge management in civil engineering. University of Applied Sciences Solothurn Northwestern Switzerland, Department of Economics, Riggenbachstrasse 16, 4600 Olten, SUISSE. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM For the study of Oakland and Albridge, quality is treated as the main issue that is involved in the evaluation of any civil engineer whether they stand as a group/firm or a sole contractor. Hence, to acquire that quality, What type of management do Civil Engineers need to apply to come up with the most effective process possible to apply quality and time essence in their profession? This study proposes to place attention on the process by which civil engineers handle the tough challenge of applying both quality and style through effective use of time to meet project deadlines. The key question being given attention in this particular study then relates: How must Civil Engineers recognize the importance of time management to meet quality and style in their work and how does the KM-SISO system apply to this prospective target goal? EXPECTATIONS Researchers of this study notably expected to find the right people who would be able to give them the right answers to their queries primarily based on the experiences that these people have had in the field of Civil Engineering. For the completion of the entire project, the researchers aimed to find the right results to fill their questions that would rather yield better results for their clients and for the society as well. For this study, the researchers aimed to see how the application of KM-SISO could make a great implication on the process of creating quality projects that would best work for the request of the client as per agreed in the contract that both parties signed to complete. HYPTOTHESIS IF the Civil Engineers give quality service to their clients, the results of their proposed projects are rather to gain better results not only for the client but also for the whole society. THE application of KM-SISO is pertained to creating more quality based projects, if tried and tested, the application of the process would be the best source of success among civil engineering projects. METHODOLOGIES The researchers noted that through a survey and interview process, the aim of creating a more improved approach to managing a civil engineering project is possible. The researchers opted to make a distinctive observation on the process by which past project creators handled their work and how well the said projects turned out. The researchers proposed to utilize an evaluative approach on the understanding of the different elements utilized to make a certain civil engineering project successful. It could be noted that through the examination of the collaboration of technology and regular procedures of completing projects, the research revolved in proving that an obvious application of all the possible elements of project success could create better results for the meeting the client’s demands. RESULTS Through interview and survey, the researchers were able to collect distinctive reactions from the project managers that made the whole journal a source of practical knowledge on how to manage projects successfully to give the required values of the clients and the professional engineers as well. In this project, the researchers found out that basing a management procedure from all other past projects that went well is essential in implying the quality needed to make a particular project result to a high quality end. FINDINGS As noted, the expectations of the researchers were met as they began to realize that the most effective process of managing a certain project is based on the capability of the project managers to adjust with the needs of the clients and their demands in connivance with the deadline given as per noted through the agreement. KM-SISO which notes the application of management based from past experiences also proved to be an effective approach to project management. Through this process, the absolute understanding of the importance of management in the field of Civil Engineering had been made clear. CONCLUSIONS As an overall finalization of the study, the researchers observed how the effective management of the project elements making up a certain agreement should be constantly applied by Civil Engineers as being able to do so results to more quality establishments that benefit the whole human society. For the researchers of this study, they knew that they have found the right answer to the problem that was raised earlier in their research. Likely, through the KM-SISO application, reaching for high-end quality project results had been proven effective through experience observation. RECOMMENDATIONS Continuous search for the most valid process of management in civil engineering projects is recommended to be understood and observed constantly. For the researchers of this study, they recognize the fact that KM-SISO may be the best process but still, with the continuous growth of technological applications in engineering procedures, it is sure that other effective procedures of management could still be given birth, hence continuous observation is suggested. Overall Evaluation Basing from the table presented above, it could be observed that both studies support each other’s thoughts and opinions. It could noted too that these implications show that the complementary results of both journals bring in the possibility of creating the best procedures of project management that could be applied in completing engineering contracts that should be given careful attention by the professionals in the field of Civil Engineering. Most likely, the approach of Hinkelmann was more specific than that of Oakland’s and Aldridge’s since they were focused on a specific process whereas the other study was simply based on a much broader aspect of the topic. Hence, as a result, although both group of researchers suggest the same idea of continuing further understanding of the said issue, the results were rather different in the sense of having a more implicative idea on the process of actually increasing the management process validation in the field of completing proposed civil engineering projects at present. References: J.S. Oakland, A.J. Aldridge. (1995). Quality management in civil and structural engineering consulting. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. HINKELMANN Knut. (2004). KM-SISO: An approach for knowledge management in civil engineering. University of Applied Sciences Solothurn Northwestern Switzerland, Department of Economics, Riggenbachstrasse 16, 4600 Olten, SUISSE. Read More