Communication Skills in the Construction Industry - Assignment Example

Communication Skills in the Construction Industry This paper shall recommend that a more detailed task list that is a day-long in duration for each section of the structure be incorporated in the construction plan. Several task make-up a module that ideally should complete a portion of the building. A module is considered a milestone and each milestone will be managed by a senior labourer or foreman. Cross-sectioning of the construction plan into modules under a foreman instead of construction phases will enable any site managers to achieve his deliverables. This paper shall likewise recommend that individual sites be treated as a separate business unit managed by a Project Manager. Site Managers or Project Managers should report directly to the project delivery Director to ensure that accountability and deliverables for each project are monitored more effectively. The changes shall also ensure that reporting lines and administrative responsibilities are delineated and established that will clear any ambiguities amongst the personnel in the construction site. A detailed task list on a per module basis during construction phases will make it possible to report a more accurate construction status. This strategy will also enable the project management group to monitor usage of materials and wastage. The foreman will report materials usage, completion status and manpower consumption. Being informed of the exact construction status on a more regular basis, client expectation will be easier to manage. Determining the critical path will enable any site manager to determine the exact time for construction materials to be delivered. This will lessen the cost of warehousing and materials storage. Heavy equipment use will also be predictable which will lessen rental cost and parking cost. As a predicate, the construction operation is normally conducted in this manner—during Fridays, foremen are mandated to report the status of the section they are supposed to complete for the week. On Saturdays, based on the report given by the foremen, a verification team inspects the completion stage or the status of each of the work order. On Sundays, the project leaders compare the completed work orders base on the project plan of the building. Base on the completion status, delivery of materials and heavy equipment rentals for the work order that is scheduled to be completed for the week are then reserved for the following week. If there is some misunderstanding with regards to the expectation and the work orders completed, revision as well as the new instructions, the architects and engineers are called to provide more detailed instruction on the Monday-morning foreman’s meeting. The first task of a new site manager is to conduct an inventory of completed tasks/work order. This is to determine the actual status of the construction base on the actual work orders completed. The second task of a new site manager is to determine the level of inventory of what has been consumed, what is on schedule, and what is yet to be delivered. Third task is to compare the manpower schedule with what are existing and the status of the construction phase. This is to ensure that costs are managed efficiently. An equally important task for a site manager is to ensure that all personnel speak the same language in terms of what is complete or percentage of completion. Project managing specialist and technical people include determining their level of competency under several conditions. To ensure that a successful project is completed on time base on the agreed running cost, personnel management as detailed above should be considered. The timing of delivery and making sure that deliveries are made before they are actually used should likewise be guaranteed. As part of the take-over of management of a particular construction site, the new site manager are then tasked to observe the operation for one week, thus— Monday – In a meeting of all the section and module foremen work orders are discussed and clarification on new work order specification and requirement are also discussed by the architects and civil engineers. Recap of the status of the construction phase for each of the section foreman. Mark that differences were discovered between what has been reported by foremen last Friday and what has been observed in the verification and inspection conducted last Saturday. As a result, project status is delayed as per project plan. Revision for some of the work orders were handed out to the foremen concerned and urgent completion order were given to the foremen who are trailing behind in terms of completion. New work orders are given out together with the special instructions of the architects and the engineers to ensure that the work orders should be completed accordingly. As the foremen break out to their specific work groups from the foremen’s meeting, the foremen details the instructions given by the architects and engineers regarding the new work orders to their staff. In the meantime, foremen with revision also provide and explain the special instruction of the architects. The foremen with their group then procure the necessary materials from the warehouse as well as the special equipment needed to complete their assigned work orders. Differences of opinions with regards to the level of completion of a particular work order normally lead confusion in the work site. Thus, complete description of the specification and the completed job is needed to break this barrier. The work orders are a form of written communication between the project management and the foremen, thus visual communication are used by the architects and civil engineers in dispelling or clarifying any ambiguities between the design and the foremen while oral Communication is used to report or disseminate information that can later on be verified between the foremen and the inspection team. Psychological barriers and resistance exist during the presentation of the inspection result, the actual project status and the work order completion and verification as one group or another may not agree with the findings. Conflict may arise between the architects, civil engineers and the foremen because of professions thus differing perceptions. The differences need to be resolved to ensure clear understanding of what has to be accomplished. Tuesday – Given that each foreman are given one week to complete a work order very little activity is seen in the job site. Most of the activity comes from the warehouse for additional materials or for additional tools if not special tools. Wednesday – The job site still maintains the same slow pace as observed on Tuesday. But there are more requests for overtime. Thursday – The work site is now buzzing with activities and over-time request for most of the work orders flood the administrative office. Friday – The work site continues to buzz with activities well into the early morning of the following morning. 99% of all work orders have request for overtime. Saturday – Inspection team conducts verification on all submitted work orders to determine if there is in fact a certified complete work. Completion rate for a one week job indicated in work orders are 95% complete if not 100% complete however after inspection jobs are considered only 75% to 90% complete only. Sunday – Project Management team meet to evaluate the status of the job orders and the cost incurred for the week. It is noted that in 99% of the work order’s labour cost went up due to overtime. Normal creation of work orders for next week, scheduling of materials delivery are also done. Architect’s schedule for the Monday briefing is confirmed. Evaluation/Analysis: There exist mark differences between the opinions or perception across the company with regards to how the term “completion” is regarded by foremen and the inspection team. Disputes are often and settled first by architects and/or civil engineers which prolongs the process of verification. These translate to actual delay in the construction and failure to determine the actual construction status of a project. Failure to coordinate and communicate the actual specification and requirement of the job order leads to the failure of the management hierarchy to control the project. The amount of time it will take for a job order to be completed is too long that often abuses any control for overtime. These result to runaway overtime cost that also increases and frustrate any cost accounting and project accounting control mechanism. Familiarity of project personnel with the inspection team often lead to a subjective evaluation of the work order during inspection or verification. The same familiarity exists with regards to withdrawal of construction materials from the warehouse often lead to excesses that could lead to wastage if not fraud or theft. These inequalities often cause motivation problem for each of the construction group that leads to the deterioration of the quality of their finished products as defined by their work orders. These simple problems at organizing the labour component of the project often lead to failure in forecasting and planning. Consequently, the cited simple problems affect the delivery of services by the company. The present situation demands a critical reflection of current construction practices in order to establish the critical areas for improvement in theory and practice (Santos and Powell and Formoso, 1999). Discussions: According to Construction Excellence (2004) Lean Construction philosophy based on lean manufacturing can be applied to resolve the problem presented above. Lean Construction is all about managing and improving the construction process to profitably deliver what the customer needs. Being a philosophy, Lean Construction can be pursued through a number of different approaches. Koskela (1992) reported that there are four principles that can be implemented to resolve the problems presented in this paper: reduction of cycle time, reduction of variability, increase transparency and mechanism for continuous improvement. Time and motion studies conducted by Frederick Taylor and Frank Bunker Gilberth (Gilberth 1911, Taylor 1985) significantly supported these proposition since 1911.While a review of Salem and Zimmer of the applicability of Lean Manufacturing Principles in Construction listed: Customer Focus, Culture/People, Work Place Standardization, Waste Elimination and Continuous Improvement as also viable approaches to Lean Construction (Salem and Zimmer, 2005). For this paper, we shall focus on the following principles: reduction of cycle time, reduction of variability or work place standardization, Mechanism for continuous improvement and waste elimination. The advent of ecological responsibility and to include ecological impact mitigation as part of the bottom line was the motivation behind the adoption of the waste elimination principle. Reduction of Cycle Time - for reporting of construction status can be achieved or incorporated at the onset or during the project planning stage. Project planning software allow for finer task listing that can be to as low as an hour. The same software will enable a task to be refined as to the number of resources needed relative to the completion time to finish a project including the materials needed. Specification of the finished product can also be detailed as well as work instruction if there is a need for it. The same software will enable milestone to be created and milestone hierarchy and order of completion or prioritization can be set. The nature of construction projects task that can be completed in a day can be considered one task. As indicated, the company or those involved in the construction site should communicate in the same language. Project Managers should apply the principles of communication since the dealings are between professionals, owners, and labourers constantly. Know your audience, and the subject matter. Pick the right medium to communicate. Consider the tensions generated by the topic, the recipients and adjust accordingly. Interact with the recipients to ensure their participation. Plan and rehearse, if there is a chance that the message will not be understood it will not be understood. Mechanism for Continuous Improvement – is achieved during the Saturday inspection and Sunday evaluation and analysis with the help of the project management plan. Standardization of language used in the construction site as proposed in this paper is strongly recommended to reduce tension amongst the architect, foremen, and inspection team. No ambiguity will be allowed to ensure that everybody is in the same page when it comes to the interpretation of quality and completion of work. Reduction of waste as a principle to ensure corporate responsibility towards the environment is likewise recommended. Mitigation of waste materials by recycling or responsible disposal should be a mandatory aspect of the project. Environmental responsibility remediation should be part of the computation of the bottom line in any construction projects. Recommendations: Contracting each of the modules in the construction project plan as a work order for construction group to complete is an effective strategy to ensure monitoring of the task and procurement. Runaway material procurement will be eliminated since procurements will be covered by a specific work order. Pay out of the labour’s compensation will also be controlled and their pay will be commensurate to the job they have completed. Inspecting the completion and quality of a 1-day tasks list is more objective. Considering each construction site as a separate business unit will enable Project Managers to control the administrative concern, finances and the inventory of materials. This will eliminate the sharing of materials across all projects of the company including sharing of resources. However, corporate control shall still be given to the director for project delivery and completion for the region. Management should conduct educational and teach-ins or seminar to ensure that all foremen, project/site managers, engineers and architects have a singular understanding of construction concepts and reporting. Training should be done across all construction sites and is mandatory before promotion to become a foreman. To limit familiarity and to prevent materials fraud and inspection fraud, verification should be conducted by inspection teams outside the work site. The application of the Lean Construction principle should likewise be seriously considered to ensure profit while responding to the needs of the stakeholders. References: Constructing Excellence, 2004. Lean Construction Available at: http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/pdf/fact_sheet/lean.pdf. [Accessed December 12, 2010] Dos Santos and Powell and Formoso 1999. Evaluation of Current Use of Production Management Principles in Construction Practice July 1999 [online] Available at http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~tommelein/IGLC-7/PDF/dosSantos&Powell&Formoso.pdf [Accessed December 12, 2010] Gilbreth, F.B. (1911). Motion Study: a method for increasing the efficiency of the workman. D. Van Nostrand Company, New York. Koskela, L. (1992). Application of the New Production Philosophy to Construction. Technical Report 72, CIFE, Stanford Univ., CA, September, 75 pp. Salem and Zimmer, 2005.Application of Lean Manufacturing principles to Construction [online] October 2005. Available at http://www.leanconstruction.org/lcj/V2_N2/LCJ_05_011.pdf. [Accessed December 12, 2010] Taylor, F.W. (1985). The principles of scientific management. Hive Pub., Easton, PA [1911]. Read More