Q.1) What is meant by MANAGEMENT?

Why it is important in construction

work?

‘Management is a problem solving process of effectively achieving

organizational objectives through the efficient use of scarce resources in a
changing environment.’

 Management is concerned with resources, tasks and goals.

 Management is essential for organized life and necessary to run all
types of management. Good management is the backbone of
successful organizations. Managing life means getting things done to
achieve life‟s objectives and managing an organization means getting
things done with and through other people to achieve its objectives.
 Management is a set of principles relating to the functions of planning,
organizing, directing and controlling, and the application of these
principles in harnessing physical, financial, human and informational
resources efficiently and effectively to achieve organizational goals.

Important in construction work:

 To have proper supervision.

 To adopt methodologies so as to reduce the wastage of
materials and labor.
 To complete the work in minimum possible duration.
 To have a good co-ordination between different agencies and
different persons engaged in the works.
 Basically the aim of management in construction industry is to
effect maximum possible economy in terms of cost and time
duration of the construction.

Q.2) Define various Functions of management and their meaning with

reference to construction jobs:

 The following are the five essential functions of management.

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Staffing
4. Directing
5. Controlling
1. PLANNING -It is the basic function of management.

-It deals with chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance
the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined
goals.

-According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when

to do & how to do.

-It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be”.

-Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human & non-human

resources.

-It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding

confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.

2. ORGANIZING -Organizing is the process of bringing together physical,

financial and human resources. -It helps in developing productive relationship
amongst them for achievement of organizational goals Organizing as a
process involves the following

 Identification of activities.
 Classification of grouping of activities.
 Assignment of duties.
 Delegation of authority and creation of responsibility.
 Coordinating authority and responsibility relationships.

3.STAFFING -The main purpose of staffing is to put right man on right job
Staffing involves following  Manpower Planning (estimating man power in
terms of searching, choose the person and giving the right place).

 Recruitment, Selection & Placement.

 Training & Development.  Remuneration.
 Performance Appraisal.
 Promotions & Transfer.

4. DIRECTING -Direction is that inert-personnel aspect of management which

deals directly with influencing, guiding, supervising, motivating sub-ordinate
for the achievement of organizational goals.

-Direction has following elements:

 Supervision
 Motivation
 Leadership
  Communication

SUPERVISION- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It

is the act of watching & directing work & workers.

-Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the sub-ordinates

with zeal to work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may
be used for this purpose.

-Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and

influences the work of subordinates in desired direction.

-Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion

etc from one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding. Directing

5. CONTROLLING -It implies correction of deviation if any to ensure

achievement of organizational goals.

-The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in conformities

with the standards.

-An efficient system of control helps to predict deviations before they actually
occur.

-According to Theo Haimann, “Controlling is the process of checking whether

or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and goals and
acting if necessary, to correct any deviation”.

Controlling Controlling has following steps

 Establishment of standard performance.

 Measurement of actual performance.
 Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out
deviation if any.
 Corrective action.

Q.3) What is meant by CONSTRUCTION TEAM? Describe briefly duties of each

type.

The construction team may comprise architects, civil engineers, structural

surveyors, quality surveyors, engineers, builders and technicians. Members of
the construction team may be required to give collateral warranties in
relation to their work, the benefit of which can be passed to future owners of
the constructed building.
  The term „construction team‟ can have numerous interpretations in the
industry. If it involves those roles that are needed to physically construct
the project, it will be different than if it involves those who are
responsible for the conception, planning and design of the project,
such as the architect and structural engineer.
 Very broadly, the construction team will include those project
team members who are tasked with physically constructing what
the design team has stipulated in its documentation and specifications.
During the course of the project, the construction team may be subject
to periodic checks and inspections by design team members to ensure
the construction is on track to meet the specification and client
requirements.
 Typically, the construction team will comprise the following roles that
will be mostly site based:
 Project Manager (responsible for delivering the project)
 Site manager (clerk of works)
 Site engineer
 Sub-contractors

DUTIES OF EACH TYPE

THE SURVEYOR:

 Surveyor is the custodian of land information.

 The size, topography, location, features on and beneath the land upon
which any development is built, is determined first by surveyors.
 Without this information, no proper, adequate, effective and accurate
planning, design and execution of building projects can be carried out

THE TOWN PLANER :

 Town planner is responsible for the orderliness in the developmental

layout to show the various land use.
 Master plan, layout etc prepared by a Town planner normally take into
consideration the population, culture, infrastructural facilities, socio
economic, political, health and other human needs. During the
execution stage, Town Planners will also ensure that the orderliness in
the layout is not distorted and that the approval given is also adhered
to strictly.
 For some building projects, there are needs for environmental impact
assessment, which may be carried out by a town planner who has
developed knowledge in this specialized area.
  This exercise must be carried out in collaboration with other relevant
professionals.
 Town planners also carry out Site Analysis Report for building projects.

THE ARCHITECT :

 The architect may help the client to formulate his requirements in an

understandable form, bearing in mind any statutory conditions that
may apply.
 It will be advantageous to the client at this stage if he could be shown
work of a similar nature so that he could obtain a visual impression of
shape, type of materials, size etc.
 if this is not possible, pictorial sketches and/or model can be used, but it
is often difficult for the client to visualize the true structure from these
very artistic representations.

THE ENGINEERS :

 Engineers are very important members of the design team whose

responsibilities are to assist in the overall design of the project within the
scope of their specialist fields.
 Engineers such as geotechnical, structural, electrical, mechanical, and
will so on, will carry out various analyses and calculations before
arriving at the optimal design solution for a specific building.
 Thereafter, they will produce drawings, specifications, schedules and
other relevant data that may be required for the overall design of the
project and to assist the quantity surveyor in the preparation of bills of
quantities and costing and the client in his assessment of the suitability
of the project, regarding statutory requirements.
 During project execution stage, engineers should visit the site
periodically for inspections to ensure that in general, the work being
carried out is in compliance with their engineering drawings, schedules
and specifications. They must also be available to modify or re-design
their individual aspects as may become necessary. Also some projects
may require the services of resident engineers on the building project
site.

THE QUANTITY SURVEYOR:

 A quantity surveyor should be called upon in the early stages of

consultation by the client because of his expertise in construction
costs.
  He should prepare first of all, a cost plan as soon as the brief is settled,
an approximate cost from sketch drawings, elemental cost checks
during design, so that, should the client‟s sum be exceeded, the
designers can consider each element of the building project in
reasonable isolation, enabling him to pair costs as necessary, within
the total cost limit of the project.

THE BUILDER :

 A Builder is the professional at the centre of the physical construction of

buildings. His role in building development process in general, is to
construct the building.
 He does this by taking charge of the activities on a building
construction site in translating designs, working drawings, schedules
and specifications into a physical structure.
 He uses his production management expertise, coupled with the
necessary resources such as money, manpower, materials, and
machineries, in the site execution of building projects.
 His expertise in Building production management is the main
professional input that he renders on building projects.
 In constructing buildings, a Builder performs the following roles:
1. Carry out Buildability and Maintainability analysis
2. Prepare Production Management Documents
3. Manage the production process on site. The Builder‟s role in
building development process starts from the planning/design
stage but takes prominence at the construction stage. The
function of the Builder is the main thrust of this book.

THE ESTATE SURVEYOR AND VALUER:

 The Estate Surveyor and Valuer‟s roles in the planning of projects

cannot be overemphasized. The features necessary to add economic
and commercial values to any development are to be thoroughly
analyzed by the estate surveyor and valuer.
 The input of the estate surveyor and valuer in the type of design or
development that will suit a particular location is necessary to increase
the sales or rentable value of a building after construction.
 There is no way one can say that the professional that will manage the
estate after completion will not have meaningful input at the planning
and execution of building projects.
 They should be involved at the early stage of building development
process especially on commercial and speculative building projects,
 advicing on current consumer trends, market demands and timing of
entrance of the project into the market.

THE PROJECT MANAGER :

 While the responsibility for complying with specifications is firmly placed

with the contractor, the unspoken assumption is made that unless a
client maintains his own representative (the project manager) on the
site to watch and inspect the works, the resultant structure or building
will not be in conformity with specified quality standard.
 While one may agree with the statement, one will like to believe that it
is in recognition of this statement of fact that all the standard form of
building contracts always has a condition for the client to have a
representative on site.
 The role of the client representative o site is to inspect quality of
materials and the workmanship to ensure that they all comply with
drawings and specifications.

MANAGING BUILDING PROJECT DELIVERY:

 During the construction stage, some of the standard Form of Building

Contracts allow for the appointment of supervising officers/project
coordinators.
 Some of the supervising officer/project coordinator being appointed
either by the Federal, State, or Local governments or
Individuals/Corporate bodies for building projects in Nigeria are either
Architects or Engineers.
 This does not mean that Builders could not perform even better, the
necessary roles of supervising officer/project coordinator.
 The truth of the matter is that either a builder, architect, quantity
surveyor or engineer can be the supervising project manager.
 The determinant factor for the selection of which of these professionals
should include the following:
1. The procurement method being used for a particular project.
2. The relevant experience and seniority of an individual
professional.
3. The type and complexity of the particular building project.
4. The emphases of the client (e.g cost, quality, time, etc).
5. Training in project management.

Q.4) What is meant by CONSTRUCTION PLANNING?

It is the process of selecting a particular method and the order of work to be
adopted for a project from all the possible ways and sequences in which it could be
done. It essentially covers the aspects of ‘What to do’ and ‘How to do it’.

Importance of construction project planning:

 Planning helps to minimize the cost by optimum utilization of available
resources.
 Planning reduces irrational approaches, duplication of works and inter
departmental conflicts.
 Planning encourages innovation and creativity among the
construction managers.
 Planning imparts competitive strength to the enterprise.

Q.5) Describe the various stages at which the planning of construction job is
done?

stages of a construction project and what you should know about them :

1. The conception of the project

 The conception of the project starts with the client. This is where
the dream begins as well as the research for the right location
and the specifications/standards that should be followed.
 Depending on the project, the conception stage might vary. It
can take anywhere from a few days to a few months or more,
 depending on how imminent is the need for the completion of
the project.
 It goes without saying that construction workers usually don‟t
have much input during this stage, as the ball is still in the hands
of the project owner.

2. Design

 Once the project is closer to fruition, it is time to sit down and talk
design. This is still a preliminary stage, which means that nothing is
guaranteed at this point.
 Nevertheless, design is the stage where usually the bidding process
begins.
 The team that is in charge of the design, led by an architect or an
engineer, will need to make sure that each of the state regulations and
codes is met while respecting the vision of the project owner as well as
ensuring that the newly built structure will be usable.
 There are normally four different steps within the design stage and they
include programming and feasibility, schematic design, design
development, and contract documents.
 During the programming and feasibility step, each of the objectives
and goals of the project has to be outlined. Numerous decisions are
made at this stage, including how large the building will be, how space
will be used, and how many rooms will be needed.
 The schematic design is a sketch that will show the space as well as
materials, colors, and even textures. That sketch will be used during the
design development to research the equipment needed, along with
the cost for them and the materials being used.
 Once the contract documents are drawn up, everything is close to
being finalised, because they contain the final drawings and
specifications. These documents are used in the construction field by
those placing bids to work on the project.
2. The pre-construction stage:
 The next stage of a construction project begins when the
bidding is completed and the contractor has been chosen to
do the work. As soon as the contractor is completed, the project
team is put together.
  Typically, a project team has the task to prepare the
construction site before the work begins. As a rule, it consists of
the following specialties:
1. Contract administrator
2. Project manager
3. Superintendent
4. Field engineer
5. Health and safety manager

 In close collaboration with the contractor, the project team is

responsible for visiting the field in order to complete a site examination.
 The site examination will allow the project team to detect or predict
any environmental challenges that might emerge during the building
process. Soil testing is also an integral part of this step.
 When all information is collected, all plans and findings should be
reviewed by the city authorities. This is usually a long procedure, as all
concerns and opinions should be heard and addressed.
3. The procurement stage:
 Now it‟s time for the project team to order and obtain materials,
equipment, and workforce.
 This stage of the project can be more or less complex and
challenging depending on how big the project is, the available
resources and the agreed start date.
 Many of the big construction companies have their own
procurement departments.
 In such cases, it is common that the construction company will
simultaneously order labourers, equipment and materials for a
number of projects. This process might vary a lot in smaller
projects.
4. The construction stage:
 Before the construction work begins, a pre-construction meeting
is done to ensure that everyone is on the same page when the
construction starts.
  This meeting normally includes information about the following
topics:
1. how to access the job site
2. the quality control of the project
3. how and where to store all the materials
4. the hours that everyone will be working
 Each worker may be given their own schedule. It is also
important to note that the schedule of each project
agent might vary depending on their role.
 This is especially true for subcontractors who need
certain parts of the job completed before they can begin
their portion.
 It easily becomes evident that bad planning at this point
can lead to serious delays and budget overruns.
 Once the meeting is over and there are no lingering
questions, the very first step of the project can begin. The
goal at this point is to have planned everything so
carefully that everything goes off without a hitch. Of
course, that rarely happens, as something always goes
wrong during a construction project.

6. The post-construction stage:

 Last but certainly not least, the post-construction stage. Now that all
the work on the job site has been completed, the project will soon
come to a close.
 Nonetheless, there are still a few steps that need to be done before the
keys to the building can be handed over.
 In general, the final stage of the construction project is divided into
three critical steps:
a. New construction building commissioning
  First things first, an inspection of the whole building needs to be
done. If everything is done correctly, these inspections are fairly
simple to pass.
 The reason is that other inspections should have already been
completed during the entire project. It is during those previous
inspections that issues should have been found and corrected.

b. Owner occupancy:

 Now that the training is completed, the owner can take over the
building. This is when the warranty period is on.
 In that way, the project owner can feel safe that there is enough time
to examine all the different systems, equipment, and materials that
have been installed.
 There are three main types of warranty in construction:
1. Express warranty: It is normally included in the contract.
2. Implied warranty: It is imposed by law.
3. Statutory warranty: It is introduced in a state‟s regulations.
b. Closure:
 That is the last step in the long process of designing and
completing a construction project.
 The project team has to overall contractual agreements and
make sure that the project is free from any type of legal burden.
 At this point, it is also a good practice to carry out a post-project
review which could help the different agents to detect any tasks
that weren‟t completed, analyse why this happened and put
together a list of insights for the future.