Role and Responsibility of Architect

Architects in construction plays an important role and they are responsible for visual
appearance of the buildings and structures before final structural design.

Architect is a person appointed by the client, who develops a facility as per the design
concept and the requirements specified by the client. The architects develop design that
are more creative in aesthetics.

The architect makes use of vision and creative ideas to satisfy the client. But the design
evolved by the architects have to satisfy with the building laws and the regulations of the
state.

Role of Architects in Construction

An architect both artistic and functional mind for the design of structures. Once an
architect is approached by a client or a sponsor, he calls a meeting to know the needs and
the wants of the construction work or project.

An edifice is designed by the architect that will satisfy the client. The architect brings
more of creativity and artistic elements on the building. This creation of design will be
repeated till both the parties i.e. the client and the designer are satisfied.

Responsibilities of Architects in Construction

The work carried out by the architect have to be properly organized. This demands to
keep the records of different contracts, the details of the project, the cost and the budget
details, the time limit and the day by day progress report.

Most of the cases the architects have to work with the civil or structural engineers for
communication and discussion relating the technical issues faced in the design and the
implementation.
The key responsibilities of an architect in construction projects are mentioned
below:
Role of Architects in Project Discussion
Meeting and discussions have to be kept with different members and professionals of the
organization before approval of the project design. This helps in realizing different
technical difficulties that would be faced, opinions and economical ideas. This can help
in moving the team together for the completion of the project.

The project discussion carried out by the architect includes the following works:

 The initial step involves understanding the client’s requirement through a detailed
discussion. A careful note on his/her objectives and the expectations are taken.
 Quantifying and qualifying the project will involve the discussion about the
expected budget, the characteristics of the site and other planning regulation of the
area under consideration.
 Next is the difference sequence of operations, guarantees, and responsibilities
offered by the architect. This will include:
o Understanding the limitations and potential of the site.
o Discussing about the financial targets
o Suggesting and studying all possible solutions if the work is renovation or
rehabilitation or a new construction
o Bringing and presenting the feasibility study
o Different choice of site or building based on the requirement
o Provision of different options to overcome different administrative
procedures
o Procedures planned and prepared are kept in line to make communication
easier.
Role of Architects in Preparation of Drawings
A construction project has enormous design drawings that have to be prepared all before
the execution of the work on site. Any errors have to be pre-checked before
implementing it.
This early submission of drawings helps in avoiding the delaying of the project. The
drawings are the basis on which detailed estimation, material procurement and work at
site is carried out.

Initially, the sketch designs are prepared which will shows the building location. This
gives an idea about the layout of different spaces within and nearby as well as different
links to the sit. The overall massing and the appearance of the project too is reflected on
the sketch design.

The sketch design is the basis on which the client agrees to certain principles and
agreements. The end of sketch design will follow the contract proposal that will move to
the next phase of cost estimation and the timescale of the project.

The construction of a building or a structure is now performed by both the architect and a
civil engineer provided they have adequate experience and skill. The different drawings
an architect can render will include the floor plan, the site plan, the elevation and the
isometric vies, Other detailed structural drawings, 3D models and 3D views.

Mainly these works or details provided by the architect will depend on the work provided
to him. Sometimes there comes situations where we have a structural designer to design
the plan and the structural building.

We need to have a good elevation for the given plan. Here, we will approach the architect
to deal with the front elevation and the landscaping details. This will hence ask for
cooperation and discussion between the engineer and the architect.

Role of Architects in Cost Estimation of Construction Project

The estimation of the costs at different stages of the project progress helps in having a
control over the budget. This keeps the client and the project team alert before a bigger
budget issue is faced.
The architects do have an important role in visualizing top to down of the whole building
structure, that results in emerging with new ideas and designs. This brings difficulty in
their implementation without the help of engineers and without understanding the
practicality of construction.

Hence, the greatest challenge or the responsibility of the architect is not to underestimate
the cost of materials and the construction time. This point helps in bringing out effective
cost estimation.

The extent and details of cost estimation conducted by the architect too is dependent on
the extent of work is carrying out. If the client is completely providing the project over to
him, where the engineers comes later or under, the complete construction estimation is
performed by the architect.

Now, if the architect is placed only for the façade improvement or for landscaping
modeling and implementation, he brings a cost estimation for the same.

Role of Architects in Construction Contracts

If the whole size of the project is known, it is able to understand the different sectors of
the project that can be divided and provided to the contractors. Contractors take over the
project and implement it with their labors as instructed by the architects/engineers.

The bidding of the tender and allowing the building contract can be carried out with the
architect’s assistance. This helps the client to choose the correct procurement form. This
way the whole contract procedure is well coordinated.

The activity of contract agreement must be transparent and fair. The architects have role
in suggesting and choosing the contractors for different activities of construction.

After receiving the tender, the architect carries out a tender analysis report. These results
are compared with the client’s expectations and budget.
What type of work the architect is engaged is based on the contract agreement. Most of
the project, the architect takes in hand with civil structural engineers is to move the
construction. Huge construction will of course demand somebody with huge technical
knowledge to know about the stability and strength factors.

The contract with the architect by the client will decide what trade the architect must
focus on. Based on the demand the architect will coordinate the construction activity as
per the standard codes and regulations.

The architect has the role of checking the invoices at the month end to check the payment
requested is corresponding to the completed works at the site.

Role of Architects in Marketing

Architects gain popularity through marketing their works to the public. They bid new
works and designs based on the creativity developed in the form of buildings. This helps
in developing their career.

The design to the construction process also includes the following responsibilities for the
architect:

 Clarification of the details of design with the construction team

 The design can be redesigned if necessary. This can also bring change to the scope
in order to satisfy any rules or regulations
 Certification to know that the work has been completed in the correct manner
The role of architect from the construction process to the maintenance will insist the
architect to handover an owner’s manual that will have recommendations for the future
maintenance and repairs.

It is not a practice everywhere, but there are architects who offers such a facility. The
architect has to be contacted in future if any issues arise, and it’s the duty of the architect
to be available when needed.
The responsibilities of the architectural engineer are somewhat similar to that of
structural engineer. The difference is that the architects take more effort on how the
building looks and its aesthetics, while the structural engineer focus on the construction
type and durability of the structure. But both have a common goal of bringing a well-
structured building.

Resources in Construction Projects

Construction projects success not only depends on the quality & quantity of
work, but also largely depends on adequate availability and efficient
management of resources.

Various types of resources involved in construction industry such as materials,

manpower, machines, finance and spaces that are required for each stage of
construction. The project manager ability to handle construction resources
contributing to project cost success.

Materials
Several materials are used in construction the use of some materials depends
on project conditions and practices. Materials are the essence in the
construction industry which represents a substantial proportion of the total
value of the project. Hence, efficient material management is an important
criterion for success of any project. A material management system includes
the fundamental functions required in any construction project such as
identifying, acquiring, storing, distributing and disposing of materials. Regular
and adequate supply of the materials is very critical task as late or irregular
delivery or wrong types of material delivered during construction affect the
utilization of other resources like manpower and machinery. This leads to poor
productivity, time delay and cost overrun.

Manpower Resource
Manpower or human resources consists of technical and managerial personal
and workforce in project activities. Human resources are essential and
important to achieve project completion within estimated time budget.
Technical personal are include engineers, architects, quantity surveyors,
supervisors, technicians etc. The work force consists of skilled and unskilled
workers.

Machinery (Plant/Equipment)
Construction equipments are very significant resources which play important
role in the execution of high-cost-time bound construction projects. The
selection and utilization of equipment in a project must be an integral part of
the total plan. The type and number of the equipments required in any project
depends on the nature of the project.

Finance
Finance is the first resource required for any construction work. Other
construction resource depends on the availability of funds. Financial
management is essential for smooth cash flow forecasting and assist in
planning, making decisions and controlling the activities of project.

Space
For any construction activity to proceed efficiently, it is essential to plan the
available space at site for:

Storing materials
Providing yards for bar benders, carpenters, installation of equipment and
plant, repair workshops etc.
Site office, labour camps etc.

RESOURCES OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Labor Productivity
Productivity in construction is often broadly defined as output per labor hour.
Since labor constitutes a large part of the construction cost and the quantity of
labor hours in performing a task in construction is more susceptible to the
influence of management than are materials or capital, this productivity measure is
often referred to as labor productivity.

• Productivity at the Job Site – Contractors and owners are often concerned with
the labor activity at job sites. For this purpose, it is convenient to express labor
productivity as functional units per labor hour for each type of construction task.
• Productivity in the Construction Industry – Because of the diversity of the
construction industry, a single index for the entire industry is neither meaningful
nor reliable. Productivity indices may be developed for major segments of the
construction industry nationwide if reliable statistical data can be obtained for
separate industrial segments. For this general type of productivity measure, it is
more convenient to express labor productivity as constant dollars per labor hours
since dollar values are more easily aggregated from a large amount of data
collected from different sources.
Factors Affecting Job-Site Productivity
• Job-site productivity is influenced by many factors which can be characterized
either as labor characteristics, project work conditions or as non-productive
activities. The labor characteristics include: – age and experience of workforce –
leadership and motivation of workforce.

The project work conditions include among other factors: – Job size and
complexity. – Job site accessibility. – Labor availability. – Equipment utilization.
– Contractual agreements. – Local climate. – Local cultural characteristics,
particularly in foreign operations.

The non-productive activities associated with a project may or may not be paid by
the owner, but they nevertheless take up potential labor resources which can
otherwise be directed to the project. The non-productive activities include among
other factors: – Indirect labor required to maintain the progress of the project –
Rework for correcting unsatisfactory work – Temporary work stoppage due to
inclement weather or material shortage – Time off for union activities – Absentee
time, including late start and early quits – Non-working holidays – Strikes

 Materials Management
Materials management is an important element in project planning and control.
Materials represent a major expense in construction, so minimizing procurement
or purchase costs presents important opportunities for reducing costs. Poor
materials management can also result in large and avoidable costs during
construction.

First, if materials are purchased early, capital may be tied up and interest charges
incurred on the excess inventory of materials. Even worse, materials may
deteriorate during storage or be stolen unless special care is taken. For example,
electrical equipment often must be stored in waterproof locations. • Second, delays
and extra expenses may be incurred if materials required for particular activities
are not available. Accordingly, insuring a timely flow of material is an important
concern of project managers.
 Construction Equipment
• The selection of the appropriate type and size of construction equipment often
affects the required amount of time and effort and thus the job-site productivity of
a project. It is therefore important for site managers and construction planners to
be familiar with the characteristics of the major types of equipment most
commonly used in construction.

Compaction and Grading – The function of compaction equipment is to produce

higher density in soil mechanically. The basic forces used in compaction are static
weight, kneading, impact and vibration. The degree of compaction that may be
achieved depends on the properties of soil, its moisture content, the thickness of
the soil layer for compaction and the method of compaction.

Drilling and Blasting – Rock excavation is an audacious task requiring special

equipment and methods. The degree of difficulty depends on physical
characteristics of the rock type to be excavated, such as grain size, planes of
weakness, weathering, brittleness and hardness. The task of rock excavation
includes loosening, loading, hauling and compacting. The loosening operation is
specialized for rock excavation and is performed by drilling, blasting or ripping.

Lifting and Erecting – Derricks are commonly used to lift equipment of materials
in industrial or building construction. A derrick consists of a vertical mast and an
inclined boom sprouting from the foot of the mast. The mast is held in position by
guys or stifflegs connected to a base while a topping lift links the top of the mast
and the top of the inclined boom. A hook in the road line hanging from the top of
the inclined boom is used to lift loads. Guy derricks may easily be moved from
one floor to the next in a building under construction while stiffleg derricks may
be mounted on tracks for movement within a work area.

Mixing and Paving – Basic types of equipment for paving include machines for
dispensing concrete and bituminous materials for pavement surfaces. Concrete
mixers may also be used to mix portland cement, sand, gravel and water in batches
for other types of construction other than paving.

Resource management in construction

Contents

 1 Introduction
  2 Resource management plans

 3 Making a resource management plan work

 4 Acceleration

 5 Fast track construction

 6 Resource levelling

 7 Human resource management

Introduction

Construction companies face the challenge of delivering often complex projects to

a schedule, within a budget, and hopefully with a reasonable profit margin. Resource
management is the process of planning the resources necessary to meet the objectives of
the project, and to satisfy the client’s requirements.

Construction resource management is the process of planning and allocating resources

required to meet project objectives. Proper resource management helps to
keep projects on schedule by ensuring that the demand of project resources is met and
also maximizes the utilization of resources from project to project.

Without proper resource management, projects can fall behind schedule, or can become

unprofitable. The objective is to ensure the adequate and timely supply of resources,
whilst at the same time maximising the utilisation of resources between projects.

Construction resources might include:

Products and materials.
Construction plant, tools and equipment.
Human resources.
Space and facilities.
Subcontractors.
Finance.
Fundamental to resource management is real-time visibility of; what resources are
needed, what resources are available, where resources are located, and the ability to
reschedule those resources accordingly.

Resource management plans

A resource management plan can be used to:

Ensure resource availability and resolve resource conflicts.

Optimise time, effort and cost.
Ensure workers with the right skills are available.
Identify limitations, such as site access, weather conditions, and so on.
Reassign resources in response to circumstances.
Track resources utilisation to avoid excessive resourcing or under-utilisation.

It should list key information about the required resources for each activity:

Type of activity.
Start date and duration of the activity.
Activity owner.
Resource type and quantity required.
Source/supplier of each resource type.
Equipment required.
Cost estimates for each of the resources to be supplied.
Risk mitigation.

Making a resource management plan work

Successful resource management requires:

Access to the up-to-date project plan with clear definition of the different phases

of work and activity scheduling.
Understanding the types of resources that are needed.
Understanding the availability and optimum utilisation of resources.
Understanding the potential for developing resources for new uses.
Understanding of the lead time required to ensure that resources are available
when needed.
The ability to redeploy resources if works need to be accelerated, or
if works are completed.
Automated resource management systems can improve companies’ overall efficiency,
replacing less efficient data collection methods such as paper forms, spreadsheets, and so
on. Some of the features they can incorporate include:

Automated calculations.
Ability for managers to simulate and test different scenarios.
Re-evaluation and re-calculation as decisions change.
Real-time resource utilisation tracking.
Resource allocations can be assessed and approved quickly online.
Access to real-time information via mobile device.
Online collaboration between sites, offices, partners, subcontractors, and so on.

Acceleration

It may become necessary to accelerate the progress of works, either to achieve

the completion date, or to meet a new requirement imposed by the client (such
as accommodating additional works, or bringing the completion date forward).

Typically, this will require that additional resources are used, although it might be
achieved by a reduction in scope of other works, or changes to the design.

See Acceleration for more information.

Fast track construction

Fast-track construction is a scheduling technique that can be used to reduce the

overall duration of projects by overlapping tasks that on a traditional contract would not
be commenced until the previous task was completed. Whilst the same number of tasks
need to be performed, they are condensed into a shorter period, and so are likely to
require more resources.

See Fast track construction for more information

Resource levelling

Resource levelling is a project management technique in which the demand for limited

resources is accommodated by adjusting the project programme. In construction, resource
levelling can be used to analyse the variations in resource usage that can occur over time,
and which can be inefficient and costly.
See Resource levelling for more information.

Human resource management

Human resource management (HRM) is the process of managing people within

an organisation. In construction, HRM is primarily concerned with ensuring that
a project has sufficient human resources, with the correct skill-sets and experience, for
the project to be successfully completed

Traditional Project Management

Traditional project management is a universal practice that

includes a set of developed techniques used for planning,
estimating, and controlling activities. The aim of those
techniques is to reach the desired result on time, within budget,
and in accordance with specifications.

Traditional project management is mainly used on projects

where activities are completed in a sequence and there are
rarely any changes.
The concept of traditional project management is based on
predictable experience and predictable tools. Each project
follows the same lifecycle, which includes five stages: initiating,
planning, executing, controlling, and closing.
The Beginnings of Traditional Project Management

The Beginnings of Traditional Project Management

Although project management was first introduced as a discipline during the

1950s, it has been around for thousands of years and has been used in creating
some of the biggest projects, from the Great Pyramids to the Transcontinental
Railroad.

Those large-scale projects changed the face of history and mankind forever.
However, as time went by, business owners and entrepreneurs found it hard to
keep up with the fast pace of technological development and ever-increasing
demands of the market.

Business leaders realized that they needed a system that will help them manage
large-scale projects. They needed a well-structured methodology that would help
them bridge gaps and ensure a consistent work pattern.

As a result, traditional project management was developed. Its ultimate goal was
to make sure all the tasks are carried out in a predetermined orderly sequence.

Gantt Chart

Gantt chart is the most important technique in traditional project management. Its
creator was Henry Gantt, which is why he's considered the father of traditional
project management.

Gantt chart gives you a simple overview of a project. It is one of the most useful
ways of presenting the tasks and activities of the project on a timeline.

In the beginning, people used to create Gantt charts by hand or by

using magnetic blocks and Legos. As technology progressed, we began making
Gantt charts in Excel in a matter of seconds
The left part of the Gantt chart shows the project activities and the top shows the time scale.
Each activity is presented with a bar. A bar’s position tells us about the beginning, duration, and
end of the activity.

By looking at a Gantt chart, we can learn:

 What project tasks are

 Who is working on each task
 How long each task will take
 How tasks overlap and link with each other
 The start and finish date of the project

Today, we mainly use the Gantt Chart to track project schedules and make project management
less stressful. Gantt chart helps us understand the relationship between tasks more clearly, keep
all the team members on the same page, and successfully complete the project.

Gantt Chart comes with a lot of benefits: it lets you organize your thoughts, gives you a clear
layout of what you’re doing, helps you set a realistic time frame, and it’s highly visible.
However, if you are working on an ambitious and demanding project with hundreds of tasks,
charts might become too complex and make you feel overwhelmed. For example, as things
change, you need to update the Gantt chart. Also, the size of the bar does not necessarily indicate
the amount of work needed to successfully complete the project as an activity may require more
resources than you initially expected.

What Is the Project Management Triangle?

There are many project constraints and the three most frequent ones are time, cost, and scope.
They are a part of every project and together they make up the Project Management Triangle.

Scope

In the initiation phase, it’s important to specify all the steps of the project development including
what WILL be was done and what WILL NOT be done. If you want to keep the project under
control, you need to allocate some time and carefully plan and define the scope.

Time

Time is an invaluable resource. While we can control the processes and make necessary changes
to improve them, we cannot control time. One of the biggest challenges each project manager
has to face is to use time efficiently, keep the project on schedule, and reach the desired
objectives.
Cost

As a project manager, you should define the budget in the early stage of the project and then
compare it with the figure your customer initially offered. If the client decides to spend a certain
amount of money that doesn’t match your requirements, you can prepare a business proposal that
will include the estimates of the total cost of the project. This proposal helps the customer base
his decision on more accurate estimates.

All three constraints are interconnected and depend heavily on one another. Once you reduce the
time allocated for the project, the cost increases. Also, the scope of the project dictates the pace
and the number of resources necessary to realize and successfully complete the project.

While it’s virtually impossible to keep your eye on everything, it’s imperative to maintain the
balance and strive towards the equilibrium of the triangle no matter how challenging it can be.

The area inside the triangle represents the quality and it’s the ultimate objective of every project
delivery. A good project manager will find a way how to control all three constraints of the
triangle and produce the best quality.

The project manager's ultimate goal is to meet their customers’ requirements and live up to the
quality standards. In order to do so, you as a project manager need to control both the quality and
the constraints.

Building on Top of Traditional Project Management:

Quality Management
In order to improve the quality of both product and project management, you should integrate the
following tools:

 Continuous quality management

 Process quality management

Continuous quality management is used to analyze any gaps where certain processes and steps
could be carried out to improve the quality. You can undertake any number of improvements and
then check them against the targeted improvements. It is cyclical and mostly present in
customer-driven organizations.

Process quality management involves factors that have a major effect on the success of
business processes and is based on the assumption that the organization has documented its
mission and vision.
Using a grading system, all the processes that are critical to a successful business are identified,
analyzed, and related to continuous quality management. The results of the analysis help the
project manager make necessary improvements for given processes and the next stage is the
initiation of the project management life cycle.

Traditional Project Management in the 21st Century

The computer and the Internet have become essential parts of almost any business. The computer
replaced most manual jobs and new professions such as IT engineers, programmers, and project
managers started emerging.

The processes became more complex and demanding, and traditional project management no
longer offers the best solutions to business problems. The concept of traditional project
management has been changed and extended through different project management
methodologies and frameworks.

Nevertheless, traditional management is still considered the foundation of all modern approaches
and is still the prevailing methodology when working on big construction projects.
 Critical path method

CPM (Critical Path Method) is a mathematical algorithm that helps you analyze, plan,
and schedule complex projects.

Each project consists of a number of tasks and activities that are interconnected and
essential for project’s success. The more complex the project gets, the more demanding
the project management is. That's where CPM comes in hand.

At its core, CPM is a powerful tool that allows you to identify the longest path of planned
tasks necessary to meet the deadlines and identify the early start and finish dates.

By determining the critical path, you will know which activities are critical in completing
the project, and which ones won’t have any serious impact on the project development
and can be delayed.

Steps in critical path method

A critical path method includes the following steps:

1. Identifying activities

By using the project scope, you can break the work structure into a list of activities and
identify them by name and coding; all activities must have duration and target date.

2. Determining sequence of activities*

This is the most important step as it gives a clear view of the connection between the
activities and helps you establish dependencies as some activities will depend on the
completion of others.

3. Creating a network of activities

Once you determined how activities depend on each other you can create the network
diagram, or critical path analysis chart; it allows you to use arrows to connect the
activities based on their dependence

4. Determining completion time for each activity

By estimating how much time each activity will take will help you determine the time
needed to complete the entire project. (While with smaller projects you can make
estimates in days, more complex ones require making estimates in weeks)

5. Finding the critical path

A network of activities will help you create the longest sequence of activities on the path
or the critical path using these parameters:

 Early Start ES - earliest time to start a certain activity providing that the
preceding one is completed.
 Early Finish EF - earliest time necessary to finish activity
 Late Finish LF - latest time necessary to finish the project without delays
 Late Start LS - latest start date when the project can start without project delays

If there is a delay in any task on the critical path, the whole project will have to be
delayed. The critical path is the path where there can be no delays.
Naturally, not all the project activities are equally important. While some have a huge
impact on the critical path and are therefore critical, others don’t make much difference
to the project if they are delayed.

The critical path method helps us determine which activities are “critical and which have
“total float”. However, if any of the floating activities get seriously delayed, they can
become critical and delay the entire project.

Example: using CPM on a construction project

Take home building project for example. In order to build a house, you need build the
foundation first. Construction is a sequential process where all the activities from
clearing the lot to building the roof follow one another and are dependent on each other.

If you don’t frame the house, you cannot insulate; if you don’t do drywall, you cannot
paint.

Critical path method allows you to first identify all the activities, then figure out how long
each will take, and finally determine the longest path, also known as the critical path.

Once you determined the activities of building a house (clear lot, poor footings, frame
house, insulate, drywall, paint, and roofing), you need to establish their dependencies.
For instance, while you cannot frame the house until you have poured the footing,
exterior siding and roofing can take place at the same time.

Although some activities can happen at the same time, all activities must finish at the
designated time identified by the critical path.
The next step is to identify the time necessary to complete each activity. While painting
may take 7 days roofing will take only 3 days.

The fact that floating time is not on the critical path makes all other activities critical.
That is, if one activity on your critical path is 5 days late, it means that the entire project
will be 5 days longer than expected.

How resource limitations affect the CPM

As much as we would like to take the best out of the critical path method and make our
projects run smoothly, there are still certain limitations that affect our projects and create
new dependencies. For example, if the number of team members suddenly drops from
10 to 7, you face resource limitations (ie. resource constraint).

In such scenario, the critical path changes into “resource critical path” where resources
related to each activity become an integral part of the process.

This means that some of the tasks will have to be performed in a different order which
may cause delays, and, consequently, make the project longer than expected.

How can you benefit from CPM

Although critical method path may have become an outdated technique due to fast-
paced technological advances, it still offers a number of advantages:

 Prioritized tasks
 Clear insight into your project’s timeline so you can reduce the time necessary for
project completion
 You can compare planned vs actual progress
 Easy risk assessment
  You can redistribute your team members more efficiently
 Helps your team stay focused

The critical path method lets you stay focused on the big picture by giving you a clear
view of all project activities and its potential outcome.

The best thing about CPM is that you can reschedule less important tasks and focus
your efforts on optimizing your work so your team can avoid delays.

Make Real Work Han!