CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 1

COURSE – CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SUBJECT - EPM_1113 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW AND CONTEXT

TOPIC – CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS

INSTRUCTOR - PROFESSOR TAYFUN AKKUS

CLASS - 2022W_EPM1113_BATCH 1

GROUP - F

Sr No STUDENT NAME STUDENT NUMBER

1 Alwin Varghese C0825335
2 Jaskaranjit Singh Semar C0850763
3 Jay Balan Mudaliyar C0848295
4 Jerin Jose C0821644
5 Ravi Mahendrabhai Patel C0846907

DATE OF SUBMISSION – 21ST February 2022

GROUP F
 CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Scope of Work 4

Phases of Project 5

Actions required to complete the project in the given time or schedule? 6

1. How to adjust the delay in critical activity? 6

2. How to adjust some changes raised from various corners? 6

3. What if some tasks have hard deadlines? 7

Managing the Project Budget 8

1. What if costs increase due to delays? 8

2. What if cost increases due to market factors? 9

3. What if some rework is required? 11

Actions required to deliver as per the scope of the project 13

1. How to make sure that all work is completed? 13

2. No extra work is done 13

3. Manage necessary and unnecessary changes 14

Conclusions 15

4.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 3

INTRODUCTION

A project is an activity that has a definite start and end. A project depends on many

parameters, and management of the project itself is a very vast thing than the project. But three

constraints affect the project at most, and the whole of the project revolves around these triple

constraints. This triple constraint can also be known as the Iron Triangle, Project Triangle, Project

Management Triangle, and Golden Triangle. The three triple constraints inherent in managing a

project are:

https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/triple-constraint-project-management-time-scope-cost

• Cost

• Scope

• Time

Cost - It is the financial constraint known as a project budget.

Scope – It is the tasks that need to be carried out to complete the project.

Time – It is the schedule of the project to complete the project.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 4

SCOPE OF WORK

Here we define a case study on constructing a new detached house of ground plus two

floors. There are so many factors that need to be identified and investigated before initiating any

such project. As it is a construction activity within the perimeter of the residential area, it is

essential to look at all the parameters and document all the challenges and risks associated with

the work at the job site.

The scope requires the construction of a detached house with ground plus two floors where

the ground floor consists of a car garage, living room, dining area, and kitchen. The first floor

consists of two bedrooms and the second floor consists of one bedroom. It is a 3 BHK unit that

will be considered a project for the case study. Along with that, landscape development in the open

land is also included in the scope of the work.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 5

PHASES OF THE PROJECT

For any project, five phases define the timeline of the project. They are

• Initiation – Before initiating any project, we need to prepare a project charter, identify the

stakeholder’s requirements, do a feasibility study, and prepare a plan accordingly.

• Planning and designing – It is considered one of the essential parts of the project where

designing and planning are done along with the resources and material availability.

• Execution – The execution part is that part of the project where construction activity carries

out on-site as per available drawings and necessary building permits. It includes all the

activities from starting the project till the end of the project or final handover.

• Project Monitoring and Control – The project runs parallel to the execution part and is

interlinked with the planning, design, and execution part. Any change is required during

execution, or any risk associated with the work can only be known by monitoring and

controlling the project during the execution process.

• Project End – It is the final handover of the project. You will complete the project as per

design and specifications and then hand it over to the sponsor or owner with all the

necessary and related documents.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 6

ACTIONS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT WITHIN THE GIVEN

SCHEDULE

How would you deal with critical activity delays?

While planning a project, it is essential to define the critical path, which shows the actual amount

of time required to complete the project. It is the longest path considered while dealing with the

project’s schedule. Numerous activities run parallel to each other during the project, but the

processing times of the required actions are different. So critical path is defined as the longest path

covering the complete project. We find delays in activities on a crucial path like material

unavailability on time, labor shortage, or other unwanted circumstances. To cope with the

uncertainty, we need to reschedule the work and consider the overtime or extend the project

deadline. All this needs to be considered while planning and budgeting the project.

How to address some changes raised by various coroners?

There are instances where an owner or the sponsor wants to address the change in the project.

Sometimes even the designer or architect wants to address the change like a change in orientation

of the rooms or something during the execution part of the project. As a project manager, one must

understand the effect or impact that can be created on the project during the execution of a project

due to the change that is addressed. If the suggested change does not impact the project's budget

or schedule, it can be readily acceptable by the project manager. Still, suppose it affects the overall

project either in cost or the program. In that case, these issues must be considered and need to be

resolved by arranging a meeting among the project's senior management and the sponsor, designer,

and project manager.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 7

For example, during the installation of HVAC line in the building, the designer wants to change

the orientation of the line from the earlier drawings than project manager must investigate it and

needs to find if at all it impacts the overall project cost or not and if this change affects the general

schedule of the work or not. If it is not moving any of these things, then the addressed change can

be implemented and adopted quickly on the site. Still, if this changes the budget or time, it must

be considered, and a meeting should be held to resolve the issue either by extending the deadline

or increasing the project cost, whichever is required.

What if some tasks have hard deadlines?

In general, almost all project has specific deadlines and is planned with a buffer to avoid the last-

minute hassle in the project. But sometimes, due to some unfavorable circumstances, it isn’t easy

to maintain the deadlines in the project. To avoid such situations, it is necessary to prepare a project

schedule on time. But if it is impossible to cope with the deadline, we must do overtime on that

construction activity to meet deadlines within the stipulated time. By working overtime, a project

manager must ensure that the training meets the deadlines and does not impact the critical path

much of a project. He needs to budget so that the workers’ overtime does not affect the project’s

overall cost.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 8

MANAGING THE PROJECT BUDGET

All the construction projects, irrespective of the location, depending upon the three triple

constraints that impact the overall project. Cost is one of the pillars that affect the overall project,

so a project manager needs to understand the cost budget and plan accordingly.

What if costs increase due to delays?

Various parameters affect the cost of the project. Delays in the project are also one of them. There

are multiple reasons for a pause, and it is essential to identify the reasons for the delay and

subsequent steps that need to be taken to avoid it.

There are various reasons for project delay, for of them are highlighted here for understanding:

• Improper Design

• Frequent changes in the scope of work

• Poor Estimation

• Improper schedule

• Weather conditions

• Material availability

Due to delays, steps need to be taken to deal with the increased cost.

• During harsh weather, lay off the unnecessary staff to reduce the project’s cost.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 9

• Eliminate the unnecessary equipment’s from the site so that the rental cost of the equipment

can be reduced as a cost.

• Ask the architect or project stakeholders to avoid frequent changes in the scope of work to

avoid an increase in budgeted costs.

• Improve the project schedule and derive the critical path and other vital workforce

requirement calculations daily. It will eventually help reduce the cost of the project due to

delays.

• Try to reduce administrative expenses as much as possible and reduce the project’s

overtime cost so that you don’t need to pay 1.50 times the actual salary to the workforce

resources.

What if costs increase due to market factors?

The cost factor of a project depends largely on market factors. Construction depends mainly on

the workforce, material, money, and time. Here material depends primarily on market factors as

all the materials cannot be brought to the site at once. The market is very dynamic; prices of

materials keep on changing daily. Following are the market factors associated with a cost increase

in the project.

Increase in material rate – The main reason for the rise in construction cost. It includes price surge

in the material used in the construction activity, such as cement, sand, aggregate, reinforcement,

steel, wall tiles, flooring tiles, PVC pipes, etc.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 10

Increase in labor wage – Every country has a minimum fixed labor wage, and when budgeting the

project, most estimators take the same into account. But the country's federal government used to

increase the minimum wage from time to time after assessment. If this exists during the project, it

will increase the project cost.

Material shortage – The rate of the material always depends on the supply and demand of material

in the market. If the collection of material is short due to any unfavorable circumstances, then there

are very high chances that the overall rate of the material in the market goes high. This eventually

affects the cost of the project.

Shortage of Labor – There are instances in an open market when many construction activities are

going on in a market simultaneously. This might sometimes result in a lack of labor in the market.

As a result, laborers will ask for more wages than the minimum wage to work on the project. This

can affect the cost of the project.

To counterbalance the increase in cost due to market factors, the following steps need to be

adopted:

Price Agreement – A fixed price agreement should be done with the sponsor or the project owner

where it is mentioned in the clause that the owner should pay extra for the difference in the material

price from the quoted price.

Negotiation – If any price agreement is not done with the project owner, it is good to negotiate

with the owner about the price difference. An intermediate solution needs to be found that will be

beneficial or good in the interest of both parties.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 11

Finding Alternative – If there is a price increase in any specific material, then the project manager

must look for the alternative solution of the material, and he needs to take into confidence both

architect and owner of the project to use that alternative material of the exact specification to

balance the cost increase due to material on the project.

Project Completion – The project, whenever scheduled, is always expected with some buffer time

on a critical path. Still, as a project manager, one must ensure that the project gets completed before

time so that the variation in the material cost does not affect the overall project cost.

What if some rework is required?

Rework can be of many times, but as a project manager, one should ensure that minimum rework

should be done onsite at the time of execution of the project. It occurs mainly due to changes in

the scope of work frequently. If so, then the project manager must consult the architect and project

sponsor about the same to avoid the repetition of work. But sometimes, there are instances where

rework is required without changing the scope of work. These happened mainly due to lack of

quality in work, unskilled labors, the lack of supervision on-site, and many more.

To avoid such rework during the execution of the project without change in scope of work, a project

manager must take the followings steps

• Try to complete the task with skilled or trained workers as much as possible.

• Try to put a supervisor with each associated activity who has complete knowledge about

the task.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 12

• Hire a quality control manager for the project who ensures that all the construction

activities carried out at site must possess a quality of standards set by the owner or architect

and no rework required in any case.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 13

ACTIONS REQUIRED TO DELIVER THE PROJECT AS PER THE SCOPE OF THE

PROJECT

How to make sure that all work is completed

Every project follows a specific schedule and staffing management plan for successful completion

in a stipulated time frame. The primary duty of the project manager is to prepare the schedule and

resource calendar for the project in such a manner that all the activities associated with the project

are completed within the time frame without any delay. Each work should be clearly defined, and

all the risks associated with the action should be known to avoid delays in the project and schedule

the project accordingly. The project manager must monitor and control the project intensely to

complete all the activities on time. A proper work breakdown structure should define the activities’

relationship and act accordingly.

No extra work is done.

Changes in the scope of work are an inevitable part of the project. Once the project’s execution

starts, there are very high chances that the owner or architect will change the scope of work. The

project manager needs to find whether the necessity of change is required or not. If extra work is

put upon by the architect or owner that is not on the scope of work that was pre-defined by the

owner, then the project manager will decide whether to include that extra work in the area. For

example, During the designing part architect forgot to design the CCTV Surveillance of the house,

and later, he realized the same. When it is added to the scope of work, it is solely the project

manager who needs to decide whether he wants to include the same in the area or not. If he is ready

to do the extra work, then a separate supplement is prepared along with the revised schedule and

cost of the work, and if the project sponsor approves it, then only it will be executed on-site.
GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 14

If anything is communicated verbally and no appendices are provided for extra work, the project

manager must ensure that such additional work should not be done on-site.

Manage necessary and unnecessary changes

All works might not be mentioned in agreement throughout contract preparation which later gets

identified in constructing a house. There may well be some necessary and a few gratuitous changes

encountered during the construction of a home. Necessary changes should be self-addressed

properly through the scope documents or addenda that may be free throughout the development

schedule. This can confirm the owner’s satisfaction and coverage of the prices because of changes.

Gratuitous changes should be avoided if they don’t align with the project’s interests to prevent

unwanted constraints and conflicts between the parties concerned.

GROUP F
CASE STUDY 1 – MANAGING THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS 15

CONCLUSIONS

For a construction project, it is always necessary to manage all the triple constraints of the project

effectively. The triple constraints time, scope, and cost of the project are interdependent and are

more likely to affect each other. If any of the project's parameters goes wrong among these three,

it will eventually result in higher project costs or delays. So it is essential to define all the scope of

the project in a single attempt to avoid unfavorable circumstances during the execution and keep

the project within the budgeted cost and stipulated time.

GROUP F