Department of Civil Engineering

CEN312 – Construction Management

Coursework Brief 2021‐22

Dr. Fangyu Guo

1. Objectives

This coursework is designed to assess the students’ understanding on the basic construction
management knowledge and modern construction management techniques. The main topics
covered in this coursework include the following:

Quantity takeoff, cost estimate, and BIM (Assignment 1)

Productivity improvement and modern construction technologies (Assignment 2)
Lean construction (Assignment 3)
Earned value management (Assignment 4)
Sustainable design and construction (Assignment 5)

2. Requirements
For calculation assignments, detailed steps of the calculation process should be provided.
For essay assignments, students are required to conduct short researches. The preferred reference
sources are academic journal/conference articles and books. In case internet sources are used as
references, the source should be a reliable one. Wikipedia cannot be listed as one of your
references. Check the reference format required at the department. Place your reference list at the
end of your CW.

3. Marks
The total mark for this coursework is 100 points which will be 70% of your final mark.

Note that the following marking scheme will apply to assignments 1, 3, and 5.

Mark Very weak Weak Fair Good Excellent

for each (0-20%) (20-40%) (40-60%) (60-80%) (80-100%) MARK
criteria
CONTENT:
Structure: Logical, Clear and Comprehensive.
Key points and Body: Displays an understanding of the subject area, Accurate information,
Addresses core issues, Specific and well argued.
/15
Research and Investigation: Carry out appropriate research and investigation during the
semester
Resources: Well researched and references authoritative sources used, Clearly referenced.
WRITING SKILLS:
Language and format: Correct English, Academic writing, Professional format, Proper
/5
citation, within the page limit
TOTAL MARK /20
Assignment 1
BIM is becoming more popular in the building industry around the world, as it provides various
benefits for various parties involved in the building projects. BIM is more commonly used in the
design phase of the building project but hard to go beyond the design phase. Please investigate
on one of the two following topics and provide your answers after conducting the relevant
research.
(1) Describe how BIM can be used for the construction phase of the building projects, and
discuss the main benefits and challenges of using BIM for such phase.
(2) Describe how BIM can be used for quantity takeoff and cost estimate, and discuss the
main benefits and challenges of using BIM for such purpose.
[12pts, around 1-page excluding the figures and tables, 20 marks]
Assignment 2
A site engineer takes a sampling study for a gang of carpenters to study their work efficiency.
The activities to be observed are divided into four categories as listed in Table 2. The engineer
has made 72 observations in total. The number of occurrence for each activity during the
observations is also listed in this table. Assume 95% confidence level (z=1.96) is needed.
Table 2 Observations made for the sampling study
Activity categories No. of occurrence
Fixing formwork (FF) 28
Stripping formwork (SF) 16
Cleaning formwork (CF) 18
Worker Idle (I) 10

1) Determine the proportion of the time the workers were idle and the degree of accuracy of
the result. [4 marks]

2) How many additional observations need to be taken to give at least 10% accuracy to all of
the formwork activities, assuming 95% confidence level is required (z=1.96)? [8 marks]

3) Please discuss the main benefits of increasing construction productivity. [8 marks]

[20 marks]
Assignment 3
Lean construction is one of the modern construction management methods that is developed and
implemented in the construction industry. Please answer the following questions related to lean
construction after the necessary research. (1) What is lean construction? [5 marks] (2) What are
the main benefits of implementing lean construction? [5 marks] (3) How the lean construction is
implemented in the industry? [10 marks]
[12pts, around 1-page excluding the figures and tables, 20 marks]
Assignment 4
Table 1 shows the schedule for a project that is intended to be completed in four months. After
two and a half months, activities A and B are 100% complete, activity C is 80% complete,
activity D is 20% complete, and activity E hasn’t started yet. The actual project cost to date is
$4,000.

Table 1. Bar chart schedule

Activity Cost Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4

A 600

B 900

C 3000

D 2000

E 1500

(1) Perform the earned value analysis to determine the following values: BCWP, BCWS,
ACWP, SV, CV, CPI, SPI, BAC, EAC, ETC, VAC, EACtime, and ETCtime.
[13 marks]
(2) Make your conclusion as whether the project is over or under budget and whether it is
ahead or behind schedule at this point. Explain what the calculated CPI and SPI
indicate.
[5 marks]
(3) Explain the benefits of using this earned value management method.
[2 marks]

[20 marks]
Assignment 5
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a well-known green building
certification system. There are various sustainable design and construction strategies that can be
implemented to help obtain more LEED credits. Please do some research on this aspect and
describe one or more sustainable strategies (three at most) that can be used for obtaining LEED
credits and be specific about what LEED categories/credits can be obtained with the selected
strategies.
[12pts, around 1-page excluding the figures and tables, 20 marks]

End of Coursework