Client-Side Project Management.
The Project Management Plan is a best practice process to identify, prepare, and coordinate administrative and engineering activities to deliver project objectives. The plan is guided by the project charter, requirements, the strategic plan, and is specific to the project sector. The project management plan is presented at the summary level and in detail. The level of effort required to prepare the project management plan is contingent on the complexity and size of the project, however, the plan should be robust enough to respond to an ever-changing project environment that is common to large-profile international design and construction projects.
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The responsibility in planning a project requires the identification of project requirements, and addressing the various needs, concerns, and expectations of owners, stakeholders, and end users by establishing, and maintaining active communications, coordinating resources, and balancing project constraints in scope, schedule, cost resources, and risk.
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Project conditions, best practices, and client input will determine how each project management process is implemented and how the constraints of the project are prioritized. The subsidiary plans to manage areas of design, schedule, and cost are base-lined as they provide data calculated to measure and record project performance that informs the project team whether the project is progressing as planned or if control is required to reestablish operational effectiveness.
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When the project management plan has been base-lined, it is only changed through the change integration process. A change request is generated, validated, and approved by the project sponsor. This results in a project management plan that is progressively elaborated by controlled and approved updates extending through the project lifecycle.
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The importance of developing the project management plan development of a comprehensive document that defines the basis of all project work, how the work will be performed, and guides the project team. Strong commitment to detail with excellent organization and prioritization skills delivers success.
The project management plan is comprised of the following subsidiary plans:
Ten Subsidiary Sections of the Project Management Plan (PMP)
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1. Design management plan (base-lined)
2. Requirements management plan.
3. Schedule management plan (base-lined)
4. Cost management plan (base-lined)
5. Quality management plan
6. Resource management plan
7. Communications management plan
8. Risk management plan
9. Procurement management plan
10. Stakeholder engagement plan
The design management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how the scope or design of the project is defined, sequenced, staged, checked, and approved. Preparation of the design development plan begins with the analysis of information contained in the project charter.
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The Project Charter is a documented source of information that can detail the project purpose, project objectives, high-level requirements, project risk, summary milestones, approved financial resources, key stakeholders, and definable features of the delivered project.
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Meetings and workshops with project stakeholders, business managers, the project manager, and the principal architect facilitate in-depth discussions of key project objectives, development strategy, success criteria, design deliverables, milestones, and other summary information.
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Project design management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required and only the work required to complete the project successfully. Managing the project design is to ensure that the design is of high quality, meets governing regulations, fulfills the needs of the user group, falls within the project budget, and is completed on time. An environmentally sustainable design adds value to the investment.
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Guided by requirements and national building codes the design team is led by us to ensure that critical public safety measures are built into the project. Some of the complex public safety features include MEP life safety systems, IT Data programming, fire separations, and seismic control to name a few. The ability to integrate all the building's definable features of work comes with years of experience, lessons learned, and organization process assets. Oversight in this coordination process can impact the project's schedule and cost.
2. Requirements Management
Requirement management is a process that integrates the project’s "objective space", a client’s desired features, ideas, and goals with the "design space" of architects and engineers. A high-level 0.1 version of the Requirements Traceability Matrix RTM has evolved, in design meetings to target low-level versions 2,3,4.
The types of requirements include visual interest, functional requirements, performance requirements, interface requirements, environmental requirements, safety, liability, etc. When requirements are not feasible due to schedule, cost, or risk tolerance, but may be flexible with alternative solutions then negotiation or rejection should be determined. 3D renders act as graphic tools that remove the common communication barriers that can cause project conflicts, misunderstandings, and delays between designers, architects, construction companies, and clients. This communication tool is integrated with cost estimate applications to support the decision-making process.
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Requirement descriptions are written in clear and concise descriptions, with singular statements, and consistent terms, without ambiguity or redundancy. Key experts including the client, senior project manager, architect, engineer, and quantity surveyor should participate in the RTM coordination meetings.
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The RTM is populated with activity numbers, business objectives, priorities, and data and used to support the development of the WBS, construction cost and schedule estimates, validation checks, and drives the design process. The RTM has evolved to an acceptable level and become the design baseline approved by the client and design team; the RTM supports the design change management process. The RTM is approved before design begins minimizing the risk of rework, schedule delays, and design cost overruns.
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The RTM is used to monitor and verify requirements during design production. Requirements support the development of project specifications, drawings, and references to applicable standards.
Schedule management is the process of establishing policies, procedures, and documentation for developing the project schedule.
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Project scheduling provides a detailed plan that represents how and when the new project will be delivered. The schedule serves as a tool for communication, managing stakeholders’ expectations, and as a basis for performance reporting particularly in terms of time and cost.
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The project or construction manager relies on expert judgment, organizational process assets, enterprise environment factors, data analysis, alternative analysis, meetings, and lessons learned to develop and refine the project schedule. Expertise should be considered by individuals or groups with specialized knowledge or training on previous similar projects.
Participants at scheduled development meetings include the project or construction manager, selected project team members, selected stakeholders, and anyone with responsibility for scheduled planning or execution. Project constraints may be discussed and considered in project scheduling, for example, when building permits are cleared a fast-track project schedule application can apply to resolve critical milestones, and long lead equipment can be purchased by the Client OFCI to resolve schedule problems. ​
Defining schedule activities, sequencing activities, estimating activity durations (3-point estimating) assigning resources, and identifying activity constraints are steps in this process. Generally, the schedule format is the detailed Critical Path Method CPM bar chart which illustrates logic, activity relationships, milestones, resources, and early and late start and finish dates (ES-LS-EF-LF). The scheduled activities can be grouped or sorted into administrative or technical activities, project areas, phases, or stages in the project by assigning activity codes.
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The project schedule remains preliminary until resource assignments and start, and finish dates have been approved. The completion of the schedule occurs no later than the completion of the project management plan. When the schedule is approved it becomes the baseline schedule that is used in comparison to the actual progress of work at any point in the project. The resulting metric is known as the Schedule Performance Index (SPI=EV/PV)
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During schedule updates, the approved baseline is compared to actual activity progress to determine if variances have occurred. If the project falls behind schedule at some point, notably activities on the critical path, the project team can consider applying recovery steps that can include:
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Change the work calendar, from non-workdays to workdays.
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Use start-to-start relationships and overlap activities.
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Divide long activities into shorter activities and increase manpower.
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The critical path is a series of activities that determines the project's duration. The duration of the activities on the critical path controls the duration of the project and so a delay to any of these activities will delay the project’s finish date. Critical activities are defined by either the total float or the longest path in the project network.
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The schedule is analyzed through the project lifecycle to ensure that it is sustainable and realistic, if not then the project or construction manager should recommend re-calibration to enable forecasting to be as accurate as possible.
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Schedule engineers should have experience with similar projects and be able to carry out field inspections. The ability to navigate scheduling software to provide various financial charts and bar chart illustrations is important in supporting the project management team.
Cost management planning starts early in the project and sets the framework for each of the cost management processes so that the performance of the processes will be coordinated and efficient.
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Project cost managers or QS are primarily concerned with the cost of the resources needed to complete the project's activities. Project cost managers are aware of and assess the effect of project decisions on the cost of maintaining and supporting the project.
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A cost estimate is a quantitative assessment of the likely costs or resources required to complete the activity. It is a prediction that is based on the available information including the project charter, project design, historical data, expert judgment, and risk. Cost estimates include the identification and consideration of cost alternatives to initiate and complete the project.
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Project costs include management, consulting and service costs, financing, insurance, costs of facilities, and contingency costs. Cost estimates may be presented at the activity level or in summary form.
Direct costs for construction include management, general conditions, labor, materials, equipment, and materials.
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The project budget includes all the funds authorized to execute the project. The cost baseline is the approved version of the time phase project budget when baseline costs for activities or packages are compared to the actual cost at any time, a metric indicating project performance called the Cost Performance Index CPI=EV/AC.
If the project cost exceeds the budget, then the project team can apply measures to re-establish the project’s operational efficiency.
Cost estimates are reviewed and refined during the project to reflect additional data that becomes available, and as estimates and forecasts are tested, hence the accuracy of a project cost estimate will increase as the project progresses through its lifecycle.
Data Analysis Techniques that Guide Cost Control.
Variance Analysis
·Schedule Variance (SV) is an analysis of the difference between the earned value and the planned value.
·Cost Variance (CV) is the difference in earned value vs. actual cost.
·Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is the ratio of earned value vs. planned value.
·Cost Performance Index CPI is the ratio of earned value vs. actual cost. This is the most critical EVA metric.
·Earned Value Analysis Analyzes three dimensions of cost data including scope baseline, cost baseline, and schedule baseline to provide the performance measurement baseline.
Trend Analysis
Is used to determine if project performance is improving or deteriorating over time. A graphical representation is used to illustrate performance. A forecast of estimate at completion EAC is used to make predictions about conditions and events in the future of the project based on current performance information and other knowledge available at the time of the forecast.
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·Reserve Analysis. An evaluation of contingency and management reserves assigned to control new risks and manage risk events.
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To Complete Performance Index TCPI. An assessment of cost performance that must be achieved to complete the remaining work with the remaining resources.
​Earned value analysis includes the following functions.
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Earned value EV
Cost variance CV=EV-AC
Schedule variance SV=EV-PV
Variance at completion VAC=BAC-EAC
Cost performance index CPI=EV/AC
Schedule performance index SPI=EV/PV
Estimate at completion EAC=EAC=BAC/CPI
Estimate to complete ETC=EAC-AC
To complete performance index TCPI=(BAC-EV) /(BAC-AC)
5. Quality Management
​ Quality management begins with identifying quality requirements and standards for the project. Its deliverables include the quality assurance plan and the quality control plans. Both plans are specific to the type of work performed. The project design may include more than 50 definable features of work performed by construction companies.
Quality management is also applied to project design checks to ensure that the project design drawings and specifications comply with building codes, cover the full scope of work, contain sufficient detail, and coordinate, specifically coordination between architectural and MEP systems.
Project quality management can also include the processes for incorporating the organization’s quality policy regarding planning monitoring and controlling a project's quality requirements to meet stakeholders’ objectives. Managing quality is the process of applying the quality management plan to quality inspections that incorporate the organization's quality policies into the project.
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Quality measures and techniques are specific to the type of project and take risk into account, large complex building projects with an aggressive schedule require experienced construction managers and trades, supported by efficient quality control experts.
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The inspection period is an examination of the work to determine if it conforms to specified standards. Design checks by 3rd parties can be called peer review audits. However, in most cases, design checks are performed by the project or construction manager and supported by project coordinators.
Site inspection of construction areas, field QC meetings, and inspection reports is a reiterative process scheduled through the project’s lifecycle. Third-party quality control testing can be outsourced to include services such as concrete testing labs, pull tests for dropped-in anchors, weld inspections, testing of high voltage switch gear, and building and property survey checks. Generally, project and field engineers verify that products and materials delivered to the site match those approved in product data submittals.
Serious negative consequences can occur for any or all project stakeholders when work does not meet or is performed as required by the contract. Noncompliance or defective work needs to be identified in real time as soon as events happen. This lessens the impact of rework, schedule, and cost overruns.
The quality assurance plan and quality control plans are intended to control unnecessary events. Meeting project schedule objectives by rushing planned quality inspections may result in undetected errors resulting in decreased profits and hurting the team’s spirit and the company’s reputation.
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Problem-solving involves finding solutions for issues or challenges by gathering additional information, critical thinking, and creative quantitative and or logical approaches. Effective and systematic problem-solving is a fundamental element in quality assurance and quality management. Experienced project managers and construction managers are skilled in resolving technical challenges and will propose corrective actions and alternative solutions.
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The problem-solving strategy can include:
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Defining the problem.
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Identifying the root cause.
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Generating possible solutions.
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Choosing the best solution.
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Verifying solution effectiveness.
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The cost of the quality CoQ includes all costs assigned to the project investment in preventing non-conformance. Failure costs can be categorized into internal, not by the project team, and external, found by the client. Failure costs are also called the cost of poor quality. Project quality management includes customer satisfaction, continual improvement, individual responsibility, and mutually beneficial partnerships with contractors and suppliers.
Project resource management includes the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of the project. These processes help ensure that the right resources will be available to the project manager and the project team at the right time and place. The steps in resource management are to estimate activity resources, acquire resources, develop a team, manage the team, and control resources.
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Resources include the project team, consultants, contractors, suppliers, materials, equipment, facilities, and services. Resources can be provided by the organization referred to as internal resources or provided externally through the procurement process.
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Resource planning is used to identify and determine an approach to ensure that sufficient resources are available for the successful completion of the project. Effective resource planning should consider and plan for the availability of or competition for scarce resources, international construction can pose challenges. Other construction projects may be competing for the same resources required for the project at the same time and location which may significantly impact project schedules, cost, quality, and risk.
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The Project Management Team.
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A project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work together to achieve a common project goal. The project manager expends the effort to acquire, manage, motivate, and empower the project team, the team’s success is the project or construction manager’s success. The participation of team members in the project planning and decision-making process enables ownership that is beneficial to the process and builds their commitment to the project.
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Project staffing requirements are guided by organizational breakdown structure OBS and organizational charts, responsibility task matrix, and job descriptions. Team selection criteria include the level and type of experience, previous responsibility, core competencies, and qualifications. The project or construction manager should be prepared for a shortage of experienced candidates who can be assigned to specialized key positions.
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Apart from the site-based project team, international consultants include designers, engineers, and suppliers from all over the world. This provides an opportunity to apply virtual communications to facilitate meetings early in the project, which also provides cost savings to the client. When a particular construction activity commences the associated project representative may be assigned on-site full-time or as otherwise agreed, the importance is to have quality work performed on time.
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Team Building: Trends in Human Resource Management.
Successful project teamwork includes establishing a collaborative and supportive management approach that delegates decision-making to competent team members.
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The project manager must be cognizant of conditions that influence the team including the team environment, culture, geographical location, communication, internal and external politics, cultural issues, tolerance for stress, family, and other factors that may alter project performance.
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The project manager invests in personal relations by improving self-management self-awareness, and outbound relationship management competencies. The beneficial effect is that project teams that succeed in developing team interpersonal skills will become a socially competent group and more effective. Results can include a reduction in staff turnover.
The key benefit of this process is that it results in improved teamwork, enhanced interpersonal skills and competencies, motivated employees, reduced attrition, and improved all project processes performed throughout the culture.
Project managers acquire the skills to build and motivate international design and construction teams. Building the team, establishing objective teamwork, and providing challenges and opportunities are critical factors for project success. Establishing trust, enabling decision-making, recognition, and rewarding good performance will establish an effective group. The team’s performance will instill the trust and confidence of stakeholders.
Project communications management includes the processes necessary to ensure that the information needs of the project and its stakeholders are delivered through the development of procedures to provide and maintain the effective exchange of information.
Messages are communicated to stakeholders on time and in various formats and various pieces defined by the documented communication plan. Clients and other stakeholders provide requirements particular to their organization’s policy and procedures.
Project information is distributed to many groups of stakeholders and should be adapted to add an appropriate level, format, and detail for each type of stakeholder. The format may range from simple communication to more detailed reports and presentations, regular or on impromptu occasions.
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Communication formats, methods of distribution, storage, message retrieval, and disposition should be controlled in a written document. Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information should be defined as a secure procedure that may apply. Acceptable communications on social media and the protection of proprietary information should be discussed, defined, and conveyed to the project team. If the communication process is complex, then communications training sessions may apply.
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Cross-cultural communication processes should endeavor to ensure that the message is understood. Different working styles, methodologies, terminology, professional discipline, and languages can inhibit effective communication.
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Generally, communications are established in “push communications” that include emails, letters, memorandums, reports, and voicemails by the sender. “Pull communications” applies to large packages of information that the recipient is required to download from a secure web-based platform. Visual presentations and meetings are also used to communicate information.
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The communications plan should be reviewed regularly and modified when necessary. The stakeholder and or board committees may change, and so may the project environment including politics and social trends.
Project risk management aims to exploit or enhance positive risks (opportunities) while avoiding or mitigating negative risks (threats). Unmanaged risk, including obvious inherent, can result in issues or problems including delays, cost overruns, or loss of reputation. Risk identification can begin at the project inception phase or when the project manager has been assigned.
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Project stakeholders are participants in preparing and understanding the risk management framework, they will provide input and advice on acceptable risk and unacceptable risk, establishing their risk tolerance.
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Project and construction management experts at identifying and controlling construction risk for a particular project sector with a particular type of contract are invaluable resources. Alternative analysis, brainstorming, expert judgment, organizational process assets, enterprise environmental factors, and lessons learned are indispensable resources in this field.
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Project risk management includes the process of planning the procedure to identify, analyze, respond to, and monitor risks on a project. The systematic procedure for managing risks is to:
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Identify risk.
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Qualitative risk analysis assessing individual risks in terms of probability and impact.
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Quantitative risk analysis requires an assessment of schedule and cost impact for the project.
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Plan risk responses
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Apply risk responses.
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Monitor risk​
The risk management plan is specific for the project sector, size, complexity of the project, importance of the project, and risk tolerance of the client. There are various categories of risk including emergent risks (unknowable unknowns) and inherent risks (known risks). The project team uses expert judgment, enterprise environmental factors, organizational process assets, data analysis, lessons learned, and meetings to identify and manage risk.
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Risk management uses a risk register to record information obtained in risk assessments. The risk register records the following information:
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Description
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Probability and Impact
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Risk Response
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Risk Owner
The plan is to increase the likelihood of positive risk and decrease the likelihood of negative risk. The process includes actions to avoid, exploit, transfer, mitigate, and accept. Multi-criteria Decision Analysis applies a decision matrix to determine a risk response strategy. The criteria include:
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Cost of response
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Effect of response on probability and impact
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Resource availability
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Response timing constraints
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Level of event (impact)
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Secondary risks
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Effect of response on related risks
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Secondary risks
Project risks are managed in a controlled and intentional manner to create value while balancing risk and opportunities. Project risk management defines and manages risks that are not addressed by other project management processes. Scheduling productivity software can integrate risk management processes.
Procurement management includes the processes to acquire consultants, contractors, and services. Procurement also involves the plan and control processes required to administer agreements such as contracts, purchase orders memorandum of understanding, and internal service level agreements. The personnel authorized to purchase goods and or services required for the project may be members of the project management team or part of the organization's purchasing department.
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The project manager or construction manager will have expertise in contract management with the ability and background to understand legal obligations, contract general conditions, and specific conditions and be capable of writing the scope of work and deliverables for each consulting, construction, or supplier service.
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The PM or CM should be adept at leading the preparation of the tender package, prequalifying bidders, leading the prebid meeting, responding to questions and evaluating bids, price negotiations, and contract administration. The project or construction manager will have the highest level of attainment in comprehension of the project’s scope, risk, and requirements.
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Procurement terminology will vary with country and industry sectors. Request for Information RFI, clarification request CR, request for quotation RFQ, request for proposal RFP, bill of quantities BoQ, bill of materials BoM, change notice CN, change notice request CNR, change order CO, request for equitable adjustment REA, notice to proceed NTP, stop work notice, noncompliance notice NC, and are common terms in the industry.
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International project managers should consider the effect that culture and local laws have on contracts and their enforceability. Regardless of how a contract is written, disputes may become an issue, particularly on government-funded projects. It is advised to retain local agents and legal representation when planning and executing international construction projects. Today large international projects involve consultants and construction companies from all over the world, making an experienced project or construction manager essential.
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The procurement policy for acquiring resources is particular to the organization. Government agencies often require a prolonged acquisition process that involves several levels of authorization whereas private institutions seek a near-term return on capital investment and have a less stringent procurement policy. Both conditions are considered in determining durations in the project schedule’s procurement activities.
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A stipulated sum contract, also referred to as a lump sum or fixed price lump sum contract, is the most basic form of agreement between a contractor and owner. This contract should be used if the scope and schedule of the project are appropriately defined to allow the contractor to fully estimate project costs.
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A stipulated sum contract requires that the contractor agrees to be responsible for the proper job execution at a set price. The owner has essentially assigned the risk of project costs to the contractor, who can be expected to ask for a higher markup for unanticipated unforeseen problems.
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Cost-plus contracts are often used when the scope has not been clearly defined, such as when the project design is still being finalized and the owner wants to begin construction. The owner agrees to pay the cost of the work, including all trade subcontractor work, labor, materials, and equipment, plus an amount for the contractor’s overhead and profit. Since the contractor is reimbursed only for actual costs, plus a fee for overhead and profit, if actual costs are lower than estimated, the owner gets to keep the savings. If the actual costs are higher than estimated, the owner must pay an additional amount, unless the cost is capped at a guaranteed maximum price.
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A design-build contract (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction EPC) is appropriate when the owner wants one entity to be responsible for both design and construction. Design-build is usually the preferred contracting method under a tight schedule, and design-build contracts are often awarded through negotiation rather than through a bid process.
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With a design-build contract (EPC), the owner hires a design-builder (typically a contractor) to handle the entirety of a project. The design-builder is responsible for all design and construction required to complete the project. Since the design-build entity is head of the whole project, it may need to hire architects, engineers, contractors, or subcontractors to carry out the project. ​This type of contract is mostly used for large, complex projects.
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Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) teams as construction managers' representatives do not perform construction work but focus primarily on engineering and design, development of work packages, tendering, and administering the contract.
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​The main purpose of the Integrated Project Delivery IPD contract is to provide a detailed framework that distributes the risks and rewards evenly among the parties. An IPD construction contract involves a lump sum profit that’s divided among the owner, designer, and builder if the project achieves financial results.
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These major contract types can have many variations and can be customized to meet the specific needs of the project. International construction contracts include The International Federation of Consulting Engineers FIDIC and The American Institute of Architects AIA or adapted versions thereof. FIDIC, and an adapted AIA version of the contract is intended to facilitate international construction projects.
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The FIDIC suite of construction contracts is written and published by The International Federation of Consulting Engineers. The FIDIC acronym stands for the French version of the Federation’s name (Federation Internationale des Ingenious-Conseil).
The best known of the FIDIC contracts are the Red Book (building and engineering works designed by the Employer) and the Yellow Book (M&E, building and engineering works designed by the Contractor). The original edition of the Red Book dates to 1957.
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Green Book – Short Form of Contract First Edition 1999.
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Red Book - Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Engineering Works Designed by the Employer First Edition 1999.
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Yellow Book – Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build First Edition 1999.
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Orange Book – Conditions of Contract for Design Build and Turnkey First Edition 1995.
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Silver Book – ECP – Turnkey Projects First Edition 1999.
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Design Build Operate DBO – Greenfield Scenario First Edition 2008.
Stakeholder management includes the processes required to identify the people groups or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project both negatively and positively. Appropriate management strategies are applied to analyze stakeholder expectations and their impact on the project.
Stakeholder engagement including formal and informal meetings provides a two-way conversation. Surveys can also be used for this purpose. Clear dissemination of the project objectives must be used to eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings. Identification of stakeholders, stakeholder register, and understanding of their impact on the project is important.
The ability of the project manager and team to correctly identify and professionally engage all stakeholders is key to stakeholder management. This identification and engagement should commence as soon as possible after the project charter has been approved and the project manager has been assigned and the team. The project or construction manager will organize stakeholder engagement activities in cooperation with the client and company senior management.
The key benefit is that stakeholder engagement develops partnerships and a forum to answer questions and distribute information. Interpersonal and team skills can be used in this process including conflict management, cultural awareness, negotiation observation, conversation, and political awareness. In this relationship during construction, it may be important to limit construction noise for local area residents for a special occasion. In another example, the project team may need to close an access road for two hours on a particular day to deliver a large piece of equipment to the site.
Stakeholder management is key to increasing support and minimizing resistance stakeholders have needs and expectations that must be observed and negotiated if necessary. Stakeholder management extends through the project lifecycle.