Construction Project Management Assignment: Various Stages Of Building A House

Question

Introduction: You have taken up a new job in Perth, Western Australia. Both your partner and you are very keen on wanting to build your own home. You come across the Keystart initiative (https://www.keystart.com.au/) by the government of Western Australia and have found out that you and your partner are eligible to apply. You have decided to submit an application, but will have to do the following:

• Identify the suburb you want to build and decide the land size you want to buy (this will depend on the budget you are willing to spend on the land)

• Research the market and identify potential home builders who will construct your dream home.

• Finalise the layout /design and agree on the cost to build the house with the chosen builder

• Enter into a deal

• Sign a land contract with the land developer – you will need to pay a deposit of AUD$2000
• Sign a Pre-Work Construction (PWC) contract with the builder - you need to pay a deposit of AUD$2000

(in both contracts you have inserted the following clause: Deposit to be returned to client (in full) in the event of failure to obtain finance approval).

• Finally, you are now ready to submit an application to Keystart (can be done through the builder) to obtain finance to build your dream home.

The above activities can be efficiently managed through key project management processes. Where possible, you can also aim to implement lean project management principles to successfully manage the above activities.

1. Select and explain the project management processes (either from PMBOK or PRINCE2 or a combination of any best practices you have learned in this unit) that can help you:

1. Choose the suburb and decide the land size
2. Chose the best builder
3. Identify the stakeholders for the project

2. What are the factors that will influence the design and layout of your dream home? Explain the project management processes you used to determine the design/layout.

3. Explain how you would implement lean best practices to achieve lean project management for (1) and (2) above

Answer

1 Introduction
The study examined in construction project management assignment involves various aspects of project management which is the basic process that is important to consider for every construction project. A project manager needs to focus on several elements before commencing the project and the variety of competencies and skills are established in the teams. Construction projects need alterations at several stages; thereby it is recommendable to work on the project management process in the procedure. Vital concepts used in a construction project are mentioned with the choice of the suburb, land size, builder, stakeholder’s interest, factors influencing design and layout and project management process.

2 Project management processes
The project management process includes several elements to be identified and chosen while commencing a project.

2a. Choosing the suburb
Choosing the right suburb in the case scenario of construction project management assignment was based on the project management process. Choosing an ideal suburb leads to the right feeling of satisfaction. Local amenities, school zone, and planned developments are the factors that affect the choice of the suburb. Several factors affect the choice of quality of living thereby it is important to understand the value of the home that needs to be built in the future (Al-Hajj & Zraunig, 2018). The figures for real state institute of Western Australia needs to be showed and the economic condition needs to be addressed before commencing the construction of the house. Local amenities need to be checked as and when the project planning is made. According to the construction project management assignment analysis, local amenities nearby is the major factor to be considered, school zones need a checked nearby so that in the future, children do not need to travel far from the city. Planned development need to be reviewed in nearby which will assure the choice of the suburb. From the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the planned development needs to be ensured that affects the quality of living and property price in the area. If there are some plans for the future and the price may hike in the future. Supermarkets, urban hubs, and new parks will be considered. The suitability of the area is dependent on these aspects. South Perth, Como Kensington is the best suburb to live in thereby a house that is constructed will have benefit with heap and a high percentage of people will buy the property for residential and professional occupation.

2b. Land size
As per the research on the project examined in the construction project management assignment, the land size was largely decided and planned according to family size and other properties available nearby. The land is an important part that needs to be plotted for the construction of the house. Investment inland will be a lucrative situation that is for the higher long term returns. Residential properties have a major influence as it is particularly true for the organization to ensure the value of the property, structural attributes, and location that influences the land rates in the future. The value of land increases in the area where there is development and there are instances of development. It is thereby essential to focus on investment where the price of the plot will be high. Several factors impact the price of land which needs to be calculated as per the population centers and other structural attributes. An average house will be built in Western Australia with 230.8 square meters. Proximity to main roads, transport facilities, and other important landmarks need to be selected while working on location and land size.

2c. Best builder
To select the best builder for the dream house, it is important to investigate and research about potential home builders in particular area, Perth Western Australia. According to the study examined in the construction project management assignment, Paul Malynn Homes is the best builder and builds a custom home building. The company has dedicated 20 years in building homes in Perth. The experience and the trust that the company created among customers matter the most. It has several offers of construction that are provided to customers as its very best promotion strategy. Paul Malynn is a construction builder who has registered the company in Perth Western Australia. The owner of the company has a good experience of 20 years and has worked as a structurally based tradesman in the surroundings. The study examined in the construction project management assignment demonstrates that the company provides a one-stop home building service for the customers that includes services such as drafting, engineering, permission from the government, list of trade and insurance. All the activities are carried by one single company which helps to meet the demand of the customer while designing the house with Australian Standards and Western Australian local government regulations. Peace of mind will be achieved as and when the best builder is selected for construction of the house. The project that will be built is considered to be of the highest standard which will help in achieving the highest value in the future (Fernández-Sánchez & Rodríguez-López, 2010). Honesty, accountability, and trust are built while selecting the best builder for custom based home.

2d. Who are the internal and external stakeholders for the project examined in this construction project management assignment?
Identifying the stakeholders in the project management was based on the type of stakeholders and the impact on stakeholders. In the construction sector, stakeholder’s hold a particular position in the construction of a house. There are many stakeholders in the construction of the project that are affected by the project. Internal and external stakeholders of construction project management are categorized widely (Eskerod & Huemann, 2013). Internal stakeholders are the team members of the construction company who work on the development of the project and finance matters. External stakeholders mentioned in this segment of construction project management assignment are defined as the individuals who are affected by the construction of the project. The internal and external stakeholders include owners, facility users, team members, project management, designers, managers, public administration, subcontractors, builders, workers, suppliers, bank insurance companies, community representative, the general public, and clients. Each stakeholder is influenced by the project management process and works towards the development of the project. There is an impact that is considered with the project management stage and is largely focused on time and development of the project. Direct stakeholders are even called as internal stakeholders that are involved in the project. Thereby direct stakeholders are the people who are responsible to accomplish the project that has been undertaken for construction purpose. Client, project sponsor, members of the team, financial service providers, consultants, equipment supplier, technical team, contractors and personnel team are included in internal stakeholders. Local government, licensing, inspection team, technical institutions, personal interest groups, and professional bodies are included in indirect stakeholders. It is thereby important to work in a way that benefits the stakeholder’s interest and ensures a higher value to be received in the future. Stakeholders are the one who has invested in the construction of the project and is responsible and authoritative for any kind of action taken towards development stages in the project. Thereby a stakeholder management strategy discussed within this construction project management assignment will be implemented in terms of considering the stakeholder management plan. 

3 Design and layout
3a. Factors that influence design and layout
Depending on the builder, it is important to ensure the design of the house and the layout. Several factors influence the design of the house that is researched consequently to focus on the best design in the area. At this stage, the dream house is manifested into a reality where the customer built house is a home for the owner. According to the research conducted for the project examined in the construction project management assignment, the first step of designing the house is to work on the style that the owner needs. The type of architectural style that the owner needs to focus on is largely based on the fundamental factor. Virtual designs are selected based on online galleries and different home styles in recent time (Chawla, Chanda & Chawla, 2018). Dressing area, roof lantern spaces, semi terrace, and gardening are the major essentials required for achieving a perfect architecture of the house. While planning the layout of the house, location is the main element to be considered as it is a vital point that is favorable with the land features. Priority settings will be made with the designing ideas in which space for storage, kid’s room and spaciousness will be considered. These requirements will be logically fulfilled. Light and ventilation are the major aspects that need to be considered in designing the house. Natural light is essential while deciding on the structure of the house and the architectural designs. Electrical light points will be considered beforehand. Skylights will be installed to maximize the natural light in the interiors. The site layout mentioned in the present case scenario of construction project management assignment is the major element that needs to be focused while building a house. Embarking projects need a fundamental design that will be accepted by the customers. Considering services, topography, wind, access, natural lights, drainage facility, neighboring buildings and vegetation, further steps will be taken to make the house spacious with sustainable facilities in a house. Interior designing will be taken very seriously to build the house with effective designing and art.

3b. Project management processes
This segment of construction project management assignment revolves around the concept of PMBOK Project Management Book of Knowledge which is used for the construction of the house in which there are inclusive terms that largely sum up the knowledge of project management. A project management process includes project integration, project scope management, project time, project cost, project quality, project human resource management, project communication, project risk, and project procurement management. This section of Construction project management assignment examines the role of project management process which is implemented in the construction of house and concerned with organizing the work and working on project principles and timelines. These processes interact with each other and ensure the scope of the project while creating and understanding the project planning and implementation. It is highly related to organizing the project and applying the best strategies to ensure project purpose and work towards specific targets. The project management process works towards the five groups that ensure initiating process, planning process, executing process, controlling process and closing process. There is a formalized process that is ensured with the business outcomes and a major scope of the activity is considered in the business.

As such the process group is largely linked with the outcome of the project and the central process group is managed accordingly in the project management process. There are several documented project plan that creates the major scope of the project progress. A project management process illustrated here in Construction project management assignment is a one-time event that does not overlap the activities and focus on varying levels of the development stage. The project process group interaction is at the peak were initiating the process is the basic element in the project management process. It is important to plan further for executing the project while working on PMBOK as the project management system. Customer needs are considered in the project management process. The level of activity that is focused on the project management process depends on the stage of development. There is an interaction between the design phase and implementation phase while working on the project management process. The initiating process is the start phase which needs an array of development. The planning phase, executing the process is controlled with the controlling processes. Closing of the project is based on the closing process which leads to finish phase. Design and layout stage is related to the planning phase as per PMBOK.

4 Lean project management
Another major aspect that can be considered in this piece of Construction project management assignment for constructing a house is Lean project management. Several construction companies embrace the lean methodology to maximize the value of the organization and work on minimizing waste. The approach is attractive while it ensures budgets, timeline and safety focus. The project is different while comparing it towards traditional construction methods. This means that executing the project is a difficult task, techniques in execution and control will be difficult too. There are six steps outlined below in this Construction project management assignment to implement lean project management in a construction project (Oakland & Marosszeky, 2018). Establishing the basics, acquisition for improved performance, creating a collaborative team, lean implementation on-site, multiple projects and supplier performance is measured for sustainable success.

• Establishing basics
• Acquisition
• Collaborative team
• On-site implementation
• Multiple projects
• Supplier performance

Establishing the basics includes who to involve in the project. This stage of a project explored in the Construction project management assignment involves various stakeholders such as customer, commercial management, maintenance, and operations. In this stage, key actions are taken by the client team to focus on understanding the value of the organization and focusing on key outputs (Mike, Howell & Ballard, 2011). Customer’s value preferences are provided in this stage while the function is for sustainability is measured with health and safety benefits. Change is administered while adopting lean project management. A lean team is selected in the first phase of establishing basics. The order of procurement will be considered in which the design and layout selection plays an important role.

A lean procurement strategy is ensured at the acquisition stage in which market research is considered based on the development of lean project management. A broad strategy is focused in this way while it is important to consider specific criteria of change that ensures various stages of the procurement process.

Creating a collaborative team is a vital stage that is discussed in this context of Construction project management assignment which ensures creating an agreement for the team members and working on the essentials of the project team. According to the research conducted for Construction project management assignment, it is identified that in this stage, each party wishes to achieve specific outcomes (Stretton, 2018). Lean experts are trained from various supplier organizations that ensure the advantage of training and address change in the project with lean skill deployment. Introducing the culture in the organization is very important as it engages improvement agreement that will foster change in the business. The project scenarios are evaluated and worked on while determining improvement methodologies in the development stage. A broad approach is considered more deeply while focusing on collaborative improvement in the form of opportunity. Creating the plan that best suits the construction of a house is considered in a lean transformation plan. For improvement activities, the lean work is gathered and ensures less time on planning and reduces wastage in the planning stage.

This context of construction project management assignment signifies that implementation of the project is the major task in which customers, designers, contractors, architects, interior designers, and design engineers are involved (Gimenez, Sierra & Rodon, 2012). The key actions taken for implementation of the lean project include full use of BIM that is building information modeling, challenging the concepts, challenge the detail, project-specific workshops, support champions and collecting results. A lean design concept, detailed design, improvement plan, and project outcome is evaluated in a later stage. The tools and techniques used in this stage are BIM technical equipment, collaborative workshops, design challenge, project start-up workshop, lean implementation tool, and champion support system. Full use of building information modeling will lead to a digital representation of functional characteristics (Chena, Lib & Shadyc, 2010). A right culture climate is ensured with the BIM tool.

In the fifth stage of multiple projects, value stream mapping, Pareto analysis, data collection, and mindful site observation are used as the best tools and techniques in the stage. The key actions that are taken are to work on Pareto and ensure the impacts of Pareto analysis, work with a team, shared knowledge is ensured and results are collected and success is celebrated. It is noted in this segment of construction project management assignment that in this stage, suppliers are prioritized and they are involved in the project for achieving the best results. The Pareto chart is prepared in which it is important to ensure the effects of the Pareto chart and the collected results that work towards value stream mapping.

The last stage discussed in this construction project management assignment is about supplier performance in which the key actions that are taken include developing a strategy, differentiating suppliers, working on cost and benefit, choosing a right resource, creating a balanced scorecard and awarding work to team members (Aarseth, 2017). The tools and techniques that are required in this stage are a balanced scorecard, supplier positioning matrix, referencing matrix, and cost-benefit analysis and reviewing the meetings. 

5 Conclusion
In this report on construction project management assignment, the project management processes used for the construction of the house is detailed. The requirements for constructing a house include choosing the suburb, choosing the best builder, stakeholder identification, working on land size and identifying the factors that affect the design and layout of the house. Lean project management practices and implementation of lean project management for the construction of the house is advised. The above construction project management assignment study analyzes the six steps of implementing lean project management in detail.

References
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Aarseth, W., Ahola, T., Aaltonen, K., Økland, A., & Andersen, B. (2017). Project sustainability strategies: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1071- 1083

Chena, J. C., Lib, Y., Shadyc, B. D. (2010). From value stream mapping toward a lean/sigma continuous improvement process: an industrial case study. International Journal of Production Research.Vol. 48, No. 4.

Chawla, V., Chanda, A. & Chawla, G., (2018). The sustainable project management: A review and future possibilities. Journal of Project Management, 3, 157-170.

Eskerod, P., & Huemann, M. (2013). Sustainable development and project stakeholder management: What standards say. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 6(1), 36-50

Fernández-Sánchez, G., & Rodríguez-López, F. (2010). A methodology to identify sustainability indicators in construction project management—Application to infrastructure projects in Spain. Ecological Indicators, 10(6), 1193-1201

Gimenez, C., Sierra, V., & Rodon, J. (2012). Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), 149-159.

Mike A.,Howell, G., & Ballard, G. (2011). Construction project management assignment Implementing lean construction: reducing inflow variation. Lean construction.Journal of Future State of Construction pp 200-203.

Oakland, J. & Marosszeky, M., (2018). Lean quality in construction project delivery- a new model and principles, construction project management assignment Advances in project management journal, 6(5), 1-12.

Stretton, A., (2018). Increasing project management involvement in pre-execution phases of projects, PM world journal, 7(2), 1-9.