Construction Management Strategies

Milan Radosavljevic, Lecturer in the University of Reading's School of Construction Management and Engineering following several years as a Demonstration Projects Coordinator for Scotland and as a Production Director within an off-site construction company in Central Europe. His award winning PhD research used chaos theory in the development of the novel Process Planning Methodology. He is Director of the prestigious Reading MSc in Project Management and his interests are focused on the role of Building Information Modelling in production management within the Total Construction Service strategy. John Bennett, Professor in the University of Reading's Department of Construction Management & Engineering for 25 years following 20 years of successful practice in the UK and internationally, founding editor of the leading journal, Construction Management and Economics, and Director of the University's Centre for Strategic Studies in Construction throughout its 12 years of influential research and publishing. The hallmarks of his academic career are researching international best practice and describing the essential messages in clear practical terms. This has established his reputation as one of the founding fathers of the construction management discipline.

“Nevertheless it makes many good points, it has a refreshingly different perspective on both past and future CM research, and it is open to discussion and debate, as any theory should be.”  (Construction Management and Economics, 1 September 2012)

• The Authors ixAcknowledgements xiiiPreface xv1 Introduction and Background 1Construction viewed from space 2What is construction? 9Why a theory of construction management is needed 11Who can manage construction? 12Construction managed by designers 13Construction managed by customers 15Construction managed by contractors 16Construction managed by facilities managers 17Construction managed by independent project managers 18Construction managed by independent construction managers 20How the construction industry works 21Designer-led practice 22Manager-led practice 23Contractor-led practice 25Conclusions 282 The Built Environment 31Introduction 31Forces which shape the built environment 34Climate and geology 35Economy 35Government 36Culture and fashion 37Technology 39Customers 40Buildings and infrastructure 48Architecture 49Civil engineering 49Thinking about the forces which shape the built environment 503 Construction Concepts 53Introduction 53Construction products 53Customers 53Construction actions 54Construction 59Construction organizations 60Common characteristics of construction organizations 62Interactions and relationships 64Double-loop learning in construction networks 66Categories of relationship 67Factors influencing construction performance 69Construction management 71Construction efficiency 714 Theory of Construction Management 75Introduction 75A worst case construction project 77A straightforward and certain construction project 80Barriers to effective relationships 82Inherent difficulty caused by design 83Inherent difficulty caused by construction teams 84Inherent difficulty caused by construction environments 85Inherent difficulty 85Construction management 86Construction management strategies 86Basic theorems 87Basic propositions about construction management decisions 88Construction teams efficiency conditions 89Propositions about construction management decisions relating to construction teams 90Construction team relationships efficiency conditions 90Propositions about construction management decisions relating to construction team relationships 91Construction companies’ efficiency conditions 91Propositions about construction management decisions relating to construction companies 92Common organizational characteristics efficiency conditions 92Propositions about construction management decisions relating to common characteristics of construction organizations 93Double-loop learning condition 94Propositions about construction management decisions relating to double-loop learning 94Construction efficiency 95Inherent difficulty indicators 95IDIs in Practice 102Size of construction projects 106Using the theory of construction management 1075 Traditional Construction 111Introduction 111Fundamental traditional construction 111Project organization 112Strengths and weaknesses 112Construction management propositions and fundamental traditional construction 114New technologies 114Demanding customers 116Developed traditional construction 117Internal and boundary relationships 118Strengths of developed traditional construction 120Weaknesses of developed traditional construction 120Construction management propositions and developed traditional construction 122Scenarios to rescue developed traditional construction 127Projects led by design consultants 127Specialist contractor design 130Architects and engineers design 132Conclusions 1336 Design Build 137Introduction 137Design build customers 138Design build companies 140Design build process 143Design build performance 145Design build efficiency 148Construction management propositions 149The theory of construction management 1507 Management Approaches 157Introduction 157Customers 159Designers 159Construction managers 161Works contractors 162Construction management process 162Construction management propositions 165Construction management performance 166Other management approaches 169The theory of construction management 1708 Partnering 177Introduction 177Project partnering 178Strategic partnering 182Strategic collaborative working 189Partnering efficiency 191Construction management propositions 193Partnering performance 194The theory of construction management 1959 Total Construction Service 201Introduction 201Total construction service providers 201Industrialised housing 203General construction 206Other total construction service companies 212Total construction service efficiency 215Construction management propositions 220Total construction service performance 221The theory of construction management 22210 Implications for Industry 229Introduction 229Implications for customers 229Implications for construction companies 239Construction company strategies 241Implications for construction companies providing a total construction service 241Implications for project management companies 248Implications for construction management companies 248Implications for design companies 252Implications for specialist contractors 253Implications for other construction companies 25511 The Future for Construction Management 257Introduction 257The theory of construction management and practice 259The theory of construction management and research 262Testing the theory of construction management 267Research data 267Research proposals 268A basis for future practice and research 275Appendix: Theory of Construction Management Propositions 277Glossary 279Index 283