For a project to be successfully completed before due dates and keeping budget under control optimum utilization of resources is necessary; however, these limits may sometimes surpass. A significant variance may be there between certain assumptions made during initial planning of project and final outcomes. Unforeseen and unknown changes in construction methods, materials, techniques, or human resources may create budgetary and scheduling pressures which may increase the possibility of failure (Zeng et al., 2007). According to a survey exploring completion of construction projects in Saudi Arabia showed that 76% of project contractors experienced delays of 10–30% of the projected duration (Assaf and Al-Hejji, 2006).
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In another approach for assisting construction planners in making time-cost trade-off decisions. This new approach, named the LP/IP hybrid method, is a combination of linear and integer programming. The LP/IP hybrid method first establishes the lower bound of the time-cost relationship of a project using linear programming. Based on the linear programming solutions, regions of desired time and cost can be selected to find the exact solutions by integer programming in a fraction of the time required to solve the entire problem using only integer programming. This combination of linear and integer programming provides the efficiency and accuracy for solving time-cost trade-off problems. In addition, the lengthy and error-prone process of formulating linear and integer programming objective functions and constraints are replaced by a spreadsheet tool so that users can intuitively define time-cost and precedence relationships for activities. The LP/IP hybrid method along with the spreadsheet tool provides construction planners with a new and efficient means of making good time-cost decisions. Detailed description of the LP/IP hybrid method is provided and an example is given to demonstrate the use of this new method.
Background
The above methodologies need to use the historical records and knowledge of experts, contractors or engineers in determining the suitable resource utilization
592 Week 1 DQ 1 WBS Construction PROJ 592 Week 1 DQ 2 Project Cost Estimates and Assumptions PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 1 Cost Components PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 2 Estimating Processes PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 1 Project Schedules PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 2 Sensitivity Analysis PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 1 Resource Allocation and Leveling PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 2 Advanced Schedule Techniques PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 1 Earned Value Calculation PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 2 Project Monitoring and Control & EV PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 1 Forecasting Project Completion Cost PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 2 Project Control PROJ 592
My partners and I have made a list of areas that might cause the project delays or failure with their respective outcomes. We have listed the risk below that can prevent the project to finish on time.
Describe common practices to estimate the duration of project activities as well as real reasons that cause project delays.
The finalization of the schedule for a particular project will fluctuate in light of numerous elements including, yet not restricted to, size and level of trouble of the structure, site and climate conditions, material and contractual worker accessibility, team sizes, powerful planning and correspondence, the learning and experience of those dealing with the project, and maybe most essentially, the number, convenience, and many-sided quality of the progressions unavoidably made to the first contract after construction has started.
As the world is chaotic (Djavanshir and Khorramshahgol, 2006) it is impossible to always predict the future accurately. Teller at al (2012) describes project management as balancing the “iron triangle”, where changes to any one of the planned costs, quality or scope will change the other elements. Risk management allows contingency to be put into project plans, (APM, 2012) minimising negative effects and maximising the benefits of uncertainty.
Some projects may last only a few days while others could last for years. The author states that the first step in managing a successful project is to develop a plan to produce the desired results on time and within budget. Short projects which are thoroughly and realistically planned are most likely to succeed. However, larger, more complex projects are more likely to encounter things that don’t work as planned. The greatest chance for success comes when
Even with prior planning uncertainties will happen. In this case, the contractor decided to outsource the concreted for the paid. The problem is that the concrete was not with codes and had to be removed and repoured. This delay caused budget overruns. This goes back to the quality not being measured in the earned value management (EVM) system. The 30 day project turned into 60 days and was ultimately over budget but the difference was paid by the contractor. Even
Proper following and acknowledgement of the timeline is vital to the success of this project. If the project goes overtime, it can cause serious budget mess-ups and furthermore delays.
Construction projects are always unique and risks raise from a number of the different sources. Construction projects are inherently complex and dynamic, and involving multiple feedback processes. A lot of participants – individuals and organizations are actively involved in the construction project, and they interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the project execution or project completion. Different participants with different experience and skills usually have different expectations and interests. This naturally creates problems and confusion for even the most experienced project managers and contractors.
Over the past few years, the construction industry has been changing dramatically. One of the most important stages in the construction management and business management is the planning phase. They share similar two main levels of planning which are the strategic and operational planning. However, business management planning to decide in advance what should be done, and how to do it, when you do and you are done. On the other hand, Construction management strategic planning is to deal with selection on a high level of overall objective of the project, including the scope, procurement methods, schedules and financing options but the planning of operations, including the
Lim, E. And Alum, J. (1995) conducted a survey in Singapore. The survey was targeted to the top civil engineering and building contractors in to identify the bottlenecks that could affect construction productivity. They found that the most important issues affecting productivity are:
The completion of any project depends on the execution of various parameters mostly set at the beginning of the project. In order to complete the project to satisfactory levels, the project must be completed within the stipulated timelines, fall within the approximate budget and be of the required quality standards. However, most of the projects are affected by adverse changes and unforeseen events that occur during the execution period. Research shows that the magnitude of change is dependent on the size of the project, with large projects experiencing more uncertainties due to several factors including; planning and design complexity, interest groups having deferring opinions, resource availability, Economic and political climate and statutory regulations, which may necessitate change of plan. Most of the uncertainties are known to occur in the concept phase and if not intervened, they may affect the entire project. The burden falls on the management of such risk as some managers choose to ignore the uncertainties since they call for additional costs. Other inherent risks may go unnoticed and therefore remain unsolved,
There however are challenges in the industry occasioned by uncertainty on future spending on construction projects by the government. Moreover, the cost of doing business and the ability to increasingly make revenue have created a challenging environment for the construction firms. Therefore stakeholders in the construction industry are concerned with whether the government would increase its spending and whether the public construction projects will be available in the future since less than 10 percent are currently financing their clients.
A substantial majority of projects in the United States construction industry fail to meet their cost and schedule objectives, in line with Construction Industry Institute (CII) research.
A key activity in project management is assessing project constraints. A project has three limitations: scope, budget and schedule. These limitations are project constraints because they are sensitive to change and have an impact on project risk. Risk is exposure to uncertain outcomes. Project constraints are mutually exclusive. If one constraint changes it affects the others and adjustments may be required to compensate and manage risks. For example, a delay in the schedule can increase the risk that the project will not finish on time. Time is money and delays have a negative impact on the budget. To