PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

INTRODUCTION

General Comments

Few activities are as complex as building design and construction. Compounding this complexity is the fragmented nature of the team charged with designing and constructing buildings and other facilities. In many owner/client organizations, the decision makers are often unaware of the complexities and costs of the process, and may make decisions without the input of those assigned to bring these to fruition. The Great Recession significantly impacted the construction industry. It took years for the industry to recover and it emerged much leaner than before. Workloads that began falling in 2008 continued for years, resulting in enormous layoffs of staff. Contractors, in particular, found many older workers opting for retirement and younger ones seeking work elsewhere. As a result, a labor shortage emerged, particularly in the project manager (PM) ranks. Because of the changed economy, engineers, architects, and facilities managers have been required to learn new skills and reposition themselves. Traditional delivery approaches have been altered, and new ones emerged. The pre-recession narrowing of the need for some services, such as traditional architectural services, has continued unabated. Services previously handled in-house in larger owner/client organizations are now being outsourced, greatly reducing the in-house facilities design and construction staff members who are available to plan, coordinate, and manage owner/client projects. Some of these outsourced specialists are traditional engineering, architectural, and facilities firms — others are found in niches such as program and project management firms.

Many design firms now face challenges in finding and keeping capable PM staff, in developing better project scope management systems, in complying with fierce fee and time pressures, along with a myriad of other issues. The Great Recession resulted in many experienced people leaving the industry, some retiring early, or young people choosing other fields. As a result, there is a gap in the ranks of capable PMs. Identifying and training PMs is a pressing need in the construction industry.

Outside of the construction industry, the term project management often broadly means scheduling, and project management software is simply scheduling software. Inside the industry, that is only one tiny fragment of the package. However, the entire concept of using PMs is borrowed from outside our industry, and their fundamental role in managing and controlling the project scope, schedule, and budget remains the same both within and outside of the construction industry.

To achieve their goals, design and owner/client PMs must clearly understand their primary role. They are to serve as the communications conduit in a highly fragmented, specialized, and complex undertaking. Their tools must allow them to communicate quickly and effectively.

Design Firm Project Management

A fundamental element of design firms is their project management system. This system enables firms to complete projects successfully and hence solve their client's problems. The project is the profit center of a design organization. The PM is in the best position to control the final outcome of a project and can have a great impact on project and firm profitability. However, not all PMs function in the same manner. Many design firms have what is known as a weak project management system. Typically, in this type of system the principal or partner is responsible for actually producing the work. In effect, the PM is really a technician.

I have often heard design firm practitioners say that profitability and growth are factors of the ability to get the work (success of the marketing effort). I believe that this is only partially true. A much more fundamental factor is the firm's project management system. With a strong project management system, design firm principals can and should spend more effort toward getting the work and managing the firm.

Many design firms pride themselves on personal service to clients. However, with a weak or ineffective project management system, the principals often deal with the client, and the PM is in charge of producing the work. No single individual has complete control of the project, hence efficiency and profitability suffer. In essence, when more than one individual is responsible for the project, in reality no one is. As a result, the desired personal service is often a myth because those who are actually responsible for performing the work rarely communicate directly with the client.

Facilities Project Managers

There is no single model for project management in facilities organizations. This is a direct result of the varied nature of these clients. In general terms, clients include the commonly accepted groupings of public, private, institutional, governmental (essentially the same as public), corporate, institutional, commercial, residential (high-rise, low-rise, single family, apartments, etc.), retail, and many other categories. As found in design firms, clients can be large or small, domestic or international, specialized or generalized, or fall into many other groupings. Some facilities staff might consist of a handful of people; others might number in the thousands — some are centralized; others dispersed to many locations. Their roles vary and can be ever-changing. I have seen some reorganize regularly; others have decided their model works fine and haven't changed it for years. Many of these static facilities groups are poorly equipped to meet the needs of their organizations when internal or external pressures require a different response. Two case studies in this book contain elements of this situation (AB&C Telecommunications in Chapter Three and the International Potato Corporation in Chapter Nine).

Despite the lack of a clear model for facilities project management, there are many common skills, tools, systems, and approaches needed by all. This book presents many of these necessary for both design and facilities PMs. Essentially, good communication is at the core of all effective project management in the construction industry.

Project Management in Small Design Firms

Effective project management is important to all organizations. Small design firms are especially handicapped by a lack of project...