Construction Project Management 5th Edition

Abstract

This book is about Critical Path Method (CPM)–based planning and scheduling as applied to the construction industry. The book’s distinguishing feature is the use of one example project throughout to demonstrate planning, scheduling, project acceleration, resource management, time control, financial control and the project cost system. The example project is a highway bridge. It has been suggested that a building project might be more appropriate for many readers. We have seriously considered that suggestion, although the complexity of even a simple building tends to obscure project management fundamentals in logistical detail and diminish the clarity of the book. The bridge example, although a civil engineering project, typifies the basics of construction by incorporating critical aspects of most construction projects: the construction of foundations, concrete work, structural steel, and finish work, all of which require labor and equipment supervision, subcontractor management, and material expediting. The entire highway bridge project takes 10 weeks to construct and can be completely illustrated in 70 distinct activities. This fifth edition has been updated with current labor, material, and equipment pricing and includes a complete estimate for the highway bridge. Scheduling and management concepts, such as Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and the Earned Value Management System (EVMS), are developed in this edition. An estimate in SI units is included in Appendix B for readers outside the United States. Of particular interest is Chapter 6, which includes discussions of production planning as it affects personnel, safety, quality, paperwork, and material control. A site layout drawing shows the location of temporary buildings, formwork fabrication, material laydown and staging area, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. Much of the information in this chapter is gleaned from years of construction experience and is unique to this text. For generations Men, Machines, Materials, Methods, and Money have been the five Ms of construction. Efficient usage of these five resource