By Chris Welsh
Wrenches, toy cars, parts for watches and blenders, the inner workings of many a mechanical marvel; what do they all have in common? They were die cast, a process of “rubber stamping” products in a uniform manner which typically results in high production or identical or nearly identical products. A die cast car, for example, can be made by the dozens or hundreds at a time, producing high volume yields with few, if any, quality control concerns. …
By Matthew Bendert
Within the scope of a major construction project, the role of a construction management firm is vital. A construction manager, or management team is trained to coordinate the different processes and timetables necessary to complete a project. These individuals and teams mediate between owners, designers, contractors, and suppliers. As such, they act as overseers of the entire process, from inception to design to execution. …
by Dennis Brand
Ask a group of industry professionals to state what they believe to be the most important provision in a construction contract and you will probably get as many varied responses as there are people in the group.
Give the same group of people a copy of a standard form contract (e.g. FIDIC, ICE or JCT) to read with a form of Particular Conditions or similar attached, and invariably they will look first at the Particular Conditions and possibly no further. …
The risk management process for large projects is the same as for medium projects with two additional items. First is to utilize quantitative risk analysis techniques (in addition to qualitative techniques). Second is to create a contingency plan to document the consequences to the project if the Risk Management Plan fails and the risk actually occurs. …
In a small project, there is usually not a lot of effort associated with formally defining the work. However, some definition work still needs to be done. The result of this short definition is a one-to-two page document called a Service Request. …
One of the basic responsibilities of the project manager is to assign work to team members. However, some project managers are not always clear on the work to be done and the person that is responsible. This causes uncertainty in the team and can result in some activities running late. …
Make Sure Team Members Know What Their Assignments AreRead More »
by Steven Hunt
I sense that, for many contractors, ‘taking over’ is seen as the moment when the proverbial foot can come off the gas – the time when the contractor is finally relieved of the burden of delivering the project.For a contractor the process of taking over is an important one as the care of the works will pass to the employer and the employer’s entitlement to recover liquidated damages will cease. It is not, however, the end of the story for the contractor as he will remain liable for defective workmanship and materials beyond handover. …
by Dennis Brand
In the construction and engineering sectors, while a proportion of contracts are prepared on a bespoke basis, the majority are based on an industry standard form. …
by Michael Stanleigh
Successful Project Management is one of the the key organizational strategies to saving money and satisfying customers in troubled economic times. …
In any project, the value to be gained is based on completing the work. From a customer perspective, the business value is achieved when the project is completed. If a project gets canceled 90% through completion, the business value might be zero.
However, earned value looks at this differently. With earned value, you are earning the value of the project on an incremental scale as the project is executing. When 50% of the work is completed, you could say that 50% of the value of the project has been realized as well. …
You have all heard this saying (or something similar). It means that you should not take retribution against the person (or people) that deliver bad news. If you ask people for a status, accept the good and the bad for what it is – information for you to make better decisions.If you want people to tell you when there are problems, you need to accept the information and work with the team on causes and solutions (hopefully the team member is proposing solutions along with the problem). …
by Michael Stanleigh
Risk Management is the process of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives. Proper risk management implies control of possible future events and is proactive rather than reactive. …
