School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering

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Course Outline
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Course Outline
Introduction
Course Construction Management
Construction Management is a course that deals with the planning,
organisation, directing, controlling and supervision of construction
projects. The knowledge and skills you will gain from this course will
be helpful in your career as a civil engineer and/or a project manager.
This course adapts the use of problem-based learning or project-based
learning method. It is envisaged that courses like this will best be
learned by the adoption of such learning methodology. This means that
you will be actively involved. You will have the responsibility of
gaining the necessary knowledge and skills that are needed to be a
competent construction project manager. This course will serve as your
guide. It is an introductory course that will help open doors of
opportunities for you in the wide and emerging field of project
management. You will have a group project that will be developed
progressively through the semester. This will include a group
presentation of the project in the last week of term and submission of
the final group project report, both of which will form part of the course
assessment. In each week of the course you will be doing activities that
are direct application of the contents of lectures, discussions and
readings assigned for that time. This will include individual and group
work. In addition there will be a set of exercises on the application and
use of MS Project, a software package for the planning and
management of construction projects. There will be a formal test which
will form part of the assessment of the course. A written final
examination will also form part of the course assessment.
The design and development of the course was made in consideration
of graduate capabilities expected of civil and infrastructure engineers
for the 21
st
century such as civil engineers being technically competent,
excellent problem solvers and decision makers, good communicators,
leaders and team members, among others. Although the emphasis of
the course is towards the management of construction projects, a key
reference used was the internationally accepted Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide (2008 Edition). As such it deals with
the management of life cycle stages of civil infrastructure projects.
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It is however, highly geared to the planning and control of time, scope,
resources and cost of projects. Planning and control will be done with
the use of software such as MS Project whilst manual planning will give
you a good foundation of the planning and scheduling principles.
Emphasis will be towards construction projects.
Essential aspects of project risk management, quality management,
communication and organization structures, contracts and
procurement, and project teams, supervision and leadership will all be
included in this course to provide the necessary background knowledge
and skills for you to initially be engaged in project management roles. It
expected that you will take further courses in construction project
management. In addition, fundamentals of safety management will be
provided to introduce safety risks and rules on construction sites.
Aside from this learning guide, it will be required for you to have a
copy of the prescribed textbook. This learning guide also contains
resource materials that you have to read as well.
The course content will be supported by invited speakers from
industry. The speakers will be drawn from stakeholders working in the
construction industry. These speakers will discuss the practical
application of construction management to everyday problems
encountered, together with the management and leadership skills
required from a successful project manager.
The aim of the course is to provide both a theoretical and practical
insight into construction management. Enjoy learning this interesting
and useful course of construction project management!
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Course Development


Dr. Guomin Kevin Zhang
E-mail: kevin.zhang@rmit.edu.au



Dr Zhang has worked as site engineer and consultant in China and
Australia. His primary work focus has been on site management,
contract management, feasibility study, project planning and control.
He has also worked as a lecturer and researcher in several Australian
Universities.
Dr. Guomin Kevin Zhang holds BEng and Master of Management
degrees from Chongqing University, P.R. China and a PhD from
Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research interests
include:
1. Project Management
Project Risk Management and Decision Making - identifying risks
associated with construction projects, using qualitative and
quantitative methods to assess risks, finding effective strategies to
manage risks, and establishing rational decision makings.
Contract and Procurement - selecting optimal contract types to
facilitate the delivery of construction projects, particularly using
Public Private Partnerships and project alliancing.
Constructability - integrating construction knowledge in the
project delivery process and balancing various aspects of the
project and environmental constraints to achieve project goals and
building performance at an optimal level.
2. Climate Change and Adaptation Responses for Built
Environment
Carbon Neutral Construction - seeking for efforts and innovations
which minimize greenhouse gas emission in the construction
process and support sustainable construction and environment.
Management of Infrastructure and Pubic Assets - exploring
impacts of climate change on infrastructure and adaptation
responses, developing lifecycle management and diagnosis tools
for infrastructure and public assets.
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3. Sustainable Built Environment
Green Building - implementing green building technologies in
commercial and office buildings to enhance the workplace
flexibility, ergonomics and productivity and reduce the project life
cycle cost.
Refurbishment/Re-life of Buildings - managing sustainable
refurbishment of commercial buildings and heritage buildings.
Sustainable infrastructure management - investigating a
sustainable delivery of critical infrastructure such as road,
identifying major issues related to the use of recycled water and
developing appropriate strategy to encourage the use of recycled
water in the industry and community.
Dr. Guomin Kevin Zhang is the Project Manager for the Engineering
Economics and Project Evaluation, the Construction Management, the
Infrastructure Planning and Evaluation, the Construction Engineering
modules at RMIT University.
Conceptual Background
This course assumes that you have:
completed the Engineering Economics and Project Evaluation
course in the second year of the program.
Progress through the Course
Use the Planning and Time Management chart at the end of this Course
Outline to assist you in working through the course. The chart lists all
your topics and their learning outcomes, and the activities and
assessments to complete. Make sure you use the Time Management
chart as a way of scheduling your time, and assessing your progress.
You will be studying this course over a suggested duration of 12 weeks.
When you have completed the course Learning Guide, put aside some
time for review before the examination.
Communicating with your Course Coordinator
Whenever you have a problem or a question, you will be able to contact
your coordinator via email. The email contact is available through
myRMIT
1
.

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http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/Current%20students%2FStudent%20services%2FIT%20services%2FmyRMIT
%20studies/
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Resources
Computer Access:
You will have online access as a student of RMIT University. You will
be given a generic password, which you should then change when
logging on the first time.
This will enable you to:
ask your coordinator questions via email
register and send your assessments when indicated in the
Learning Guide or instructed by the course co-ordinator
access programs online where indicated in the Learning Guide
access announcements relevant to your study. Make sure you
access announcements at least once a week.
It is possible to access the learning package through myRMIT from
remote sites such as home computers via the web.
You should monitor your course at myRMIT and check emails regularly
Set Text and Resources:
Your set text for this course is:
Burke, R., 2007, Project Management Planning and Control
Techniques, Fifth Edition, Burke Publishing.
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Further Reading:
The following are particularly useful
2
:
Halpin, D. W. 2006, Construction Management, 3
rd
edition, John
Wiley & Sons.
Winch, G.M. 2002, Managing Construction Projects, Blackwell
Publishing.
Clough, R.H., Sears, G.A. and. Keoki Sears S, 2000, Construction
Project Management. Fourth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York.
Hinze, Jimmie, 1998, Construction planning and scheduling, Prentice-
Hall Inc Upper Saddle Fiver New Jersey USA.
PMI, 2004, PMBOK Guide. A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge 2004 Edition Project Management Institute, Inc.
Pennsylvania, USA
Uher,T.M. and Loosemore, M. 2004, Essentials of Construction
Project Management, UNSW Press.
Lester, A. 2000, Project Planning and Control, 3
rd
edition,
Butterworth Heinemann, Melbourne.
Additional information can be found in these books
Bucki, L.A. and Chefetz, G. 2002, Managing with Microsoft Project,
Premier Press, USA
Gould, F.E. and Joyce N. E., 2003, Construction Project, Management
second Edition, Pearson education, Inc. Upper saddle River, New
Jersey. USA
Harris F & McCaffer R, 2001, Construction Management, fifth
Edition, Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford UK.
Mawdesley, Michael, Askew, William and Michael OReilly, 1997,
Planning and Controlling Construction projects: The Best Laid Plans,
Co-published with The Chartered Institute of Building through
Englemere Services Limited, Addison Wesley Longman Limited
England
Smith,N.J. (ed) 2002, Engineering Project Management. Second
Edition, Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford

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extracts from some of these will be provided as links from the RMIT Librarys eReserve service you will
need to login with your student number and password to read these where they are provided in relevant Topics
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Study Needs
Although studying can be difficult at times, you can help yourself by
being organised and allocating specific times for your study. There are
some general guidelines which may help you:
plan your week. Treat your assignment work as a project and use
project time management skills to monitor the progress. Schedule
the times when you will be working through the Learning Guide.
Use the suggested time allocation in the chart above to estimate
how long to plan for each session of study.
ask questions of your tutor and lecturer. Dont wait until you feel
swamped or overwhelmed. Ask questions when you first have a
problem.
use your student group as a network for assistance.
Course-specific Study Needs
Feedback will be provided in the form of:
specific comments of relevance to a particular group or student
will be provided by email or student consultation
comments will be provided to assignments and reports.
Submission of Assessment
You will be submitting your assessments and activities as indicated by
the Learning Guide or as instructed by the co-ordinator. Your
coordinator will provide feedback with the return of the assignment.
All work must be presented as specified in the instructions and
guidelines in the Assessment section of this Learning Package. You are
required to be professional in both presentation and attitude, including
meeting of deadlines. Please check the plagiarism statement in the
Course Outlines online, and below, and ensure that you follow the
guidelines provided.
A schedule of when assessments are due can be found at the start of the
Assessment section of this Learning Package.
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Plagiarism
RMIT University requires that you present your own work for
assessment. The rules against plagiarism representing the work of
others (published or unpublished) as your own are strict and will be
enforced diligently. Here is the RMITs current plagiarism statement.
Read it and make sure you understand its importance.

Plagiarism statement
Plagiarism is a form of cheating in assessment. Plagiarism may occur in
oral, written or visual presentations. It is the presentation of the work,
idea or creation of another person, without appropriate referencing, as
though it is your own. Plagiarism is not acceptable. The use of another
person's work or ideas must be acknowledged. The penalties for
cheating in assessment are severe, whether the cheating involves
plagiarism, fabrication, falsification of data, copyright infringement or
some other method. Penalties can include chargers of academic
misconduct, cancellation of results and exclusion from your course. It is
also a disciplinary offence for you to allow your work to be plagiarised
by another student. You are responsible for keeping your work in a
secure place.
Source: Legal Office (university solicitor)


For more information see RMIT Universitys plagiarism requirements
3

Evaluation Process
There is an evaluation form available at myRMIT. Please complete and
return at the relevant times indicated by your coordinator. Your
comments will assist us in improving and refining the materials and
resources.

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http://www.rmit.edu.au/plagiarism
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Feedback
Each Learning Outcome in this course is associated with a set of
activities to help you master the knowledge and skills required. Some
of these activities are self-assessment questions for which answers are
provided, so that you can assess your achievement throughout your
study. We encourage you to attempt these questions before looking at
the provided answers through either tutorials or posted online as
appropriate.
In some cases activities will be exercises from your prescribed text
book. Answers to these questions will, in most cases, be in your text
book rather than in this Learning Guide.
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Use of Icons
The following icons have been used throughout this Learning Guide to
indicate what you need to do next.

Reference/reading/resource/research this may be an additional
recommended text, audio or video tape or web site.


Individual Activity may be self assessment questions, problem
solving, demonstration, simulation, lab, checklist/short answer
after reading, case study. Complete the activity following
instructions given.


Group Activity may be problem solving, lab, case study,
demonstration. Complete the activity following instructions
given.


Feedback turn to Feedback section at end of the Learning Guide
to check answers and responses for the activities.



Summary and Outcome Checklist what has been learnt, in
preparation for assessment


Assessment must be achieved to pass topic or group of topics.
Turn to the Assessment section of this Learning Package for
details of assessment requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions provides some responses to key
areas students have highlighted as queries or difficulties.



Additional reading and research to extend knowledge of key area

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Graduate Capabilities
In line with the requirements of Engineers Australia for accreditation
purposes, the engineering courses at RMIT are designed to provide the
community with engineers who:
have the ability to apply knowledge of basic science and
engineering fundamentals.
have the ability to communicate effectively, not only with
engineers, but also with the community at large.
have in-depth technical competence in at least one engineering
discipline.
have the ability to undertake problem identification, formulation
and solution.
have the ability to utilise a systems approach to design and
operational performance.
have the ability to function effectively as an individual and in
multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, with the capacity to
be a leader or manager as well as an effective team member.
have an understanding of the principles of sustainable design and
development.
have an understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities
and commitment to them.
have an expectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning,
and the ability to do so.
The overall program develops and demonstrates these attributes. This
course integrates a range of these attributes into the various topics, as
indicated through outcomes stated at the beginning and statements in
the Summary and Outcome Checklist for each topic.
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Planning and Time Management Guide: Construction Management
Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
1 Topic 1.
Construction Management:
an Overview

Explain the nature of construction projects.
Discuss the importance of construction project
management to civil engineers
Illustrate the components of project phases and project
life cycle.
identify the major stakeholders of construction projects
Examine the major factors for successful construction
project management
12 1A Tutorial work and forming groups
1B Group discussion and reflection
1C Group project
1D Discussion on project stakeholders
1E Reflection on practical experiences

2 - 3 Topic 2.
Project Procurement
Management



Describe and apply different project delivery systems
for engineering projects
Evaluate different procurement mechanisms or project
delivery methods such as BOT, PFI, etc.
Explain different tendering procedures
Explain the importance of contracts in construction
projects.
Discuss the factors affecting the choice of contract
strategy meeting.
Discuss the different contractual considerations.
Explain the roles and duties of a works superintendent.
Identify the usefulness of model or standard conditions
of contract.
24 2A Research on contracts
2B Research paper on contract strategy
2C Group discussion on tendering process
2D Video demonstration and discussion on role
of superintendent
2E Reflection and group documentation
2F Role of the superintendent
2G Contract types
2H Group project - procurement



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Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
4 - 6 Topic 3.
Project Planning: Scope and
Time
Explain the relationships of the three main project
planning tools: scope, time and cost
Define the goals and boundaries of a construction
project
Create a Statement of Work (SOW)
Construct the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Identify sub-projects, milestones and tasks
Develop a Gantt Chart to communicate project time.
Calculate the duration and floats of a project using
critical path method.
Prepare a precedence diagram for a project.
Calculate the duration and floats
Use scheduling software such as MS Project 2007.
36 3A Project discussion
3B Discussion on goals & boundaries
3C Statement of works
3D Work breakdown structure
3E Developing the sub-projects
3F Gantt chart
3G Duration, floats and critical paths
3H Tutorial exercise
3I Software exercise


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Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
7 - 9 Topic 4.
Project Planning: Cost

Explain the purpose of project cost management.
Prepare resource table.
Estimate resource availability
Prepare resource availability table/histogram.
Perform resource smoothing.
Identify different types of costs.
Discuss the types of cost estimates.
Estimate the direct cost, indirect cost and total cost.
Prepare project budget statement, including balance
statement and cash flow statement.
Explain the need for cost control.
Construct earned value tables and graphs.
Measure time deviations in construction projects.
Prepare earned value reports.
36 4A Tutorial exercise
4B Tutorial exercise and group project work
4C Cost estimating
4D Tutorial exercises on cash flow statement
4E Cost control plan
4F Resource table
4G Earned value
4H Lab Test on MS Project


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Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
10 Topic 5.
Project Risk Management
and Safety Management
Explain the importance of risk management.
Identify project risks.
Estimate project risks using risk quantification
procedures.
Apply qualitative and quantitative risk assessment
methods
Select the critical risks based on prioritization methods
Discuss risk response measures used in construction
management.
Explain the risk control cycle in construction projects.
Develop risk matrix for a construction project.
Explain safety culture and attitude
Recognize risks related to construction safety on site
Recognize typical personal protective equipment for
construction projects
Discuss safety management strategies
12 5A Case study and group discussion
5B Group project development
5C Risk analysis
5D Risk mitigation
5E Case study on safety risks and safety Attitude
5F Focus group on safety performance
5G Video demonstration and safety management
strategy


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Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
11 Topic 6.
Project Quality
Management
Explain various quality concepts such as Total Quality
Management (TQM)
Identify quality costs
Illustrate the importance of quality circles
Discuss the importance of quality audit
Construct quality control plan such as quality matrix
for a construction project.
Develop job safety analysis and work method
statements
Discuss site induction and industrial relations
12 6A Discussion on what is quality
6B Discussion on quality and its cost
6C Quality plan
6D Quality audit
6E Site procedures
6F Group discussion and quality control plan


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Week Topic Learning outcomes Ave
hrs
Activities
12 Topic 7.
Project Communications,
Organisation Structure,
Teams and Leadership
Explain line of communication in construction projects.
Discuss the importance of project information and
control system.
Prepare agenda for handover meetings and project
progress meeting.
Develop a reporting schedule for the project.
Illustrate the use of document control.
Explain the importance of organization structures for
construction projects.
Discuss the suitability of different organizational
structures to a given construction project such as the
functional organizational structure and the matrix
organization structure.
Discuss the responsibility-authority gap in the context
of construction projects.
Explain the purpose and benefits of project teams.
Differentiate teams that win and teams that fail.
Discuss the role of construction managers in a
construction team.
Explain different leadership and supervision styles
suitable in a construction project.
In a given construction project, assess the application of
theories of motivation.
12 7A Project control plan
7B Document control
7C Agenda
7D Organisational structures - general
7E Group discussion functional organisational
structures
7F Group discussion and reflection matrix
structures
7G Authority and responsibility
7H Project teams
7I Peer review
7J Role of the construction manager
7K Group discussion on leadership styles
8L Group discussion on motivation
8M Review of the course