Unit 504 Project Management Level:5

UAN:
D/506/9264
GLH:
50
Proposed assessment method:
Assignment
Aim:
The purpose of this unit is to enable learners to develop an understanding of the
principles of project management in civil engineering and how projects are set up.
Learners will gain an understanding of how to mitigate risks and how to develop
management skills to monitor and review civil engineering projects.
Learning outcome
The learner will:
1. understand why organisations use project management
Assessment criteria
The learner can:
1.1 describe the principles of project management
1.2 explain the benefits of project management to organisations and individuals.
Range
Principles
application of technical knowledge to project management; leadership; delegation;
negotiation; decision-making; defined roles and responsibilities; management by
stages; management by exception; focus on outcomes; determination of objectives;
recognition of constraints; lifecycle planning; ethical and professional issues;
learning from experience; application of project management principles to civil
engineering projects
Benefits
increased efficiency; better understanding of client brief; enhanced communication
with main contractor and sub-contractors; improved client satisfaction; more
effective delivery of project outcomes; improvements in quality and output; better
development opportunities within the project team; increase in competitive edge;
opportunities to expand work done; greater flexibility; improved risk assessment.
22 City & Guilds Level 5 Advanced Technician Diploma in Civil Engineering (9209-13)
Learning outcome
The learner will:
understand how to set up projects
Assessment criteria
The learner can:
2.1 explain the considerations that apply when reviewing project proposals
2.2 explain how to set clear goals for projects
2.3 analyse project resource requirements
2.4 explain how roles and responsibilities are allocated within project teams
2.5 identify project communication needs
2.6 assess possible risks to successful completion of projects
2.7 explain how to mitigate possible risks.
Range
Considerations
financial, legal, technical, environmental, resource, time and budget constraints;
dependencies; confidentiality; access to data and project documentation
How to set clear goals
co-ordinate and control design and construction; identify stakeholders needs; record
goals in project plans; agree contractual relationships with client, design team,
construction team and project manager; clarify powers, authority, responsibilities
and accountability; define project requirements against identified goals
Resource requirements
allocate budget for design costs, labour, materials and construction plant; consider
training needs, communication needs and IT requirements; management contracts
and the use of subcontractors
How roles and responsibilities are allocated
identify expertise from different areas (design, construction, procurement, health
and safety); analyse roles of key stakeholders; identify training and development
needs; schedule meetings and reports
Communication needs
formal/informal communication; identifying who requires communication, e.g.
stakeholders, client, management, design team, project realisation team, suppliers,
local authority, statutory bodies
Possible risks
safety issues; optimistic time and cost estimates; unexpected budget costs; unclear
roles and responsibilities; stakeholder needs neither sought nor addressed;
changing requirements after the start of the project; new requirements; poor
communication; lack of commitment.
Mitigate
Use of quality assurance techniques, environmental assessments, risk assessment,
soil and material testing, regular project review meetings, appropriate
communication and targeted training.
City & Guilds Level 5 Advanced Technician Diploma in Civil Engineering (9209-13) 23
Learning outcome
The learner will:
be able to use management tools to maintain, control and monitor projects
Assessment criteria
The learner can:
3.1 describe different management tools for monitoring and control of projects
3.2 justify the use of management tools for monitoring and controlling projects
3.3 use management tools to monitor projects.
Range
Management tools
method statements; Gantt charts; precedence diagrams; Critical Path Analyses;
lines of balance; time-change diagrams; budget monitoring reports; use of relevant
and current project software packages
Monitor
update task status; progress of work; re-schedule incomplete tasks as necessary;
update project elements; review budgets; coordinate and control subcontractors
and suppliers.
Learning outcome
The learner will:
4. be able to review projects at all stages
Assessment criteria
The learner can:
4.1 explain reasons for reviewing projects after completion
4.2 review projects against original proposals.
Range
Reasons
to continuously improve design and project realisation; to learn from experience; to
identify key resources for future projects; to monitor achievement against original
objectives; to highlights issues e.g. health and safety, supply problems, training
needs, unforeseen increases in costs, to allow revision and updating of plans, to
complete end of project report and facilitate final account
Sumali
change this assignment and incert your own wards, some of the stements are wrong
but better you read and do the assignment. I think you do not want to meet me on
Thursday. But if you want to clrify any matter call me and come to meet me

Assignment 01
Principles of Project Management

Leadership
Leadership is simply, getting work done by others. Also
building trust among the colleagues and leading them to a
common goal as a team. While sorting out any conflicts that
would arise during achieving the goals.
Leadership skills those are essential to a success of a project,

Decision making & problem solving

Visioning

Communicating

Team building
A good leader may use different leadership styles,

Intellectual Leader

Leader by power held

 Leader by moral example

Leader by personality charisma

Delegation
Delegation is the distribution of work among others.
Most Project Managers are afraid to delegate their work.
Especially because they fear that the tasks wont be carried
out right. But Delegation is very important in a project. Its
better a group of focused, specialized people carrying out the
task than a single person engaging in diverse tasks at once.
Points to consider in delegation of work,
Be specific about the task that is to be carried out.
Always make sure the deadlines assigned to each tasks
are realistic.
Provide all the required information about the tasks.
Remember to be accountable to all the tasks that are
being delegated and always answer any issues the
colleagues might come up with.
Be updated about the progress of each task.

Before delegating any task you must be aware about the

requirements of the project and also its very important to
understand about the colleagues whom the tasks are handed over
to. Collaboration and teamwork plays a major role.

Negotiations
The method of improving their options and benefits through
discussions and actions while interacting with two or more
parties.
A Project Manager often does negotiations with contractors,
vendors and especially with stakeholders. Its not always about
agreeing on the issue but also saying NO which would
improve what benefits to you. Negotiations are very vital in
identifying the issues that is to be faced in the future by the
project. So once good negotiations are done there wont be
any barriers in continuing the project further.
A good negotiator would have,
 Self Confidence
Communication Skills
Emotional Management

Decision Making
[Defining roles & responsibilities]
One of main responsibilities of a Project Manager is
defining the roles and responsibilities of all the
subordinates working in a project. And also the
organizational structure has to be kept as simple as
possible, so that there wont be any confusion within the
hierarchy. A Project Manager must make sure that
every person in the project community has understood
their work role, so that there wont be any conflicts or
confusion once the project is started.
Defining roles and responsibilities depend on the scale and the
complexity of the project. Like the power a single position
[role] holds and the amount of work to be done
[responsibilities].
Common mistakes in defining roles and responsibilities,
Roles and responsibilities are not defined clearly.
Disconnection between the project manger and the
subordinates.
Lack of leadership from the steering committee.

[Management by stages]
This process divides the project into smaller levels or
stages. At every stage the specific amount of work and
the activities are mentioned until the project comes to its
closure. Every stage of the project is considered to be
important because all the stages directly affect the
successful completion of the project.
A project is mainly divided into these stages,
Definition- Identifying a projects goals, budget, scope and
risks. This must be communicated to all
the stake holders so that there wont be any
issues once the project is started.
Initiation- The stage where the scope of the project and all the
stakeholder exceptions are sorted
out.
 Planning- Planning helps in saving money, time, resources and
many other problems. If this stage is
not properly carried out the project may end up as a
failure.
Execution- This is the starting stage of the activities planned in
the project. And this stage requires
the total attention of the Project Manager.
Monitoring and Control- This stage is the constant checking of
the progress, issues, risks of the tasks
that are being executed and that
the expected outcomes have being
achieved.
Closure- This stage is often neglected. But it is important to
get a document from the customer that
the expected end outcome has been achieved and
that the project is completed. The
Project Manager then would jot down the ups and
downs of the project for the future
reference. An unclosed project may yet consume
resources even though tasks are
completed.

[Management by exceptions]
Management by exception is bringing issues and
discussions over to the management if only it is a very
crucial factor.
In a project a Project Manager may not call meetings in
regular intervals. Instead, meetings or discussions will be
called in a major issue. So that the subordinates are more
concerned on their tasks than on the meetings.

Advantages
Upper management can focus on the crucial factors than
micro-managing the day-today work.
Subordinates are left to handle day-today operations free of
management pressures which will provide Job Satisfaction.

[Focus on outcomes]
This method is giving the attention to the end expected
 result of a project. It doesnt matter using the planned
procedures in reaching the end results or new ones.
A project is preplanned of-course, but there may be
stages where the exact planned procedures cannot be
carried out. Because the environment a project is
executed is always dynamic. So, a Project Manager
must take quick decisions in changing the planned
procedures but also maintain the expected outcome.
For example,
A 100 cubes of sand was in order and the suppliers failed
to deliver it on time. The area has some small hills made
out of lime stones.
Here a Project Manager must make a decision in
crushing the lime stones as a substitute to sand. It was
not the planned procedure but the end result will be the
expected result and still the work progress is as planned.

[Determination of objectives]
Objectives are low-level statements what the project is
trying to achieve. Objectives have to be very clear and
setup in a low level that it could be later evaluated
whether the expected outcome was achieved or not.
Objectives should explain the deliverables of a project. If
it does not describe them, then the objectives are set way
high. And on the other hand, if an objective explains the
characteristic of the deliverables then the objectives are
setup way lower.
For example,
Foundation has to be completed up to DCP on 31.08.2015
[which is an objective]
DCP has to be setup with 2nd grade concrete to a 200mm
thickness. [These are requirements not objectives]

A set of objectives will form a goal. So completion of a set

of objectives may complete a goal.
Objectives break down larger working goals into smaller
portions which makes it easier in carrying out tasks. So
the workers can focus on the current job than worrying
 about completing the entire project with diverse and
large amount of tasks.
A good objective would be,
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time bound

[Recognition of constraints]
There are many categories where constraints against the
project might arise. The importance of recognizing the
constraints in the early stage of the project are that the
issues could be identified, discussed, negotiated and last
is sorting out. This saves time, money and resources that
are to be used in the project. If not, once the project is
started the project may face many issues because they
were not identified earlier. This would waste time,
resources and may even lead to project failure.

Constraints may arise from: Stakeholders

Expected results
Time frames
Resources

To identify constraints,
Consult the stake holders at the definition of the project.
Review relevant written materials.[long range plans, annual
budgets, benefit-cost analysis]
Once a limitation is identified discuss, negotiate and solve it
then and there.
[Lifecycle planning]
Life cycle planning will relate to the management stages
of a project.
Initiation, Planning, Execution and Closure.
Initiation

o Develop a business case. [The purpose and scope of the

project]
 o Study the most convenient methods in carrying out the
project.
o Establish the terms of reference.
o Recruit a project team.
Planning
o Create a project plan.
o Create a resource plan.
o Create a financial plan.
o Create a quantity plan.
o Create a risk plan.
o Create an acceptance plan.
o Create a communication plan.
o Create a procurement plan.
o Contract the suppliers
Execution
o Build deliverables
o Monitor and Control
o Time, cost, quality, communication, issue, risk
management. [Monitor & Control]
Closure
o Project closure
o Project completion

Through a Lifecycle plan a Project Manager may find it easy to

carry on the project. Every important factor is listed out. This will
allow the tasks to flow efficiently and effectively without missing
any. A Lifecycle plan will assist in managing time, cost, quality
and risk. Plus to manage staff, external parties and force them to do
the tasks on time and within budget.
[Ethical and professional knowledge]
Ethics in Project Management is a must. A Project
Manager is a leader to an entire project community. A
project manager being ethical is the main factor to build
trust and respect within the colleagues. If a person does
not trust the other, working, listening and obeying to
each other is impossible. So a Project Manager should
be a moral example in order to control and to be
respected within the project team and stakeholders. This
may also lead to lesser conflicts within the project and
lesser constraints to the project.
 A project manager also must make sure that within his
knowledge, that there are no any negative effects to any
party because of the project being carried out. And if so,
necessary actions have to be taken to reduce or prevent
the negative effects. Like, environmental pollution etc

Professional knowledge or the industrial knowledge is

very important to a Project Manager. In other words, a
project manager must always be updated about new
technologies, recent important happenings and must
have a basic knowledge about almost every industry.
Project Management is a profession that every industry
requires. It maybe Construction, IT, Biomedical,
Production etc So if a Project Manager does not have
at least the basic knowledge about the particular industry
of the project given, it would be rather difficult to
manage or plan it.
The point is clear. Project Manager is the highest
ranked personal in a project community. The subordinates
always count the project manager in any issue or
dilemma they come across in a project. Therefore,
professional knowledge is a must to a Project Manager.

[Learning from experience]

Experience is the best teacher a Project Manager has.
No matter how hard the project is planned or what
qualifications achieved, its nothing compared to the
experience gained in doing an actual project from the
beginning to the end of it. With the present dynamic
environment there are situations where the project
cannot go as planned. But still the progress has to be
achieved in order to secure the projects resources. In
situations like this, a Project Managers decisions are
very important. And these are exactly the points where a
project manager receives their experiences. On the other
hand, it does not have to be a vital decision where a
project manager may mess up.
For example,
In a road construction on a hilly area may need some lime
 stones. As the area is with hills and mountains, it could
be obtained straight away from the environment. Here, if
a project manager decides to use explosives in crushing
the lime stones there may be a chance of the entire range
of mountains falling over because of the vibrations.
Instead, the project manager must decide in using
chemicals to break down lime stone pieces.

[Application of project management principles to a Civil

Engineering project]
(Construction of a high-rise building)

o Leadership- In the initiation of the project, project

manager would explain the final goal and the
purpose of building the high-rise building to the
subordinates. So that they could reach the goal as a
team. The project manager may work hard and
efficiently by planning and organizing the resources
used in the construction of the building, acting as a
role model to the lower positions. Once it comes to
the execution stage of the project, subordinates will
count upon the project manager in gaining the right
positions and the wanted materials on time for the
project. This means they accept him to lead them
through objectives. A project manager may motivate
them through a good communication system. If an
ordered sand supply is not available on time project
manager must be available to find a solution for this
issue.
o Delegation- A project manager would distribute the
measuring work of the project to a Quantity
Surveyor, the construction work to the Civil
Engineers, wirings to Electrical Engineers and
the labor work to low level employees etc... This is
done by considering the qualifications as well as the
experience a person may have. Like, a technical
officer cannot hold the position of an Engineer. A
project manager must be able to appoint the right
 person to the right work in order to complete the
project successfully and with good quality.
o Negotiations- In the definition stage of the
construction of the building the project manager will
have to negotiate with the stake holders. Identify
the limitations and discuss to improve the options or
may even to completely overcome the restrictions
they put forward. Next, it would be with the
suppliers of materials or laborers to the project. It
would be about how the payments are being done or
the quality of the materials. A project manager must
also have skills to negotiate with the steering
committee to get extensions in time once an
unavoidable delay occurred or to improve the
facilities on the site etc
o Decision Making- A project manger must make
crucial decisions in a project. Like if the mentioned
high-rise building is being built in a congested area,
the project manager must go for Precast because
it would be difficult to do the mixing formation part
on the site with lack of space. Also may be in
ordering of materials or appointing personals to
positions a project manager should work ethically
without having any personal goals but to the
welfare of the company and the project.