CM 654

CONSTRUCTION QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Submitted by: ENGR. PATRICK JOSEPH C. DELA CRUZ

Submitted to: DR. MANUEL M. MUHI

CASE STUDY NO. 4

1. Make a list of areas in which you would be especially careful in operating the controls on your
projects. Expand on any areas of your project which you think are particularly critical. Are
there any areas in operating the controls where you have problems in the past? How will you
try to improve in those areas?

Construction managers control and co-ordinate activities on site to ensure that construction work
is completed on time and to budget. They schedule when work is done and complete quality
control checks to ensure that all operatives on site adhere to high standards of work. They have
to consider logistics, health and safety, environmental concerns, sustainable development, and
the impact on close neighbors and the general public.

The importance of safety in site management careers

Safety rules on site are set and implemented by construction managers and take into account the
unique aspects of the project as well as industry-wide standards. There has been a big move over
the past few years to ensure even higher standards of safety. Its a huge part of the construction
management job and one of the first things graduates on training schemes will learn about. Its
easy for job applicants to overlook health and safety but showing an awareness of the issue in
interviews and applications will be looked on very favorably.

Sustainable development in construction

Sustainability is a key concern for construction managers. They have a role in advising the client
and design team on best practice. They have to be aware of sustainable practices when selecting
the best materials to use. In their quality control work they have to ensure that sustainable
systems work effectively. They also ensure that workers operate in the most environmentally
friendly ways on site.

People: personnel management

People are the most valuable part of any organization, and often the most difficult to
manage. Personnel management encompasses a number of areas:

How, and how well, staff members do their jobs.

Relationships among people in the organization.
Supervision: who supervises whom and how often, what supervision means for the
organization, what kinds of records are kept, what is done with them, and who has access
to them.
Quality-of life issues: staff compensation and benefits, work hours, leave policy, etc.

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 Staff training and ongoing professional development.
Hiring, firing, appeal, and grievance procedures.
Legal or other regulations involving personnel, such as ADA (Americans with Disabilities
Act), funders' requirements, non-discrimination in hiring, etc.

Money: fiscal management

Although you may hate the thought of it, your organization is, in many ways, a business, and you
have to manage your finances just as any other business does if you're going to continue to
operate. Fiscal management includes:

Day-to-day management of the money you actually have: taking care of payroll, paying
bills, billing others, handling cash flow, deciding where and when to make purchases of
materials, supplies, and equipment.
Accounting: keeping the books.
Financial planning: finding new resources, tying financial planning to organizational goals,
looking for sources of income to replace others that may be drying up, deciding what to
do if money is short.
Fundraising.
Banking, investment, and capital development: taking care of the money you have,
dealing with a surplus, and handling money specifically meant to be used for the long-
term health and development of the organization.

Goods and services

Just buying what you need for your organization to run isn't the end of the story.

Equipment maintenance and repair: keeping track of regular service schedules for copiers
and other office equipment, as well as specialized machinery your particular organization
may use to do its job (medical devices, for instance, or vehicles); getting equipment fixed
or replaced when it breaks down.
Training and updates for those who need to use particular equipment, whether computers
and software or something more complicated.
Ordering materials and supplies when needed, with an eye toward the total amount of
money available for them.
Keeping track of the price and quality of goods and services, and changing suppliers when
necessary.
Establishing and maintaining relationships with the companies and individuals from whom
the organization buys goods and services.
Defining who gets what when: who has access to what equipment, how much does each
staff member get to spend for supplies for her position, etc.

Activities

What your organization actually does is usually the reason it exists. Keeping careful track of what
goes on and how is therefore fundamental to the success of the organization. Among the
management necessities here are:

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 Making sure that the organization's activities are carried out in the way they're meant to
be.
Tracking the results of what you do, and attempting to find ways to improve your
effectiveness, even if it's already high.
Evaluating the organization's activities, with input from staff, the target population, and,
if appropriate, the community at large.
Planning for change and improvement, based on evaluations and assessment of results.
Continually reassessing the needs of the target population, the field, or whatever is
appropriate, to make sure that what you're doing is, in fact, aimed at accomplishing what's
necessary.
Keeping up to date on best practices and processes, so that you can take advantage of
new and proven ideas, methods, and techniques.
Updating staff training as the organization's activities or methods expand or change.

Relations with the outside world

If your organization aims to serve the community in some way (or is dependent on the community
for resources or good will) then your management plan better include some ways for the
organization to become recognized as part of the community. If your organization gets funding
from state agencies, foundations, or other funders, it's important to establish and maintain good
relationships with both the individuals who oversee that funding and with the funding institutions
as a whole.

In reality, organizations don't deal with other organizations or communities: people deal with
other people. The positive personal relationships that your organization's director, board, and
staff members establish go a long way toward strengthening your organization's credibility and
standing with funders and the community. A management plan that addresses this issue might
include:

Encouraging the director or other staff to be members of community and/or other

organizations, and to assume positions of responsibility in those organizations where
appropriate.
Establishing, where possible, collaborative relationships with other groups and agencies
(e.g. referring participants back and forth, sharing staff and equipment, or writing joint
proposals, funding for which would benefit both organizations).
Keeping a high profile in the community.
Making it a matter of policy to assist other community groups and agencies whenever
possible.
Making sure that the director and staff establish and maintain personal relationships with
directors and staff of other organizations.
Establishing and maintaining personal relationships with the appropriate people at funding
agencies.
Cooperating with funders by getting paperwork in on time, conforming to rules if you have
agreed to do so, and generally trying to make their work easier.
Establishing and maintaining relationships with representatives of the media (reporters,
editors, station managers, etc.).

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Another, and extremely important, responsibility of management is to pursue the goals of the
organization. In general, these goals are subsumed in the five areas mentioned. If a goal, for
instance, is the acceptance of the organization in the community, that goal becomes part of
relating to the outside world. If a goal is to provide ever-improving service to a particular
population, that goal becomes part of the management of the organization's activities. The reality
is that you should never lose sight of your organizational goals, because they define all five of
these categories of management for your organization.

Other specific focus areas include:

Change order and closeout controls to prevent litigation

Stakeholder communication and equitable use of funds
Staffing needed to deliver projects on time and within budget
Consistent application of construction program policies and procedures
Construction productivity and efficiency management
Completeness and integrity of construction program reporting
Project management information systems use and data integrity
Construction contract controls

For me, one of the areas that I will focus on and be especially careful in operating is the
people/personnel management. It is important that everyone in the team is in good terms with
each other and communicates well, in order to relay information and instructions properly and to
discuss issues intelligently. This will also ensure that the team is unified in attaining one goal,
which is, to complete the project on time, at the right cost, and according to plans. Managing
people may become hard because unlike other aspects in construction, there are many factors
that can influence the behavior and attitude of people. But with proper knowledge and approach,
it can be dealt with accordingly.

Based on my experience, I never had issues with the people around me in the construction sites
because I make sure, as much as possible, that I am treating them properly and giving them
respect in order for them to give that respect back to me. Since I am new to the construction
industry, when there are problems involving the people and their work, I always refer to my
supervisors because they know better than me. But if there are minor issues that I know how to
deal with confidently, I initiate and perform my duty. I believe that as time pass, with due
knowledge and experience, I will be better at interacting and managing people in construction.

References:

https://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/construction-and-building-services/advice/283935-
construction-management-construction-area-of-work

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/effective-manager/management-plan/main

Prepared by:

Patrick Joseph C. Dela Cruz

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