BN3010: Project Management & BIM Construction of Retail Outlet Assessment Answer

Introduction

The proposed construction of a new retail outlet within the city of Preston council area is a significant project that merges the structural complexity with the historical land use considerations. The project is tasked with transforming the former sand quarry filled with general waste since 1970 into a modern retail space. Therefore, the project demands outstanding project management skills from the planning process to the execution stage (Liu, van Nederveen and Hertogh, 2017). The client has given the project briefs that demand to be attained to ensure the project scope is completed successfully. This work will exploit areas that must be handled in terms of project management to ensure strategic planning, appropriate allocation of project resources, adherence to project specifications and risk mitigation. The work will give a detailed work breakdown structure, program Gantt chart, assumptions and touch on critical activities that fall on the critical path of the program schedule.

Part 1 – Project Planning and Scheduling

Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure is critical during the planning stage since it helps the project manager identify smaller tasks that should be done to have the entire project completed (Project Manager, 2022). In addition, resource distribution is also possible only after having identified the subtasks that should be completed. According to this project, the work packages have been split into phases, beginning with the pre-construction phase. Six phases have been considered to complete the project tasks. The table below shows the project phases proposed for this project.

Each phase has been assigned different work packages, as listed in the table below.

The figure below is the project WBS.

Figure 1: The WBS

Program of Work

Having developed the WBS of the project, the tasks were assigned the duration that can be taken to complete each. Each task has a dependency. Majority of tasks are bound to run on finish-to-start dependency. Also, to ensure that the tasks start successfully, some have been assigned a lag period to mobilise resources before the task begins. Milestones have been assigned at each stage. The project duration has also been estimated in the Gantt chart, as shown below. It is also important to note that these durations have been approximated during the planning stage. However, the durations are bound to change during the execution stage since it is difficult to tell future encumbrances. According to the schedule that has been developed, the project is planned to take 365 days. The start date shall be Tue 12/12/23, and the end date Thu 9/25/25.

Figure 2: Project Schedule

Assumptions for Master Program Development

Since the master program was only developed during the planning stage, it was important to list assumptions made. The following is a list of assumptions made during this programme's development.

1. The construction materials, such as steel, insulation panels, and concrete, will be delivered on time to allow a smooth flow of activities.
2. There shall be consistent and efficient labour productivity. This is based on historical data that has been provided from previous projects.
3. There shall be no delays or downtimes for equipment used in the construction process. Therefore, the construction process is expected to run efficiently on hours that have been planned each day.
4. There shall be favourable and reasonable weather conditions during the construction process.
5. The regulatory approvals shall be done on time and necessary permits at each stage of construction shall be issued to allow smooth progress of construction work.
6. There shall be effective land remediation efforts regarding historical land use to mitigate potential issues.
7. All risks have been identified, and possible measures to mitigate their impact have been
9. Construction utilities such as water and electricity will be available during the construction period.
10. The construction agents shall be compliant with safety and health regulations that will enhance safe working at all stages.
11. There shall be a positive community relation that will reduce possible disruption impacting the construction schedule.
12. The quantity of materials, labour, and resources will be enough. These include steel members, concrete, masonry materials, and other resources.
13. The calendar of different work phases shall be maintained to complete the project on time.

Major Constraints

Generally, project constraints refer to limitations encountered during the project execution process. The constraints may vary from risks, time and cost related. This project is also not exceptional, and some constraints have been implemented when developing the master plan. The following is a list of constraints that were considered during the development of the master plan.

1. Limited accessibility to the site due to its location within the existing retail park. There may be logistical issues and congestion.
2. Contamination and historical land issues also possess a constraint since it has been noted that the area was filled with sand quarry since the 1970s and may have possible land contamination. Therefore, need to ensure that mitigations have been put in place.
3. Occupational Health and safety are another constraint where the project team must ensure strict health and safety regulations to reduce possible issues during construction. This can be attributed to employees being expected to work at a height that exceeds 10 meters.
4. Community impact presents a constraint since the project might negatively impact the community; therefore, mitigation to possible negative impact has to be taken in mind. The project is located in the Preston City Council area, where many people reside, and is expected to affect the locals.
5. Weather conditions whereby heavy rains are a big constraint to project progress. Outdoor activities are likely to be impacted, which could cause project delays in delivery.
6. Approvals might be delayed at some point. This will heavily impact the project schedule, and some activities might be forced to be completed beyond the approximated deadlines.
7. Budgetary constraints. The project is expected to be completed within the client's budget in the contract. If it exceeds, the project scope might not be accomplished.
8. Supply chain disruption for materials and other related resources may lead to delays in the delivery of some tasks.
9. Design revisions that are done in a timely manner will have a very big impact on project progress. Revisions may need more time to be approved by the client and project design team.
10. The quality of the work is a constraint. The project quality has to be observed following specifications that have been put in place.
11. The project scope must be delivered. Anything less than what was provided in the project scope shall be considered non-compliant.

Part 2 – Project Control

As the project manager for this project, it is a requirement that various control techniques have to be put in place to ensure that the project is completed successfully. This section will discuss these techniques that are bound to be implemented to ensure smooth project delivery.

Cost Control Measures

The project must be completed within the budget that was assigned to it. Different control measures shall be implemented to complete the project within the budget (Tinnirello, 2021). A detailed budget shall include all project costs, such as labour and materials. There shall be regular cost monitoring upon which cost variance will be stabled between the planned and actual cost.

Schedule Control Measures

The project has developed a detailed schedule that considers dependencies and critical paths. Regular progress monitoring and tracking shall be done to establish possible delays and deviations (Maylor, 2019). Critical path analysis will ensure that activity on the critical path is completed on time to complete the work on schedule as planned. For example, in this scenario, the works are expected to start with ground remediation, piling and incorporation of pile caps and other associated substructures so that other superstructure works may follow. Delaying the substructure works on a critical path will automatically delay the entire project schedule.

Quality Control Measures

Inspections and audits shall be done at each level of project delivery (Hobbs, 2019). For instance, during the installation of a 2.4-meter-high masonry steel framed structure, a checklist shall be made covering all quality parameters that need to be done, and an inspection will be made to ensure that the parameters have been attained. When casting a 200mm thick ground floor slab, laboratory tests on concrete shall be done to ensure that the concrete meets quality specifications.

Risk Management

The project shall prepare a risk register where possible risks shall be identified and mitigation measures put in place. Regular risk review shall be done at all stages. Some common risks include working at height since the building is 10 m high, the area is filled with general waste, which can result in handling hazardous wastes, and other construction-related risks.

Conclusion

The report presents project management for a new retail outlet which is located within the city of Preston council area is a significant project that merges structural complexity with historical land use considerations. The schedule has been prepared based on assumptions and constraints considered part of project management. It should also be considered that project management can only be completed by considering project control measures. The measures suggested in this project include cost control, schedule control, quality control and risk management measures.

Reference List

Hobbs, P. 2019. Project management. 1st ed. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Liu, Y., van Nederveen, S. and Hertogh, M. 2017. Understanding the effects of BIM on

collaborative design and construction: An empirical study in China. International Journal of Project Management, 35(4), pp.686–698.

Maylor, H. 2019. Project Management. 4th ed. London; New York: Financial

Times/Prentice Hall.

Project Manager. 2022. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): The Ultimate Guide (with

Examples). [online] ProjectManager. Available at: https://www.projectmanager.com/guides/work-breakdown-structure.

Tinnirello, P. 2021. Project management. 1st ed. Boca Raton: Auerbach.

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