ConstructionRecruitments

Quality control and Construction Safety

2011-09-17T03:39:00.001-07:00

Quality control and Construction Safety represent increasingly important concerns for project managers.

Weak quality control leads to defects or failures in constructed facilities, thus result in very large costs. Even with minor defects, re-construction may be required and facility operations impaired. Increased costs and delays are the result. In the worst case, failures may cause personal injuries or fatalities. Accidents during the construction process can similarly result in personal injuries and large costs. Indirect costs of insurance, inspection and regulation are increasing rapidly due to these increased direct costs. Good project managers try to ensure that the job is done right the first time and that no major accidents occur on the project.

As with cost control, the most important decisions regarding the quality of a completed facility are made during the design and planning stages rather than during construction. It is during these preliminary stages that component configurations, material specifications and functional performance are decided. Quality control during construction consists largely of insuring conformance to these original design and planning decisions.

While conformance to existing design decisions is the primary focus of quality control, there are exceptions to this rule. First, unforeseen circumstances, incorrect design decisions or changes desired by an owner in the facility function may require re-evaluation of design decisions during the course of construction. While these changes may be motivated by the concern for quality, they represent occasions for re-design with all the attendant objectives and constraints. As a second case, some designs rely upon informed and appropriate decision making during the construction process itself. For example, some tunneling methods make decisions about the amount of shoring required at different locations based upon observation of soil conditions during the tunneling process. Since such decisions are based on better information concerning actual site conditions, the facility design may be more cost effective as a result.

With the attention to conformance as the measure of quality during the construction process, the specification of quality requirements in the design and contract documentation becomes extremely important. Quality requirements should be clear and verifiable, so that all parties in the project can understand the requirements for conformance. Much of the discussion in this chapter relates to the development and the implications of different quality requirements for construction as well as the issues associated with insuring conformance.

Safety during the construction project is also influenced in large part by decisions made during the planning and design process. Some designs or construction plans are inherently difficult and dangerous to implement, whereas other, comparable plans may considerably reduce the possibility of accidents. For example, clear separation of traffic from construction zones during roadway rehabilitation can greatly reduce the possibility of accidental collisions. Beyond these design decisions, safety largely depends upon education, vigilance and cooperation during the construction process. Workers should be constantly alert to the possibilities of accidents and avoid taken unnecessary risks.

ConstructionRecruitments: What is Project Management?

2011-09-09T23:20:00.001-07:00

ConstructionRecruitments: What is Project Management?: C onstruction projects management requires knowledge of modern management as well as an understanding of the design and construction proce...

ConstructionRecruitments: Construction & Infrastructure's job on One Click

2011-09-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

ConstructionRecruitments: Construction & Infrastructure's job on One Click: www.ConstructionRecruitments.com . the job portal dedicated to Construction, Infrastructure, and Engineering and Architectural industry .o...

What is Project Management?

2011-09-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Construction projects management requires knowledge of modern management as well as an understanding of the design and construction process. Construction projects have a specific set of objectives and constraints such as a required time frame for completion. While the relevant technology, institutional arrangements or processes will differ, the management of such projects has much in common with the management of similar types of projects in other specialty or technology domains such as aerospace, pharmaceutical and energy developments.

Generally, project management is distinguished from the general management of corporations by the mission-oriented nature of a project. A project organization will generally be terminated when the mission is accomplished. According to the Project Management Institute, the discipline of project management can be defined as follows:

Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction.

By contrast, the general management of business and industrial corporations assumes a broader outlook with greater continuity of operations. Nevertheless, there are sufficient similarities as well as differences between the two so that modern management techniques developed for general management may be adapted for project management.

The basic ingredients for a project management framework may be represented schematically in Figure 2-1. A working knowledge of general management and familiarity with the special knowledge domain related to the project are indispensable. Supporting disciplines such as computer science and decision science may also play an important role. In fact, modern management practices and various special knowledge domains have absorbed various techniques or tools which were once identified only with the supporting disciplines. For example, computer-based information systems and decision support systems are now common-place tools for general management. Similarly, many operations research techniques such as linear programming and network analysis are now widely used in many knowledge or application domains.

Specifically, project management in construction encompasses a set of objectives which may be accomplished by implementing a series of operations subject to resource constraints. There are potential conflicts between the stated objectives with regard to scope, cost, time and quality, and the constraints imposed on human material and financial resources. These conflicts should be resolved at the onset of a project by making the necessary tradeoffs or creating new alternatives. Subsequently, the functions of project management for construction generally include the following:

1. Specification of project objectives and plans including delineation of scope, budgeting, scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants.
2. Maximization of efficient resource utilization through procurement of labor, materials and equipment according to the prescribed schedule and plan.
3. Implementation of various operations through proper coordination and control of planning, design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.
4. Development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts among the various participants.

The Project Management Institute focuses on nine distinct areas requiring project manager knowledge and attention:

1. Project integration management to ensure that the various project elements are effectively coordinated.
2. Project scope management to ensure that all the work required (and only the required work) is included.
3. Project time management to provide an effective project schedule.
4. Project cost management to identify needed resources and maintain budget control.
5. Project quality management to ensure functional requirements are met.
6. Project human resource management to development and effectively employ project personnel.
7. Project communications management to ensure effective internal and external communications.
8. Project risk management to analyze and mitigate potential risks.
9. Project procurement management to obtain necessary resources from external sources.

Topmost Interview Questions in Construction & Infrastructure Industry

2011-08-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

One category includes questions which are intended to show the interviewer how you work, and what kind of working conditions you enjoy. Some examples of these kinds of job interview questions include:

“How well do you work with a team?”

“How do you deal with conflict in construction job sites?”

“What are you looking for from a construction job?”

“What are your long range career goals?”

“Tell us about a difficult situation in your last job in a construction project and how you deal with it.” “What kind of hours/salary/benefits do you look for in a job?”

Most employers also want to see how much you know about them. Read up on the companies you interview with so that you can answer questions about what the company does, people on the staff, and what you want to do with that company. You should also impress your interviewer with your desire for the position; if you are applying for other positions, try to minimize this fact, focusing on why working for the interviewer’s company is your goal.

Finally, one of the most common construction job interview questions is “Do you have any questions for me?” This question is not an invitation to haggle about salary, benefits, or working hours, but it is a chance to impress the interviewer with your interest in the position. You could make yourself memorable by asking a distinctive question, or you could pose a question about the direction of the company’s future or goals.

Construction & Infrastructure's job on One Click

2011-08-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

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