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Construction project management is a system of managing and organizing resources and using this knowledge to efficiently oversee a construction project to completion, keeping within a pre-designed ideal, cost, and quality boundaries. Each project is an entity that is a temporary undertaking which will create and address a product or service that will bring about change or add value to a company, or individual. This job demands organizational and leadership skills to assure everything will run smoothly.
The first challenge of construction project management is to see that the project is finished by the date it is due. The second challenge is the gathering and proper use of information needed to correctly move the project along according to the designed objectives. A project is a pre-defined string of activities with the use of people, money, energy, materials, provisions, risk, communication, etc. to reach the defined objectives. Project management can be developed in any field, construction, defense and engineering. Henry Gantt, is responsible for the development of project management in the United States. He was widely known for use of the Bar Chart as a project management tool, his association with Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theories of scientific management, and his study of the management and workings of Naval ship building. His work opened the doors to the creation of many project management tools. The project management era began in the 1950’s. Before this, projects were managed mostly with the use of Gantt Charts and informal tools and techniques. There were two project scheduling models at that time, Program Evaluation and Review Technique, developed by the United States Navy, in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation Polaris missile submarine program. Also the Critical Path Method developed in a joint venture by the Remington Rand Corporation and the Dupont Corporation, for the management of plant maintenance projects. These techniques moved fast into private enterprise. By 1969, the Project Management Institute was formed to address the needs of the project management industry. This opened the floodgates to the development of better software applications for construction project management, among others. Construction project management is using knowledge, techniques, tools, and skills to apply activities toward the completion of a project. It is the control, monitoring, and planning of all areas of a project and the dedication of those involved to achieve pre-designed objectives within a specified budget, in a certain time, with attention paid to quality and performance. |
