Factors for Achieving Project Success in Construction Management

This report delves into the critical aspects of achieving project success within the realm of construction management. It begins by defining project management and then uses the Sidney Myer Music Bowl refurbishment project in Melbourne, Australia, as a detailed case study to illustrate key concepts. The report identifies criteria for project success, including cost, time, quality, stakeholder satisfaction, and the preservation of heritage value. It further explores the methods employed to ensure project success, such as establishing clear communication channels, creating flexible project plans, and encouraging proactive problem-solving. The analysis highlights the significance of these factors in delivering a valuable and successful construction project, emphasizing the importance of well-defined strategies and the ability to adapt to challenges. The report underscores the need for a holistic approach that considers the diverse needs of stakeholders and the complexities of construction projects, making it a valuable resource for students and professionals alike.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE
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Table of Contents
Topic: “How to achieve Project Success in construction project management”.............................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Construction project management case study.............................................................................3
Criteria for defining project success...........................................................................................4
Methods to achieve project success............................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Topic: “How to achieve Project Success in construction project management”.
Introduction
Project management involves managing all activities that are related to a project from
initiation phase to closure phase of its life cycle (Dykstra, 2018). This essay pertains to explore
factors, criteria and methods that help in achieving success in construction project management
case study. Construction project of Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Kings Domain, Melbourne has
been taken to study under this essay.
Main Body
Construction project management case study
Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne,
Australia. It was originally opened in 1959 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as it is
one of the survivor from the postwar period of Melbourne architecture. With time, the structure
developed functional deficiencies and required significant restoration to make it adequate to
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Illustration 1: Map of Sidney Myer Music Bowl, 2021
Source: Case study document

support performances. This case study is about upgrade of the structure which involved change
to sightlines and grassy berm (Case study: Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Kings Domain, Melbourne,
2020). It also involved upgrading facilities related to the behind the stage production, catering
area, green room area, technologically advanced theatre stage infrastructure, hire-out function
spaces, commercially supportive facilities and a cafe. Biggest challenge in this refurbishment
drive was to respect and retain heritage value that was associated with the original structure and
at the same time, rejuvenate it according to the taste of today's cultural life of Melbourne.
Therefore, refurbishment work was taken as extension of the original rather than giving it a new
structure. Fabric was restored and reconstructed. Damaged canopy was replaced with a new
cladding system.
All this was done using construction management that offered the project a flexible
procurement method. Under, construction management, role of traditional builder is replaced
with a construction management organisation (Schaufelberger and Holm, 2017). Hooker
Cockram was the construction management organisation for this project and Major Projects
Victoria was design champion. One of the biggest constraint in the delivery of this project is of
time i.e. the refurbishment work was to be done in such a way that no key annual events is
impacted. One such highlighted event is organised by Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind's
Carols by Candlelight. Other constraints in the project included change in government or
government policies halfway the project is through. There can be unexpected change required for
patron sightlines for the stage area or unforeseen industrial challenges that are beyond the control
of client or construction management organisation.
Criteria for defining project success
Project success criteria usually refers to those measurable terms which is measured
according to the expectation of the end user, client and other stakeholders. Construction projects
usually adopt waterfall methodology i.e. they have pre-planned and structured planned activities.
Construction projects involves huge budgets and have a comparatively longer time-line.
Managing these two components heavily define project success in a construction contract along
with criteria of quality (Basir and et. al., 2018). Other than these three criteria, there are other
criteria as well that defines success of a construction project. These include safety, impact on
environment, profitability, performance, client's satisfaction, etc. which are part of the project
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scope. In other words, project success is taken for three key factors which are triple constraints
(The Iron Triangle of Cost + Scope + Time), realised benefits and stakeholder satisfaction.
In the construction project case study referred in the essay, project was managed by a
construction management organisation. A construction management organisation is only
responsible for the work that has been provided to them by clients and are related to the
construction phase only. This means that in the in the project life cycle, initiation phase is to be
done by client who wants to get the construction project done and then experts are hired to plan
the process and then execute the process. These construction managers usually have expertise in
both management as well as building and has a contract with the clients so as to provide
management services only. Project team had to get the work completed but the biggest thing was
that there was no direct involvement of project management team and construction manager in
the payment of trade contractors as that was directly handled by client i.e. government in this
case study. It gave two way targets that since, construction team was not involved in payment, it
was responsible for budget control as well as working in co-operation and co-ordination with
architecture firm so that no lag happens in the project planning and execution phase (Larsson,
Eriksson and Pesämaa, 2018).
Sidney Myer Music Bowl was upgraded as a joint project between Melbourne
government and Sidney Myer Charitable Trust. It was very important for them to get the project
ready on time so that its annual events were not disturbed. Also since, it was a pubic property,
cost management was another important criteria to judge the project success. Its profitability
was not expected to be compromised because of refurbishment. Most important criteria for
defining the project success for both the stakeholders, other than cost and time was retention of
its heritage value even after renovation (Mavi and Standing, 2018). They were looking to have
same old foundation but the new infrastructure was expected to be resilient of all the
geographical as well as technological challenges that future would through at it. This was
covered in the quality aspect as well as client's satisfaction concept. It is an outdoor performance
venue and therefore, it was important to undertake environmental impact assessment of the
project not just for project duration but also for its post-effect.
Methods to achieve project success
In order to deliver a valuable project, success criteria should be well defined. Success
criteria for the undertaken case study has already been specified. In order to make sure that
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project is a success, project team or construction management team in the case study shall create
clear and concise strategies. First strategy that is very important to establish project plan is to
create a clear flow of communication for communication is very important at any step.
Construction project have huge timeline and involves lots of cost which would waste funds, if
anything goes wrong in the business (Zuo and et. al., 2018). Therefore, it is very important for
project team to establish flow of communication not just with the project team but also with
other stakeholders like suppliers. Transparency in such dealings will reduce the chances of
conflict which will indirectly impact the time, cost and quality in the scope management of the
project. In the Bowl project, construction manager is an entity which is between trade suppliers,
client and trade contractors and the services were evenly specified. This clear command of
communication made it easy to cooperate and complete the work within stipulated time period.
Next is to continuously plan i.e. project management must make a flexible project plan in the
beginning and it must be revised according to the stages the construction project is as well as the
situation are in the market. In the Bowl project, project plan was divided into various stages
according to the responsibility of various teams, maintaining and managing which was the job
assigned to the construction management team. They played their part effectively and created a
dynamic work plan. This helped them align their actual performance with the targeted and
expected performance in order to complete the project under original time-frame and budget.
Another method to ensure success is to observe and raise questions as only when questions are
raised, solutions are tried to identify. These questions can be related to either workflow,
communication and command chain, team-work, or budget, performance, supplier conditions,
etc. However, it needs to understand that such questions can lead to friction and conflicts and
thus, should be arranged in moderation (Karimi and et. al., 2018). Construction manager of the
Bowl first made sure that team is completed acquainted with the construction project as well as
the related factors. Then, they were asked to perform and do brainstorming on job so that they
can identify the measure that can improve their own efficiency and complete the project with a
better performance than what client was expecting. In summary, it can be said that they
performed a wonderful job and therefore, this project was touted in not just project time and cost
planning but also in its quality management, risk management and other elements in scope
management.
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Conclusion
Above essay discusses about managing the construction project and determining factors
that ensure that project turns out success. A case study on refurbishment of a heritage property
according to latest technology has been taken as context. It is a successful project and it was
observed in the essay that there are various factors that impact success of the project such as
time, cost, quality, scope, performance, client's expectations, etc. In order to achieve success, it is
very important that first of all priorities be established as to what makes a project success for
public, project management team as well as client. It was also established that once the priorities
are decided, project team and managers must adopt various methodologies and techniques as
discussed in the essay to ensure that project turns out to be success.
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References
Books and Journal
Basir, W. N. F. and et. al., 2018. Integration of GIS and BIM techniques in construction project
management-A review. ISPRS-International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote
Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 4249, pp.307-316.
Dykstra, A., 2018. Construction project management: A complete introduction. Kirshner
Publishing Company.
Karimi, H. and et. al., 2018. Impact of skilled labor availability on construction project cost
performance. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(7),
p.04018057.
Larsson, J., Eriksson, P. E. and Pesämaa, O., 2018. The importance of hard project management
and team motivation for construction project performance. International Journal of
Managing Projects in Business.
Mavi, R. K. and Standing, C., 2018. Critical success factors of sustainable project management
in construction: A fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP approach. Journal of cleaner
production, 194, pp.751-765.
Schaufelberger, J. E. and Holm, L., 2017. Management of construction projects: a constructor's
perspective. Taylor & Francis.
Zuo, J. and et. al., 2018. Soft skills of construction project management professionals and project
success factors. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.
Online
Case study: Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Kings Domain, Melbourne. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.ovga.vic.gov.au/construction-managment-case-study>
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