Construction Project Information Management: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Construction information

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
LO1..............................................................................................................................................................4
P1.............................................................................................................................................................4
P2.............................................................................................................................................................5
LO2..............................................................................................................................................................7
P4.............................................................................................................................................................7
LO4..............................................................................................................................................................9
P7.............................................................................................................................................................9
P8...........................................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
Construction of a building involves a lot of steps. It is a complex process which can be divided
and accomplished in various steps and each phase involves a lot of participants including
project manager, client, contractor, workers, architect and engineer. The construction project
produces a lots of information during each phase of execution which has to be stored and used
effectively in order to complete the project on time and with accuracy. The information
generated can be in the form of cost generated, time schedule, risk assessment etc. During
each phase of the building construction the information will continue to grow. As the
participants involved in the construction project are related to each other. Although each of
them will have a separate work to do, but all these work will take place one after the other
only. Hence all the participants have to work in conjunction in order to bring the best out of the
project.
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LO1
P1
Construction projects are so complex and the volumes of data generated is huge. All the
information generated is important to construct the structure and to manage the project
effectively. The information is important to be managed efficiently, because the missing
information can be dangerous. Any error or poor information can be the reason of project
delays and bad economic decisions and may lead to the failure of project results. Some of the
time if the information is not carefully examined then project can be delayed and may take
some more days to complete about which the project manager and owner may not be even
aware of. On the other hand, if all the information is available within time, it will be efficiently
examined so that schedules can be modified and problems that might occur can be identified
beforehand. If problem lies with the suppliers than within time actions can be taken and
suppliers can also be rearranged. The project design and project management depends upon
how accurate the information is and if the information is timely processed or not. The
information should be timely managed also. The information should be presented to project
managers and team members in such a way that it doesn’t lead to any type of confusion and
inability of decision making. A lot of problems can arise in construction industry because of
incorrect information hence it is crucial to know how the information will be gathered and
recorded, also how this information will be used to plan the project.
It is found that construction work always has detailed reports of cost breakdown and the work
progress report. However, it is found that no project manager keeps the track of delay in work
and the reason behind it. But the reason of delay may be the reason of increased production
cost and decrease in productivity. Giving attention to the cost spent in such cases can also be
misguiding. Examining the cost simply may lead to incorrect solution to the problem.
Various errors may occur in project information like numerical values are always used in
precision. It is almost rare that actual values are known. Hence the project manager should
have the idea of uncertainty of various types of information present in the construction work.
Uncertainties in forecasting the cost and budget of a project may exist. Sometimes lack of
attention paid to the work, any incident or poor work quality can become the reason of project
delay, about which the project manager may not be aware of. The net project result is the
duration when whole project was completed including the inaccurate work.
Therefore, it is very crucial to identify and manager all the information related to the
construction of a building as the whole building plan will generate a lot of information which is
crucial to properly manage the project plan. In order to build the structure in time, all the
information needs to be managed properly including the financial, time and budgetary
information (Cmu, 2019)
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.
P2
There are various types of information that will be generated during the whole project phases.
As the project continues to grow, there are lots of information changes that occurs in an
organization. During construction work of a building the information that will be produced are
as follow:
 Flow of cost
 Production analysis of information during Planning and design phase
 Documents including construction drawing
 Construction specification
 Cost breakdown and budget estimation
 Work time schedules
 Field activity document and logs
 Contracts and legal documents
The information written above is generated as the project develops with time. For example, the
financial payment account of the project is the example of growth. As the time passes by the
new accounts are added and if a new contractor comes in, there occurs a sudden increase in
number of accounts.
Information is very useful in construction project such as planning and analyzing the structure
of data may not be used during early stages of project life cycle but as the project progresses
and comes to the later stages, it becomes crucial to do analysis of this information to apply
some changes. After the construction work is completed it is important for the company to
maintain historical records of work done by it. The historical records help in re-planning the
new projects and making changes in the project for betterment. Various errors may occur in
project information for example error may occur because numerical values are always used in
precision. It is almost rare that actual values are known. Hence the project manager should
have the idea of uncertainty of various types of information present in the construction work
(Cmu, 2019).
Construction Project includes creating of design deliverables and sharing the created design
deliverables which includes drawings of the construction structure and several diagrams, work
schedules, project specifications, safety and health related risk assessment is a very important
part of a building construction project. To make sure that all this information is managed as
efficiently as it can be possible, it is crucial to have the correct processes in place is
important. Using various project information management software, the design deliverables
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will enable the project manager to manage the classification and distribution of building
structure’s drawing, specifications, diagram and several other documentations.
Building contract documents create the expectations of all the project team members and
clients, therefore the legal documents should have to be stored and properly managed.
Because in case if a dispute occurs, these documents can be quickly reviewed and it may save a
lots of budget for the constructor team. For these type of information also, several project
information management software is present which can be used by the project manager in
order to manage the contract documents, including any change orders, final valuation of the
project and certificate of completion so that this can be used by the team whenever there is a
need of (Deltek, 2019).
Hence for the construction of the building, the contact information, design and drawing
documentation and cost schedule information has to be efficiently managed. Because of their
numerous advantages present during and after the completion of entire project. The
information will not only help to effectively manage and complete the project work, but also
can be proven to help during the future construction projects of the company
(Designingbuildings.co.uk, 2019).
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LO2
P4
Outline bill of quantities
The bill of quantities represents a document that is prepared by the quality surveyor that
identities the project related work material needed and their quantities. It is prepared after the
drawing and specification of project is prepared. The quantities can be represented in number,
rate etc. The bill of quantities is issued to the contractors in order to specify the price for
carrying out the construction work. it is the fair system of providing the tendering. The priced
quantity bill includes agreement of the contract with the contractor, it also provides final
account preparation etc. (Designingbuildings.co.uk, 2019).
S. NO. work Quantity Rate Total cost
1 Excavation by machine £ 29.56 £ 200
2 Excavation by hand £ 35.53 £ 100
3 Disposal on site by hand £ 23 £ 80
4 Disposal on site by
machines
£ 40.56 £ 100
5 Ground Filling £ 64 £ 100
6 Surface treatment £ 110 £ 300
7 Contractor’s cost and
management
£ 500 £ 1000
8 Providing Services and
facilities
£ 1000 £ 2500
9 Cement and concrete 90 bags each £ 55 £ 9900
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10 Glass panels 40 £ 80 £ 3200
11 Window panels 30 £ 40 £ 1200
12 Floor tiles 5500 £ 2 £ 11,000
13 Elevators 22 £ 200 £ 4400
14 doors 60 £ 50 £ 3000
15 Granular materials £ 20 £ 200
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LO4
P7
A construction project involves the production of construction products. A project can be said
as a whole activity of inception and occupation, which involves an agreed objective which is
panned together by specialist participants of the project and their relationships present. But as
these projects are always complex therefore, it is important to have large numbers of
participants who can carry out different work in order to perform functions which are related to
each other for example designing, costing, engineering, production and pricing. The participants
who are working on the project are indirectly also working with each other. Therefore,
motivation is the key to bring these participants together and manage them into separate
teams. Every participant should know all the conditions of the government, objectives, scope,
roles and responsibilities and parameters of the construction project. All these participants are
responsible for creating information into the project.
Project Participants
Due to the complex nature of construction projects, they are composed of several activities. It
includes the proposals made by the designers, suppliers, contractors and local authorities for
the construction work. There will always be a client, a designer including architect and
engineers, a construction team, authorities for gas, water and electricity setting in the building
and local authorities.
1. Client- The client is the most important part of whole construction process from the
beginning to the completion of the project. It is difficult to even think of starting a
project without a client. Clients are responsible for generating information like pre-
construction information, construction phase plan, health and safety file etc.
(Aisolutions, 2019).
2. Public sector client- The main public sector clients in the construction industry are
central government, who provide the rules and regulations for construction projects.
Local authorities, who provide the provision of housing etc. and many similar projects.
For hospital buildings there are some health authorities also.
3. Private sector client- There are some private companies also that build the structures
either for renting purposes, sale or for their occupations. The information generated will
be a controlled plan on the proposed development.
4. Architects- for the most important stage of building design, an architect produces the
designs including drawing and specifications. In the developing the design phase
architectural design should be integrated with the design of electrical and mechanical
engineers. The architect can also be said as a team leader of designing phase and the
design should be integrated with the design produced by other design team members.
Deliverables after designing phase-
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 Design of the building which will meet client’s requirement containing the
factors as technical and environmental feasibility, budget criteria and
 Assessment report of budget limit and time schedule, and specification report of
the type and quality of materials for building construction.
 Building contracts, pricing information.
5. Structural Engineer- a structural engineer is the second most important participant in
designing phase, as the engineer will advise the architect about the structural problems
including how stable is the structure, how suitable are the materials, how feasible is the
design proposed of the building etc.
6. Services engineer- the work related to electrical, plumbing, ventilating, heating,
sanitation, air conditioning, lifts and escalators etc. will be managed by the service
manager so that the overall design of the building meets the above mentioned criteria.
7. Quantity surveyor- he/she will be responsible to study the project plan so as to advice
the architects and engineers about whether the plan will meet the budget criteria or not
and if the project is going to exceed the budget criteria.
8. Contractor-
 Site investigation report including risks of various types.
 Contract specifying containing all the related information.
 Notifications to the architect about the information requirements.
 Delays notification to the construction workers (Ukessays, 2019)
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P8
During the whole building construction planning and design phase a lot of important data and
information will be generated, which needs to be effectively solved and managed by the project
members including the project manager, contractor, architect and engineers appointed. During
each phase of the building construction the information will continue to grow. As the
participants involved in the construction project are related to each other. Although each of
them will have a separate work to do, but all these work will take place one after the other
only. Hence all the participants have to work in conjunction in order to bring the best out of the
project. because of the complex nature of construction projects, it is divided into several
activities. The whole process includes the proposals made by the designers, suppliers,
contractors and local authorities for the construction work. There will always be a client, a
designer including architect and engineers, a construction team, authorities for gas, water and
electricity setting in the building and local authorities.
For example, first of all the client will specify the requirements needed for the project, which
will include the project specifications. Project aim, scope and goal has to be defined by the
project manager only on the project specifications provided by the client. The contractor will
examine the site first and accordingly will generate an assessment report which will the base
for the project initiation. After the assessment report, a brief document regarding the risk,
health and safety assessment report will be generated. once the contractor establish that the
project is feasible, then only the project can start executing.
The feasibility study will include the close examination of land condition and several constrains
related to land. This investigation includes survey of existing buildings, examining the statutory
utilities. The ground investigation will include examining the ground’s bearing capacity,
composition of soil both the chemical and mineral composition. After it the review of client’s
requirement and their effect on the site under examination will be generated.
The planning step after the feasibility study will depend on the reports generated during
feasibility study. Thereafter project manager can plan the schedule of project, team formation,
cost breakdown structure and work breakdown structure. After this project design brief will be
generated.
The information regarding the site and everything suggested by the contractor will lead to the
building designing phase. The designing phase will include the participation of the design
architect who will work in conjunction with the structural engineer and service engineer. The
design phase will generate the initial design proposed by the architect which will be then
combined with the structural engineer’s deign to make sure that the design follows and meet
the client’s requirements. The structural engineer is responsible to identify whether the project
is feasible enough and that the proposed design is meeting the client’s requirement or not.
Then comes the role of service engineer to provide a design consisting of various services that
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