Report on Contract and Procurement Management for Building Project

This report analyzes procurement and contract management within the context of a Torrens University campus accommodation building project. It details the roles and responsibilities of project and procurement managers, highlighting project complexities such as site constraints, budget limitations, and communication barriers. The report explores controversial aspects impacting stakeholders, including the university, project manager, contractors, the project team, and students, and the associated risks. It addresses leadership challenges, such as setting clear goals and communication, and suggests actions for sustainability. The report identifies common themes for improving future project management, including effective communication, leadership skills, and performance benchmarks. It emphasizes the importance of completion documentation, project closure, and lessons learned for future engagements, covering project management methodologies and skills gained.

CONTRACTS AND
PROCUREMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Roles and Responsibilities of project Manager and procurement manager.................................1
Complexities of project and challenges faced over life cycle of project. ...................................2
Controversial aspects or significant issues related to project stakeholders and result in
significant risks to contracting parties. .......................................................................................3
Leadership challenges with project execution and importance of completion efforts to meet
needs of stakeholders...................................................................................................................3
Possible actions and implementation of actions for sustainability..............................................4
Common themes and learnings for improving future project management ...............................5
Aspects related to project management practice and changes required ......................................5
Importance of completion documentation, project closure and lesson learnt..............................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Procurement contract refers to written agreement between the seller and buyer where
buyer agrees to buy goods or services from seller in the exchange for payment transactions.
Depending on items included in procurement list, individuals have to select specific type of
procurement contract. The contract normally awards services which imply the manpower or
assistance other than purchase of goods. Present report is based on Torrens University which is
planning to build campus accommodation building for students on Martin Street, Fortitude
Valley. Report will include roles and responsibilities of the project manager and the procurement
manager, complexities and challenges of contract, leadership challenges with execution actions
and implementation of those actions, to understand the common themes, ensuring project and
bringing out aspects related to the project management.
Roles and Responsibilities of project Manager and procurement manager
Project Manager
It has to ensure that customers are satisfied with work scope, the project is completed
timely in quality manner and within budget. Project manager has following roles and
responsibilities
Planning: It includes preparing work for team, to estimate costs, to develop deliverable schedule,
following project to supervise and handle tasks and reviewing project that it is going correctly
(Harold, 2021).
Hire, fire & Supervise: It involves recruitment of required human resources and to supervise
them through the project.
Setting Goals: Project manager has to set goals and objectives to be achieved and ensure its
compliance
On time: PM requires to complete the project and related tasks within given time constraints.
Staying on budget: PM has to keep costs and budget in mind while planning project and to make
proper estimates (Demirkesen and Ozorhon, 2017).
Drafting contracts: It involves entering into legal contracts with architects, suppliers, contracts
and third parties.
Managing risks: It is an important role to be complied as there are number of risks that are
required to be managed.
Procurement Manager
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It is logistics and supply chain professional specialised in making cost effective purchases
of the raw materials and other services required by the project ensuring quality.
Roles and Responsibilities
 Creating and implementing the regional procurement strategies which are cost effective,
innovative and incorporating growing challenges and complexities within industry
 Comparing prices and the specifications
 Negotiating with vendors for cost reduction
 Reviewing contract specifications for company
 Managing systems of procurement and logistics
 Managing the inventory and ensuring process optimisation.
Complexities of project and challenges faced over life cycle of project.
Complexities and challenges of the project
The building has to be constructed with 12 stories from ground floor which is complex task and
requires highly experienced and professional architects and contractors (Armenia and et.al.,
2019).
Site is underutilised commercial Wilson Car Park facility old building which needs to be
collapsed for construction of new building and it will take considerable time to fall the building
and remove the waste.
The site is situated near entertainment precinct which will be cause issues related to
transportation as it is difficult to make construction of such building is such crowded place.
Traffic in the Martin Street s high and it is busy route due to access to southern suburbs and
Storey Bridge.
The project needs to be completed within 42 months which is low and will lay pressure on the
architects. This may cause the project to suffer the quality or may increase the cost (Kivilä,
Martinsuo and Vuorinen, 2017).
There is limited budget of 35 million for the project which is considerably low for the location.
Project manager has to ensure all the unnecessary costs are eliminated for completing it within
given budget which is big challenge.
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There are communication barriers between the Project manager as all costs and expenditures
needs to be passed by the Sydney Head Office through documents which is time consuming
process.
Controversial aspects or significant issues related to project stakeholders and result in significant
risks to contracting parties.
There are issues and controversial aspects associated with every project stakeholders
As it is construction projects there are various stakeholders associated to the project (Müller,
Drouin and Sankaran, 2019).
University – If project is not completed within the stipulated time period than it will lead to
increased costs for the university and also will affect the image of college. Project failure will
lead to loss of money as it involves significant investment.
Project Manager – Project manager has to complete constructed within given time constraint
with better quality else it will affect the professional reputation and this will not allow to get
future contracts.
Project Contractor - Key stakeholder of the project as it takes the responsibility of completing
project with quality. Project failure will affect contractor and reputation as it reflects efficiency
of contractor to complete project within given time and resources.
Project Team – The team will earn the wages and remuneration from the project and they will
not get wages if the costs goes beyond the specified budgeted limit (Papke-Shields and Boyer-
Wright, 2017).
Students - They are the key stakeholders associated with the projects as they are the main
beneficiaries from project. If the project is failed than around 200 students will have to search for
new accommodation
Leadership challenges with project execution and importance of completion efforts to meet needs
of stakeholders
Despite of having number of project management tools and resources there are various
leadership challenges faced in execution of projects. Some leadership challenges with execution
Setting clear goals and the success criteria is very essential for the leaders to be followed by
project team.
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Lack of communication is other leadership challenge in the project execution as without
effective communication channel there are more possibilities of misunderstandings that will lead
to delay in projects which will affect the stakeholders (Picciotto, 2020).
Project manager also face budgeting issues in execution of projects as it needs to be completed in
given budget time frame. It is important to be completed in given budget as it will increase costs
to project stakeholders.
Inadequate delegation of duties affects the project execution as work will not be completed in
given manner. which shows ineffective leadership.
Lack of accountability means the project manager is not receiving the complete details of the
project. If project team does not reports about progress and other details of project it will be hard
to determine further steps and actions to be taken.
It is important for the project manager to ensure that sufficient efforts are put for completion for
the projects on time as number of stakeholder interest is connected with it. Leaders strive for
completing projects within given budget so that they are left with adequate profits.
Possible actions and implementation of actions for sustainability
It is essential for project manager to undertake certain actions that will improve the outcomes of
the projects
Monitoring: Project manager has to closely monitor the activities to ensure that the process and
activities are being carried out in appropriate manner. It helps to keep watch on the employees
and project team so that efficient efforts are put to work (Radujković and Sjekavica, 2017).
Controlling: This is essential for the manager to implement effective controls in the project at
different stages where process is verified at different stages for quality and progress. It also
ensures that set targets are achieved within given time frames by the team. It also leads to
effective utilisation of the resources that is important for completing project within given time
frame.
Delegation of authorities: It is not possible for the project manager as alone to carry out all
activities. It should delegate responsibilities to team members depending on their skills and
abilities to derive optimum output and achieving the given targets. This will help the manager in
timely completion of the project.
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Teamwork and coordination: Successful completion of project is possible if there is coordination
and team work (Silvius, 2017). Leaders play an effective role in creating coordination between
the employees establishing common targets to be achieved.
Common themes and learnings for improving future project management
The project has provided common areas of learning that could be applied in all the future
projects to improve the effectiveness. The common areas for project improvement are
Effective communication channel
Communication is very essential in every stage of project. Clarity of communication is important
as it could affect the project success and cause several issues. There must be proper channel
through which team members and managers could interact about different issues and project
related information.
Leadership skills
The project is lead by project managers who plans and executes the process to be followed by the
whole team. Leaders must have adequate professional experience and knowledge to create
project plans and process that will be most beneficial for the company. Leaders should establish
adequate values and objectives to be achieved by team (Vera Alvarez and et.al., 2021).
Performance Benchmarks
It refers to tools that involve completion of the projects on timely basis by establishing the
benchmarks to be achieved by the team members. It Involves setting targets based on standards
for employees so that they are accomplished within given resources.
Aspects related to project management practice and changes required
The most important aspect of project management practice is to deliver the business
values to customers. In the context of current project, to construct 12 story building in Brisbane
by complying all the necessary stages will help to deliver the right project to the customers. In
this, vendor negotiation and management should also focused because it might affect the entire
project in opposite manner. Therefore, if any changes will be performed during project, it is the
responsibility of project manager to communicate the same to all team members in order to
deliver the project in right manner. In addition to this, SMART objectives, clear deliverables are
deadlines are also considered another key aspects which project manager should focused. As a
result it helps to meet the defined project in time by identified the business values as well. In the
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context of present case, different contract has been signed and that is why, project manager
should ensured that if any changes will perform then make sure to deliver the same on time.
Importance of completion documentation, project closure and lesson learnt
It is necessary for the project manager to ensure that all documents are completed
properly because it assist to make sure that project requirement are fulfilled and establish
traceability related to which task is pending and what has been done. Whereas, project closure
assist to avoid unfavourable and adverse scenarios (Wu and et.al., 2021). Also, it assist to make
sure that objectives being met or not. Along with this through project closure, project
management improve future engagements by analysing the risk. In this phase, Project manager
also ask for honest feedback that assist to analyse the loopholes which will be improved in
future.
Apart from this, throughout the project, I learn different project management
methodologies which can be used as per the projects. Also, I improve my Information and
communication technology skills by working on this project. With the help of this project, I learn
that there are five main phases through which project is performed and as we are working in a
group that assist me to enhance my communication skill. It is so because lack of open
communication leads to generate wrong results and that is why, working in a team required such
skill in order to deliver the project effectively. Along with this, I also raise my analytical skills,
such that I am able to make decision and identify the pattern of a project so that I deliver he
project on time.
CONCLUSION
By summing up above it has been concluded that to meet the deadline of project, it is
essential to comply all five phase of project management. As study reflected that there are some
challenges faced by project manager with regards to leadership challenge that cause opposite
impact upon project. Moreover, the study also concluded that project manager should keep
monitor all task in order to improve sustainable outcomes. Also, it has been critically evaluated
that by identifying the themes, group improve their analytical as well as communication skills.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armenia, S., Dangelico, R. M., Nonino, F., & Pompei, A. (2019). Sustainable project
management: A conceptualization-oriented review and a framework proposal for future
studies. Sustainability. 11(9). 2664.
Demirkesen, S. & Ozorhon, B. (2017). Impact of integration management on construction
project management performance. International Journal of Project Management.35(8).
pp.1639-1654.
Harold, K. (2021). Project management: case studies. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M., & Vuorinen, L. (2017). Sustainable project management through
project control in infrastructure projects. International Journal of Project
Management.35(6). 1167-1183.
Müller, R., Drouin, N., & Sankaran, S. (2019). Modeling organizational project
management. Project Management Journal.50(4). 499-513.
Papke-Shields, K. E., & Boyer-Wright, K. M. (2017). Strategic planning characteristics applied
to project management. International Journal of Project Management.35(2). 169-179.
Picciotto, R. (2020). Towards a ‘New Project Management’movement? An international
development perspective. International Journal of Project Management.38(8). 474-485.
Radujković, M., & Sjekavica, M. (2017). Project management success factors. Procedia
engineering.196. 607-615.
Silvius, G. (2017). Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Journal of
Cleaner Production.166. 1479-1493.
Vera Alvarez, R., Pongor, L., Mariño-Ramírez, L., & Landsman, D. (2021). PM4NGS, a project
management framework for next-generation sequencing data analysis. GigaScience.10(1).
giaa141.
Wu, C., Wu, P., Wang, J., Jiang, R., Chen, M., & Wang, X. (2021). Ontological knowledge base
for concrete bridge rehabilitation project management. Automation in Construction.121.
103428.
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