Retaining Wall Project: Cost Estimation and Schedule with CoConstruct

This document presents a comprehensive analysis of a retaining wall construction project, focusing on cost estimation, scheduling, and project management using CoConstruct software. It details the various stages of construction, from initial design approval to project completion and handover. Key issues addressed include bid acceptance and withdrawal periods, contract agreements, time extensions, and potential damages. The project emphasizes the importance of adhering to Construction Management Standards of Practice (CMAA) and highlights the significance of accurate progress reporting and cost control. Furthermore, it addresses safety concerns and productivity measurement within the construction environment, referencing the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The analysis also includes a brief evaluation of CoConstruct software, suggesting improvements for enhanced user experience and accessibility. This project provides a holistic view of construction management principles and their practical application in a real-world scenario, emphasizing the role of effective coordination and communication in ensuring successful project delivery.

Construction Management
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Institutional Affiliation
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Introduction
The earth is a dynamic planet with various changes day in day
out. One of the industries with rapid growth in the construction industry.
It has grown from a construction of simple structures to multibillion
infrastructural projects such as airports, electric trains, highways,
bridges, schools and hospitals. These projects require professional and
specialized personnel in construction management to oversee that
everything goes well from scratch to completion. Therefore, construction
management is an integral part of any project.
According to (Sears and Keoki 2015), construction management
is defined as a profession that specializes in overseeing design, pre-
construction, procurement, construction, and owner occupancy of a
project. Construction is the largest industry in the US in terms of product
based on a project order of $700 billion yearly. The profession is wide
with various steps that see the construction of a building from scratch to
completion.

The steps are as follows; identification of the project by the owner,
feasibility study and cost estimation, consent to proceed with the design
and retain the approved design. The other general steps include making a
final decision to precede with the approved design formats and advertise
the project. After the advertisement, the proposals are received and
approved where a contract is signed. The project is initiated after the
parties sign the contract. It is then completed and the building is handed
to the owner. If the project is complex, a series of testing is run for a
certain period of time to confirm if the facility is working in accordance
with the building design. If the facility operates well, it is maintained and
handed over to the client (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017).

There are different types of construction. They include environmental,
agricultural, industrial, institutional, commercial, heavy civil and
residential construction. Each type requires a specialized approach when
managing. An example is between an institution and an industry. The
materials used and personnel used in constructing an industry is different
from a school. An industry may require a specialized workforce but a
school may require general workforce in construction (Sears and Keoki
2015).

During construction of a project, a lot of things happen. The issues
arising in the project are supposed to be tackled in a manner that
conforms to Construction Management Standards of Practice (CMAA).
Some of the issues include timing period/ withdrawal, the award of
contracts/ green light to proceed, contract agreement, time extension,
changed order, change condition, value engineering, delay or
interruption. Other issues may include damages, payments, progress
report and final payment (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017). The stated
issues are discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

The first issue is the acceptance and withdrawal period. In any
construction activity timing of any event is vital. Once the design has
been approved by concerned parties, bids are advertised. The bid box is
placed in a central area where all bidders can drop their bids. After the
bidding period, no one is allowed to drop their bids. Prior to the opening
of bids, the bidders can correct their bids without any penalty. They can
also withdraw their bids without any fee. According to (Halpin, Lucko
and Senior 2017), the law requires the bidders to sign a contract with the
contractors. Once the bids are opened the contractor has an acceptance
period of 60-90 days of going through and approving the selected bid.

The next step is the awarding of tender and giving green light to
proceed (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017). The contractor sends a letter
to the winning bidder indicating the consummating date. This date serves
as a legal notice of the beginning of a project. The condition of the
contract can stipulate work to commence on a specific date like after 10
days. The date also acts as a reference to the day of commencing work.
According to Construction Management Standards of Practice, the
construction period should not be more than one thousand and fifty
(1050) calendar days from the day that the notice to proceed was given.

The next issue is agreeing on the contract. A contractor may be given the
notice to proceed. However, a contract agreement must be reached and
signed by both parties. In the legal world, the contract document binds
all the parties and stipulates the kind of work to be performed. The
document bears the drawings of the project, the general conditions of
work, supplementary conditions of that period, technicalities of the
project and any other change that may arise in the period of construction.
Like the bidding process, the contract agreement can be downloaded on
the internet. The agreement must conform to the Construction
Management Standards of practice (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017).

Liquidity damages may also happen in the due process of
construction. After a construction project has commenced, there is a
stipulated time that the contractor is supposed to finish the work. After
the time elapses, the owner might incur expenses that were not foreseen
in the bidding process. An example is that an owner might project the
handing over of a commercial period of a building to be September 1st.
The contractor may hand over the building on the 15th day of the month.
The owner might have projected to collect income of $500 million in
that month. Therefore, he may be forced to charge the contractor the
expense he incurred each day. Another case is of a contractor is given the
contract of constructing a stadium to be used by the world during the
world cup. If the contractor delays the project, a country may be denied
the rights to host the event. A country can charge the contractor the loss
incurred by the loss of world cup. Construction Management of Practice
states that in case the contractor fails to complete work after a specified
period of time, even after time extension, the contractor will pay the
owner a sum of $3000 for each calendar day until the remaining work is
completed (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017).

Another key and fundamental part of the construction is the progress
report. A contractor is supposed to present reports after agreed certain
period of time. According to (Halpin, Lucko and Senior 2017), the
period may be weekly, quarterly or annually. The report may be done in
form of charts. These charts indicate the progress and any delay in the
project will be shown by the trends in the charts. The report may be
submitted manually, electronically or through the post office.

Any engineering drawing designed by an engineer is passed based on
the current state of the site of a project. The elements of mechanical and
electrical of a project are designed on the systems that are above the
ground. However, natural calamities like wind and floods may affect the
topography of a project. On the structure of the building, the conditions
of coming up with the design must be highly predictable (Halpin, Lucko
and Senior 2017). If the contractor does not investigate thoroughly the
condition surrounding a project, he might require extra resources to deal
with the condition. An example is a river may be flowing underground. If
not noted from the onset, the contractor may be forced to incur extra
expenses in building coffers to divert the river. The contractor may then
agree with the owner to use reinforced concrete as a method of
construction to contain the river. Once contained, the construction
process can continue.

Like any other industry, the construction industry spends a
significant amount of money before and even after construction. These
expenses may be incurred through payment to a contractor for labor,
provision of services like consultancy, types of equipment, materials and
contractor's profits. These costs do not include engineers, land, and
architecture designs payments. Construction cost may be determined
through cost estimation. Estimation is used as a base to gauge the price
of something like land. Another fundamental issue in construction is cost
control. The owner's wish is to always get the lowest cost of something
of the highest quality. Anyone undertaking a project is supposed to
minimize everything including materials and use of machinery (Halpin,
Lucko and Senior 2017).

A good construction schedule minimizes cost and time used in a
project. The schedule outlines each activity to be done and the expected
time of completion. An effective construction schedule is developed in
the following order. Breaking down the project scope, duration of each
activity, setting up sequence relationship among activities and finding
out the time taken to complete a certain activity and the expected time if
there are changes in schedule. Most importantly is reviewing,
optimizing, communicating and updating the schedule (Harris, McCaffer
and Edum 2013).

Construction work is hazardous in nature and can affect people inside
and outside the project. The most common injuries in a constructional
site are falling objects, struck by objects and electrocution (Harris,
McCaffer and Edum 2013). This may have a negative impact in terms of
cost to the owner and reduced work morale to the other workers. The
United States has come up with a legal framework known as the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). This act stipulates that an
employer must create a good working environment for his employees
that is free from any hazard and is not likely to cause death or harm to
employees. Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of the employer to
provide a safe working environment. A good safety program should
encompass the following; safety training, frequent inspections on
hazards, regular briefings on safety and written documents of safety.

According to Jackson (2010), productivity is measured by the time
taken to complete a task. Productivity is determined by two things, labor
and machinery. Labor resource is the most variable and at times
unpredictable. It requires a lot of time and commitment by the managers.
If workers are well managed, paid on time and motivated, their
production increases tremendously. Heavy constructional machinery
increase capacity, reach and speed.
Co Construct is software that allows a user to set up a team,
schedule, estimate, bid and purchase orders of a project. The system
allows one to budget, track an account and change an order. It also saves
time and improves communication with clients. However, the developers
should bring more information on the dashboard to allow users to access
all the features easily. They also make software affordable by reducing
their purchase fees.

Conclusion
Construction management is the heart of the construction
industry that coordinates all activities in a project. A construction
manager ensures the main contractor; engineers, tradesmen and
subcontractors work in interterm to ensure that the project is delivered
on time and of the highest quality. Therefore construction management is
a force to reckon in the construction industry.

References
Halpin, D. W., Lucko, G., & Senior, B. A. (2017). Construction
management.
Sears, S. K. (2015). Construction project management: B a practical
guide to field construction management
Harris, F., McCaffer, R., & Edum-Fotwe, F. (2013). Modern construction
management. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Blackwell.
Jackson, B. J. (2010). Construction management jumpstart