This era of digitization has led to changes in a lot of industries. We are entering a new world where computers can produce everything. Digitization has made the process of concept-to-final built products faster. It has created multiple opportunities globally for companies spread out across the world. Digitization has improved the efficiency of work, and it also saves time. The need for digitization has increased since the initial stages of the COVID- 19 pandemic, increasing job opportunities in all fields. One such industry is the industry of construction management.
What is Construction Management?
Construction management can be defined as a professional service that oversees the planning, design, and construction of a project from start to finish using specific project management methodologies. Construction management aims to keep track of a project’s timeliness, cost, and quality. Sometimes it is referred to as a project management triangle or “triple constraints.” Design-bid-build, design-build, CM At-Risk, and public-private partnerships are all compatible project delivery systems for construction management. Professional construction managers may be reserved for capital projects, which are long-term, large-scale, and high-budget endeavors (commercial real estate, transportation infrastructure, industrial facilities, and military infrastructure).
The typical construction management responsibilities are:
- Defining project objectives and plans, including scope definition, budgeting, scheduling, performance requirements, and project participant selection.
- There is an increase in resource efficiency through labor, material, and equipment procurement.
- Throughout the process, there is coordination and control of numerous operations such as planning, design, estimating, contracting, and construction.
- Developing effective communication and conflict-resolution processes have become necessary.
- The process of construction management includes multiple stages, from obtaining the project to making business models for the same. The process depends on the type of construction, which can be agricultural, residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, heavy civil, or environmental. Since the steps remain the same for all, the amount of time taken varies on the scale of the project.
The need for Digital Construction Management
The fragmented structure of projects has hampered the construction industry’s development in terms of efficiency and productivity. Construction projects are loosely linked and have their life cycle, with little previous or future cooperation and learning. As a result, project design and plan reuse remain an underutilized source of performance enhancement. Furthermore, building work within particular projects is loosely tied, putting several projects at risk. The fragmented structure of the construction industry, on the one hand, and the operational practice of time-limited involvement of actors in task-specific labor, on the other, contribute to this loose coupling of tasks and participants from diverse domains. Each of these participants has their ideas on how to move the project ahead from one stage to the next.
Improvisations in the construction process are familiar, arising from unplanned, unanticipated circumstances. When something unexpected occurs, there isn’t enough time to secure more planning resources, which leads to improvisation. On the other hand, improvisations arise when particular jobs and task interfaces are purposefully left undesigned. Furthermore, due to their diverse experiences, the project’s players may perceive the designs differently, resulting in improvised alignment activities and outcomes that differ from the original goal.
When designs allow for interpretation, the individuals involved must have specialized abilities and make a concerted effort to interpret what has been intended appropriately. Even when human performance and improvisation are deemed suitable, reliance on expert and tacit knowledge frequently leads to future issues. So, the digital medium makes joining these fragments easier and gives room for improvisation in designs, keeping the time constraints in mind.
The Pros
Construction professionals now work in a highly competitive worldwide engineering and construction industry that necessitates a solid understanding of management, technology, finance, and commercial and legal principles. Talented managers, among other things, know how to avoid costly delays, maximize existing budgets, and keep a project’s scope under control. Digital construction is a political project addressing the construction industry’s low productivity. Using Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools, this endeavor aims to integrate procedures throughout the whole lifecycle of a construction project. The goal is for stakeholders to develop and utilize consistent digital information throughout their lifespan. To date, many projects have benefited from BIM systems in environmental planning, design and development, optimization, safety and code verification, and construction.
BIM systems have been suggested as a solution to overcome low productivity difficulties in such projects. In other words, the construction industry is under pressure to undergo a paradigm shift to improve productivity, efficiency, infrastructure value, quality, and sustainability, and reduce lifecycle costs, lead times, and duplications through effective collaboration and communication among stakeholders in construction projects. This study examines and discusses the current state of BIM implementation worldwide and its implications for the construction sector and best practice implementation standards.
Adaptation of digital medium may lead to increase in job opportunities and deadlines could be met easily, with improvisations in design. This medium gives the opportunity of exploring new designs and come up with something new to build.
References:
- The Importance of Project and Construction Management Goodyear AZ. https://newhomebuildersgoodyear.com/project-and-construction-management-goodyear.html
