UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, ENUGU CAMPUS

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT THE PREDESIGNED

PHASE

A seminar submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of the course Construction Management (ARCT. 613)

By

ONWUJI, R.C

(PG/MSC/02/36668)

Lecturer: ARC.UZUEGBUNAM

July 2004

Table Of Contents

Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

1.0 Project Feasibility Analysis--------------------------------------------------------------6

2.0 Site Selection ---------------------------------------------------------------------------6

3.0 Site Investigation -----------------------------------------------------------------------7

3.1 Site Surveys------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

3.2 Geotechnical Investigation------------------------------------------------------------8

3.3 Drainage And Utilities Survey---------------------------------------------------------8

3.4 Traffic Survey----------------------------------------------------------------------------8

3.5 Adjacent Property Survey--------------------------------------------------------------8

3.6 Archaeological Survey-----------------------------------------------------------------9

3.7 Environmental Issues-------------------------------------------------------------------9

3.8 Legal Aspect-----------------------------------------------------------------------------9

4.0 Design Criteria------------------------------------------------------------------------11

5.0 Master Schedule-----------------------------------------------------------------------11

6.0 Cost Plan And Cost Control---------------------------------------------------------12

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6.1 Creation Of Project Cost Control And Estimating System------------------------12

6.2 Cost Control Procedure--------------------------------------------------------------13

6.3 The Area Method---------------------------------------------------------------------15

6.4 The Cube Method---------------------------------------------------------------------15

6.5 The Unit Rate Method----------------------------------------------------------------15

6.6 The Approximate Quantities Method-----------------------------------------------15

6.7 The Effects Of Poor Cost Control---------------------------------------------------16

7.0 Building Codes------------------------------------------------------------------------16

7.1 Local And Federal Regulations------------------------------------------------------17

8.0 Preparation Of Environmental Impact Assessment-------------------------------18

Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------19

Reference-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

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INTRODUCTION

Construction management can be defined as the planning, control

and co-ordination of a project from inception to completion. This is

aimed at meeting the client’s requirements in order that the project

will be completed on time within authorized cost and to the required

quality standards.

Construction management starts by gaining an understanding of the

client’s objective and by providing the expertise to allow the client to

define more precisely what is needed and how it can be achieved. In

this way, construction management can influence the decision on the

type of facility required, its use, user needs, architectural concepts,

construction time scale and cost criteria.

The client can also be guided around such obstacles as unavailability

of relevant project resource and be advised on how to buy best, to

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develop existing facilities, to consider alternative locations, to evaluate

materials and constructing method as well as being advised of

potential cost involved in overcoming specific problems.

These considerations help the client in establishing a comprehensive

project brief which highlights the parameter of cost, time, quality,

facility function and specifies the contractual aspects and applicable

agreements.

The brief is important as it constitutes the basic reference document

for the project and is a formal specific expression of what is required

from the project. Therefore, the client must commit adequate time and

resources to its preparation. The brief can have minimal changes once

the detailed design starts. It must give sufficient details and enough

information to allow the consultants/design team to finalize the

conceptual design.

At this stage, the client and the project manager meet and agree

on:

The bases for the feasibility and strategy stages;

An outline Master schedule and cost plan;

A subsequent action plan for the project;

The terms and timing for the appointment of the Project Manager

Other services that might be offered at this time to assist the client

include:

Reviewing and participating in the drafting of legal and financial

documents to check on the consistency of definitions and

terminology. This includes an assessment of legal issues relating

to; contracts, land, financial arrangement, insurance and

taxation.

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Investigating planning authority approvals and the outline

strategy for implementation.

The valuation and acquisition of land for the project.

Preliminary assessment of the cost/value of the facility (type of

building/construction and standards of finish).

Initiating first cost plan/ budget limits and cash flow forecast.

Developing finance options and negotiating on funding.

Identifying professional Team members and deciding the basis of

their appointment.

Preparing terms of reference/conditions for the members of the

professional team essential for the feasibility studies and their

selection/ appointment.

Monitoring the professional team’s studies/work against the

programme and cost plan.

Coordinating the preparation of the feasibility report and

recommendations.

Reaching a decision about project viability based on the report

and recommendations.

1.0 PROJECT FEASIBILTY ANALYSIS

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This is a study undertaken to assess whether a planned project is

likely to be practical and successful and also estimating its cost. A

study of feasibility may show that a practical solution to the basic

programme can be developed, but there is always a tendency for client

and architect to be prematurely biased towards a particular solution. If

feasibility studies are to be valuable, there must be several

alternatives prepared from an equal base line which therefore permits

comparative analysis, and in the process may bring forward ideas not

previously thought of. This means that no one feasibility study can

represent a solution, but several, on analysis, will confirm certain

criteria which a final solution requires.

A market survey is done during the feasibility stage. Here, the

architect gets an idea on the types, quality and cost of material, labour

to be used during the construction. These choices are made as a result

of experience obtained from previous similar projects

During a feasibility analysis the following criteria should be

observed:-

The site and its permissible coverage.

Town planning regulations.

Density regulations related to maximum heights and floor space

indices.

Approved points of access to the site, which were limited by

limited by the major peripheral roads.

2.0 SITE SELECTION

Site selection is important stage in the project cycle where the client

does not own the land to be developed. It should be effected as early

as possible and ideally in parallel with the feasibility study. The work is

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carried out by a special consultant and monitored by the project

manager. This is to ensure that the requirements for the site are

defined in terms of the facility to be constructed, that the selected site

meets these requirements and that it is acquired within the constraints

of the project programme.

3.0 SITE INVESTIGATION

The architect should investigate the history of the site through official

sources as well as consulting local inhabitants – particularly in the case

of a rural site. The history of adjacent sites should also be investigated

to determine whether they enjoy any right acquired by prescription or

under agreement. The history of site could also reveal that the land

consists of made-up ground and it is liable to subsidence, necessitating

special precautions in the design of foundations. The client should be

advised on the implications at the early stage, for instance, building on

a water-bearing soil which may involve piling operations.

Other considerations include orientation, shelter, existence of

services like sewers, electricity, water, means of access to public

highway and communication. Finally, the topographical and other

features of the site have to be recorded; the levels, dimensions,

benchmarks if any, position and types of trees existing buildings both

on and adjacent to the site, overhead cables, and any other physical

features which will influence the design or siting of the proposed

building.

The activities involved in a site investigation can be broadly grouped

as;

3.1 SITE SURVEYS

Location

Ordinance survey reference

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Ground level/contours

Physical features

Existing boundaries

Adjacent properties

Site access

Structural survey

Previous use of site

3.2 GOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION

Trial pits

Bore holes and bore hole logs

Geology of site including underground workings

Laboratory soil test

Site test

Ground water observation and pumping test

Geophysical survey

3.3 DRAINAGE AND UTILITIES SURVEY

Existing site drainage(open ditch, culvert or piped system)

Extent of any other utilities that may cross the site (oil pipelines,

water, electricity)

3.4 TRAFFIC SURVEY

Examination of traffic records from local authority

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Traffic counts

Traffic patterns

Delay analysis

Noise levels

3.5 ADJACENT PROPERTY SURVEY

Right of light

Party wall agreement

Schedule of conditions

Foundations

Drainage

Access

Public utilities serving the property

3.6 ARCHAELOGICAL SURVEY

Examination of records

Archaeological remains

3.7 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Effects of proposed development on local environment;

environmental impact assessment, where appropriate

3.8 LEGAL ASPECT

Ownership of site

Restrictive covenants

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Easements, e.g. rights of way, rights of light agreement

Way leaves

Boundaries

Party wall agreement

Highway agreement

Local authority agreement

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FLOW CHART USED FOR EACH OF THE ACTIVITIES OF SITE

INVESTIGATION

4.0 DESIGN CRITERIA

ADVISE CLIENT OF THE NEED

REVIEW WITH CLIENT

AGREE COST AND DATE FOR

COMPLETION

DOES SCOPE OF WORK ADEQUATELY

REFLECT SITE CHARACTERISTICS

DEFINE SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION

AND AGREE WITH CLIENT

SELECT SUITABLE ORGANISATION TO

CARRY OUT INVESTIGATION

IS ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION

REQUIRED

INSTRUCT ADDITIONAL

INVESTIGATION

AGREE REVISED DATE FOR

COMPLETION

REVIEW REORT & ADVISE CLIENT OF

POTENTIAL RISKS & LIABILITIES

MONITOR PERFORMANCE AND

PREPARATION OF FINAL REPORT

HAS CLIENT INSTRUCTED

INVESTIGATION

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This involves style development in buildings relating to our up-to-

date technical opportunities, and designers face a barrage of possible

structural solutions, and a great number of alternative building

materials.

Quality design styles should be adapted such that the buildings will

remain very adaptable over a long period of time. In other to achieve

this, building design criteria should therefore aim at:

Modifying the climate

Supporting patterns of activity

Adding to our resources

Providing delight

5.0 MASTER SCHEDULE

A schedule of work form inception stage to completion stage. It

involves schedule of material, labour, cost and work schedule. Other

schedules can be drawn from here depending on alterations made.

Since the project is expected to be realized within a time frame and

budget, the master schedule should be drawn to guides the project

manager and give him responsibilities to monitor the progress of the

project from inception to completion.

The master schedule should be developed and agreed with the client

and members of the professional team concerned and detailed

programme for each stage of the project prepared as soon as the

necessary parameters are established.

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6.0 COST PLAN AND COST CONTROL

Cost plan is important at this stage as it provides the best estimate of

the final cost of the project. It is the plan of what the money will be

spent on and when. The cost plan should, therefore, include the best

possible estimate of cash flow for the project. It should cover all stages

of the project.

Cost control is a method of controlling the cost of a building project

within the limits of a predetermined cost through the design and

construction stages.

6.1 CREATION OF PROJECT COST CONTROL AND ESTIMATING

SYSTEM

The objective of cost control is to allow the project to be completed

within the approved budget. Cost reporting will facilitate at all times

the best possible estimate of:

The final cost of the project;

The future cash flow;

The cost in the use of the completed facility

Monitoring expenditure to date does not exert any control over future

expenditure and, hence, the final cost of the project. Effective cost

control is only obtained when the whole of the project team has the

correct attitude to cost control, i.e., one which will enable fulfillment of

the client’s objectives.

Effective cost control will require the following actions to be taken:

All decisions taken during design and construction are based on a

forecast of the cost implications of the alternatives being

considered, and that no decisions are taken whose cost

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implications would cause the total budget to be exceeded,

including appropriate contingency allowances.

The professional team should be encouraged to design within the

cost plan and adopt the variation control procedure for the

project, which is based on the architect’s instruction. Increased

costs on one item must be balanced by savings on another.

Adjustment of the cash flow plan results from an alteration in the

target cost, master programme or the forecast of inflation.

The variation control procedure is strictly followed at all stages of

the project. Only during the construction phase, when it can be

demonstrated that significant delay, cost or danger would have

been incurred by awaiting responses to the proposal from

interested parties, may the procedure be carried out

retrospectively. In this situation the matter must be discussed as

fully as possible and a site instruction issued.

Contingency money should be used only to pay for events which

are unforeseen. It should not be used to cover changes in the

specification or in the client’s requirement or for variation

resulting from errors or omissions. If the professional team

considers that there is no alternative but to exceed the budget, a

written request to the client must be submitted. This must

include; details of variation leading to the request; confirmation

that the variations are essential; confirmation that compensating

savings are not possible without having an unacceptable effect

on the function of the completed project.

Ascertain that the project costs are always reported back against

the original approved budget. Any subsequent variations to the

budget must be clearly indicated in the cost reports.

6.2 COST CONTROL PROCEDURE

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There are three main arrangements in the cost control procedure of a

project and any of these depends on the cost limit of the client.

The client will prescribe the programme requirements and also

establish the cost limit, these requirements are cost limits are

discussed with the architect and general information on known cost of

similar building projects is obtained by the architect. Once the basic

form of the building is decided, the quantity surveyor will prepare an

estimate taking full account of shape, number of storey and structural

form. The estimate may be based on any of the following methods of

approximate estimate: -

The area method

The cube method

The unit rate method

The approximate quantities method.

Any of these methods will be based on the information available but

assumptions will have to be made on finishing, fittings, services and

similar matters. By the end of the sketch (design) plan stage a more

accurate estimate will be prepared usually based on approximate

quantities and also comparative cost of alternative forms of

construction, services arrangement and so on should be available for

client’s approval. During the detailed design, the cost of the project can

be influenced by the choice of material and construction methods.

Continual reference to the cost plan is important on the details of

each point of the project are finalized with possible adjustment to the

design or distribution of cost to the elements as the process of

reconciliation proceeds. A final overall cost check can be made when

the design stage is complete.

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The second arrangement operates more when the client has

considerable experience of past cost of similar buildings. Just like in the

first arrangement, it is important to check the accommodation

requirement against the cost limit to be sure that the project is

feasible. Comparison is made with the known cost of similar buildings.

All other procedure applicable to the first arrangement is also

applicable.

The third arrangement applies to where available funds are limited

and the client wishes to carry out as much building work as possible.

He may prescribe a cost limit and ask the architect for details of the

size and quality of the building which can be provided with the

available fund. It is necessary to compute the amount of floor area that

can be provided by reference to the known cost of floor areas of similar

buildings. All other procedures applicable to the first arrangement are

also applicable here.

6.3 THE AREA METHOD

In this method, the architect estimates the cost of the building using

floor area of the spaces in the building with the qualification that the

user, site conditions, construction and type of finish must be

considered. Therefore, if a building is to be erected similar in these

respect to one built, it should be possible to relate its price to that of

the first one in proportion to the floor area also bearing in mind

fluctuation in cost of labour and materials which may have occurred in

the interval. The more dissimilar the buildings are in their character,

the more difficult comparison becomes.

6.4 THE CUBE METHOD

The idea behind this method was probably that the cube reflects

variation in height of storey which the area method does not.

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6.5 THE UNIT RATE METHOD

Certain types of building, such as hotels, church or theatres, lend

themselves to estimate based on a price per bed, place or seat. Such

estimates must be very approximate and vary according to the type of

construction and finish.

6.6 THE APPROXIMATE QUANTITIES METHOD

In this method, the approximate quantities are taken leaving out all

the minor items and grouping items together where practicable.

Normal foundations will be measured per linear metre, to include

excavation, concrete and brick work,. Walls will include internal and

external finish and windows be measured as extra over walls to include

glass, paint, etc. with this method, an approximate bill of quantities can

be prepared and priced.

6.7 THE EFFECTS OF POOR COST CONTROL

When the contractor is not interested in proper controls, he is open

to losses from many quarters. These include;

Low bids

Increases in cost of labour and materials.

Lack of sufficient knowledge of processes

Poor selection and matching of construction equipment

Adverse weather conditions – usually a contractor is expected to

make allowance for predictable weather conditions.

Inefficient management and supervision.

7.0 BUILDING CODES

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They are laws regulating the construction of buildings and prescribing

minimum requirements for fire protection, sanitation, and safety. Such

laws are intended primarily to set standards for new construction but

also to prevent the continued use of buildings deficient in these

respects. These codes served as guides in the enactment of local

building laws, which now contain most of their important provisions.

The trend toward unification of such building codes has increased,

leading to the development of regional codes, which serve groups of

municipalities, and state building codes.

The architect must be thoroughly familiar with the building codes

because it influences his practice and procedure as well as cost of

construction. An architect going into new locality should first of all

familiarize himself with the building codes This is logically a part of his

general inspection of the site as two adjacent communities might not

have the same building code. Fees for the issuance of building permit

and for inspection by the building commissioner’s office are usually

required. The architect should ascertain these costs as part of his

general inspection.

7.1 LOCAL AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS

Building regulations are laid down details of condition which are to be

complied to before approvals can be obtained. The architect should put

this into consideration during the design stage to enable the planning

authority to approve the drawing before construction starts. A

summary of some of these regulations include:-

The plans must comply with a particular city’s master

plan .Where such a master plan is not in existence, they must

comply with the land use plan.

The planning agency checks that multiple projects are not

approved for the same piece of land.

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Details on number of copies of plan to be submitted, assessment

and registration fees to be paid when found satisfactory.

All commercial buildings must have 6meters free space on all

sides.

Buildings should have a minimum front setback of 6 meters,

minimum side set back of 3 meters and minimum rear set back of

3 meters.

There should be a minimum distance of 6 meters between two

buildings on the same plot or not less than ½ times the height of

the buildings, whichever is higher.

Protected sites: no plans are approved where there are historic

building or monuments, open spaces, schools, etc.

Buildings must be designed by a registered architect and if it is

more than one floor, it must have a structural drawing designed

by a registered structural engineer.

Rooms for residential purposes should have windows as a means

of ventilation and lighting, which should amount to not less than

1/6th of the floor area served.

The planning authority has the power to stop order at anytime that it

is found that there are some irregularities in the plan approval.

8.0 PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Environmental impact assessment is a national procedure for

evaluating the likely impact of a proposed activity on the environment.

It is important to assess the environmental impact of construction

activities at an early stage of planning. This assessment is prepared for

plans involving: -

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Residential land in excess of 2 hectares

Mixed development ,e.g. schools, churches, hospital, housing

estates industries and commercial development

A public building or office building in excess of four floors of 5000

square meters of lettable space.

A petrol filling station

A major recreational development

They are submitted along with other plans like survey plans for

approval.

CONCLUSION

With all these listed, we can now agree that construction

management at the predesigned stage entails a lot. This process is

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very important in building construction as the clients requirements

are reached satisfactorily and in record time putting into

consideration the economic situation.

Hence, it can be said that that it is an organized sequence of

planning, control and coordinating a project at the inception stage.

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REFERENCE

Chartered institute of building (1992) Code of practice for project

management for construction and development.

Harper, R.H. (1990) Building, the process and the product, Berkshire:

The chartered institute of building.

Bassey, N. (1994) the management of construction, Nigeria: Kraft

book limited

Nigerian urban and regional planning decree 1992.

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