Questions and Answers of Construction Project Management

A construction contract differs from contracts that we generally deal with that focus on an easily defined physical object because the physical object can be examined. How is the object of a
What does the owner contribute to the project and what does the contractor contribute to the project?
For what type of project is a line-of-balance schedule particularly suited? Identify specific examples.
Describe the type of project for which impacted baseline techniques are most appropriate.
Describe the situation for which but-for or collapsed as-built analysis is most appropriate.
Many contracts require that the contractor prepare and present the construction schedule and receive the owner's approval before any contract payments are made. What are the three elements of the
The construction schedule is the only project document that fully communicates the contractor's intentions for delivering the contracted scope of services over the full course of the project
What are the three main considerations involved in managing subcontractors?
Why is float a valuable resource, and why is free float more valuable than total float?
To improve overall production through the application of lean principles, where does the Last Planner Process $\odot$ focus?
What are the four planning quality characteristics that will likely improve the reliability of planning at the activity level?
What criteria are considered in deciding on the frequency of progress reporting for a project?
Why is an independent review of work accomplishment preferred over having the foreman responsible for the work do the assessment?
The entire process of project time management can be enhanced considerably by scheduling periodic job progress meetings. What is the objective of such a meeting, and who should participate?
What is the basic objective of a schedule update, and what does it achieve?
The construction team uses various models to describe the project that is to be built. What are the various models used by the construction team, and what does each depict?
What are the two important objectives of the project cost-control system?
What essential role does the cost-coding system play?
Why does the project manager focus primarily on labor and equipment costs and less on materials, subcontracts, and project overhead?
Current technology gives project managers instant access to cost accounting systems virtually anytime. Why is weekly reporting still the most common cycle for construction cost accounting reports?
Why is accurate and honest time reporting critical?
What advantage does an Earned Value Management System have over more traditional cost-control and schedule-control systems?
Why is production cost reduction the primary means to deal with cost overruns?
Why does the placement of blame have no place in the postproject evaluation process?
Why is it important for the project manager to be accurate in the submission of pay applications? What is lost if the amount requested is low? What is the risk if the amount requested is more than
What is the importance of the schedule of values in project financial management?
Describe ways in which the project manager can positively or negatively impact the project cash flow.
Describe steps the project manager can take to protect the contractor's interests in a change order situation.
Why is it important for the project manager to expedite closeout of the project?
Why is the job log important?
What is the approximate annual value of construction, and how does this compare to the gross domestic product?
If each construction project is unique, how can it be governed by processes that are consistent from job to job?
What are the three stages of development of a construction project?
What unique part does each of the following play in a construction project?a. Ownerb. Designerc. General contractord. Specialty contractor
What are the distinguishing characteristics of the following project delivery systems?a. Design-bid-constructb. Design-constructc. Construction Managementd. Work-by-force accounte. Turnkeyf.
How can an aspiring project manager develop, or a practicing project manager improve, the four essential attributes required for an effective project manager?
At what point in the project are project cost and time objectives defined for the contractor?
The construction process consists of numerous standardized and repetitive procedures. Why is expert guidance by a project manager necessary for a successful project?
What differences are there between constructing a large project and manufacturing a large batch of a product?
Describe the basis of management-by-exception in construction.
What is the first step in the process of time control?
Why is it critical to identify cost and time anomalies early?
What resources are the primary target of "resource management"?
What are the primary ways in which project managers use estimates throughout the project?
Which type of preliminary estimate would be the best in each of the following situations, and why did you choose it?a. Decide whether it is feasible to proceed with constructing a new small office
Why is an accurate quantity survey essential to the project estimate?
What is the best source for labor and equipment unit prices that will be used in developing an estimate?
If, halfway through the year, you determine that the projected volume of work for the year will be significantly below the targeted annual volume, what adjustment should be made to the percentage
What impact will an inaccurate progress estimate have on cash flow?
What are some of the reasons change order work costs more than work in the original scope?
What is the intended use for each of the following cost models?a. Project budgetb. Project cost breakdown or schedule of valuesc. Progress estimatesd. Change order estimatese. Project cash flowf.
Explain the three phases of the Critical Path Method.
What are the five steps in developing the plan?
Why is inclusion of subcontractors and other stakeholders a key part of the planning process?
Discuss the drawbacks to beginning-to-end planning?
Explain why various stakeholders are interested in differing levels of detail on their particular plan.
What are the advantages of top-down planning over beginning-to-end planning?
Select a specialty discipline of interest to you for the building example. Develop a general precedence-based plan for that discipline.
The CPM schedule provides a great deal of information that is useful to a construction project manager. What do you believe are the three most useful applications, and why do they top your list?
Since CPM calculations are best accomplished with the assistance of a computer, why is it important for project managers to know how CPM calculations are done?
Several examples of hammock activities have been given for the bridge project. Provide an example of a hammock activity (other than job overhead, which is equally applicable for both the bridge and
Why is the bar chart not an adequate planning and scheduling tool?
Since the bar chart is ineffective as a planning and scheduling tool, why is it still widely used in the construction industry?
For the CPM Calculation Exercise found on the companion website, determine the ES, EF, LS, LF, FF, and TF for each activity. Identify the activities through which the critical path runs. How many
What are impediments to planning, both at the beginning of a project and throughout the project?
What critical elements are important to support the planning process?
Develop a checklist of items to consider in development of the site plan for either the bridge project or the building project.
Use the example building site plan provided as a basis to plan the layout of the site for the building example project.
Lay out a procurement $\log$ that could be used for the example building project. To demonstrate the log, include several representative material items for the building. This works well as a
Describe some of the ways in which BIM is changing how projects are managed.
What are some of the reasons schedules need to be shortened?
A common project manager responsibility is to estimate the cost of shortening activities. A project manager should have a checklist of those things that typically cost money when an activity must be
Explain the effect on project indirect costs when a job is lengthened and when it is shortened.
In the real world, a limited number of days can be taken out of the schedule before it becomes impractical to try to shorten the schedule further. Though it is impractical to take the exercise to the
Why is it important to retain successive schedule updates throughout the project?
For the following simple seven-activity project, develop a precedence network, calculate all relevant characteristics of each activity (ES, EF, LS, LF, TF), and the project duration. Then go through
What is the basic objective of resource management?
Project managers have many resources that are not directly under their control, such as the designer and the owner. Provide some bulleted points describing how project managers can manage (influence)
What is the primary concern of material management on a project?
Provide some reasons why seeking the optimum manpower allocation is impractical.
Select a material used in the example building and diagram the supply chain for that material.
Why is expediting required on construction jobs?
For the following simple seven-activity project, develop a precedence network, calculate all relevant characteristics of each activity (ES, EF, LS, LF, TF), and calculate the project duration. Then
A material tracking log is a critical tool for managing the material resource and is an excellent application for a spreadsheet. Lay out a spreadsheet that could be used to track materials for the
What do the arrows indicate in Figure 19.5?Figure 19.5 ID 1 2 LO Task Name Layout Duration Start Mar 28, 10 Apr 4, 10 S S M W S S M 1 day Mon 3/29/10 Order Delivery Plants 4 days Tue 3/30/10 3 H
The AIA has standard contract documents similar to the ones provided in the Appendixes of this book, developed by the EJCDC. What differences in the content of their respective General Conditions
Look up the percentage of the total cost of a building that RS Means Building Construction CostsTM (a compendium of cost data, discussed later in this book) estimates for its architectural design.
Visit the McGraw-Hill Dodge Construction ReportsTM Website (http://dodge.construction.com) and find the three largest projects currently being bid in your state in the categories of engineering,
The blueprints for a one-story condominium project indicate that it will use high-performance engineered wood joists. The specifications, however, indicate that the joists will consist of cheaper,
What is the average tax rate paid by a single person with an$60,000 adjusted gross income for 2008?
What is the name of the amount of money that can be deducted directly from the computed tax, instead of from the taxable income?
Peachtree Construction, Inc., which is incorporated as a corporation, reported a NOL of $500,000 in 2008. Given the following data, how much of this NOL is likely to be available as a deduction from
A corporation had a net income before taxes of $1.2 million for 2008. Find the tax liability for this company.
Make a clear and neat sketch of the network specified below using precedence notation. On the precedence diagram calculate and showthe early start (EST), early finish (EFT), late start (LST), late
A new road section with concrete pavement, shown in longitudinal section, is 11,600 feet long. It is to be constructed in accordance with the following conditions: The balanced earthworks from
From the following network data, determine the critical path, early start, early finish, late start, late finish, TF, and FF for each activity. Highlight the critical path. 05 NC 1 F TI NX 2 I + 3 B
What is the future value 8 years from, of $ 2,000 invested today at a periodic interest rate of 12% compounded annually?
The table and graph that follows represent a contractor’s overdraft requirements for a project. Complete the table shown for costs, markup, total worth, retainage, and pay received.Retainage is
What were the reasons that originated the real estate bubble of the early to mid-2000s? Do some research to justify your reasoning.
What is the cost of a new CAT Standard Scraper 631G? (You may be surprised by its cost!)

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