Managing Change and Dependency in Construction Projects

EPSRC Funding: £393,966

Abstract:

Re-work, which accounts for as high as 30% of the activities in construction projects, is one of the main causes for project delays, over-spending and building defects in the construction industry. A typical construction project usually involves a fragmented team tackling different aspects of the same project at different locations using separate processes with many uncertain variables without effective communication and interaction. It is inevitable that the decision making of those processes will run out of sync from time to time. When the disjointed decision-making process is not synchronised at the earliest opportunity, major re-works will occur. The problem cannot be easily solved without a clear understanding of task dependencies and the strategies practitioners deploy to deal with uncertainties and changes.

This project seeks to investigate these issues by building on existing studies on the construction process. The solution we want to test is to develop a change and dependency management tool kit (1) to reduce uncertainties by guiding the project team through optimum decision-making sequence routes (this is not always possible), and (2) to quantify the risks when a project deviates from the optimum routes (this will always happen) and to recommend the earliest possible remedy measures before major re-work is required.

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