Anthony Walker - Project Management in Construction

1. Chapter 05
2. Chapter 09

1. Chapter 01
2. Chapter 02
3. Chapter 03
4. Chapter 04
5. Chapter 06
6. Chapter 07
7. Chapter 08
8. Chapter 09
9. Chapter 10

SIXTH EDITION

Anthony Walker

BBS, MSc, PhD, FRICS
Emeritus Professor of Real Estate and Construction
University of Hong Kong

This edition first published 2015
2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
1984, 1989, 1996, 2002, 2007 by Anthony Walker

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Walker, Anthony, 1939
Project management in construction / Anthony Walker. 6th edition.
pagescm
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-50040-8 (pbk.)
1.Construction industryManagement.2.Project management.I.Title.
HD9715.A2W27 2015
624.0684dc23
2014045947

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Cover Image by (building) iStockphoto PPAMPicture
(background) iStockphoto Godruma

As the sixth edition of this book makes its appearance, the challenge of managing construction projects to successful outcomes continues unabated throughout the world. Prestigious projects make the headlines: both those successful and those less so. The publics imagination is captured by, for instance, constructions to accommodate great sporting events such as the Olympics and spectacular buildings such as Burj Khalifa and Shanghai Tower. But such projects overshadow the enormous amount of construction which contributes hugely to peoples well-being. The importance of developing all projects effectively, both public and private, is central to economy in using the worlds resources. Many factors impinge on success in this arena: development and utilisation of materials and new machines, training and education of a skilled workforce, political will and understanding of peoples needs, to name but a few.

A major need, central to effectively producing projects whatever their scale, is the organisation and management of people skilled in designing and building them. As with all previous editions of this book, this edition focuses further on proposing and using systems theory as the organisational approach suitable for this task and addresses the increasing complexity of the environments within which construction projects find themselves placed. In doing so, this edition has sought to explain how diverse approaches to organisation underpin systems theory and its relevance to construction project management as well as recognising the many competing paradigms and alternative perspectives available, for example in relation to differentiation and integration. Recognition has also been afforded to recent emergence of the study of temporary organisations arising in mainstream management and its relevance to construction project management.

Whilst encompassing the need to develop further theoretical aspects of construction project organisation theory, this edition has also enhanced application of organisation studies to practical issues of construction project management. More emphasis has been placed on the added complexity of construction project management by issues surrounding clients and stakeholders and by issues engendered by control and empowerment of project participants. Additional focus has been made on sustainability issues as they impinge on construction project management, on reworked views on supply chain management and on developments in partnering together with clarification of the shifting terms and definitions relating to construction organisation structures and their uses. Other general updating has been undertaken with some reorganisation of chapters and sections to aid continuity and clarity.

Six editions are not achieved without great indebtedness to colleagues from both academia and practice who have contributed enormously to my knowledge and understanding and who have provided encouragement over many years. I fully recognise their contribution, in particular my colleagues past and present from the University of Hong Kong and those who publish in the academic press in the field of construction project management in its widest sense. And, of course, once again my thanks are due to my wife for seeing me through this edition with forbearance and encouragement. Of course, only I am responsible for any faults that remain, but hope that this edition continues to make a contribution to the field.

Anthony Walker
Hoylake

The management of construction projects has been carried out since people first cooperated to erect buildings, yet there is little documented knowledge of how people interacted in this process. It is revealing that historical and contemporary accounts of construction work pay little attention to how people worked together and managed their activities. Writers over the ages have concentrated upon the buildings themselves, particularly on aesthetics, the use of new materials, technological developments and the impact of buildings on their environment. How people were organised and managed received scant attention until recent times. What was written tended to be about such charismatic characters of enormous ability as Brunel and Wren, and not about how they structured their organisations.