PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS

Procurement Systems

Procurement Systems

Introduction

Construction management or civil engineering can be defined as specialised services that a consultant or a contractor provides for a certain amount of reimbursement. The client and consultant/manager enter in to a contract that requires both parties to perform a set of activities. The consultant or manager of a project enjoys the designation equivalent to that of the design team. The contract is enforceable till the completion of the project (Gillespie, 1994, pp. 46).

Specialised construction management is applicable to projects that are complex in nature and are spread on a large scale. The managerial characteristics of large scale projects are dynamic and require continuous update as the project progresses. Completion of a stage means the previous phase will only come up during evaluation the overall project. Some projects require a changing hierarchy. Similar to the stages of a project, the matrix of designation also changes with time. There is no single standard for this change. Changes in the matrix vary from one project to another. It is imperative to have a strong and flexible hierarchy for a project. The eventual outcome of the project may depend on the organisational structure.

Roles and responsibilities of a Project Manager

The role of a project manager carries great importance. The manager is responsible of controlling costs and should not allow the project to exceed the assigned budget. This is done to minimise costs of the project. The project manager is also responsible for ensuring the time frame set for completion does not overrun the estimate (Meikle, 2007, pp.14).

There is no denying when it comes to the importance of the role of a project manager. Interestingly, project should not be the ultimate authority in any project. Decision making should not be centralised. He level of authority that rests with the manager is the decision of the client. Some organisations prefer to retain the certain amount to avoid centralised decision making.

Project manager is the individual with the authority to participate in all phases of the assignment. The manager should be active during the planning of the project (McMeeken & Ryder, 2010, pp. 32-35). A proactive manager remains involved in the design phase by providing input. During the execution phase, the manager should always remain focused on meeting targets and deadlines. Adhering to project constraints is essential in effective management of a project. Project managers are common designations in the field of construction, civil engineering and information technology.

Reason behind Project Overruns

According to a survey by Simon Jackson, some of the factors that cause projects to overrun their budgets and time include design change. The survey contains response from 114 professionals. Out of the total respondents, 52 consider design change as the top reason for overruns. 76% of the responses show clients are responsible for this delay while 24% blame design variations. The second reason for overruns in the survey was design development. A total of 36 respondents claimed incomplete design of project at the time of tender is the reason behind the ...