Project Management and Operations Management in Construction

come out charge and Operations Management in eddy1. AbstractThis report aims to understand twain very pregnant declines namely, tolerate counseling and get toments concenter. Both disciplines atomic tot 18 fundamental to achieving commodious line descent success and edit out in this racyly dynamic traffic purlieu. These twain aras of solicitude argon discussed peculiarly with respect to the expression pains. It is primal to none that befuddle centering has its origins in the tress industry and has since accordingly been an intrinsic section of the wrench as healthy as some(prenominal) other(a) industries. Operations solicitude, on the other hand, has largely been neglected for umteen years. However, whole everyplace the past hardly a(prenominal) years, instruction across respective(a) firms has pull in the importance of in effect managing the trading trading operations to achieve line profits and growth. The briny objective of this r eport is to boon a treatment on the differences amid pick up concern and operations direction in twist companies.To infix these differences, it is in-chief(postnominal) to clearly understand the introductory definition and obligation of these two disciplines. As a result, this report is structured as fol miser able-bodiedsIt begins by providing an over muckle of the bend industry moving towards providing a clear understanding of the concepts of bear prudence and operations precaution.Later, the discussion shifts towards presenting an insight into the importance of these two argonas of centering powericularly with reference to the saying industry.The next section provides a discussion on the differences between forge and operations direction.This report concludes by presenting a discussion on the incumbent skills for a bedevil carry onr and highlights that it is substantial for go break managers to give birth a clear understanding of the operational activiti es of the firms in differentiate to make sound tune decisions. Only those organisations that atomic number 18 able to effectively manage their intercommunicates as hygienic as their operations pull up stakes be able to survive and prosper in the future.Keywords Project solicitude, Operations trouble, crook.2. designIn fix up to achieve ancestry success, organisations withdraw to perform a number of activities. These activities could either be their operations or construes or a combination of both(prenominal). It is non viable for organisations to achieve long term surviveable business success without proper measures to effectively manage its foxs and operations. Hill (in decelerate et al, 2010) clearly indicates the importance of operations to an organisation by sluring out that operation is the function responsible for 60-70 per cent of price, assets and people. Similarly, almost all the businesses across various industries start chores of some sort. One of the key take exceptions faced by organisations in todays multiplex business environment is their capability to strike a re main(prenominal)der in maintaining current business operations known as business as usual and in addition to maintain the rate of business transpose infallible to survive and compete in future (OGC, 2009). In this consideration of business change, escorts play a critical image as they atomic number 18 required to introduce the changes required. Project prudence is gradually becoming an grievous discipline in the ara of business success as Projects a good be intimate provide the base for sustainable development implementation. It is fundamental for stomachs to be wellspring inventned and well managed and fork up precise goals and targets. Although, operations focus and swan management are different in a number of aspects that are discussed over the next few section, there are a few characteristics that are similar for both get a lines a nd operations. Operations and tramps both need blow-by-blow architectural planning, execution and control and are both performed by the tender resources of the organisation. Also, they both lots face the challenge of limited resources.2.1. Construction IndustryConstruction Industry is one of the important contri plainlyors to the economy of m whatever countries. The rapidly changing business environment has substituteed the way activities and shows are undertaken in the wrench industry. Due to the sheer volume of resources required to undertake large aspect projects, the construction industry makees the ability to generate employment and supports economic growth in the region by contributing largely to the Gross matter Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, it is important to understand that the construction industry operates in a different environment and is susceptible to some(prenominal) factors such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as visible environment, legislations, resource availability as unlike to other industries. The Construction sector has a strong impact on the day to day activities of several lives and hence it is crucial to catch in force(p) practise of resources on the construction projects. Construction projects and operations require a different set of skills in locate to manage them effectively. For example It is important to check the safety of aggroup members involved in construction operations and projects as they normally need to deal with many hazardous operations. However, such safety concerns are not so signifi elicitt in companies operational in the software industry. These challenges and newer ways of performing business activities have primed(p) greater responsibility on the project as well as operations managers who are required to achieve business success deep down limited budgets and epoch. This implies that success in construction industry can be achieved by implementa tion of adequate project management and operations management teams.Before we delve deeper into the discussion related to the differences that exist between project management and operations management in construction companies, it is important to light up the basic definitions of project management and operations management and their importance in construction companies.2.2. What is Project management?Projects involve certain degrees of uncertainty as they are unique to the organisation undertaking it. In order to achieve success and want results, it is important for the project management team to effectively manage the day to day activities involved in a project. Projects live of a number of separate but interdependent tasks that have the specific objective of creating and developing some new entity (Woodward, 1997). In this aspect project management plays a crucial role. Project management has been in universe for several years and has become an constituent(a) area of manage ment over the last three decades. Project Management Institute defines the discipline of project management as the art of planning and controlling various gentlemans gentleman and non-human resources to be used during the inherent project life cycle in order to secure already set objectives of cathode-ray oscilloscope, cost, quality, and time by use modern management techniques (Barrie and Paulson, 1984). In simple terms, project management can be defined as the process of planning, executing, controlling and monitoring the various aspects of a project in order to achieve the project objectives and deliverables inside limited time, be and resources.Figure 1 shows the various processes of project management in construction industry used to achieve the project objectives and deliverables in spite of appearance limited time, cost and resources.Figure 1Project management Processes1. hurtle DEFINITION2. TEAM ESTABLISHMENT3. PROJECT PLANNING(Scope, Importance, Project plan in term s of time frames and resources)Continuous Project monitoring4. carrying out5. EVALUATION6. PROJECT CLOSURE AND HANDOVERHalpin and Ronald (Hendrickson and Au, 1989) point out the three basic ingredients that represent a project management frame run for. They are oecumenical Management This is a broad subject that various aspects such as pay and accounting, strategic planning, organisational structure, marketing, organisational behaviour among others.Special Knowledge domainsSupporting disciplinesFor successful management of projects, strong working knowledge of these areas is needed. All these three areas play a key role in effective management as they are linked with the activities involved in undertaking a project.2.3. What is Operations management?The main objective of any business or organisation is father high quality goods or serve that pucker their customers requirements in order to survive and prosper in the future. In order to achieve long term business growth, it is im portant for organisations to operationally enact the organisations business strategy. In this context, to achieve long term strategic direction, organisations operations play a key role as it is important to effectively manage a large number of daily operations that are aimed at accomplishing the desired objectives to satisfy the customers. In order to achieve this business objective, it is necessary for firms to transform their resources into desired outputs that can be delivered to the end users. Operations consist of all these activities that are necessary to transform and deliver an organisations offering of goods or services to its customers. The main objective of the operations function is to streamlinedly manage the easy resources to produce the goods and services required by customers. Several large and subaltern organisations have today acknowledged the importance of operations and hence have commoveed people to take responsibility for managing all or agency of the org anisations operations processes. Success of operations in spite of appearance an organisation can be judged on the basis of its profits, growth and competitiveness. Operations activities form an integral part of any business as they focus on the management of a large number of assets, and expenditure to produce customer centric goods and services. round off of literature reveals that operations management within the construction industry is not a well recognized area of study as foreign to other study functional disciplines of marketing, human resource management and finance and accounting. However, the discussion that follows clearly establishes that operations management is every bit as important for Kentz, and other firms operating in construction sector in order to be successful. For the purpose of this discussion, it is important to establish the definition of operations management at this point. Operations management refers to the function that focuses on designing, manag ing and up(p) the systems and procedures that fix organisations goods or services. It focuses on delivering value to the customers (Shtub, 1999). Other functions such as finance and human resources support operations functions and hence are indirectly involved in making products or delivering services. Firms that are able to effectively manage their operations can achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This is unmixed from the case of Toyota. Toyotas Production System (TPS) plays a vital role in its business success. Toyotas Production System is based on four integral principles namely, the elimination of waste (muda), continuous improvement (kaizen), automation with a human face (jidoka) and the involvement of all employees. The management at Toyota has worked towards implementing these key principles in day to day business operations and this is evident in their practices such just-in-time, total quality management and team-working. TPS has enabled Toyota to achieve high vo lumes and high tractability but with low levels of inventory and minimal defects. The application of these principles to its design operations in like manner typically enables Toyota to get new products to market faster than its rivals, and with less design glitches (Slack et al, 2010).3. Importance of Project management in constructionThe discipline of Project management initially originated in the construction industry but can be applied across various industrial and commercialisedized sectors. Project management in construction plays a critical role in the construction industry as it is important for companies operating in the construction sector such as Kentz to manage projects on time within limited budgets and to manage risk across a number of projects that are large in terms of budget, time and resources. There is a need for construction companies such as Kentz to maintain a wealthy control on these constrained resources and finances to ensure profitability. Constructio n projects are usually characterised by long and complex life cycle and decline profit margins. Consequently, it is imperative for construction companies to maintain strict control over project schedules and costs to avoid any over-budgeting or wastage.Woodward (1997) notes that the project environment related to a particular project greatly affects the project management function. In this context, it is observed that the project environment related to construction project is affected by a number of internal as well as external factors such as availability of resources, legislative environment, physical conditions such as location, weather and the presence of competition. As a result, project management in construction is even more crucial collectible to the need to achieve high quality standards within limited resources.In construction industry, project management specifically consists of a range of objectives which whitethorn be achieved by undertaking a number of operational a ctivities that need to be accomplished within the condition resource constraints. It is important for firms such as Kentz to resolve any conflict that may arise overdue to the differences in the desired objectives of scope, cost, time and quality, to the limited constraints of budget and human resources, by finding and developing alternate ways to accomplish the goals of the project. Hendrickson and Au, (1989) point out the following functions of project management for constructionProject management in construction is important as it processs in clearly specifying the project objectives and plans to synopsis the various aspects involved in the projects such as project scope, project budget, project timelines, setting quality standards, and selecting project participants.Project management also helps in procurement of labour and other resources as per the predetermined plan and schedule. Hence, it is important for maximization of efficient resource utilization.Project management activities help in smooth implementation of various operations as its main focus is to ensure proper coordination and control of planning, estimating, and construction in the entire process.Since construction projects are large and complex and often require use of large number of human resources, they may often face the challenge of interpersonal conflicts that may arise due to improper communication. Project management helps in development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts among various supple participants.4. Importance of Operations management in constructionThe Construction industry is characterised by complex and large projects that usually involve substantial costs charm leaving little room for profit margins. In this context, efficient operations management is important because it helps in managing an organisations costs. It is important for construction companies such as Kentz to manage their available resources and budget in the best reali zable manner to generate greater profit margins. If an organisation fails to manage and tap the utilisation of its resources, it will not be able to achieve sustainable project success. Operations management in the construction industry helps the project team to achieve higher level of efficiency at low operating costs. Moreover, it is necessary that once the projects are completed, they are able to meet the desired quality standards. This is even more crucial in a construction project as any negligence can create dangerous situations in terms of safety. Operations management helps the firms operating in the construction sector such as Kentz to ensure that they are able to achieve lower operating costs while also delivering high quality products to their customers. As discussed earlier, operations management has a long unyielding impact on the quality, timeliness and reliability of the goods produced by an arranging. The activities of the operations function are central to achiev ing these aims.5. Project management Vs Operations managementThe to a higher place discussion clearly indicates the importance of effective project management and operations management in construction industry. It is established that both these disciplines are important to achieve long term sustainable growth and success. Although, they are an integral part of every business, and practitioners are of the view that project management is considered to be one of the most important functions of an operations manager, there are a few differences between project and operations management. They are as highlighted down the stairs5. a. Project versus Operations -Differing objectivesOne of the major differences between project management and operations management lies in their differing objectives. The key aim of project management is to ensure smooth control and effective planning in order to achieve the desired objectives of the project on extent. On the contrary, operations management a ims to manage and execute the daily operations that are necessary to sustain the business. Project management activities are usually designed around the project environment which is unique to a particular project. This implies that since a project is temporal and aimed at achieving some unique objectives to create a new entity, scope of project management is limited to that particular project. On the contrary, operations management is aimed at planning and executing the activities that are necessary for maintaining the current business operations. In terms of construction industry, activities that require procuring goods to undertake large and complex construction project and also that require selling the firms business to its potential clients are its operations. While, project management in construction industry ideally, would deal with the necessary planning of resources, budgeting, estimating of timelines and scheduling. Project management is temporary and is unique to a parti cular project that is undertaken to create a new entity, while, operations are ongoing and repetitive and deal with maintaining the existing business activities. Management of projects in a construction industry is a challenging task as the project environment is highly complex and the objective of project management is not limited only to the completion of project within specified time and budget. Client satisfaction and meeting the desired quality standards are crucial for project success in construction.5. b. Time ConstraintsAnother major difference between projects and operations is that projects are characterised by a definite beginning and ending whileoperationsare repetitive and ongoing. Projects usually end when the objectives of the projects are achieved. This implies that the project duration is finite as oppose to the operations activities that are continuous. However, this does not necessarily mean that they are unforesightful lived. For instance, a large construction company is contracted to complete construction of a large commercial complex for setting up offices. In this scenario, in order to complete the construction project of commercial complex, a business owner who hires the construction company to construct the complex, will usually specify a definite date of start and completion of the building. From the point of view of the construction company, this unique construction opportunity is aproject that has certain time constraints. However, procuring of the building materials and other necessary equipments that are not unique to this particular construction project are known as the operations. These activities are repetitive and do not have a rigid time constraint.5. c. Budget ConstraintsProject management deals with completion of certain projects within the specified budget constraints, while operations management concerns those activities that are necessary to maintain a specific profit margin. For instance, taking the case of the cons truction company that has been awarded the contract to complete construction of a large commercial complex by a business owner. In this scenario, the business owner who hires the construction firm will allot a specific cost for the project as detailed in its Request for Proposals. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the operations management at the construction company to, ensure that a predetermined profit margin is achieved on the project and work while outlining its cost structure.5. d. Project management is future oriented while Operations management ispresent orientedProject management activities focus on achieving the future state of business. This implies that they are future oriented. On the contrary, operations management activities focus on maintaining the current state of business and gravel the desired business changes, suggesting that the discipline of operations management is highly present oriented. In the construction industry, the aim of project manageme nt is to accomplish the completion of the project undertaken while delivering all the necessary expectations. All these activities of planning and coordination are aimed towards achieving a future state. While the daily operations are required to sustain smooth functioning of the current business activities.6. Project managers should possess operations management skillsThe above discussion clearly highlights the differences between project management and operations management in a construction industry. However, management across various organisations is of the view that operations management and project management are necessary skills for project managers across all industries.It is important that project managers in a construction environment are able to adequately consider the quality and safety concerns. In a construction environment, any minor defect can manifest itself into a major issue as re-construction may be required leading to larger associated costs and delays in meetin g the project timelines. Further, such defects can also often become the cause of several personal injuries or fatalities. Therefore, it is important to portion out skilled and efficient project managers who have the necessary experience to ensure that the job is done right the first time avoiding any major or minor accidents that may occur during the completion of the project objectives.General consensus with respect to success of project management and operations management in construction industry is that it is important that managers are able to motivate the team to collectively work towards business success and accomplishment of business objectives as well as project objectives. It is necessary for management to ensure that individuals part of the projects and operations coordinate and cooperate to form efficient and effective teams that are specialised in a specific knowledge area. It is important for project managers to have sound project and operations knowledge, skills and experience in intervention several different teams.It is necessary that the organisations in the construction industry such as Kentz not only possess the necessary experience in the specialized knowledge area but also in the operations of their own as well their customers business. For instance, the management team at a construction may be well-versed constructing and customising the construction units as per the client requirements and provided it may lack the experience in the procuring the resources that are necessary to undertake customer transactions. This indicates the need for project managers to possess the required operations management skills. In order to achieve business success, it is important to ensure that the projects not only meet customer expectation but are also well aligned with the companys ideal profit margins. This can only be achieved if project managers have sufficient knowledge of the operations while creating project budgets. Also, in order to efficient ly schedule and plan the budget and resources, it is important for project managers to be well-versed in the supply chain and efficient management of logistics.7. ConclusionIt is established that project management and operations management, are two different fields of management. Project management in construction plays a critical role in the construction industry as it is important for Kentz as well as other companies operating in the construction sector to manage projects on time within limited budgets and to manage risk across a number of projects that are large in terms of budget, time and resources. It is important for Kentz, and other firms operating in the construction sector to manage their available resources and budget in the best possible manner to generate greater profit margins. If Kentz or other organization operating in the construction fails to manage and maximise the utilisation of its resources, it will not be able to achieve sustainable project success. Project m anagement and Operations management are differing in nature in terms of their scope, time and budget constraint. Also, Project management activities focus on achieve the future state of business implying that they are future oriented. On the contrary, Operations management activities focus on maintaining the current state of business and bring the desired business changes. However, management across various organisations is of the view that operations management and project management are necessary skills for project managers across all industries. It is safe to conclude that in this dynamic business environment, only those organisations will survive and prosper that not only possess the necessary experience in the specialized knowledge area to accomplish project objectives but also in the operations of their own as well their customers business. There is a need in Kentz as well as other companies operating in the construction sector to appoint project managers that have sound proje ct and operations knowledge, skills and experience in handling several different teams.