Working Paper #3 THE APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS AN OVERVIEW OF TOOLS FOR MANAGING AND CONTROLING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Transcription

1 Working Paper #3 THE APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS AN OVERVIEW OF TOOLS FOR MANAGING AND CONTROLING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Paul Zanen & Timo Hartmann COPYRIGHT 2010 VISICO Center, University of Twente

2 THE APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS An overview of tools for managing and controlling construction projects Abstract: Because construction projects are complex undertakings and project managers have to make effective decisions based on limited information, the construction industry uses tools to support project management tasks. Practitioners apply these tools in their daily effort to steer a construction project through its life cycle, to make decisions and to monitor and control project progress. Over the years, the construction industry has applied a large number of project management tools to an increasing number of project management aspects. To provide some structure in the array of available tools for those who work in or study the construction industry, this paper describes and discusses some of the most important modern project management tools as well as some tools that have been around for decades and have since become industry standards. Keywords: project management, scheduling, cost estimation, construction industry, Gantt chart, 3D/4D modeling, resource leveling. 1. INTRODUCTION Construction project management is, according to Winch (2002), a problem of finding and using the right information required for decision-making. In an effort to maintain progress in the project, project teams have to make decisions before all the information for that decision is available. Project managers, therefore, require a set of skills that allows them to make robust decisions based on the available information. As the project progresses through the consecutive stages of its life cycle, more information becomes available and project teams are able to make more informed decisions. Project managers and other practitioners that make decisions during construction projects often apply project management tools to support them in structuring and analyzing the available project information. In early project stages, project tools support the creation of project strategies, scheduling tasks, and the organization of the project team and project resources. In later stages, practitioners use tools for project monitoring and control purposes. In essence, practitioners need project management tools for making decisions effectively in a multitude of project aspects throughout the various project stages. This need for effective decision-making has driven the development of numerous project management tools in the construction industry. With project management tools, it is possible to integrate information from various sources and natures. This integration results in a structured overview of information that practitioners can use to evaluate and analyze various scenarios and strategies and make decisions. This better overview subsequently enables more effective and optimized decision-making in construction projects. Another factor that has driven the development of project management tools is, according to Gidado (1996), the complexity involved in realizing construction projects. Dubois and Gadde (2002) identify two of the central features that add to the complexity of construction projects. They state that construction is inherently a site-specific project-based activity and that it is mainly about the coordination of specialized and differentiated tasks at the site level. Because of this, the information that requires structuring and analysis during construction projects originates from, and is used in, a highly dynamic environment. Pries et al. (2004) view thorough project management as a crucial factor to deal with this dynamic and complex environment and enhance the chances for project success. Jaselskis and Ashley (1991) suggest that, by using project management tools, project managers are able to plan and execute 1

3 construction projects to maximize the project s chances of success. These tools then support and facilitate the various aspects of project management. Such aspects are, for instance, adequate communication, control mechanisms, feedback capabilities, troubleshooting, coordination effectiveness, decision-making effectiveness, monitoring, project organization structure, plan and schedule followed, and related previous management experience (Chan et al., 2004). In practice, practitioners use an array of different project management tools to support their everyday work and decision-making in all the project stages. In response to changing demands from the construction industry, such as a need for a more integrated information overview, and due to the evolution of computer and software capabilities, construction project management tools have evolved to tools that structure, analyze and display information in innovative ways. One of these innovative ways is Building Information Modeling (BIM). According to Lee (2005), BIM is one of the latest attempts to integrate various construction project management aspects into a method of information representation that meets the modern demands of the construction industry and its critical clients. According to Sacks et al. (2005), BIM is a generic term used to describe a process of generating and managing all information related to buildings using technologies such as advanced three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD). Besides building design information, these models can also contain information about the building s construction, management, operations and maintenance (Lee et al., 2005). Because of the rapid development of new and more powerful tools, it seems appropriate to provide a review of some of the most important project management tools and their areas of application. This paper provides such a review and provides students, researchers, and practitioners alike with a basic grasp of the possibilities that current project management tools in the construction industry offer. Since the tools in use today are often based on earlier, less advanced tools such as Gantt charts and 2D drawings, the paper includes these in the discussion of modern tools. Furthermore, the paper also addresses the use of project management tools through different stages of a construction project. For instance, some tools are suitable for planning purposes in early stages while others are suitable for monitoring and control in later project stages. This paper is structured as follows: The first sections cover the activities in the early stages of a construction project, such as building design, project planning, cost estimation, and scheduling and discuss the tools that practitioners use in this stage. The paper then focuses on the application of tools in later project stages for the purpose of project monitoring and control. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of some of the problems that the construction industry encounters when implementing and utilizing project management tools in practice. 2. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASPECTS AND TOOLS As mentioned, construction project management involves making decisions with limited information (Winch, 2002), and, therefore, thorough preparation in the early stages of a construction project is critical. Effective construction project management means planning ahead, identifying and solving potential problems before they occur and aligning resources and strategies so that the project reaches completion as envisioned. This is what makes project management important in the early stages of a project life cycle. Although it is likely that the project team has to take corrective actions in later stages in response to problems, with proper planning and strategizing, project managers can limit the negative effects of such problems. The effective management of project planning, organization and scheduling creates more insight in the project and the potential problems that can occur in later stages, such as the realization phase. Furthermore, the application of modern tools also allows for the optimization of building design and enhances the constructability of building projects. The early design stage of a construction project is also appropriate stage for identifying the project s risks and the development of a project strategy. The sections below summarized tools to support the management of various project management aspects. 2

4 2.1 BUILDING DESIGN Even though buildings are inherently three dimensional, traditionally their design was created with two dimensional drawings. This means that project teams and construction crews involved in the realization have to visualize the designs three dimensionally based on these two dimensional designs. Although, with experience, identification of issues with the design s constructability is possible, in practice many design problems still remain unnoticed. These then become apparent during the realization of the design and lead to costly and time-consuming additional work or rework. According to Fischer and Tatum (1997), constructability is an important objective in all phases of the construction project, and designers play an important role in achieving superior constructability. Practitioners can use 3D models of building designs to communicate issues that could not be adequately communicated using traditional 2D drawings (Hartmann et al. 2008). Furthermore, 3D and 4D (i.e. 3D models including the project schedule) CAD models enhance the ability to identify issues with a design s constructability (Hartmann & Fischer, 2007) with the incorporation of a clash detection function. The simulation of construction activities on a construction projects and the performance of automated clash detection identifies conflicts between different objects and construction activities in a design (Huang et al., 2007). These conflicts are, for instance, building components that intersect and are, therefore, impossible to build (De Vries & Harink, 2007). Another example of a clash is an improper sequence of construction activities that would result in components being built in an incorrect order. Clash detection allows designers and planners to alter the design or change the sequence in which the design is realized (Staub-French & Khanzode, 2007). The automated design check assures that the final design is constructible and realizable in a cost efficient manner. 2.2 PROJECT PLANNING & SCHEDULING While often confused, planning is not the same as scheduling. Mawdesley, Askew, and O Reilly (1996) define project planning as: a general term which is used to encompass the ideas commonly referred to as programming, scheduling and organizing. Its aim is defined as: to make sure that all work required to complete the project is achieved in the correct order, in the right place, at the right time, by the right people and equipment, to the right quality, and in the most economical, safe and environmentally acceptable manner. Scheduling on the other hand is defined as understanding and producing a set of sequenced construction activities (Baldwin et al., 2008). Fischer (2002), as cited in Heesom & Mahdjoubi (2004), states that there is a fundamental difference between a project plan and a project schedule: whereas a plan shows a project s activities and their logic relationship, a schedule shows temporal information with which the project s duration is defined. The consideration of the characteristics of complex project planning is part of what Waly and Thabet (2002) call the macro planning process. This process takes place during the preconstruction stage of the project and involves the selection of major strategies, reviewing design constructability, the planning of major site operations and construction path, and arranging the primary means, methods and resources for the realization of the work packages. A project s macro planning is of vital importance to its successful delivery and execution (Waly & Thabet, 2002). An important part of macro planning a construction project is the creation of the project schedule. The project schedule places all the tasks of the project in a logical and sequential order. Depending on the type of tasks, variations in the sequence of tasks are possible. A basic construction project schedule contains the start and end dates of tasks, their duration, their dependency on other tasks and the types of dependency between tasks. More advanced project schedules may also include aspects such as float (slack). To create a construction schedule that is as efficient as possible, project managers use three tools and techniques commonly: the Gantt chart (with Critical Path Method), Line-of-Balance scheduling, and, more recently, 4D models. However, to 3

5 obtain efficiency in project scheduling, time is not the only important aspect. The resources required to complete the identified tasks are often considered in conjunction with the creation of the project schedule. The logic behind this is that the duration of the schedule and the structuring of its tasks have a direct relation with the amount and type of resource required. The paragraphs below discuss some tools and techniques used in the planning and scheduling of construction projects in more detail GANTT CHARTS, CPM, LOB Although it has a long history, project planning (and scheduling) first became formalized with the introduction of the Gantt Chart by Henry L. Gantt in the early 1900s (Wilson, 2002). Initially, Gantt charts were a production planning tool that the production industry used to plan and manage batch production. Gantt charts use a timephased dependent demand approach to production planning (Wilson, 2002). By comparing the Gantt chart as planned with the Gantt chart as built project managers can analyze the performance of the overall project and isolate tasks and their allocated resources to analyze their performance individually. This makes the Gantt chart a useful tool for both project planning as well as project control. Computer-based tools such as MS Project and Primavera P3/P6 make use of Gantt Charts and have set an industry standard for the modern creation of project schedules linked to the resources of a project. These tools also have the ability to apply the Critical Path Method (CPM) (Lu & Lam, 2008) and indicate the amount of float that non-critical tasks have. CPM is a method that creates a sequence of tasks based on the (types of) dependencies and durations that add up to the longest total project duration. Float is defined as the additional time tasks can use without affecting the overall construction schedule. Galloway (2006) gives an in-depth overview of how the construction industry views and applies CPM in the planning and realization of construction projects. She found that CPM scheduling has become a practical standard that is applied even when clients do not specifically request it and that it is also considered to beneficial in risk management applications. Another technique that, like CPM, has been used since the 1950s is the Line-of-Balance (LOB) technique (Suhail& Neale, 1994). LOB is a resource-oriented scheduling tool as opposed to CPM, which is characterized as an activity-based scheduling tool (Trimble, 1984). Although it is less widely used than CPM, LOB offers distinct advantages when applied to projects with repetitive tasks (Suhail & Neale, 1994; Tokdemir et al., 2006). With the LOB technique, planners can create a schedule that is optimized for the resources that the repetitive tasks require. Combining LOB and CPM gives the possibility to level resources and to utilize float times to streamline the scheduling process and achieve project goals related to productivity and reduced costs (Suhail & Neale, 1994). This ensures that the resources available to the project a spread evenly and that no tasks are scheduled when too little resources are available to complete these tasks. In planning the realization of a construction project, this technique is also useful to examine different scenarios of resources availability and determine a resource strategy that is able to match the client s demands in terms of project costs and duration D MODELS The most recent addition to planning and scheduling tools available to the construction industry is computerbased 4D technology. Four dimensional (4D) construction planning provides the ability to represent construction plans graphically (Heesom & Mahdjoubi, 2002). A 4D model results from the linking of 3D graphic images to the fourth dimension of time (Koo & Fischer, 2000). In the 4D model, the temporal and spatial aspects of the project are inextricably linked, as they are during the actual construction process (Fischer, 1997). In recent years, 3D and 4D models have been used in more and more construction projects to support management tasks (Hartmann et al., 2008). Because of the presence of a direct link between 3D design and the project schedule, a 4D model has more areas of application than traditional 2D drawings and a CPM. Other advantages that 4D applications have over traditional 2D methods are, for instance, that they provide the possibility to represent construction plans graphically (Heesom & Mahdjoubi, 2002) and that the visualization of a construction project and its schedule helps planners in the process of identifying potential problems before 4

6 actual construction starts (McKinney, Kunz & Fischer, 1998). Examples from literature of the areas of application of 4D technology are the visualization of a project for marketing and communication purposes, design review (e.g. clash detection), cost estimating, bid preparation/procurement (Hartmann et al., 2008), constructability review (Hartmann & Fischer, 2007), site management (Chau, Anson & Zhang, 2004), scheduling, and planning (location-based) work-flow (Jongeling & Olofsson, 2007). Heesom and Mahdjoubi (2004) remark that, in general, the utilization of 4D visualization allows a more intuitive comprehension of the construction process than traditional 2D drawings and schedule information. By visualizing the sequence of construction activities and the creation of various components of the construction project, project teams can determine whether the sequence is feasible and logical and whether there are clashes between the project components and activities. 2.3 ORGANIZING Organizing the project relates to the planning of resources that the project requires to reach completion. According to Winch (2002), determining and organizing the project resources is an important factor in riding the project life cycle successfully. These resources can vary from the capital for financing the project to the materials, equipment, and human capital involved in realizing the construction project. In the wide spectrum of resources that are involved in realizing a construction project, the project team is perhaps one of the most important as one of its main tasks is to assure the gathering and proper utilization of the other project resources. Depending on the size and scope of a construction projects, project teams can consist of a few to several hundred persons, each with their own specialties and responsibilities (Winch, 2002). Hobday (2000) states that a project-based organization is able to respond flexibly to changing client needs and that it is also effective in integrating different types of knowledge and skills. In addition to poorly integrating the necessary types of knowledge and skills, an improperly formed project team can cause delays and budget overruns, which results in the inefficient realization of the project. Furthermore, during the planning stage, the early involvement of project team members adds expertise and strengthens commitment to the project (PMI, 2004). The project team is by no means a static entity, but changes as the project moves through the consecutive stages of its life cycle. In the design and planning stages, the emphasis of the project team organization is more on specialties such as design, risk identification, and planning. In later stages, the emphasis is more on specialties that deal with realizing the project such as project management, construction crews, and project controllers. However, the persons involved in the earlier stage often still have an important role in later project stages, for instance to solve problems with constructability. Furthermore, because of the complex environment that a construction project represents, authority within an organization becomes more decentralized (Shirazi et al., 1995), making it more difficult to maintain control over the organization. In addition, a construction project team is a temporary organization (Lundin & Soderholm, 1995), which means the smooth operation of the organization may require more effort than organizations that are not temporary TOOLS FOR ORGANIZING THE PROJECT TEAM Construction projects, especially large scale and multi-disciplinary projects are often complex. They involve many interdependent activities and require intensive coordination among many parties (Jin & Levitt, 1996). To maintain effectiveness and efficiency during the various project stages project managers, therefore, need to understand what the requirements of the project team are. One of these requirements is an efficient and functional flow of information. A project organization processes information to coordinate and control its activities (Jin & Levitt, 1996). In large projects the flows of information becomes rather complex due to number of persons and tasks involved. Therefore, the construction industry applies tools to structure information on project team organization. These tools are able to represent the organization structure and network of task 5

7 activities (Jin & Levitt, 1996) thereby giving the possibility to manipulate the composition and structure of the project team in such as way that it matches the requirements that the project presents and allow for an efficient flow of information. By frequently analyzing the performance of the project team and the tasks it needs to perform, it becomes possible to adjust the teams structure in an effort to realize it efficiently. 2.4 COST ESTIMATION As mentioned earlier, project cost is one of the most important aspects that require management during construction projects. Cost management is highly specialized field within project management, and the decisions made in other project management field often involve financial aspects. An appropriate start for effective cost management during construction projects is to perform project cost estimation during the early stages of the project. During cost estimation the main task is to determine the amount and cost of the resources that the project requires to reach completion. The specific type and amount of resources required depends on a number of factors. A major factor is the scope of the project. Project scope definition is the process by which projects are defined and prepared for realization, and its poor definition is a leading cause for project failure, adversely affecting the project costs, schedule and operational characteristics (Gibson & Wang, 2001). To prevent this, project teams have to perform proper pre-project planning (Gibson & Wang, 2001), i.e. macro planning (Waly & Thabet, 2002). Additional complexity in pre-project planning stems from the use of new and innovative types of contracts. Innovative construction contracts do not only involve the realization of a construction project, but may also involve the design and maintenance stages. This implies that the time span in which project costs requires consideration increases significantly and that project teams have to weigh different options carefully. For instance, the choice for using cheap construction methods and materials may result in a profitable realization stage, but also tend to increase maintenance costs. Ultimately, this choice may result in poor life-cycle profitability for the construction project. Similar to other aspects of construction project management, practitioners also apply specific tools and techniques to support the estimation of project costs COST ESTIMATION TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES One of the techniques that estimators employ to determine the resources required is the so-called quantity take-off. Traditionally, estimators identified the amount and type of resources (i.e. materials) needed based on experience, knowledge, and manual calculations and with the use of 2D drawings. By adding the number of square or cubic meters of different materials, estimators arrive at the total materials needed to build the project. However, in large and complex projects, the estimation of materials amounts and their costs is a painstaking and difficult task that is prone to errors, when using traditional methods. Modern cost estimating techniques use 3D models as a basis (Hartmann et al., 2008). These 3D models contain parametric objects to which practitioners can attach additional information, for instance material properties and costs. With these models estimators then create a bill of quantities that contains all the material prices and total quantities. Furthermore, it is also possible to directly link a 3D model to cost estimating software (Staub-French et al., 2003a). In that way, when the 3D model of the project is updated, this is automatically transcribed to a new bill of quantities. These tools support cost estimators in one of their most difficult tasks, namely understanding how the building design influences construction costs (Staub-French et al., 2003b). In addition to determining material costs with 3D models and cost estimating software, by reviewing the construction method and sequence of the project, estimators can also estimate the number of work crews needed to complete the project according to the project schedule. By linking information such as quantities and costs of the resources to 3D model the project schedule, project planners can identify the progression of resource utilization over time. Linking this information to a 4D model effective creates a 5D model. O Brien (2000) states that, by modeling resource allocation choices, 5D CAD models will improve the cost and schedule recommendations of 4D CAD models. In 5D CAD it is also possible to apply resource leveling, for instance in the case of repetitive tasks occurring. The main difference with traditional resource leveling is that updating a 5D model is less time- 6

8 consuming. A change in the project s design or schedule or an update in material costs is rapidly implemented in the model through the digital linkage of 3D model, schedule, and cost estimation. This improves the ability to manage projects as well as improve subcontractor cost and resource planning, because it allows for quick and frequent distribution of updated plan and schemes among the parties involved in the project. Another important financial aspect in managing construction project is cash flow. A project s cash flow is linked to the project schedule and the corresponding cost estimation. The schedule determines what is built when, while the cost estimation determines the cost involved in realizing the project schedule. Besides deriving information from the project cost estimate, input of client payments and time lag between disbursements and receipts is essential elements for creating a project cash flow forecast (Kaka & Price, 1993). In the tender stage of a construction project, cash flow is critical because it helps determining the method of financing the project and whether it is possible to influence the overall liquidity of the construction company (Kaka & Price, 1993). On a company level, cash flow forecasting is often difficult because budgeting is based on an overall basis. The main reason for this is that a construction company s annual turnover is contributed to, for a large part, by contracts that have not yet been won or are even known during budgeting (Kaka & Lewis, 2003). Forecasting the cash flow of an individual project involves two types of work: the forecast on cost or value flows, often referred to as S-curves and the process of translating these curves into cash flow. Conventional process of forecasting cost flow curves involves the calculation of production quantities for each time interval according to progress schedules and multiplying them by the estimated units costs (Kaka & Lewis, 2003). Because of this, tools that practitioners use in project scheduling and cost estimation are also at the basis of project cash flow forecasting. This implies that schedule optimization also has an effect on project cash flow. This presents another parameter that planners have to consider in the tradeoffs involved in planning construction projects. For instance, a schedule may be optimized for fast project completion, but this is not necessarily advantageous for project cash flow. Cash flow models are therefore very useful tools for project planning and cost estimation as, with the input of temporal and financial information they allow for analysis of project and company liquidity. 3. PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL Once all the preparatory work on a construction project is complete, actual construction can start. The plans made in earlier stages are now implemented on the construction site. Despite all the effort to identify potential issues, devise project strategies, and align resources with the project, it is not likely that the realization of the construction project will go exactly as envisioned (Laufer & Tucker, 1987). Therefore, continuous adjustment by the project team is necessary in an attempt to maintain project control. Project control refers to the effort of keeping parameters that indicate a project s performance close to predetermined target value or within the range of the target value. According to Diekmann and Al-Tabtabai (1992), project control includes four elements, namely: The performance standards and plans formulated and developed from the project objectives, goals and strategies; The performance-measurement techniques; A comparison of the planned and actual performances; The corrective action that is required to get the project back on track. From Diekmann and Al-Tabtabai s (1992) first and fourth elements of project control, the link between thorough project planning and the controlled execution of the later stages becomes apparent. These elements emphasize the need for a solid project strategy that includes a consideration of scenarios in which the project deviates from the original plan and the corresponding corrective actions. In attempting to maintain project control, the project team can take two types of corrective action: preventive or reactive (PMI, 2004). These 7

9 actions can relate to any aspect of a construction project, for instance, schedule, cost, quality, risk, etc. However, to assure that these actions have the desired effect, project teams need to know how severe the project has deviated from the project plan. To establish this requires monitoring of the project s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are compilations of data measures used to assess the performance of a construction operation (Cox, Issa, Ahrens, 2003). The exact composition of the set of KPIs that is applied differs from project to project, depending on the importance the client of other parties involved assign to the various elements of a construction project. Furthermore, the amount of leeway various KPIs are given may also differ. The determination of the relevant KPIs and boundaries within which the project has to operate is another important element of the project planning stage that has a clear link with the ability to realize the project as efficient as possible. 3.1 TOOLS FOR PROJECT MONITORING AND CONTROL Project monitoring provides the basis for maintaining project control and project monitoring usually involves the utilization of KPIs. Construction practitioners use these KPIs to evaluate project performance. These evaluations typically compare the actual and estimated performance of predetermined parameters (Cox et al., 2003). In the early planning stage of a construction project, these parameters are set up. They may relate to aspects such as the project schedule, cost, constructability, etc. Because monitoring compares what was previously planned and estimated and with what is currently happen on the construction site, the tools that project teams use to support project monitoring and control in the realization phase are the same as those used in the planning stages of the project. The difference is the purpose for which these tools are used, namely to process, structure and analyze information gathered during project realization. Depending on the type of information gathered, project teams can implement this information in 3D/4D models, Gantt charts, resource utilization models or organizational models. The resulting updated versions of the original models make the variances between planned and actual performance apparent. Because a construction project is constantly changing as construction progresses, the project team members that perform monitoring and control need tools that are easily updatable and can cope with rapidly changing situations. Computer-based tools provide such capabilities whereas more traditional tools such as 2D paper drawings do not. This suggests that the application of modern project management tools allows for closer monitoring and better control of construction projects. Of, course it would seem logic that, as computer and software capabilities improve, construction project management tools become more sophisticated and are able to better meet the demand from the construction industry. 5. DISCUSSION As acknowledged in this paper, the latest tools that support project management in the construction industry build on previously developed tools and techniques that were useful and effective in practice. Despite this, the adoption of new project management tools is not without problems. Some issues still remain that require resolution in order to exploit the full potential that modern project management tools offer. Some of the major issues found both in practice and in theory are the interoperability between the various available tools, and the acceptance of the new technologies by companies and practitioners that operate in the construction industry. 5.1 INTEROPERABILITY According to Eastman et al. (2008), interoperability identifies the need to pass data between applications, and for multiple applications to jointly contribute to the work at hand. Interoperability eliminates the need to 8

10 replicate data input that has already been generated, and facilitates smooth workflows and automation. Although rapidly improving, interoperability is still somewhat problematic. Currently, there is no absolute guarantee that a model created in one software package, for instance by the main contractor, is compatible with the software packages that subcontractors use. For the advancement of interoperability between project management tools, three elements are important. The first is the application of industry standards. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 2004), the lack of interoperability and standards costs the U.S. capital facilities industry $15.8 billion annually. In an effort to advance standardization, particularly in BIM tools, the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) introduced Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs). These IFCs are a data structure used in BIM packages to represent information. To achieve standardization within project management tools in general, manufacturers will have to adhere to some sort of standards or otherwise ensure that their technology is compatible with those of other manufacturers. The second important factor that may improve interoperability lies with the tools themselves. For instance, gaps between the capabilities of tools have to be filled. For example, modern cost estimation tools require a 3D model. If the objects in this 3D model do not allow for the addition of cost information with cost estimation software, there is a gap between the capabilities between the tools that practitioners have to use consecutively to arrive at a cost estimate. In practice this will result in a poor adoption of these tools. Finally, on the project level, advances in tool interoperability are also needed. Because every construction project is unique (Dubois & Gadde, 2002), it is essential that project management tools are flexible enough to allow their use in different configurations depending on the needs that a particular project presents. These needs may originate from the project itself or from the parties involved in realizing the project. 5.2 INDUSTRY ACCEPTANCE Despite difficulties with interoperability and some other issues, practitioners generally see the advantages that project management tools can provide for their work. In relation to BIM technology, however, Lee (2008) and Webb et al. (2004) state that large scale implementation has yet to occur. An important cause for this lack of wide spread use of BIM technology and other innovative project management tools is the fact that people have a tendency to resist change (Lee, 2008). However, resistance to change in the construction industry is not limited to the implementation of BIM technology. Many people working in the construction industry are accustomed to working with traditional methods for creating designs, schedules, cost estimates, etc. For these people, the switch from paper drawings to working with new and innovative methods such as digital building models means having less control over the construction process (Lee, 2008). However, while at first this resistance to change may seem to thwart the implementation of new project management tools, Hartmann and Fischer (2009) argue that resistance is an important attribute of individuals during any change process. Resistance to change creates awareness among users establishes momentum for change due to a critical discourse about the new technology, and eliminates impractical elements of the technology (Ford, 2008).For this to change, construction companies have to adopt a more pragmatic approach to implementing new project management tools. Change agents within these construction companies should view resistance to change as a suggestion to improve the tools under discussion (Hartmann & Fischer, 2009). Those that are skeptic to new project management tools will feel more valued, and change agents and construction companies are able to achieve their goals with regard to the implementation of project management tools better. Of course, even with little resistance to changing a work method and adopting new project management tools, construction companies have to have a willingness to invest in new technology and train their personnel so that they become accustomed to this new working method. The problem with this is that construction companies are often part of a chain: not many construction company have the expertise to carry out every step in the life cycle from concept to finance, design, realization, and maintenance. Even those companies that do have all the necessary expertise in-house are often structured in a way that creates different divisions or business units. In implementing the new technology within the supply chain, it is vital to have a leading party 9

11 that drives the process. The required investment in new project management tools is only justified for construction companies if clients specifically request their use or if its use will add value within the company itself. This added value may, for instance, come from a more efficient work flow in planning a construction project. As more projects make use of project management tools such as BIM technology, and their application starts to produce value for the company, investments in advancing its incorporation in the construction process are likely to increase (Lee, 2008). Still, some of the perceived advantages of innovative project management tools, such as the reduction of duplicate data input during the various phases of the project, are partially undone by a lack of trust in the technology. Construction companies are often not entirely familiar with the possibilities of new tools and, therefore, additional checking to ensure the correctness of the models is necessary. This costs valuable time and money and diminishes the perceived advantages of new technologies in the construction industry. REFERENCES Baldwin, A., Kong, C.W., Huang, T., Guo, H.L., Wong, K.D., & Li, H. (2008). Planning and scheduling in a virtual prototyping environment. In P. Brandon & T. Kocatürk (Eds.), Virtual Futures for Design, Construction & Procurement (pp ). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. Chan, A.P.C., Scott, D.,& Chan, A.P.L. (2004). Factors Affecting the Success of a Construction Project. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 130(1), Chau, K.W., Anson, M., & Zhang, J.P. (2004). Four-Dimensional Visualization of Construction Scheduling and Site Utilization. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 14(4), Cox, R.F., Issa, R.R.A, & Ahrens, D. (2003). Management s Perception of Key Performance Indicators for Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 123(2), De Vries, B., & Harink, J.M.J. (2007). Generation of a construction planning from a 3D CAD model. Automation in Construction, 16(1), Diekmann, J.E., & Al-Tabtabai, H. (1992). Knowledge-based approach to construction project control. International Journal of Project Management, 10(1), Dubois, A., & Gadde, L.-E. (2002). The construction industry as a loosely coupled system: implications for productivity and innovation. Construction Management and Economics, 20(7), Galloway, P.D. (2006). Survey of the Construction Industry Relative to the Use of CPM Scheduling for Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 132(7), Gibson, G.E., & Wang, Y.-R. (2001). Scope definition, a key to project success. COBRA 2001 Conference at Glasgow Caledonian University, 1, Gidado, K.I. (1996). Project complexity: The focal point of construction project planning. Construction Management and Economics, 14(3), Fischer, M., & Tatum, C.B. (1997). Characteristics of design-relevant constructability knowledge. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 123(3), Fischer, M. (1997). Visualization Technologies. Proceedings of Global Construction IT Futures. Armathwaite Hall, UK, Ford, J.D., Ford L.W., & D Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance to change: the rest of the story. Academy Management Review, 33(2), of 10

12 Hartmann, T., & Fischer, M. (2007). Supporting the constructability review with 3D/4D models. Building Research & Information, 35(1), Hartmann, T., & Fischer, M. (2009). A process view on end user resistance during construction it implementations. ITcon 14, Hartmann, T., Gao, J., & Fischer, M. (2008). Areas of Application for 3D and 4D Models on Construction Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 134(10), Heesom, D., & Mahdjoubi, L. (2002). A dynamic 4D simulation system for construction space planning. Proceedings of the Third International Conference Decision Making in Urban and Civil Engineering. London, UK. Heesom, D., & Mahdjoubi, L. (2004). Trends of 4D CAD applications for construction planning. Construction Management and Economics, 22, Hobday, M. (2000). The project-based organization: an ideal form for managing complex products and systems? Research Policy, 29(7), Huang, T., Kong,C.W., Guo, H.L., Baldwin, A., & Li, H. (2007). A virtual prototype system for simulating construction processes. Automation in Construction, 16(5), Jin, Y., & Levitt, R.E., (1996). The Virtual Design Team: A Computational Model of Project Organizations. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2(3), Jongeling, R., & Oloffsson, T. (2007). A method for planning of work-flow by combined use of location-based scheduling and 4D CAD. Automation in Construction, 16(2), Kaka, A.P., & Lewis, J. (2003). Development of a company-level dynamic cash flow model (DYCAFF). Construction Management and Economics, 21(7), Kaka, A.P., & Price, A.D.F. (1993). Modelling standard cost commitment curves for contractors cash flow forecasting. Construction Management and Economics, 11(4), Koo, B., & Fischer, M. (200). Feasibility of 4D CAD in commercial construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(4), Laufer, A., & Tucker, R.L. (1987). Is construction project planning really doing its job? A critical examination of focus, role and process. Construction Management and Economics, 5(3), Lee, A., Wu, S., Marshall-Ponting, A., Aouad, G., Cooper, R., Tah, J. H. M., Abbott, C. & Barrett, P. S. (2005). nd Modelling Road map: A Vision for nd-enabled Construction. University of Salford, Salford Centre for Research & Innovation, UK. Lee, C. (2008). BIM: Changing the Construction Industry. Proceedings Project Management Institute Global Congres, Denver, CO. Lu, M., & Lam, H.-C. (2008). Critical Path Scheduling under Resource Calender Constraints. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 134(1), Lundin, R.A., & Soderholm, A. (1995). A theory of the temporary organization. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 11(4), Mawdesley, M., Askew, W., & O Reilly, M. (1996). Planning and controlling construction projects: the best laid plans... Harlow, Essex: Addison Wesley Longman. 11

13 McKinney, K., Fischer, M., and Kunz, J. (1998). Visualization of construction planning information. Proceedings, Intelligent User Interfaces, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, National Institute of Standards and Technology (2004). Cost Analysis of Inadequate Interoperability in the U.S. Capital Facilities Industry. Gaithersburg, MD. O Brien, W. (2000). Towards 5D CAD dynamic cost and resource planning for specialist contractors, Construction Congress VI, ASCE, Orlando, FL, pp Pries, F., Doree, A., Van Der Veen, B., Vrijhoef, R. (2004). The role of leaders paradigm in construction industry change. Construction Management and Economics, 22(1), Sacks, R. Eastman, C.M, Lee, G., & Orndorff, D. (2005). A target benchmark of the impact of three-dimensional Parametric Modeling in Precast Construction. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, 5, Shirazi, B., Langford, D.A., & Rowlinson, S.M. (1995). Organizational structures in the construction industry, Construction Management and Economics 14(3), Staub-French, S., Fischer, M., Kunz, J., & Paulson, B. (2003a). A generic feature-driven activity-based cost estimation process. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 17(1), Staub-French, S.,., Fischer, M., Kunz, J., & Paulson, B. (2003b). An ontology for relating features with activities to calculate costs. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineerin, 17(4), Staub-French, S., & Khanzode, A. (2007). 3D and 4D modeling for design and construction coordination: issues and lessons learned. ITcon 12, Suhail, S.A., & Neale, R.H. (1994). CPM/LOB: New Methodology to Integrate CPM and Line of Balance. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 120(3), Tokdemir, O.B., Arditi, D., & Balcik, C. (2006). ALISS: Advanced Linear Scheduling System. Construction Management and Economic, 24(10-12), Trimble, G. (1984). Resource-oriented scheduling. International Journal of Project Management, 2(2), Waly, A.F., & Thabet, W.Y. (2002). A Virtual Construction Environment for preconstruction planning. Automation in Construction, 12, Webb, R.M., Smallwood, J., Haupt. T.C (2004). The potential of 4D CAD as a tool for construction management. Journal of Construction Research, 5(1), Wilson, J.M. (2002). Gantt charts: A centenary appreciation. European Journal of Operational Research, 149(10), Winch, G.M. (2002). Managing Construction Projects: An Information Processing Approach. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science. ADDITIONAL READING Books: Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Sacks, R., & Liston, K. (2008). BIM handbook: a guide to building information modeling for owners, managers, designers, engineers, and contractors. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, Inc. 12

14 Project Management Institute (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBoK Guide). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Websites: Dutch daily newspaper with news about the construction industry. Dutch construction industry trade magazine Dutch magazine about innovation and change in the construction industry Website of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) Website of one of the leading developers of design and construction management tools - website of the developer of SimVision Note: these trade magazines and newspapers also have discussion boards on Linkedin.com that discuss the most current issues on development and implementation of project management tools such as BIM technology. 1. Create literature review structure. Search for scheduling, cost estimation, construction industry, Gantt chart, 3D/4D modeling, resource leveling, BIM, organizational design, IFC, monitoring, control, cash flow, budget, planning, design in: JCEM, Automation in Construction, Advanced Engineering Informatics, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, ITCON, Construction Management and Economics 2. Add section for research review 13