Project Executions Planning and Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Project Executions Planning and Management. Answer: Introduction The existing Sydney motorway network project is undertaken by APIC CONSULT, which is an organization that works as a general contractor and project consultant for both the government and the private agencies. The project deals with the widening of the existing M4 Motorway as the current roads are insufficient for the growing demands. The new and the improved highway system that is proposed is expected to enhance the traffic management system by removing an estimated 4000 trucks a day from Parramatta road. These trucks will be routed underground that will in turn trigger the opportunity for the neighbourhood revitalization. As a consultant, EPIC CONSULT has taken up the project to advise the client about the best project delivery method and the financial contract type that will be suitable for this project. Since the project size is particularly huge, the project was undertaken by a joint venture company of all the three prime contractors associated with the project. The project is ex pected to be delivered by 2023. Since the size of the project is particularly huge, there are certain challenges associated with the project as well. . The following paragraphs discusses in detail, financial contract type, procurement method, the delivery method for the project (Akintoye, Goulding Zawdie, 2012). Since M4 widening is a construction project and is particularly complex, it is necessary to choose the proper project delivery system in order to ensure that the project is not delayed further. Choosing an accurate project delivery method is crucial as this method is used by the project or the contractor manager to organize and manage the different operations and services associated with the delivery of a project. The proposed project delivery method for the M$ widening projects includes Design Bid Built delivery system, Design build delivery system and CM at Risk project delivery system (Bilbo et al., 2015). In order understand which project delivery method will be suitable for the M4 Motorway Widening project, the characteristics of all the three project delivery methods and the evaluation criteria of the three project delivery method is represented in the following matrix. The project Delivery System Matrix Criteria/ Goals Criteria Weight Project delivery system Method 1: Design Build Method 2: Design bid Build Method 3: CM at Risk Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score 1. The Project is needed to be completed within 2023 20 3 60 4 80 8 160 2. More than 140000 vehicles should be kept moving through the project corridor during project implementation 30 5 150 6 240 3 180 3. A first track schedule is to be maintained 20 4 80 6 120 8 160 4. The project is to be implemented in a controlling cost environment 30 7 210 8 240 4 120 100 --- 500 ----- 680 -- 620 Table 1: Representing the Project delivery matrix By analysing the results of the project delivery matrix mentioned above, it is found out that the design bid build method will be appropriate for successful implementation of the project within the allocated time. The assumptions associated with the selection of the design bid contract are as follows- Assumptions: In design bid build project delivery system, different entities are responsible for designing and building the project, which is similar to the case of M4 motorway development. Therefore, it is assumed that this contract will be appropriate to consider for the project (Xia et al., 2014). It is assumed that the separate phase of designing and bidding will not take more than the expected time. It is assumed that the project progress report will be regularly communicated to the two consulting companies, which are Larson and Sons and McCartney Inc (Porwal Hewage, 2013). Since WestLINK has somehow became fairly detached from the project and is responsible for performing only the brief reviews associated with the project, it is assumed that the separate designer and the builder in the design bid build project delivery method will look after the quality of the project. In order to evaluate the best project delivery method for M4 Motorway Widening project, a project delivery matrix is prepared, where each of the three project delivery methods is evaluated on basis of certain criteria (Pishdad-Bozorgi de la Garza, 2012). The importance and the significance of each of the project delivery methods is analysed on basis of the weight and importance of the criteria on basis of which is judged. There are certain challenges associated with the project, which needs to be eliminated in order to successfully implement the project. The criteria for choosing the best project delivery method have been set on basis of the challenges that the project might encounter (Minchin Jr et al., 2013). The project delivery method that will be able to eliminate those risk and limitation associated with the project will be chosen. The first criterion of choosing the best project delivery method is that the Project is needed to be completed within 2023. This criterion is assigned a weight of 20 as it is fairly important to finish the project in the given time and the motorway cannot be kept engaed for long time. The second criterion of choosing the best project delivery method is that More than 140000 vehicles should be kept moving through the project corridor during project implementation. This is one of the most important criteria for selection of the project delivery method and is assigned a weight of 30. This criterion is important and has been assigned a higher weight since the project cannot disrupt the normal operation of the motorway. In the table the design bid build contract gets a score of 6 against this criterion as in the bid phase, WestLink can easily choose the builder who will assure normal operation of the motorway in the project implementation stage (Kerzner Kerzner, 2017). The third Criterion of choosing the best project delivery method is that a first track schedule is to be maintained. This is again a major criterion of evaluation of the project as the project work will be performed in one of the vital parts of the city and is therefore expected to disrupt the normal operation of the project site to a great extent (Ilozor Kelly, 2012). Therefore, this criterion is allocated a weight of 20 and the design bid build project delivery method gets a score of 6 in this as in this project delivery method, the builder aims at finishing the project in the time allocated for a particular project. The last criterion, on basis of which the project delivery method is evaluated is that the project is to be implemented in a controlling cost environment. This is one of the most significant criteria for evaluating the best project delivery method and therefore is allocated a weight of 30. The design bid build contract gets a score of 8 against this criterion as separate contractors are responsible for managing the designing and the building phase of the project, which indicates that a proper control and monitoring procedure of the project will be implemented during the project execution. Table 1 represents the allocated score of design bid build contract against the criteria selected for evaluation of the best project delivery method. The design bid build project delivery system on an average gets a higher score in all the categories in comparison to design build and CM at risk Contract type and therefore, design bid build contract is chosen for the project. In criterion 1, the design bid built contract gets a considerably lower score than CM at risk since CM at risk type of project delivery system has the highest rate of timely completion of the project (Park et al., 2015). In criterion two, the design bid build type of project delivery system gets a greater score in comparison to the other two methods as in the bidding phase, the project owner can easily choose the builder that satisfies this project criteria. Similar is the case of the last two criteria since in the design bid build project delivery system, the project owner has the option to choose the best build er and project implementation technique for the project. The Financial Contract type Criteria/ Goals Criteria Weight Financial Contract Type Method 1: Lump Sum Contract Method 2: Guaranteed Maximum Price Contract Method 3: Cost Plus Free Contract Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score 1. The project needs to be completed within the allocated budget. There should be no or very little scope of budget revision or cost revision in the implementation of the project. 30 8 240 7 210 4 120 2. Ensuring proper safety is included in the budget 20 5 100 6 120 7 140 3. A concessional funding is committed to the project so that WestLINK can deliver the project in 2 stages. This funding cannot be revised in the later stage of the project 20 6 120 7 140 4 80 4. The project is to be implemented in a cost controlled environment 30 6 180 8 240 5 150 100 ---- 640 ----- 710 490 Table 2: Representing Financial Contract Type By analysing the data obtained from the financial contract type matrix, it is found out that the guaranteed maximum price contract will be best financial contract type for the Widening of the M4 Motorway project. The assumptions for choosing this type of financial contract is represented below- The financial contract type aligns with the chosen project delivery method. The financial contract chosen at the beginning of the project cannot be change in the later stages of the project. The project is expected to undergo no budget revision. Justification for the Criteria Chosen and the criterion weight allocated: The best financial contract type chosen for the M4 Motorway widening project is based on the certain criteria that are identified for the project (Gransberg, 2013). The first criterion that is chosen for evaluating the best financial contract type associated with the project is that the project needs to be completed within the allocated budget. There should be no or very little scope of budget revision or cost revision in the implementation of the project. This is an important criterion associated with the project and is therefore allocated a weight of 30. The second criterion that is chosen for evaluating the best financial contract type associated with the project is that workers safety is to be ensured and the safety requirements should be an important criterion for the contract. Therefore, this criterion is allocated a weight of 20 for identifying the best financial contract for the project. The third criterion, criterion that is chosen for evaluating the best financial contract type associated with the project is that the funding cannot be revised in the later stage of the project. This criterion is allocated a weight of 20 as financial contract to be chosen largely depends on the budget allocated. The last criterion is equally important and therefore allocated a weight of 30. In table 2, the guaranteed maximum price contract on an average gets higher score than the other two contract methods as in guaranteed maximum price contract; a contractor is responsible for the actual cost incurred for the project. Therefore, the contractor while taking the contract can be made to abide by the important criteria that are set for the project (Brook, 2012). Therefore, the guaranteed maximum price contract will be the accurate financial contract for the M4 motorway widening project. Conclusion Therefore, from the above the discussion it can be concluded that the M4 motorway widening project can be implemented within the time allocated by following a design bid build project delivery system. The delivery system is chosen for the project by evaluating certain important criteria for selection of the project delivery method. In order to choose the adequate financial contract type, certain important project criteria are evaluated. Use of a proper project delivery system and financial contract type is essential in order to ensure project success. References Akintoye, A., Goulding, J. S., Zawdie, G. (2012).Construction innovation and process improvement(pp. 1-17). Wiley?Blackwell. Bilbo, D., Bigelow, B., Escamilla, E., Lockwood, C. (2015). Comparison of construction manager at risk and integrated project delivery performance on healthcare projects: A comparative case study. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 11(1), 40-53. Brook, M. (2012).Estimating and tendering for construction work. Routledge. Gransberg, D. (2013). Early Contractor Design Involvement to Expedite Delivery of Emergency Highway Projects: Case Studies from Six States.Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2347), 19-26. Ilozor, B. D., Kelly, D. J. (2012). Building information modeling and integrated project delivery in the commercial construction industry: A conceptual study.Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management,2(1), 23. Kerzner, H., Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Minchin Jr, R. E., Li, X., Issa, R. R., Vargas, G. G. (2013). Comparison of cost and time performance of design-build and design-bid-build delivery systems in Florida.Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,139(10), 04013007. Park, H. S., Lee, D., Kim, S., Kim, J. L. (2015). Comparing project performance of design-build and design-bid-build methods for large-sized public apartment housing projects in Korea.Journal of Chen, Q., Jin, Z., Xia, B., Wu, P., Skitmore, M. (2015). Time and cost performance of designbuild projects.Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,142(2), 04015074.Architecture and Building Engineering,14(2), 323-330. Pishdad-Bozorgi, P., de la Garza, J. M. (2012). Comparative analysis of design-bid-build and design-build from the standpoint of claims. InConstruction Research Congress 2012: Construction Challenges in a Flat World(pp. 21-30). Porwal, A., Hewage, K. N. (2013). Building Information Modeling (BIM) partnering framework for public construction projects.Automation in Construction,31, 204-214. Xia, B., Chen, Q., Xu, Y., Li, M., Jin, X. (2014). Design-build contractor selection for public sustainable buildings.Journal of Management in Engineering,31(5), 04014070.