Construction co-ordination in a project site
Coordination can be seen as a process of managing resources in an organized manner so that a higher degree of operational efficiency can be achieved for a given project.
Two coordination methods have been identified as appropriate to be used in the design process, namely, direct contact and meetings.
Direct contact
Direct contact has been identified as the simplest form, and one that involves minimal cost among the methods of coordination .Two types of direct contacts are used in projects:
direct formal contact and direct informal contact. Each method encompasses different approaches in gathering useful information. A combination of these methods could send reasonably accurate messages quickly in all directions, and could be able to deal with all the major uncertainties that arise within the project organisation. Because of the iterative nature of the design process, the number of participants and the fragmentation of building systems, the increased use of direct contact is critically required.
Direct formal contact
Direct formal contact refers to the documented information that could be obtained by letters, memos and reports. This approach is more formal, and is widely used as a means of communication among the different organisations that are involved in a project. Direct formal contact has been identified as one of the means used by designers for obtaining design information.
In managing a risky project, proper documents are always needed to protect the participants involved. Formal documents could be used for litigation or as evidence in any contract dispute, such as variation claims in projects. Therefore, it is important to use direct formal contact in handling uncertainty in the refurbishment design, such as in design changes.
Direct informal contact
Any information obtained using informal conversations such as telephone calls or discussions is categorized under direct informal contact As the design process has a large number of participants and a high degree of interdependence of building design, the demand for informal contact is increased. The uncertain nature of refurbishment projects requires an approach that is more flexible.
One of the advantages of using direct informal contact is that information can be gathered quickly without the need for any formal procedure. Informal contact provides clearer information in a short time, and hence is useful in confirming certain issues pertaining to the design process. The refurbishment design process involves a large amount of information flow. Therefore, direct informal contact could resolve the problem of inefficiency in flow of design information, especially when design changes occur during the construction stage.
Meeting
The purpose of meetings is to keep key participants informed, and to handle shared problems arising in the projects. Meetings are one way to increase the amount of information in construction projects, as a meeting mostly covers the current issues of the design. All the feedback and comments from the design team's participants could be discussed instantly in the meeting. The design process normally involves participants from different organisations, who form a group known as a design team. Meetings are seen as a medium to increase interaction among the design team members. There are two types of meetings in construction projects: scheduled and unscheduled meetings. Both types are important in achieving better integration in the management of the refurbishment design process.
Scheduled meeting
Scheduled meetings for the design process are conducted at intervals of one a week to report on the progress of the design work and to discuss any issues that arise. The scheduled meeting for design diminishes slowly once the construction stage starts. A scheduled meeting can transform into an unscheduled meeting if any problems crop up during the construction stage. The functions of a scheduled meeting are to coordinate and to act as a means of conveying information about current progress of work and recent design changes In a construction project, the scheduled meeting is an appropriate venue and suitable time for the project participants to discuss any issues related to the project. Problems in design could be discussed and finalised during the meeting, which could lead to a reduction in design errors during the construction stage.
Unscheduled meetings in the design process
An unscheduled meeting would be held if there was any urgent need to solve current issues related to design. This type of meeting normally takes over from a scheduled meeting in the design process when work has started onsite or between the intervals of scheduled meetings. Problems arising onsite, such as discrepancies in drawings that need to be solved urgently, are typical situations when an unscheduled meeting would be called. However, the need to attend unscheduled meetings requires the participants in refurbishment projects to be flexible and responsive They may need to forgo their routine activities in order to attend unscheduled meetings for refurbishment projects. The allocation of time and overhead cost for refurbishment design works tends to increase if there are many unscheduled meetings during the construction stage. The need for unscheduled meetings increases during the construction stage, as many unknown items start to be discovered. The unscheduled meeting is probably suitable to cater to the uncertainty of design information in refurbishment projects. The unscheduled meeting would be least important if there were no urgent decisions to be confirmed. Minor design problems that arise could be discussed at the next scheduled meeting of the project.
Coordination can be seen as a process of managing resources in an organized manner so that a higher degree of operational efficiency can be achieved for a given project.
Two coordination methods have been identified as appropriate to be used in the design process, namely, direct contact and meetings.
Direct contact
Direct contact has been identified as the simplest form, and one that involves minimal cost among the methods of coordination .Two types of direct contacts are used in projects:
direct formal contact and direct informal contact. Each method encompasses different approaches in gathering useful information. A combination of these methods could send reasonably accurate messages quickly in all directions, and could be able to deal with all the major uncertainties that arise within the project organisation. Because of the iterative nature of the design process, the number of participants and the fragmentation of building systems, the increased use of direct contact is critically required.
Direct formal contact
Direct formal contact refers to the documented information that could be obtained by letters, memos and reports. This approach is more formal, and is widely used as a means of communication among the different organisations that are involved in a project. Direct formal contact has been identified as one of the means used by designers for obtaining design information.
In managing a risky project, proper documents are always needed to protect the participants involved. Formal documents could be used for litigation or as evidence in any contract dispute, such as variation claims in projects. Therefore, it is important to use direct formal contact in handling uncertainty in the refurbishment design, such as in design changes.
Direct informal contact
Any information obtained using informal conversations such as telephone calls or discussions is categorized under direct informal contact As the design process has a large number of participants and a high degree of interdependence of building design, the demand for informal contact is increased. The uncertain nature of refurbishment projects requires an approach that is more flexible.
One of the advantages of using direct informal contact is that information can be gathered quickly without the need for any formal procedure. Informal contact provides clearer information in a short time, and hence is useful in confirming certain issues pertaining to the design process. The refurbishment design process involves a large amount of information flow. Therefore, direct informal contact could resolve the problem of inefficiency in flow of design information, especially when design changes occur during the construction stage.
Meeting
The purpose of meetings is to keep key participants informed, and to handle shared problems arising in the projects. Meetings are one way to increase the amount of information in construction projects, as a meeting mostly covers the current issues of the design. All the feedback and comments from the design team's participants could be discussed instantly in the meeting. The design process normally involves participants from different organisations, who form a group known as a design team. Meetings are seen as a medium to increase interaction among the design team members. There are two types of meetings in construction projects: scheduled and unscheduled meetings. Both types are important in achieving better integration in the management of the refurbishment design process.
Scheduled meeting
Scheduled meetings for the design process are conducted at intervals of one a week to report on the progress of the design work and to discuss any issues that arise. The scheduled meeting for design diminishes slowly once the construction stage starts. A scheduled meeting can transform into an unscheduled meeting if any problems crop up during the construction stage. The functions of a scheduled meeting are to coordinate and to act as a means of conveying information about current progress of work and recent design changes In a construction project, the scheduled meeting is an appropriate venue and suitable time for the project participants to discuss any issues related to the project. Problems in design could be discussed and finalised during the meeting, which could lead to a reduction in design errors during the construction stage.
Unscheduled meetings in the design process
An unscheduled meeting would be held if there was any urgent need to solve current issues related to design. This type of meeting normally takes over from a scheduled meeting in the design process when work has started onsite or between the intervals of scheduled meetings. Problems arising onsite, such as discrepancies in drawings that need to be solved urgently, are typical situations when an unscheduled meeting would be called. However, the need to attend unscheduled meetings requires the participants in refurbishment projects to be flexible and responsive They may need to forgo their routine activities in order to attend unscheduled meetings for refurbishment projects. The allocation of time and overhead cost for refurbishment design works tends to increase if there are many unscheduled meetings during the construction stage. The need for unscheduled meetings increases during the construction stage, as many unknown items start to be discovered. The unscheduled meeting is probably suitable to cater to the uncertainty of design information in refurbishment projects. The unscheduled meeting would be least important if there were no urgent decisions to be confirmed. Minor design problems that arise could be discussed at the next scheduled meeting of the project.
