Introduction
For the past few decades, the process of development across the world is taking place at a rapid pace the basic reason for this being is the novel phenomenon of globalization. Nations are developing at a brisker pace in comparison to the past years; especially the developing countries of Asia and Africa are getting advantages from this trend of globalization. This overall changed atmosphere of the world has also affected the business world as any other field; the intensity of this impact maybe be more than what has been experienced by the other sectors of the society. The construction industry also had to make necessary changes in order to line it up according to the changing scenario of the world. As mentioned above as well that due to globalization most of the nations began to get developed and obviously the role of infrastructure in development is one thing that needs no explanation. The construction of major projects increased as an effect of this and thus this resulted in the increment of the intensity of competition. The clients had more options to choose from and so they started opting for the ones which are more proficient and efficient in the work. This entire situation demanded the firms come up with more competitive advantages thus they had to improvise and innovate their construction management capabilities in order to compete with the present situations of the market (Lock 2007).
Mansell Construction Services is a UK-based company, and this is the firm which is growing at a rapid pace as far as the United Kingdom is concerned; the revenues of the company touched the mark of a billion pounds in the year 2008. This is the firm in which I am working as a Trainee Site Manager and I have to point out the ways on how to manage things in a more adept manner. The new project is regarding the construction of a five-star hotel in Glasgow. This is a vital project from the firm’s point of view as the amount of projected profits is huge as far as this project is concerned. All the major areas of construction management will be discussed in the following parts of the report and the emphasis will be on how to manage the labor, materials, assets, and other sources of production in an adept manner so that the whole level of proficiency increases; it has to be kept in mind that the report is formulated after keeping in mind the external forces which will be acting on the firm in the English environment.
Labor Force
Managing the labor force is one thing which is an arduous task no matter how skillful the laborers are but to get them together and to motivate them for working is one thing which is too difficult an ask for the managers. The literacy rate of the labor force is one thing that has to be kept in mind because most of the workers are not much educated. Therefore it becomes tougher for the managers to make them comprehend their point of view. It has been observed that the number of Asians especially the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers in the UK is increasing a lot hence communicating with them is also one thing which is needed to be focused on in order to get the work done in a proper manner. All this affects the overall level of productivity of the workforce and thus these are the variables that have to be controlled in order to get things done in the right manner.
As per the speculations, around 1000 workers will be needed to work each day, as the project is of giant nature. This obviously will make the management of the workforce even tougher therefore the managers will be required to take extraordinary measures in order to administer this enormous workforce (Lock 2007). Diversity in the workforce is also one issue that demands to be emphasized in order to get the best results in the end. It has been estimated that if mismanagement of labor force takes place in this project then around 10% more workers will be required to do the work in time, this obviously will increase the direct labor expenditures for the firm and hence the profits will also get affected as a result of this; hence immediate measures must be taken by the management in order to deal with this issue.
Communication is one thing that is done in an adept manner that can change the overall scenario; informal and formal communication channels are needed to be made smooth as this is something that will be favorable for the final outcome. As the number of Asian workers has increased to a huge extent therefore I would suggest the firm induct those supervisors and lead supervisors who belong to the same region as this will enable the workforce to work in a better manner. In addition to this, this move will also make the workers feel that the firm is feeling for them and is certainly not taking them for granted; this as a result will motivate the workforce thus it will deliver in a better manner. The comfort level of the workers will also increase as a result of this as it would become easier for them to interact with the supervisors and the lead supervisors; this move will also make the management easier for the managers as the workload from their shoulders will get reduced because petty issues will be handled by their subordinates, this will make the two-way communication lot better and at the end, this will prove to be good for the company. The productivity of the labor force can be increased by presenting special incentives to the workers, as most of them belong to lower classes of the society hence providing them with monetary rewards on performing well, will act as a morale booster for them and they will surely work harder. Presenting the facility of onsite lunch to the workers will also motivate them intrinsically to work for the organization In addition this medical facilities must have to be provided to the workers as this will make them understand that how important they are for the firm; making the workers feel that they are a part of the project is one thing which is vital, in most of the cases the management deals in such a vulnerable manner with the workers that they feel as if they are just being used as a mean of production and nothing else; managers must remember that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is necessary if the performance is to be increased.
Material Inventory
Planning and managing the material inventory is one critical aspect of construction management and major emphasis has to be laid on this key issue (Heerkens 2001). There are umpteen kinds of materials which are used during the process of building and construction and hence timely procurement of all the desired things has to be ensured, as this is critical for the final outcome of the project. The organization has to have business-friendly relationships with the suppliers so that the supply chain does not get affected at any point. The communication between the managers and the suppliers is one crucial aspect as it has been observed that in most of the cases the difference in specifications and standards regarding material is present, this as a result affects the overall performance of the firm. Links must be established with more than one supplier so that the suppliers cannot grow on the bargaining power. The managers and the suppliers must meet in person on a weekly basis so as to eliminate any sort of confusion, this is one thing that will help in harmonizing the viewpoints of both parties and will ensure that the materials supplied and produced are up to the specified requirements.
Direct material cost is a chief cost item and thus wastage of material inventory is one thing that has to be minimized as much as possible because eliminating this phenomenon is not possible. Wastage of material increases the cost of manufacturing and on the other side, the time is more consumed, which as a result affects the final outcome, profit account, and the firm’s reputation in the market. Supervision is of key importance in this regard, it has been observed that in most of the cases where the material abnormal loss is more the reason is either the lack of supervision or the distortion in the communication channels. It must be stated clearly to the supervisors that material losses will not be tolerated; in addition to this, the firm must announce incentives for the supervisors who restrain the normal and the abnormal loss of the materials by their teams and manage the inventory well. This move will surely motivate the entire workforce and the on-field supervisors.
Plant
Managing the assets well is always the key to success and this also acts as a source of competitive advantage for the firms. In this project output is determined by the work produced over a certain time period; therefore one has to make sure that the loss of inventory is minimal because if this increases then obviously the output of the plant has to be increased which will result in an unnecessary increment of cost of production. If this happens then the maintenance cost of the plant will too rise therefore in order to stop this phenomenon from setting in, the company has to focus more and more on diligent management of the inventory because this will decrease the unnecessary workload from the plant hence the maintenance costs will decline as a result (Heerkens 2001).
Key Performance Indicators and Contract Procurement
Devising suitable and achievable KPIs is something that helps a lot in measuring the overall performance of the firm; KPIs must be set after working at least two days on this project as this will certainly help in formulating better indicators. Both the reports namely Egan and Latham wanted the contract methods to be altered as the ones already established failed in easing the process; as per both of the reports a set of fundamental principles is required on which modern contracts should be based, and government and private sector must contribute equally for the construction and implementation of such set of principles.
Conclusion
All the suggestions made in the report if are implemented with due diligence and in a comprehensive manner then the performance of the company will surely increase and the cost of construction will go down as a result. The management has to be proactive in this manner as these are the aspects that can make or break the current market standing of the firm (Heerkens 2001).
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