In the fourth month during the construction of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers’s house, a storm struck the New Hampshire area causing some damage to the building. At this time, the personnel resource had completed most of the project milestones except for twenty percent of interior and exterior finishing. The storm destroyed more than thirty percent of the building including the interior and the exterior fittings.
Assessment of the building was conducted to analyze the damage caused and the results were as follows; first, due to flash floods, the drainage connection between the house and the main sewer was clogged with sand particles causing a serious blockage in the drainage system. This resulted in the malfunctioning of the fixture drain and the branch. Due to the pressure build-up in the plumbing system caused by floodwater, the plastic water pipes leading to the kitchen zinc and the bathrooms broke. The high winds carrying debris did not spare the two exterior glass doors and three windows that were all broken. The exterior electrical installation was also interfered with and some of the fixtures were broken. The roof shingles and some of the already installed wall sheathing were blown off leaving thirty percent of the outside bare. The reserve water tank at the roof disappeared and it appears that the roof bore the brunt of the storm’s velocity as no shingle was left intact.
The destruction caused by the storm interfered with the project’s milestones. The building was supposed to be ready for occupancy six months after the issuance of the building permit. The storm brought the project to a halt after the completion of the interior and exterior plumbing systems of the house. This delay though unavoidable, had an enormous cost on the project.
Overview
The building project will commence on June 23rd, 2011. It will involve a team of ten personnel, six builders, one plumber, one excavator, one wire specialist, one surveyor, and the project manager. The team must assure effective and timely communication with the stakeholders.
Target
The target of the team is to construct a new residency for Mr. and Mrs. Rogers in a timely fashion and within the set budget.
Project manager
The project manager will head the project. This person’s major role and responsibility will be to have the ultimate authority and responsibility for the project. The project manager will be required to approve changes to the project where necessary and make available additional resources required by the change. This person will manage the overall budget; provide a periodic report on the status of the project to the stakeholders and manage the implementation of the communication plan and user adoption strategy.
Communication objectives
- Provide timely communication to stakeholders
- Provide effective communication between persons in the construction team
- Provide timely notices for requirements
- Provide good results for all communications and project objectives
Communication types
The communication types outlined here are the focus points in this project. This is to ensure that communication flows to all the relevant parties, as they need it.
Owners
- Communication/feedback from the project Manager to Mr. and Mrs. Rogers
- Communication/feedback from Mr. and Mrs. Rogers to the project team
Inspectors
- Internal project team communication to inspectors
- Inspectors’ feedback to the project team.
Workers
- Communication/feedback from the workers to the manager
- Communication/feedback from manager to the project team
Communication vehicles
The following are some of the vehicles that feature within the communication plan.
- Email communication
- word of mouth
- communication
- Meetings with the team
- Phone calls
- Executive communication
Communication plan
Proper planning and budgeting seemed to have had a positive effect on the building project. The workers adhered to the project milestone as well as the budget and each worker delivered their work on time. The communication plan held the project together as it provided effective communication between persons in the construction team. The insurance cover came in handy as it provided relief after the storm which overshot the budget’s estimates.
There was a need for more research before acquiring the roofing materials that we fitted before the storm. The storm seemed to have swept all the shingles. If we bought composite shingles that are longer, thicker, and made of durable material, we would not have had the extended delay experienced after the storm. We would have also used metallic water pipes from the bathroom and the kitchen instead of the plastic ones that broke easily during the storm. We should have also used stronger frames for the doors and the windows including heavier glass gauge. These would have withstood the storm’s velocity.
With careful planning and inspections, the construction team seemed confident in the firmness and quality of the building. The team accomplished the entire milestone and no chance was left for error at the end. All that was to be done was done effectively to completion. It is a fact that the storm was unavoidable but we should have paid critical attention to the meteorological department for an accurate storm watch and forecast.
Roofing of the building posed the greatest challenge. We archived sample pieces of the roofing materials before and after the storm as a reminder of the quality difference and the challenges encountered.
Reference
Project Management Institute. (2004). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). In P. M. Institute, A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). Newtown Square: Project Management Institute.