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Tag Archives: CIOB

CIOB QEII Award – RMIT University Melbourne

Posted on October 25, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Last week I had the honour of representing CIOB at the RMIT University, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, Annual Industry Research and Awards Night (Melbourne, Australia).  I was there to present the CIOB QEII Award to Chris Mikha, the CIOB Student member who achieved the highest average over the Construction Technology course in the RMIT Bachelor of Applied Science (Construction Management).

The element of the evening that most impressed me was the breadth and depth of research undertaken by the School’s Honours students. As part of the final year research component of the Degree, the students produce create a poster as an info-graphic highlighting their research findings. Looking at the quality of the posters, out industry has a lot of talent joining its ranks!

The other key impression left on me was the success of the annual CIOB Global Student Challenge, Chris’s team missed out on a place in Hong Kong this year by a small margin but he though the challenge was one of the most important leaning experiences of his entire course. The decision by CIOB to take the game ‘global’ a few years back has certainly paid off!

Overall a very successful night all round.

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Why collaborative time management matters

Posted on October 25, 2013 by | Leave a comment

A survey of the UK construction industry by NBS, part of RIBA Enterprises, has revealed an increase in the number of disputes over the last 12 months. And that disputes over extensions of time outweighed any other reason

The second annual NBS National Construction Contracts and Law Survey was carried out in June in July 2013. Undertaken with the help of the membership of more than 20 industry bodies, the survey of over 1,000 clients, contractors and consultants found that 30% had been involved in one or more contract entering into dispute in the last 12 months compared to 24% in the previous year.

It is also clear from the NBS survey that many disputes involve large sums of money and have a significant effect on the construction process.

Respondents were asked to identify the main causes of disputes in 2012, with “extensions of time” being named by just under half the sample, at 49%. Other reasons included defective work, named by one in three (32%), valuation of interim payments (16%) and contractual terms (6%).

Another question asked the sample to identify the issues that had caused most problems during the construction phases of projects in 2012. “Assessment of delay and extension of time” emerged as the most problematic issue, identified by 44% of clients, 63% of contractors, and 48% of consultants.

“Lateness in payment” was named by 9% of clients, 34% of contractors and 20% of consultants.

On actual disputes, 70% said that none of the projects they worked on in 2012 had seen a dispute, by 17% had been involved in one disputed project, 6% had involvement in two, and 7% had been involved in three or more.

The survey found that collaboration was far from the norm, and therefore failing to reduce the number of disputes. 49% of those questioned said that they had not used any collaboration techniques on projects that started in 2012.

When the remaining 51% was questioned further on collaboration, 32% had worked on projects with formal partnering arrangements, 12% on projects with alliancing agreements and 20% on projects with non-binding partnering charters.

But the most common form of collaboration was “a contract that included the ethos of trust and mutual collaboration”, at 61%, although the report’s authors question how effective this would be.

One solution to this problem launched in 2013 is the new CIOB Complex Projects Contract which includes the requirement for effective schedule management (read the post) and is backed up by the CIOB PTMC time management certification (see more on the certification).

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Construction Management Update

Posted on August 21, 2013 by | 2 comments

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)  has been working to advance the profession of construction management for nearly 190 years and this work is continuing apace.  At its series of annual meetings held in Yorkshire in June, several major developments were moved forward significantly.

In a rapidly globalising industry, the accreditation of the Chartered grades of CIOB membership at QCF level 6, which is comparable to an Honours Degree will help mobility and professional recognition, particularly by government agencies.  Even better news is the membership processes only need minor adjustments to lift the Chartered Member (MCIOB) to QCF Level 7 a qualification comparable to a Masters Degree and the Fellows (FCIOB) to QCF Level 8, which is comparable to a Doctorate.  This recognition granted by the UK NARIC is recognised by equivalent accreditation bodies in a wide range of countries including Australia (NVQ), the USA and other ENIC members.  For more see http://www.ecctis.co.uk/naric/news%20story.aspx?NewsID=282

Work of many years to define and differentiate construction management from project management also took another step forward. Construction management is a broad discipline focused on the creation, maintenance and eventual disposal of assets in the built environment (see the CIOB Definition).

Project management focuses on the efficient execution of a project. There are obviously many construction projects where the two disciplines overlap, but construction management is extends to be involved with the work of the client prior to the initiation of the project and to facilities management once the asset has been built. (For more on the difference see Construction Management -v- Project Management).  In June, a resolution to recognise Chartered Construction Managers was passed at an EGM and is now awaiting ratification by the Privy Council.

With the formal recognition of CIOB’s qualifications, the definition of construction management and the work to have the designation Chartered Construction Manager nearing completion the standing of the profession in the 21st century has been significantly enhanced.

A paper I have planned for 2014 on the ‘Origins of Construction Management’ will argue that this discipline has been at the forefront of the development of management practice for over 5000 years and the good work continues.

The next area of ongoing development is Building Information Modelling (BIM).  The CIOB is at the forefront of the work to bring this game changing way of working into general use.  The overall BIM framework closely matches the concepts of construction management discussed above focused on achieving through life efficiencies in built assets. In April, CIOB launched the first general form of contract specifically designed for use on projects implementing BIM (see more on CPC2013). For more on BIM see our White Paper  and visit the UK BIM Taskgroup.

Closely aligned to the efficiencies promised by BIM, CIOB’s Carbon 2050 initiative has also been refreshed.  Carbon 2050 is a suite of tool designed to help any organisation from designers and consultants to general contractors implement plans to reduce their carbon footprint. For more on Carbon 2050 see http://www.carbonaction2050.com/.

Finally a number of initiatives were discussed to enhance the project time management framework and promote access to the Project Time Management Certificate. These initiatives are expected to be in place before the next two courses scheduled for Perth on the 30th Oct. and Melbourne on the 20th Nov. For more on the PTMC accreditation see http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-CIOB_PTMC.html.

This has been a busy couple of months but overall great progress has been made on a number of key initiatives.

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The new Complex Projects Contract

Posted on July 5, 2013 by | 4 comments

Launched on 23 April, the Complex Projects Contract 2013 (CPC2013) focuses on managing time to ensure projects are delivered to specification on budget and without delays. Unlike existing contracts, which target failure by requiring financial compensation for late completion, CPC2013 provides the procedures to enable parties to manage time, cost and risk events in a modern and proactive fashion. It is also the first standard form contract to cater for Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the future of collaborative design.

Speaking about the contract, Keith Pickavance, a Past President of the CIOB and lead author of CPC2013 said: “This is a modern day contract designed for the data age. It underlines and meets the need for a collaborative and competent approach to how risks are managed utilising transparent systems of data. It can be used with, or without, Building Information Modelling and has been drafted to work in any country and legal jurisdiction around the world. The causes and consequences of delay are the single most common reason for uncontrolled loss and cost escalation in complex building and engineering projects”.

Unlike many forms of contract, CPC2013 doesn’t favour one party over another and is disencumbered by any vested interests. The contract is designed for projects of high value or complexity such as major real estate, engineering and infrastructure projects, with an experience client focused on achieving success. Amendments would be required to use the contract for ECPM and ‘construction management’ contracts.

Current standard forms of contract do not encourage, and in some cases actually inhibit, the competent management of time making them unsuitable for controlling the risk of time and cost escalation on complex projects. According to CIOB research, 67% of complex building projects were completed late, 49% were up to 6 months late and 18% were completed more than 6 months late. Time management experts can pinpoint the causes for these through careful analysis but by then it’s usually too late; the damage has been done and the parties are left counting the costs of late completion (or worse).

Effective tools
Taking a different approach, CPC2013 is designed to substantially manage, reduce and avoid time and cost risks contemporaneously though collaboration and transparent and effective tools.

Whilst the quality of the programme is paramount, the key lies in understanding that it is not enough simply to hold the parties to fixed points in an agreed programme for the works. With this in mind, CPC2013 concentrates on ensuring that sufficient information is communicated to manage time effectively and deal with variances from program regardless of the cause. It requires detailed record keeping of actual process against the schedule, including resource utilisation and productivity to help project participants understand and manage time risks as early as possible.

Quality assurance processes govern the preparation and maintenance of a dynamic programme (called the working schedule) and there are direct links between claims for extensions of time and the working schedule and the contractor’s specified methods of working. The parties must deal with the approval or rejection of the contractor’s submissions early on rather than leave these unresolved and, consequently, potential breeding grounds for later disputes are minimised. A project time manager, with a duty to act fairly and reasonably, helps advise on, and oversee, these processes.

BIM ready
CPC2013 is the first construction contract to be ready for Building Information Modelling (BIM), the modern digital standard for collaborative design. Maintaining this 21st century feel, communications between the parties are addressed through email, file transfer protocols and a common data environment.

Elsewhere in the contract, provisions cover deleterious and hazardous materials and the involvement of an expert aids the mitigation and quick resolution of disputes during the works. CPC2013 also caters for construction both on a design and build and a works-only basis, and can be used overseas as well as in the United Kingdom.

Einstein once said that it was not possible to change the world without changing our thinking. There’s little doubt CPC2013 may ruffle a few feathers, but its bold approach to time management is one which must be taken if contracts are to be routinely completed on time and on budget.

This is not the first time the CIOB has been involved in developing forms of contract. Back in 1871 the Institute with RIBA published the very first standard form of construction contract.

The contract is part of the CIOB’s agenda to establish a culture of effectively managing time in complex projects. In 2011 the Institute published the ‘CIOB Guide to Good Practice in the Management of Time in Complex Projects’ which was followed by the CIOB Project Time Management Certicication in 2012 (For more on these topics see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-CIOB-TM_Credential.html).
For more on the CPC2013 Contract see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-CIOB-CPC2013.html

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Launch of the Project Time Management Qualification (PTMQ) Framework in Australia

Posted on November 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The free CIOB event scheduled for the 15th November in Melbourne will be the de facto launch of the CIOB PTMQ Framework in Australia covering the various routes to the Project Time Management Certificate (PTMC) examination. Depending on interest, training courses and examinations can be organised wherever there are sufficient numbers.

The PTMC has no prerequisites – whist the examination is rigorous, formal training courses are optional, experienced schedulers in particular may choose the self-study option.

The PTMQ framework is part of an overall strategy developed by the CIOB to improve project outcomes and address widely held misconceptions about the role of effective time management within project management.

As a starting point, effective time management, the courses and the credentials have nothing to do with tools. In exactly the same way a car is a means for a skilled driver to implement his/her objective, scheduling software is a means for a skilled scheduler to implement effective time management. Unfortunately most schedulers are taught how to run tools and virtually nothing about what planning and scheduling is supposed to achieve.

We all know a significant proportion of projects run late and many that finish on time have been de-scoped. The process led by the CIOB has been focused on defining the problem and building practical solutions to address these issues that cause $billions to be wasted on projects every year. The overall solution that is nearing completion includes:

  • Publication in 2011 of the CIOB Guide to the management of time in complex projects.
  • Development of a new form of contract for complex projects due for publication later this year.
  • Development of the PTMQ framework, officially launched on the 1st November
  • Running a sustained campaign to raise awareness of the importance of effective time management in achieving value from an investment in a project.

PTMC fills a major void in the publicly available project management qualifications. The certification tests a persons understanding of effective time management and is designed for people entering a project scheduling role. For the first time project managers, PMO managers and HR departments can require an impartial assessment of a job candidates understanding of the role of project scheduling in the successful delivery of projects!

Existing ‘time management’ qualifications either require years of experience prior to the candidate being eligible to sit the examination or are tools focused and simply certify the person knows how to ‘push buttons’ to make the designated software ‘go’.

PTMC complements these existing qualifications at the entry level, focusing on the objectives of good scheduling practice to support tools focused skills (you cannot do effective scheduling without the tools). Additionally, PTMC provides a stepping stone towards the more advanced certifications either within the CIOB framework or others such as the PMI-SP.

If you are based in Melbourne we look forward to seeing you on Thursday 15th November, to register and anyone else interested in this exciting development see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-CIOB-TM_Credential.html

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CIOB launches Project Time Management Certificate

Posted on November 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Chartered Institute of Building has launched its Project Time Management Qualification (PTMQ) framework upon which the CIOB will assess and accredit Project Time Management professionals placing CIOB at the forefront of establishing the premier industry standard in planning, scheduling and project control.

The first element of the framework, the Project Time Management Certificate (PTMC) was launched at a gala function in London, by the CIOB President last week. Unlike existing certifications, this qualification is focused on assessing the candidates knowledge of practical project time management.   It is designed for new entrants to planning and scheduling as well as those who are already engaged in the management of time on projects. Holders of the PTMC will have demonstrated a rigorous understanding of the practice that underpins project planning and scheduling.

The launch of the PTMQ framework moves CIOB one step close to completing a five year strategy to provide standard education, training and accreditation in time management.

Back in 2008 CIOB research found that 67% of complex building projects were late. Of those delayed 13% were more than 3 months and 18% over 6 months. This finding prompted the CIOB to embark upon the development and publication in 2011 of the CIOB Guide to Good Practice in the Management of Time in Complex Projects which sets down the process and standards to be achieved in preparing and managing a time model.

The Guide underpins the new CIOB contract for the management of complex projects due for publication later this year, and the PTMQ framework for assessing and accrediting the Project Time Management professionals required as part of the CIOB contract.

The PTMC examination is open to CIOB members and non-members, those who have gone through Project Time Management training or those who have self-studied. It will appeal to anyone looking for a relevant and credible qualification in project time management. And in combination with the forthcoming Practitioner (PTMP) and Specialist (PTMS) credentials, it will offer a project time management qualification structure that will provide a progressive development path based on assessment of skills, knowledge and experience in planning, scheduling and project controls.

Mosaic is the exclusive CIOB partner for delivery of training in Australia and New Zealand, with rights to deliver training throughout the wider region. We are currently working on a planned series of public workshops and examinations commencing in Q1 of 2013. Courses and/or examinations can also be arranged for organised groups. For more information on this exciting development see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Training-CIOB-TM_Credential.html

UK and European readers contact: http://www.athenaprojectservices.com/

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The Effective Management of Time – Free event 15th November

Posted on November 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Despite the completion of many successful projects, research by the CIOB has found that many complex and mega projects fail to adequately manage time despite financial penalties. In response to these findings, the CIOB has developed the Guide to Good Practice in the Management of Time in Complex Projects (The Guide) supported by new contract forms and time management qualifications.

The CIOB Victorian Centre in conjunction with AIPM will host a free event on the 15th including my up-date on these important developments followed by networking and drinks.

Download the CIOB_Nov-12_Event Flyer (places are limited)

See more on the presentation.

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Time Management Presentation – WITS University Johannesburg

Posted on September 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Yesterday afternoon, I took time out from the work of the ISO TC 258 study group hosted in Pretoria, by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). The primary purpose of my trip to SA is to contribute to the work of this group, studying the current state of understanding of the concept of governance of project, program and portfolio management with a view to the possible development of an ISO standard. The ‘time out’ was to present a paper on ‘time management’ at WITS University; but this simple diversion turned into a fascinating day……

Apart from the storms hail and floods, a highlight of the visit to the university was a too quick tour of the recently opened ‘Origins Centre’ http://www.origins.org.za.

The centre showcases recent South African discoveries of two pieces of engraved ochre and, more than 60 marine-shell beads dated at 75 000 years. Theses finds, together with archaeological evidence emerging from other parts of Africa, suggest that symbolic thought and other forms of behaviour regarded as characteristic of modern human beings, began in Africa as far back as 200 000 years ago. This combination of palaeoanthropological and archaeological evidence confirms the hypothesis that fully modern human beings evolved in Africa first, and then left the continent to populate the entire world.

The two overwhelming impressions I took away from the displays were:
• Firstly the intrinsic oneness of mankind – the differences are minute compared to the common bonds and heritage.
• The second was the ever accelerating rate of change in the technologies we use. Every ‘new age’ of development occupied a fraction of the time of its predecessor starting with the ‘old stone age’ which lasted over 2 million years. The ‘middle stone’ age lasted some 250,000 years, followed by the ‘new stone age’ which lasted less than 10,000 years and finished with the start of the modern era some 5000 years ago – the modern era includes the Bronze and Iron ages, leading through to modern times.

After considering the ‘historical aspects of time’ it was onto the ‘management of time’ and planning the future… The presentation is on our website at http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_163.htmlx. The three underlying messages in the presentation are:
• Plan what you know ‘budget the rest’
• Useful schedules are useful because they are used (ie, effective communication media)
• The future is unpredictable so expect change.

The last of these points was brought home immediately after the lecture concluded. My hosts had arranged a dinner at a local restaurant; however, the afternoon storms had flooded the bridge leading to the restaurant and it took a number of attempts to find a way around – the 8:00pm meal started nearer to 9:00pm! Good communication and adaptability led to a great evening but the original plan had to be revised to accommodate reality.

The pride passion and hospitality of South Africans is amazing I certainly hope to be able to return at some time in the not too far distant future.

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South Africa

Posted on August 22, 2012 by | Leave a comment

I will be heading to Pretoria in early September a part of the Australian delegation to ISO/TC 258 – Project, programme and portfolio management, primarily for the working sessions focused on project governance (see more on governance). This ISO Technical Committee is tasked with developing a range of international standards covering all aspects of project, program and portfolio management to build on from the success of ISO21500, Guide to Project Management. Many years work to come…

More immediately, whilst in South Africa, I will also be presenting an evening lecture focused on CIOB’s contribution to the effective management of time on complex projects at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, if you can attend, download the flyer.

For more on CIOB’s contribution to time management see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_163.html

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The 4th Dimension of BIM

Posted on July 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

This post is being composed from the CIOB AGM, conference and Members Forum in Dublin, Ireland. The opening day focused on a broad reaching BIM Conference.

BIM = Building Information Modelling. BIM is likely to be a game changing evolution in the way the ‘built environment’ is designed, built and maintained through life to the eventual decommissioning and either renovation or demolition of the structure. It is an evolutionary process with escalating levels of sophistication and information:

For more on the various levels and elements see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/WhitePapers/WP1082_BIM_Levels.pdf

BIM is becoming a world-wide trend; the UK Government has mandated the use of BIM on all major projects by 2016, contractors are taking the lead in the USA, BIM is routinely used in China and Hong Kong, and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) is looking at implications in Australia. Used effectively BIM results in a significant reduction in waste, the CMMA-USA estimate up to 30% of construction costs are due to wasted materials, rework and wasted time waiting for information.

However using BIM is not just a technology issue. Some of the factors needed to implement BIM effectively include:

  • Managing the culture change and stakeholder issues to allow collaborative working.
  • Adapting contracts and insurance policies to allow the collaborative development and use of shared data. The CIOB have developed a new form of contract to assist in this, see: New CIOB Contract for Complex Projects. /2012/05/26/new-ciob-contract-for-complex-projects/
  • Managing data exchange formats and other technical issues.
  • Designing the BIM model and Execution Plan; including deployment, quality assurance, ownership (stewardship) of data, defining the audience for the information extracted from the model and selecting the appropriate level of detail to put into the model and to extract from the model for different audiences.

Incorporating the 4th Dimension – Virtual Construction

The intention of this blog is not to provide a BIM tutorial, rather to look at the opportunities created when the 4th D of time is integrated into a reasonably sophisticated BIM model.

Adding the ‘4th Dimension’ allows the schedule to be linked with data objects at an appropriate level of detail and the project to be built virtually, testing different options before deciding on the best approach. Data from the USA suggests time savings of up to 10% are not uncommon.

Using the 4D model has many advantages. As a starting point, because the work can be seen in 3D, implementing concepts such as lean construction and last planner become much simpler. The workers can see what the current situation is and contribute effectively to decisions as to what work will be done in what sequence during the next few days and then see the results in virtual reality before starting on the actual work. This involvement can operate at the detail level such as services integration in a congested ceiling space or at a higher level looking at plant and materials movements. Some of the other opportunities include:

  • Using BIM to model the overall sequence of work on site. This is particularly useful for showing clients how the building will be constructed.
  • Using the visualisation to develop stakeholder engagement with the schedule at all levels from client to on-site workers.
  • Optimising phasing and temporary works, particularly on complex expansion and refurbishment projects.
  • Modelling the optimum vehicle, plant and material movements for maximum efficiency, particularly if there is restricted access.

Considerable skill is needed to integrate the schedule with the BIM model and make effective use of the information; a BIM expert will typically work with a scheduling expert to pull the data together.

A future extension of BIM could see the need to manage supply items removed from the schedule. The construction schedule defines when the element is needed, the BIM system knows what data items are included in the element and it should not be too difficult in an integrated model to then work back from the ‘install date’ to the required manufacture date and before that, the required design date for each item. The integrated nature of the data would make tracking and managing the supply chain a real-time process with everyone fully informed of the current situation and any issues or problems.

BIM also has the potential to shift planning from activity based scheduling to location based scheduling allowing the optimisation of workflows through a project. In fact with the increasing power of computers, it is possible to foresee a time when the process of scheduling changes from using traditional tools to a virtual construction space where the planner physically moves elements of the building into place in the optimum sequence (or tests alternatives), in the same way a Lego model is built, and the BIM system creates the schedule from the optimum sequencing information created in ‘virtual space’.

Summary

The CIOB is leading a number of initiatives to integrate effective time management back into construction management. The key initiatives are:

For any non-construction person who has read this far…… BIM is not an exclusively construction management tool, it works on any engineering project: Boeing use very similar systems to manage the development and through life maintenance of the Dreamliner!

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