Construction management systems are Definition, types, design and development

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Possibilities of decentralized management with an optimized scheme for the distribution of points of interaction allow organizing effective models for supporting construction projects. Within the framework of such a system, interested organizations can associate with the object entire groups of specialists united by a single information platform. Modern construction management systems work on this basis. This is not just a single space for interaction between different levels and categories of specialists, but a functional platform with the necessary tools that allows you to manage a project from its inception to the delivery of a real object.

Traditional concept of construction management

Even without taking into account the changes that new technologies bring today, the construction and design processes involve the creation of a certain organizational model withcontrol structure. Its backlog is produced on the so-called zero cycle, when technical work is not yet being carried out, but the organizational form of management is already being worked out. How is this implemented in practice? As a starting point, consider the Soviet construction management system. From the beginning of the development of the terms of reference and until the commissioning of the constructed facility, in the vast majority of cases, the project was accompanied by trusts. This is a universal model of a territorial functional body, on the basis of which several specialized organizations could work. For example, it could well be transport, production, maintenance and construction and installation departments (CMU). They not only carried out the construction and provided organizational and technical support, but also carried out quality control at all stages of the work.

But why, in principle, do we need an organizational management model in construction? The need for such an add-on is due to the complexity of providing logistics during the implementation of the project and the versatility of the work processes produced. We can say that the construction management system is the general coordinator of the project participants and the distributor of resources, through which the key tasks of the work team are achieved. The main mission of the management structure is not so much to coordinate as such, but to optimize the workflow at all levels. The list of tasks of such systems includes rationalization of financial costs, reductionthe role of destabilizing factors from the outside, ensuring the possibility of timely correction of the tactics of construction and installation works, etc.

The concept of a modern management system in construction

On the one hand, the impetus for changes in the organization of construction processes was the obvious demands from the market. Against the backdrop of increasing requirements for the optimization and acceleration of work activities, it is logical that new forms of management began to appear. On the other hand, the nature of these forms was largely dictated by advances in the development of computer technology. The introduction of information systems in construction management today is considered not just the norm, but a vital necessity. But has the management model changed fundamentally? The list of activities has remained the same. In particular, the management infrastructure today covers the entire range of works, including:

• Engineering surveys with a feasibility study for the implementation of the project.
• Creation of design estimates.
• Preparation for the work of the zero cycle.
• Directly building an object.
• Ensure quality control, pre-delivery building inspection, etc.

But if the basic scope of design and technical operations has remained the same, then what are the features of modern control systems in construction? First of all, in many respects they have become more efficient due to a more reliable and functional communication system, which allows faster and more accurate coordination of individual groups of participants.project. The field of activity of organizational and control systems has also expanded. A common management infrastructure allows simultaneous support of a wide range of technical procedures related to logistics, document management, processing of engineering data, structural calculations, etc. Powerful systems can handle hundreds and thousands of operations, allowing the operator to generate and evaluate estimates based on aggregate analysis of one way or another.

Varieties of modern construction management systems

Complex programs are more often responsible for management functions, the objects of which are both individual construction processes and work teams with other groups of specialists. This is a construction management system that can be adjusted to different tasks that differ in duration, number of production stages, functional spectrum, etc. For example, according to the management cycle, systems are classified into strategic, operational and short-term. The longest implementations reach several tens of years, and the shortest are completed in weeks and even days - these are the so-called dispatcher control systems.

The method of providing informatization in the field of construction management is also heterogeneous in terms of communication channels. Along with paper sources and telephone communication, wireless, fiber-optic and radio channels are used today.

There are also traditionalclassification features that have not been affected by modern technology. Thus, project management systems in construction still differ in the ways of decision-making into collegial and alternative ones. In one case, for example, the approval of the design solution is carried out by the boards and councils of the responsible organizations, and in the second - solely from the head.

Organizational construction management methods

Organizational approach to management involves a direct impact on the workforce. Special provisions are being developed that determine the list and sequence of organizational and preparatory operations along with the methods for implementing these activities.

Methods of organization can be presented in the form of structural transformations, regulation and regulation. The first option contains a program for the development and periodic revision of the structure of the management system and the hierarchical scheme of the governing bodies of control. The method of structural transformations establishes the scope of authority, legal provisions and relationships between functional and linear links in the management apparatus.

In the process of rationing, the costs of resources and materials per unit of working volume are determined. In Russia, construction management systems take into account the following regulatory indicators:

• Time to complete certain activities or work packages.
• Energy costs.
• Production volume.
• Number of workers and teams.

The effectiveness of organizational regulation will depend on its combination with moral and material incentives for employees, which does not exclude the practice of applying sanctions for violation of established standards.

As for regulation, this form of organizational influence involves the use of general provisions and regulations as a basis, which are supplemented by technical rules and instructions, as well as administrative acts. Regulation is a common form of control over the management system in capital construction, designed for a long time. Both brigades with teams and individual workers can act as objects of application of the regulation. In addition, through the same provisions and acts, the boundaries of the activities of specific organizations in the overall construction process can be established, industrial relations between them can be established and the modes of work activities in general can be determined.

Economic methods of construction management

The key place in the production management of construction is occupied by economic instruments. They also represent a specific set of ways to influence labor collectives, but through economic laws. Due to the latter, the activity of workers is stimulated to achieve certain results. From the point of view of implementation technology, the economic system of construction management is a process of self-financing, in whichrational distribution of not only financial, but also material and technical resources is envisaged. Organizational and economic management methods are interconnected with each other in terms of the contract - in both cases, compliance with obligations to customers is taken into account with obtaining a certain benefit.

With cost accounting, each representative of the labor collective can participate in the management of the production process. Both units with brigades and individual workers thus participate in self-government. The distribution of powers in this context occurs on the basis of individual planned indicators. The result is an estimate for each cycle or period of production activities.

An important factor in economic management is the desire of the participants in the construction process to rational use of the resource base. In project management systems in construction, the concepts of contract price and credit are of particular importance. The estimate includes all planned costs for the construction of the facility. It is this document that is the main mechanism of economic impact on workers, since it directly determines the reimbursement of expenses and the receipt of income, depending on the indicators of self-financing.

Construction management system

In this case, it is supposed to install a system that could specify all the above forms of leadership. By means of orders, the implementation of plans is regulated and factors of destabilization of production activity are localized. basis for regulatoryapplication of administrative documents are work plans and organizational regulations. The most rigidly standardized documentation regulates the design management system in construction, since it covers many technological processes of a specialized nature - for example, a whole group of geodetic measures. Otherwise, without regulations, management activities will be of a purely private nature, justified by the subjective ideas of the authorities. At the same time, the orders themselves can take different forms, differing in the degree of categoricalness and ultimate goals.

The administrative document includes the task itself or the task with instructions for execution. In both cases, the content should be clearly formulated and not suggest the possibility of different interpretations. For example, operational management systems in construction in terms of the production of orders are implemented through orders, which often contain specific indicators - financial or technical and structural. At the same time, one should not equate orders with administration. Organizational management methods in construction are more focused on the coordination of technical processes that exclude or minimize the factors of bureaucracy and voluntarism.

Automated control systems in construction

The use of automation tools began in the 1970s, when the first computers were put into operation. Initial introductionautomated systems solved the problem of high centralization of control structures, which had to simultaneously control a large array of work points. The essence of the use of such systems was to combine many subsystems and controlled links in one computer center. That is, the design of automated construction management systems could be carried out only on the platforms of large organizations with sufficient computer equipment. Moreover, automation was partial, since many processes and tasks were still provided by technical workers, operators and couriers. Thus, the simplest routine operations were performed in the form of accounting and control of material, technical and financial resources.

Optimization of computer technology and the emergence of new digital technologies have made the processes of introducing automation systems more efficient. The same computer centers began to be replaced by personal computers, and the direct users to this day are top managers, engineers and architects, workers in production facilities, storekeepers and suppliers. But as the complexity and functionality of automated control systems in construction grows, so do the requirements for the tasks to be solved and the resources to provide the corresponding capacities. In technological terms, one of the most acute problems in this area is the imperfection of communication channels between individual points of computer control. The need to optimize the means of information transmission causes a gradual transition of automatedsystems on a configuration of disparate subsystems, united in one enterprise information center.

Control system software

The development of automation systems inevitably stimulates progress in the development of software control algorithms. The most significant evolutionary stage in the formation of software for the construction industry was the transition from systems that solve individual tasks according to simplified schemes to massive complex solutions that accompany multi-level technological processes. On the other hand, in order to reduce costs, many organizations are also optimizing this area by providing workers with the simplest software solutions. For example, the popular programs "AutoCAD" and "Excel" in construction management systems are actively used by designers, engineers and designers, completing specifications and drawings for documents manually.

Established software systems allow managers to abandon traditional jobs. A new type of software has appeared - AWP. This is a universal automated function that can perform the tasks of a supplier, designer, storekeeper, financier, etc. In most cases, workstations solve basic tasks tied to a specific production process - technical or logistical. By combining several workstations, it is possible to implement autonomous control of objects and systems in construction, but still with a number of limitations. The main barriers to the development of the concept of program management are associated with a shortage of personnel who couldprofessionally maintain such complexes, as well as with financial costs for equipment and software, which will increase in proportion to the growth of operating capacities.

Management of indirect processes in construction

In addition to technical and technological requirements and tasks, safety standards must also be observed in the process of construction management. This is an extensive list of requirements that covers issues of maintaining environmental safety, labor protection and protection of historical monuments of the building. In particular, the environmental management system in construction is based on the following rules:

• Rational use of natural resources in the area of work is supported at all stages.
• At the planning stage of a facility, the environmental implications of placing a structure on a particular site in the context of preserving the biological environment should be considered.
• When designing, the norms of anthropogenic load on the natural environment are taken into account. If necessary, additional measures are introduced to reduce it.
• Commissioning of an object into operation is allowed only if the envisaged design measures are observed, focused on the protection and improvement of the environment.

As for the occupational he alth and safety management system in construction, it is based on a unified approach with a single system of actions aimed at protecting the he alth of workers. It is primarily about compliancestandards at all levels of production activity in accordance with the criteria for ensuring labor safety. Possible adjustments in relation to the approved measures are allowed if deviations from the established requirements are identified. The main goal of maintaining safe working conditions is to reduce injuries and illnesses of employees.

Development of an operational dispatch control system

The overall control complex of the construction process, regardless of scale, should include in its structure and an operational control point. This is a special functional body that monitors the progress of work, maintains records and, if necessary, intervenes in coordination activities. At the same time, one should not confuse the operational dispatch service with a quality management system in construction, the tasks of which lie directly in the plane of controlling certain parameters of the workflow. If in the first case monitoring of construction activities is carried out with the possibility of coordinating and processing incoming information, then in the second case it is more about the supervisory function with registration of deviations and errors.

The creation of operational dispatch services is carried out on the basis of an enterprise that directly implements work activities. This linkage is a necessity that allows you to take corrective actions in a timely manner. And again, this applies not only to repair and installation and, in general, technical operations. The joint operational and dispatching system for environmental management in construction also deals with issuesmonitoring compliance with environmental protection requirements. In the areas of logistics and communication control, operational control bodies can monitor the state of engineering networks, transport hubs at a construction site, etc. If we talk about restrictions, they relate to the lack of authority to regulate the divisions of the workforce, coordinate the actions of higher construction and design levels and organizational activities at the level of cost accounting.

Conclusion

A well-coordinated management system allows you to implement construction in the shortest possible time and with minimal resources. At the same time, the necessary standards and regulations applicable to the industry as a whole must be observed. The development of construction management systems involves the implementation of several technological measures at once. Among them, scheduling of work, determining the sequence of production cycles and periods, designing the organizational part in relation to the main part of technical operations, etc. stands out. At each stage, software tools, the latest design data analysis systems and powerful platforms for technical and structural analysis and modeling can be used. Subject to the successful implementation of the control system project, you can count on the timely commissioning of the facility without the need for adjustments. It is also important to note that the elements of the developed system can be used in the future as a toolkit for performing technicalservice.