Opportunities for decentralized management with an optimized distribution of points of interaction allow you to organize 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. On this basis, modern construction management systems work. 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 conduct a project from its beginnings to the delivery of a real object.
The traditional concept of construction management
Even without taking into account the changes that new technologies are making today, the construction and design processes imply the creation of a certain organizational model with a management structure. Its groundwork is carried out on the so-called zero cycle, when technical work has not yet been carried out, but the organizational form of management is already being worked out. How is this implemented in practice? As a starting point, it is worth considering the Soviet construction management system. From the beginning of the development of the technical specifications to 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, service, and construction and installation departments (SMU). They not only carried out 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 model of management in construction? The need for such an add-on is due to the complexity of the logistics during the implementation of the project and the multifaceted nature of the work processes. We can say that the construction management system is the general coordinator of the project participants and the resource allocator, through which key tasks of the work team are achieved. The main mission of the governing structure is not so much in coordination as such, but in optimizing the work process at all levels. The list of tasks of such systems includes the rationalization of financial costs, reducing the role of destabilizing factors from the outside, providing 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 obvious demands from the market. Against the background of increased requirements for optimization and acceleration of work activities, new forms of management began to appear logically. On the other hand, the nature of these forms was to a large extent dictated by successes in the development of computer technology. The implementation 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 work activities has remained the same. In particular, the management infrastructure today covers the whole range of activities, including:
- Engineering surveys with a feasibility study for the implementation of the project.
- Creation of design estimates.
- Preparation for zero-cycle work.
- Directly erecting an object.
- Ensuring quality control, inspection of the building before delivery, etc.
But if the main scope of design and technical operations remains 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 project participants. The field of activity of organizational management systems has also expanded. A common management infrastructure allows you to simultaneously support a wide range of technical procedures related to logistics, document management, processing of engineering research data, structural analysis, etc. Powerful systems can serve hundreds and thousands of operations, allowing the operator to generate and estimates based on a combined analysis of one or another parameter.
Varieties of modern control systems in the field of construction
Integrated programs are more often directly 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 as strategic, operational and short-term. The longest implementation times reach several tens of years, and the shortest are completed in weeks or even days - these are the so-called dispatch control systems.
The way to ensure informatization in the field of construction management is also heterogeneous in terms of communication channels. Along with paper sources and telephone communications, wireless, fiber optic and radio channels are used today.
There are also traditional signs of classification that have not been affected by modern technology. So, project management systems in construction still differ in decision-making methods on collective and alternative ones. In one case, for example, the approval of the design decision is made by the boards and councils of the responsible organizations, and in the second - solely from the head.
Organizational construction management practices
An organizational approach to management involves a direct impact on labor collectives. Special provisions are being developed that define the list and sequence of organizational and preparatory operations along with ways to implement these measures.
Organization methods can be represented in the form of structural transformations, regulation and regulation. The first version contains a program for the development and periodic review of the structure of the management system and the hierarchical structure of the governing bodies of control. The method of structural transformations establishes the scope of authority, legal provisions and the relationship between functional and linear links in the control apparatus.
In the normalization process, 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:
- The time to complete certain activities or work packages.
- Energy costs.
- The volume of production.
- The number of workers and brigades.
The effectiveness of organizational regulation will depend on its combination with the moral and material incentives of employees, not excluding the practice of applying sanctions for violation of established standards.
With regard to regulation, this form of organizational impact involves the use as a basis of general provisions and regulations, 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. As objects of application of the regulation, brigades with collectives and individual workers can act. In addition, through the same provisions and acts, the boundaries of the activities of specific organizations in the general construction process can be established, production relations between them can be established and the regimes of work activities as a whole determined.
Economic methods of construction management
A 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. At the expense of the latter, workers are encouraged to achieve certain results. From the point of view of implementation technology, the economic construction management system is a process of self-financing, which provides for the rational distribution of not only financial, but also material and technical resources. Organizational and economic management methods are interconnected with each other in part of the contract - in both cases, compliance with obligations to customers is taken into account with a certain benefit.
With cost accounting, the participation of each representative of the labor collective in the management of the production process can be ensured. Both subdivisions with brigades and individual workers thus participate in self-government. The distribution of powers in this context is based on individual planned indicators. As a result, an assessment is given 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. This document is the main mechanism of economic impact on workers, as it directly determines the reimbursement of expenses and income, depending on the indicators of cost accounting.
Building Management System
In this case, it is planned to install a system that could specify all the above forms of leadership. Through orders, the implementation of plans is regulated and the factors of destabilization of production activities are localized. The basis for the regulatory application of administrative documents is work plans and organizational regulations. The most strictly 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, the management activity will be purely private in nature, justified by subjective representations of the authorities. At the same time, the orders themselves can take different forms, differing in the degree of categorization and ultimate goals.
The administrative document directly includes the task itself or the task with instructions for execution. In both cases, the content should be clearly formulated and not imply the possibility of different interpretations. For example, operational management systems in construction regarding the production of orders are implemented through orders, which often contain specific indicators - financial or technical and structural. At the same time, do not equate orders with administration. Organizational methods of leadership in construction are more oriented to the coordination of technical processes that exclude or minimize factors of bureaucracy and voluntarism.
Automated control systems in construction
The use of automation began in the 1970s, when the first computers were put into operation. At first, the introduction of automated systems solved the problem of high centralization of control structures, which were supposed to simultaneously control a large array of operating points. The essence of the use of such systems was to combine many subsystems and controlled links into one data center. That is, the design of automated construction management systems could only be carried out 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 carried out 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 implementation of automation systems more efficient. The same computer centers began to be replaced by personal computers, and direct users to this day are senior executives, engineers and architects, workers in industrial and technical farms, storekeepers and suppliers. But with the complexity and increase in the functionality of automated control systems in construction, the requirements for the tasks and resources to ensure the corresponding capacities also grow. Technologically, 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 transfer determines the gradual transition of automated systems to the configuration of disparate subsystems, combined in one information center of the enterprise.
Management System Software
The development of automation systems inevitably stimulates progress in the development of software control algorithms. The most significant evolutionary stage in the development of software for the construction industry was the transition from systems that solve individual tasks according to simplified schemes to massive integrated solutions that accompany multi-level technological processes. On the other hand, in order to reduce costs, many organizations are optimizing this area, supplying employees with simple software solutions. For example, the popular AutoCAD and Excel programs in construction management systems are actively used by designers, engineers and designers, performing specifications and drawings for documents manually.
Well-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, AWPs solve basic problems with reference to a specific production process - technical or logistical in nature. By combining several automated 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 could professionally service such systems, as well as with the financial costs of 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 be observed in the process of construction management. This is an extensive list of requirements that covers the maintenance of environmental safety, labor protection and the protection of historical buildings. In particular, the environmental management system in construction is based on the following rules:
- At all stages, the rational use of natural resources in the work area is supported.
- At the planning stage of the facility, the environmental consequences of placing the structure on a particular site in the context of preserving the biological environment should be considered.
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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. Development of construction management systems involves the implementation of several technological measures. Among them are scheduling, determining the sequence of production cycles and periods, designing the organizational part in relation to the main part of technical operations, etc. At each stage, software tools, the latest systems for analyzing design data and powerful platforms for technical design calculation and modeling can be used. If the project of the control system is successfully implemented, you can count on the timely commissioning of the facility without the need for adjustments. What is also important to note, elements of the developed system can be used in the future as tools for performing maintenance.