| Dall'Introduzione ......
Like the five blind men encountering different parts of
an elephant, each of the numerous participants in the process of planning,
designing, financing, constructing and operating physical facilities has a
different perspective on project management for construction. Specialized
knowledge can be very beneficial, particularly in large and complicated
projects, since experts in various specialties can provide valuable
services. However, it is advantageous to understand how the different parts
of the process fit together. Waste, excessive cost
and delays can result from poor coordination and communication among
specialists. It is particularly in the interest of owners to
insure that such problems do not occur. And it behooves all participants in
the process to heed the interests of owners because, in the end, it is the
owners who provide the resources and call the shots.
By
adopting the viewpoint of the owners, we can focus our attention on the
complete process of project management for constructed facilities
rather than the historical roles of
various specialists such as planners, architects, engineering designers,
constructors, fabricators, material suppliers, financial analysts and
others. To be sure, each specialty has made important advances in developing
new techniques and tools for efficient implementation of construction
projects. However, it is through the understanding of the entire process of
project management that these specialists can respond more effectively to
the owner's desires for their services, in marketing their specialties, and
in improving the productivity and quality of their work.
The
introduction of innovative and more effective
project management for construction is not an academic exercise.
As reported by the "Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness Project" of the
Business Roundtable:
By common consensus and every available measure, the
United States no longer gets it's money's worth in construction, the
nation's largest industry ... The creeping erosion of construction
efficiency and productivity is bad news for the entire U.S. economy.
Construction is a particularly seminal industry. The price of every
factory, office building, hotel or power plant that is built affects the
price that must be charged for the goods or services produced in it or by
it. And that effect generally persists for decades ... Too much of the
industry remains tethered to the past, partly by inertia and partly by
historic divisions...
Improvement of project management not only can aid the construction
industry, but may also be the engine for the national and world economy.
However, if we are to make meaningful improvements,
we must first understand the construction industry, its
operating environment and the institutional constraints affecting its
activities as well as the nature of project
management. |
