Construction Project Management is the overall planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting

a clients requirements in order to produce a functionally and financially viable project that will be complete mingement.

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The History of Construction Project Management is the history of mega projects of the last 4,500 years that include the Giza Pyramid, the Parthenon, the Colosseum, the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe, the Taj Mahal, and the Transcontinental Railway. These were not anomalies in history but projects delivered in a systematic way with very similar characteristics to todays projects. Typically, they had a project charter, a business justification, and a project sponsor. In close analysis they also followed a similar life-cycle of phases that we use today, incorporating the Project Management Process Groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing). In close examination they also intuitively followed all nine PMBOK knowledge areas (Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communications, Risk, and Procurement).

Construction of Great Pyramid

For most people the starting point in the History of Construction Project Management is the Great Pyramid at Giza, a monumental structure for its time, 2550 B.C.E. The projec t conjures up images of thousands of slaves serving a merciless pharaoh and toiling in inhospitable conditions. Giza was built in 20 years and the astounding accuracy of measurements, the level base, and the precision with which 40 to 60 ton blocks were laid, stuns engineers today.

Greek and Roman Eras

For the next 2,700 years most significant projects, highlighted by the architectural masterpieces of the Greek and Roman eras, were with the creation of edifices and structures. Subtle changes were in the use of ever improving materials like brick, concrete, and iron which provided the project architects more design options and flexibility in the structure. These projects were made possible by the meticulous organization of the project workforce, usually on military lines of specialist groups (trades). Overtime the workforce was streamlined with the development of simple tools like wheels and levers, and wedges, which were incorporated into ever increasingly complex machines like capstans, and massive cranes, necessary for lifting large weights.

The Greeks with the Parthenon highlighted the incredible accurarcy of measure, sag lines, and how quality management could be incorporated at a local level without blowing the project budget. The pace of development continued in and around the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia Minor, and the harnessing of animal labor in carrying materials. The Romans were masters of Project Management in creating a massive building program across their empire that included cities and towns, public buildings, and infrastructure (like roads, water (aqueducts) and sewers).. Keeping to a schedule and cost control were both critical in all Roman projects as Romans broadly propagated these projects throughout the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar provided the economic stimulus that led to a construction boom. This led to projects like those that created the Roman Colisseum, 80 and the Pantheon in 125.

PARTHENON PROJECT

COLOSSEUM PROJECT

The collapse of the Roman Empire was a set back in the West for over 600 years (the Dark Ages), although projects continued to flourish in the Eastern Roman Empire (through projects like the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia), in the Islamic world, and Eastward across Asia. In addition, the developmen of new emerging technologies (like gunpowder, paper, compass, and the lateen sail) continued to be developed as well as materials like iron.

Western Period
In West there was not much project activity till the 11/12th century and the central medieval period which saw a massive building program of Gothic Castles, initiated by the Norman invasion of Britain. As Europe came out of the Dark ages towns and cities expanded and grew. Cathedrals became central to their economic development, driven by the competition for pilgrims. Through a period of several hundred years these projects strived to outdo each other and entered a skyscraper race in creating the ultimate cathedral in splendor and height. In these years in France more

WORKSHOPS AND GUILDS

stone was excavated than at any time in Ancient Egypt. Project Management was at the forefront. These projects were built by a relatively small project workforce over long periods (measured in centuries). The European Renaissance saw the development of new types of accounting systems and a financial revolution. With this a new banking system evolved in Italian states, and this flourished into a European money economy. This provided projects in the West a source of funding and also better defined cost controls through the new types of accounting. Renaissance architects as exemplified by Leonardo, Michangelo and Brunelleschi brought a fresh approach to projects with the use of perspective drawings and more accurate measures, and this led to the most ambitious of projects since the Roman era. Brunelleschi's Duomo project (Florence Cathedral) was a masterpiece that finally came close to achieving what the Roman's had with the Pantheon, 1000 years earlier. Both of these projects could not be readily replicated in today'sworld. Other types of projects flourished with the availabilty of new technologies from the East. The Renaissance and the fall of Constantinople led to the great European Voyages of Exploration of the 15th century across oceans and the world with advances brought about by grids/maps, astrolabe, compass, lateen sail, and improvements in ship building (Caravel). These projects were very high risk but had a great return for the investors, and acted as catalysts for explorations to the far corners of the earth, and European expansionism around the world. In the last 400 years there was a further evolution in projects. This was first influenced by the First Scientific Revolution (spawned by the Renaissance) that provided important scientific discoveries and inventions, and made a significant impact on Western society.

19th Century
Into the 19th century the drop in production costs for materials like concrete and iron was a catalyst for growth in infrastructure projects for transportation like canals, bridges, and rails. With this there was a progressive rise in mega projects, that were vastly more complex and required much planning.

By the end of the 19th century the newly industrialized world with mass production required a system to supply large quantities of raw materials, resources, man power, equipment and organization. It needed more sophisticated systems of transportation, storage, manufacturing, assembly, and distribution. All this brought in new institutions, establishments, and organizations. This was the
EIFFEL TOWER

Second Industrial Revolution which leads to the mega infrastructure projects of the 20th century that create road networks, hydro dams, electical and telephone networks. These colossal changes in the Western World required a far more structured and disciplined approach to business and management, based on scientific research and principles, as the scale of objectives changed. With this came the birth of management principles in the business world, to become the backbone of project management, driven by a few key individual contributors in the field.

World Wars
The First World War mobilized continents with huge armies and resources into a global conflict which proved to be a prolonged war of stalemate. It manifested the industrialization of war and leveraged mass production, mass transportation, and mass mobilization. Between the two world wars new disciplines were formulized notably, human relationships (between employer and employee), an evolution in marketing (and its importance) and industrial human relations school of management arose to deal with the practical problems caused by Taylorism and the grind less repetition of tasks. The Cold War reflected the manifestation of the third industrial revolution and the advances made in the use of information/intelligence in the second world war. It also saw the development of a large number of projects related to planes, rockets, and complex technology required by the US Air Force and Navy based on experiments and prototypes in the second world war.

Idea Of Professional Construction Manager

By the 1960s there were many larger projects being put out for construction bids and under construction. Also, the 60s saw very high rates of inflation in the economy ---- the highest seen in America up until then except during war time ---- and the cost of money began to soar in the credit markets. Further, up until that time, there was no separate profession dedicated to the overall management of these huge projects on behalf of the owner As a result it was common for these large projects, mostly for public owners, private non-profit institutions and major corporations, to run into both delays in construction and unpredicted high bids as well as significant cost increases to the owner during construction. Partially as a result, the idea began to be floated of a professional construction manager, envisioned then as an entity which would replace the general contractor and be fee compensated, though in some cases with time and cost control incentives. The idea was that the professional construction manager would buy out the project competitively from trade (sub) contractors and building product manufacturers. These contracts would be between the owner and the respective trade contractor or supplier with the construction manager designated in those contracts as the owners representative.

Modern Construction Management

The form in use today across many fields and industries in the business world emerged in the 20th century specifically in around the Second World War through the mega projects that were required. This period can be looked as a catalyst in the evolution of project management with the need to organize vast quantities of resources and personnel to achieve critical objectives in specific timeframes. The business world began to adopt project management as the benefits of organizing around projects became apparent. Construction management evolved as a professional practice distinct from design and construction in the early 1960s in response to increasing complexities in the construction industry. Highly sophisticated construction systems led to the specialization of both design and construction professionals. Additionally, increasing regulatory mandates, litigation and other risks created a need for a new professional to be an advocate for the Owner and bridge the gap between the Owner, the Designer and the Contractor. Today, construction management is well established, and recognized around the world as an indispensable profession.

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

SUBJECT Construction & Management Laws Submitted To:MAM MISBAH

Submitted By :NOOR UL AIN 2007-AE-01