Practical Project Management for Building and Construction

Practical Project Management for Building and Construction covers the 14 knowledge areas of project management that are essential for successful projects in the construction industry. For each knowledge area, it explains the processes for scope, time, risk, cost, and resource management. Filled with work and process flow diagrams, it demonstrates how projects progress throughout the project life cycle.

The book details the processes that must be included in the management process to deliver projects on time and within budget. The processes and knowledge areas described reference the ISO 10006 Standard (guidelines for quality management in projects), the international project management standards of the PMBOK® Guide, and the rapidly emerging ISO 21500 standard. Coverage includes change management, working environment, quality and communication, and procurement management. Illustrating the entire project process, this pioneering reference:

• Reports on regulations from the European Union and the United States that impact construction projects
• Identifies the knowledge areas a project manager must control
• Examines time-tested strategies, various types of contracts, remuneration forms, and contract close out
• Includes many examples and templates to help you generate essential project documents

The book supplies accessible information on a range of helpful tools such as work breakdown structure and earned value. Explaining how to use a network diagram with its gaps and critical paths, the methods described in the text will help you control the WHAT, HOW, and WHEN to do things as well as WHO is responsible for doing them, which will lead to successful project management. Because a large part of the book addresses general project management concepts, the lessons learned will also be helpful to project managers outside the building and construction industry.

About the Author

Hans Ottosson has extensive experience in project management. It began in 1972 with a post as assistant project manager for a new brewery in Sweden. In the spring of 1998 he was persuaded to become project manager for the railway contract above and below the Öresund, between Denmark and Sweden.

Hans, who holds an MSc, started his professional career in 1969 as a structural engineer and a teacher of bridge design at Chalmers Technical University in Gothenburg, Sweden. He has worked as project manager for projects in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Scandinavia. In 1977 he started his project management company, Projsam Quality AB, and has had clients such as Volvo, AstraZeneca, Avesta Sheffield, Skandia, Swedish Transport Administration, and a number of national and local companies.

He has worked as a client representative, structural designer, and contractor and been the project manager for various projects such as construction of production facilities, housing, medical research facilities, and schools. He has organized public conferences and reorganized companies in the IT sector; he has been responsible for international marketing projects.

Hans has developed project management procedures over many years. He was awarded a "Gold Palm" at the PMI conference in 2002 in Nice for best "tools and techniques." Hans teaches at Chalmers Technical University and for ESI in Stockholm.