published_or_final_version / Management Studies / Master / Master of Business Administration

A research report submitted to the faculty of commerce of the University of the Witwatersrand in part completion of the degree of Master of commerce, by coursework / No abstract

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration in Project Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / There is a need to draw a balance between satisfying needs, be they of the customer or the beneficiaries of the project, and that of maximising the utilisation of resources. Value management seeks to merge all aspects of the project process, and to find a balance between satisfaction of the project‟s needs and the stakeholder‟s interests. This technique is meant to improve the reconciliation and value of differing judgements and priorities to improve on the deliverables of the project. Consequently, the principles of defining and adding measurable value focuses on reaching the objectives, and finding solutions to problems before they appear. Therefore, the end results become an innovative way of integrating all operational activities, which enhance pre-emptive, risk aversive management. Value management is considered as a critical aspect in the effective management of project processes to reduce the high project failure rate in the construction industry. Part of the purpose of this study is to bring about awareness and knowledge of the effective use of the value management tool. This empirical research focused on project managers and other project practitioners who are tasked with the execution of project processes. A total of 125 respondents was drawn from the sampling frame. A structured questionnaire was used for the purpose, and collected data was captured and analysed, using the SPSS tool and an Excel spreadsheet. Relationships in the illustrations were interpreted and presented, forming the basis on which findings, conclusion and recommendations were made. A questionnaire has structured closed-ended questions (quantitative) and open-ended questions (qualitative) to complement each other. A mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) was applied to take advantage of the benefits of these two methods. The qualitative research applied a content analysis of the collected data.

Although Value Engineering (VE) studies are mandated by the Federal Highway Administration for large ($25 million or more) federal-aid highway projects, many state Departments of Transportation do not conduct voluntary VE studies on smaller projects. Those who have done so have seen project improvements and savings as a result. The success of the existing voluntary VE programs indicates that VE application to small transportation projects represents a significant opportunity for savings. The goal of this thesis work was to develop a methodology for conducting VE studies on small transportation projects that would make efficient use of available personnel and require little VE training. The author examined the results and procedures of several DOT VE programs, including some that conduct studies on projects as small as $1 million. The analyses revealed sources of past savings, trends and common methods in VE studies, and procedures and forms that are best suited to the types of project under study. Based on the research and analyses, the author developed a VE study methodology that is tailored to small transportation projects, including a workbook and both general and specific guidelines. This report proposes an approach to VE on small transportation projects using this methodology, which is characterized by conformance with accepted VE practice and FHWA guidelines, efficient use of personnel, and ease of use. In particular, these recommendations are intended for use by any state DOT with an existing but limited VE program, such as MassHighway, which currently conducts only mandated studies.

Thesis. 1976. M.Arch.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 181-185. / M.Arch.

O presente trabalho tem como foco principal a gestão de custos de empreendimentos executados por empresas de engenharia e construção (EEC), e propõe modelos que permitem incorporar a geração e análise de cenários em seus processos de gestão de custos. O ponto de partida para este trabalho foi a experiência profissional do autor que, desde 2007, atua na área de planejamento e controle de empreendimentos. Neste período ficou evidente para o autor o quão complexo e multidisciplinar é realizar a gestão de custos de empreendimentos de construção. A gestão de custos é uma tarefa imprescindível para qualquer setor da economia, ainda mais diante da atual conjuntura econômica e política do País. Diante da complexidade e da importância do tema, o presente trabalho discute também a importância da adoção de um sistema de gestão pela empresa de engenharia e construção. Um dos sistemas que podem ser adotados é o descrito na obra Um Guia do Conhecimento em Gerenciamento de Projetos (Guia PMBOK®) elaborado pelo Project Management Institute (PMI). Os conceitos e melhores práticas contidos nesta obra estão cada vez mais difundidos por diversos setores da economia, inclusive na construção civil. No entanto, o setor da construção civil possui diversas peculiaridades, e muitas delas influenciam diretamente na gestão de custos dos empreendimentos. São levantados também outros conceitos e aspectos relacionados ao setor da construção civil, tornando a discussão sobre o tema um pouco mais abrangente, de modo que alguns destes temas podem ser objeto de novos estudos e pesquisas. As ferramentas e modelos propostos baseiam-se dos conceitos levantados, sendo aplicáveis na gestão de custos dos empreendimentos ao longo de sua execução. Essas podem ser vistas, portanto, como uma inovação incremental nos processos e ferramentas adotados pelas EEC, podendo ser aplicáveis também em outros setores da economia. / The main focus of this work is the cost management of projects carried out by engineering and construction companies (EEC), and proposes models that allow incorporating the generation and analysis of scenarios in their cost control processes. The starting point for this work was the professional experience of the author who, since 2007, works with construction projects planning and control. In this period it became evident to the author how complex and multidisciplinary is to perform the cost management of construction projects. Cost management is an essential task for any economy sector, even more due to the current economic and political environment of Brazil. Given the complexity and importance of the theme, this paper also discusses the importance of adopting a management system by these companies. One of the systems that can be adopted is described in the book A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) from Project Management Institute (PMI). The concepts and best practices contained in this guide are increasingly disseminated by various sectors of the economy, including construction. However, this sector has several peculiarities, and many of them directly influence the cost management of the projects. Other concepts and aspects related to the construction sector are also raised, making the discussion on the subject a little more embracing, so that some of these themes may be the object of further studies and research. The proposed tools and models are based on these concepts and are applicable in construction projects cost management throughout their execution. These tools and models can be seen, therefore, as an incremental innovation in the processes adopted by engineering and construction companies, and may be applicable also in other sectors of the economy.

The thesis is oriented to an alternative approach of allocation of overhead costs which arose in the second half of the nineties of the twentieth century. Activity Based Costing (ABC) is a way of cost control based on looking at costs through activities that are performed in the organization. The following determining of their costs is done based on dividing them into various cost pools with differentiated cost drivers that do not have to be volume based. The thesis is apart from the theoretical study of the topic supplemented by a survey of prevalence of ABC in the Czech Republic and primarily by an analysis of an already created strategic ABC model which is used for studying a degree of compliance of theoretical foundations of the principle with actual methods used in creating the ABC model.

This master's thesis deals with the cost planning and cost control in construction company specializing mainly in road construction works. The theoretical part concerns first with the description of cost planning process and its specifics in analysed company. The objective of cost control is then to carry out the variance analysis by selected performances and to give further recommendations for adjusting of standards of direct costs, based on achieved results from undertaken analysis. The last part deals with the design of appropriate method for cost control procedure, based on the Pareto principle and setting of tolerance intervals for cost amount. Excess of these intervals requires additional control of these costs and explanation of reasons, why this increased variance exists.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Todo aquello que pueda ser medido podrá ser mejorado, de esta manera si no conocemos el margen de culminación de un proyecto de construcción difícilmente podremos encontrar y analizar a tiempo las desviaciones en su presupuesto y tomar las acciones correctivas que permitan retomar el rumbo original. Mediante una adecuada gestión económica del presupuesto de construcción podemos encontrar y analizar estas desviaciones. Así a través de su comprensión y la aplicación de las herramientas de gestión adecuadas, podemos controlar su evolución económica dando seguridad a la organización que el proyecto se encuentra dentro de lo estimado originalmente, o de lo contrario poniendo las alertas del caso de manera oportuna para tomar acciones correctivas El costo es, tal vez, el elemento de la línea base que tiene la mayor incidencia en la definición de la viabilidad de un proyecto y es el que, de no ser adecuado, puede hacer fracasar un proyecto. Una técnica específica para medir el rendimiento del trabajo es la gestión del valor ganado para un componente de la estructura del trabajo o un proyecto. La cual compara la cantidad de trabajo ya completada en un momento dado con la estimación realizada antes del comienzo del proyecto y los costos reales. De este modo, se tiene una medida de cuanto trabajo queda para finalizar el proyecto y extrapolando a partir del esfuerzo invertido en el proyecto, se pueden estimar los recursos que se emplearan para finalizar el proyecto. / Everything that can be measured can be improved, so if we do not know the margin of completion of a construction project, we can hardly find and analyze deviations in its budget in time and take the corrective actions that allow us to return to the original course. Through an adequate economic management of the construction budget we can find and analyze these deviations. Thus, through its understanding and application of the appropriate management tools, we can control its economic evolution by giving security to the organization that the project is within the originally estimated, or otherwise putting the case alerts in a timely manner to take corrective actions. The cost is, perhaps, the element of the baseline that has the greatest impact on the definition of the viability of a project and is the one that, if not adequate, can make a project fail. A specific technique for measuring work performance is the management of the value earned for a component of the work structure or a project. Which compares the amount of work already completed at a given time with the estimate made before the start of the project and the actual costs. In this way, we have a measure of how much work is left to finalize the project and extrapolating from the effort invested in the project, we can estimate the resources that will be used to complete the project. / Trabajo de investigación