A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
A Project is defined as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service or results.
The product in case of a construction project is the constructed facility such as a building, a bridge a highway, a dam, a canal, a factory etc.
Examples of service in the context of a construction project would be design, planning, execution, etc.
ISO 10006 defines project as a unique process, consisting of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective conforming to specific requirements, including the constraints of time, resources, cost and project quality.
Construction projects involve varying manpower and their duration can range from a few weeks to more than five years.
Each construction project is ‘unique’ and ‘temporary’ in nature, and so is the management involved.
Here, the term ‘unique’ means that every project is different in some way from other projects, and the term ‘temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and an end.
A construction project involves a series of complex of interrelated activities and tasks that consume resources to achieve some specific objectives.
It has to be completed within a set of specifications under a limited budget.
A project may involve a single unit of one organization or may extend across the organization boundaries, as in case of joint ventures and partnering.
Each project has a specified mission or purpose to be achieved. It ceases after the mission is achieved.
A construction project mission is to create a desired facility like a housing complex, a fertilizer plant, a dam or a bridge. It is not a routine activity like the regular maintenance of buildings or roads.
Management of a construction project mission entails multidirectional interaction of dynamic forces represented by its time, resources and cost. Despite diversities and multifarious activities, each project is an entity itself.