A risk and cost management model for changes during the construction phase of a civil engineering project

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The construction project environment is dynamic and prone to change. Project change can be defined as anyevent that alters a project's original scope, execution time or the cost of the works. Improper management ofthe projects' changes could therefore adversely impact on the actual cost and duration of the project whichmay lead to project cost overruns and even claims and legal disputes. During the construction phase of aproject, change affects every aspect of productivity – the planned schedules and deadlines, workmethodology, resource procurement, as well as the budget and thus it could prevent the achievement of theproject objectives. A project manager, therefore, wants to limit the number of change to a project.However, during a construction project there may be quite a number of changes. Managing a constructionproject is difficult, in that all the relevant information is rarely available at the initial stage of a project toenable one to plan and design the project accurately and make the best possible decisions. As informationbecomes available during the construction phase of the project, it can lead to various changes. Design errors orvariations, unforeseen site conditions and vagueness in the original scope are but some of the reasons forchange.No matter the size of the change, each alteration to the works has a cost, time and risk implication. Due totight time constraints on most projects, every change requires quick, robust decision making, so as not to delaythe project, which therefore results in changes not being comprehensively evaluated. Decisions are oftenmade on intuition or experience, without an assessment of the risks involved or the influence on the cost ofthe project and without applying well-known project management techniques.The aim of this research was to determine what a change management process for a civil engineering projectshould look like, specifically the cost and risk management of changes. It investigated the current state ofchange management of construction projects in practice, by doing a case study and various interviews withproject managers. Based on the findings of the research and the industry requirements, a model wasdeveloped for managing the costs and risks of changes. The Model was validated by means of an expertevaluation review.The change management model developed as part of this thesis can be used to analyse the cost, time andquality impact of the change, and to do a detailed risk assessment. The Model also reviews the proposedchange in order to determine whether the change is necessary. It is a generic tool that can be used byengineers and their project team to enhance the management of changes that happens during theconstruction phase of a project for any civil construction project.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University