Architecture, engineering and construction project management

1. Introduction
2. The project life cycle
3. Project procurement management
4. Project risk management
5. Project planning management
6. Project worksite management
7. Project cost management
8. Project health & safety management
9. Project contemporary design practices
10. Ethics and professional practice

Module aim

This module aims at training students in architectural and civil engineering on the contemporary management methods and tools in the AEC industry for the project life cycle (from the inception of a project until its operation/maintenance/refurbishment/demolition/material mining stage).

Specific learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:

1. Apply the project management methods and tools to an AEC project
2. Critically review the roles and responsibilities of the key players in the AEC industry
3. Describe the different stages of a project life cycle including the stakeholders involved
4. Discuss the procurement strategies and estimate the costs of a project
5. Plan and schedule a construction project
6. Analyse the nature of risk associated with a construction project and propose mitigation measures
7. Discuss the construction methods and organise the work-site layout
8. Evaluate ethical practices from the various stakeholder perspectives

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

Background in architectural or civil engineering.

Lectures: 2,5 ECTS = 30h (compulsory attendance)
Tutorials: 1,5 ECTS =18h (in-class case studies)
Field trip: 1 ECTS = 12h (2 compulsory site visits)
Unsupervised work: 60h (teamwork)

Contribution to the teaching profile

(This section refers to the programme learning outcomes. Their definition is not the responsibility of the module coordinator who is only referring to them).

This module contributes to the following overall programme learning outcomes:

• In-depth knowledge and understanding of integrated structural design methods in the framework of a global design strategy
• reformulate complex problems in order to solve them (simplifying assumptions, reducing complexity)
• present and defend results in a scientifically sound way, using contemporary communication tools, for a national as well as for an international professional or lay audience
• collaborate in a (multidisciplinary) team
• think critically about and evaluate projects, systems and processes, particularly when based on incomplete, contradictory and/or redundant information
• a creative, problem-solving, result-driven and evidence-based attitude, aiming at innovation and applicability in industry and society
• a critical attitude towards one’s own results and those of others
• the consciousness of the ethical, social, environmental and economic context of his/her work and strives for sustainable solutions to engineering problems including safety and quality assurance aspects
• the flexibility and adaptability to work in an international and/or intercultural context
• an attitude of life-long learning as needed for the future development of his/her career

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Project Management Institute (2017) A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition, Pennsylvania (USA).

P. Netscher (2017) Construction Management. From Project Concept to Completion, Panet Publications, Subiaco (Australia)
Additional references are available on ULB UV.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Additional information

The slides will be made available in Moodle (ULB UV).

Distinguished practitioners will be invited as guest lecturers.

Contacts

BATir Dept., CP 194/2, C Building, 87 Buyl Ave, 5^th floor, room SC5-206, E-mail: Philippe.Bouillard@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Group work
• Written report

Group work

Written report

Participation in the lectures
Active participation in the lectures is expected, particularly in preparing and presenting the formative case studies. Therefore, the attendance to the lectures is compulsory.

Assignments #1-2: 2 work site visit reports
Each team must visit two worksites of any construction type (new building or renovation, industrial building, infrastructure). The teams must choose very different stages of progress allowing each team to cover and discuss: (i) initiating and planning a project, (ii) executing, monitoring and controlling a project. For (i), it is recommended to visit a worksite at an early stage (foundations, framing), and for (ii), at a later stage (finishes). The teams report on the visits according to the provided template.
(application of chapters 1 to 10).

IA Policy
The use of generative AI is permitted under the following conditions:
- The nature and extent of the use of AI is clearly disclosed 
- Which parts were AI-generated 
- The majority of the content was produced by the students
- The document is free of any form of plagiarism, AI-generated or otherwise

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

This module is an active learning activity with continuous evaluation requiring active lecture participation. There is no resit option, only a retake.
Attendance 20% - Assignments: 80% - no exam.

• Attendance (20%). 
• Assignment #1: Worksite visit report #1 (40%)
• Assignment #2: Worksite visit report #2 (40%)

Language(s) of evaluation

• english