Project Management is one of the prime work of any civil engineer. Civil Engineering projects are often big in terms of financial issue and they need extra care to perform it perfectly. Moreover, if not performed with the proper knowledge of engineering and technology, accidents can cause severe damage to human lives as well as may incur huge financial losses.

There are several conceptions and misconceptions, to do and not do in any civil engineering project. The types of management tactics selection depend on the project type, budget and on so many other unknown project factors. For example, in bridge construction project it may need to take extra care to clear the navigation while in the construction of building it may require precaution to protect the falling object from the above. The tactics and its implementation is different and therefore extensive skills are required while planning a civil engineering project.

Today, we are going to discuss the general project management ideas that are closely related to financial and technological issues.

• Project Planning: Means and Methods

Before starting any project it is very much needed to plan to the whole thing at a single time. This can be done with project planning. Depending on the type of the construction works project planning procedure may be different and may need special provisions. In project planning the engineer or related personnel needs to find the answer to the following questions-

1. For whom the project has been taken?

2. What are the benefits of the project?

3. Who is financing the project?

4. How the money will be utilized?

5. How the quality of works will be insured?

6. What is the timeframe of the project?

7. What is the procurement system?

• Project Estimation

Estimation is being done to know the tentative cost and material quantity needed. As estimation is closely related to the finance of the project, proper care should be taken to minimize the errors. Before estimation, all of the drawings and design should be complete so that the estimator can understand the dimensions of each unit of which he needs to measure the estimated quantity.

• Soil: Testing, Excavation, Foundation

The soil is the most uncertain part of any civil engineering project. As the behavior of soil differs from location to location, it is much needed to test the soil for its usability. To test extensive excavation may sometimes seem to be appropriate. After completing the excavation and testing the project manager/designer choose the best foundation types for the construction. In selecting the foundation types the designer/manager needs to consider the soil type, construction type, bearing capacity of the soil, soil classification, the presence of water table etc.

• Materials, Stack Yard Management and Site Management

Civil Engineering materials take a lot of space. Moreover, the project manager needs to emphasize the material quality to ensure proper construction and therefore needs to do a lot of lab and field tests. Testing is always an important part of any construction works as it ensures the overall quality of the work. As the materials are being kept in the stack yard, so managing the stack yard is as important as the construction works. Ensuring the proper environment to keep the materials so that the quality of the materials does not deteriorate is important. Site management is also important as it makes all of the works easier and helps in managing the upcoming tasks.

• Scheduling, Construction Operations and Methods

Scheduling of all works is important. Scheduling makes it easy to understand the process that is needed to be a focus on more. Scheduling also helps in construction operations and also let the project manager know which methods are working well enough that the other methods. Moreover, scheduling also helps the manager know which works being mismanaged and is on backside than others. Thus scheduling helps in managing the tasks more conveniently. You can use computerized software like Primavera or Microsoft Project to complete the project scheduling and planning.

• Formworks and Related Tasks

Formworks are always crucial as there is always some possibility of failure. The project manager needs to check the materials being used to build the formworks. The formwork should be such that it can withstand the load it is going to face on. Over the world, every year many people die as a result of formwork failure. If formwork fails during the construction works it causes massive financial loss as well as loss of human lives. Thus the project manager needs to have an eye on the formworks so that it has been done properly and performs well during the concreting phase.

• Occupational Health and Safety

Civil engineering projects are often big and contain dangerous tasks. There is always a chance of risks and can cause serious accidents. Thus the manager needs to focus on occupational health and safety. As always has been said, ‘Safety First’. Thus maintaining the occupational health and safety is one of the prime concerns of the project manager. There are several codes and requirements published worldwide. To maintain the occupational health and safety the project manager can follow the OSHA guidelines. These guidelines are being followed in the USA and can be downloaded for free from the OSHA website.