Construction Project Management: A Complete Introduction - Hardcover

Alison Dykstra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 098270349X ISBN 13: 9780982703496

Publisher: Kirshner Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

What it takes to develop, plan and manage a construction project. This straightforward and readable, yet thorough, textbook focuses on the role of the contractor, taking the reader from start to finish -- from the early development stage through bidding, selection of the contractor, the construction itself, and close-out. A wide range of practical issues are explored, and frequently-asked questions answered: -- Exactly who the players are in construction and what each one does -- Why contractors should avoid some jobs, and how they get the right jobs -- What bidding is, and why the low bid isn't always the best bid -- Why different types of construction contracts carry different levels of risk -- The link between the type of contract and how the contractor gets paid -- Why cost estimates and schedules are keys to project success -- How a general contractor brings in a job on time and on budget And much more: -- Bonds, insurance, and liens --

About this title

About the Author:

Alison Dykstra, AIA, CSI, has been a registered architect for almost 30 years and began teaching construction management in the early 1990s. This textbook draws on her extensive professional and classroom experience, to explain the complex systems of construction management in a highly accessible way that meets the needs of both beginners and seasoned contractors.

Review:

Dykstra, an architect and teacher of construction management courses, offers an introduction to managing contracted construction projects in 25 chapters.
Chapters 1-7 describe the construction project environment. Chapters 8-16 address the contract documents and the bidding process. Chapters 17-22 describe the actual construction of the facility. The author wraps up the book in the final three chapters that deal with payments, contract closeout, and litigation.
By and large, the chapters tend to address issues of the construction contract process chronologically, and this feature is helpful to the reader.
Additionally, each chapter contains definitions of the relevant nomenclature and a set of self-test questions. The premise of the coverage of topics is that the design of the work has already been completed, and that the actual implementation of the construction will need to be accomplished by a construction contractor. Although the book discusses project management topics such as estimating and scheduling, the thrust of the work is on contract management issues such as the bidding environment, bidding process, incremental payments, and contract-related negotiations.
This book is useful for students taking introductory courses in construction management at both four-year and two-year colleges.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and two-year technical program students.
--ALA Choice (Amer. Library Assoc.), July 2011

About this edition

• Publisher: Kirshner Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 098270349X
• ISBN 13: 9780982703496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 402