Project Management Essentials for Contractors

You have new project managers who need to ramp up quickly to deliver successful construction projects. This 2-day course introduces the essential tools of project planning and execution in a construction contracting environment. Participants practice project management techniques on a simple construction project that is developed through the complete project lifecycle, from initial project proposal and definition, through project implementation, and finally to the often neglected project completion phase.

Participants will leave this course with the ability to implement a structured process to successfully deliver small to medium sized construction projects for their organizations and for their customers.

This course is Gold Seal accredited by the Canadian Construction Association and is accredited by the Project Management Association of Canada (PMAC) as meeting their standards for quality. After completing this course, participants are eligible to write the Certified Project Coordinator (CPC) exam from PMAC.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will gain practical skills to:

To learn and use the terminology and processes of modern project management.
To explain meaning of key clauses of CCDC2.
To identify your PM responsibilities from the start to the close of a project.
To prepare a complete and accurate project plan for a small project.
To provide some of the knowledge you need for the Gold Seal Project Manager’s certification.
To increase your own PM “lessons learned” by learning from the experiences of others.
To value the benefits of a consistent PM methodology.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The Project Management Essentials for Contractors course is appropriate for individuals who are:

Construction contractors or employees of construction contracting organizations.
Responsible for managing small to medium construction projects.
Active participants on a project team, especially those who have not yet been exposed to project management, but can see themselves moving in that direction.

PREREQUISITE

There is no prerequisite for this course. It functions as a stand-alone course.

MATERIALS

You will receive a course binder containing copies of slides, case studies, templates, exercises, and suggested solutions.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

What is Project Management?

Definition of modern project management
Introduction to PM certifications
Skills required in a PM

Basic Concepts of a Project

What is a project?
What makes a successful project?
Why do some projects fail?

The Project Life Cycle

Owner’s project life cycle
Contractor’s project life cycle
Milestones
Fast-tracking

The Project

Introduce project workshop scenario
Responding to a bid
Construction planning
Scope definition
Workshop: Define project scope

The Work Breakdown Structure

WBS definition
Why use a WBS approach
Elements of an effective WBS
Workshop: Develop project WBS
Identifying subcontracts
Evaluating project budget

Risk Management

Risk management process
Workshop: Identifying & analyzing project risks
Evaluating project risks
Choosing an appropriate risk response
Typical construction project risks
Assigning budget contingency

The Contract

Contract types
CCDC2
Liquidated damages
Subcontracts

Organizing The Project Team

Owner’s matrix structure
Contractor’s projectized structure
Assigning responsibilities
Single point of contact
Workshop: Structuring the team

The Project Plan

Change management
Project administration
The daily log
Safety planning

Project Schedule

The logic diagram
Critical path and float
Types of dependency relationships
The Gantt chart
Workshop: Yellow sticky
Assigning constraints
Adding contingency
The resource histogram
Setting a schedule performance measurement baseline

Project Implementation

Project status and updating
Performance reporting
Change control
Introduction to earned value
Workshop: Earned value exercise
Commissioning

Close-out

Start-up
Substantial/Total Completion
Lessons learned
Archiving files

Wrap-up

Introducing modern PM into an organization
Lessons learned
Quiz

TESTIMONIALS

"Good material as a refresher for the older guys and a good place to start for the younger guys at the same time."

Anonymous Participant
"Good hands-on exercises that put us in real-life scenarios."

Ben Wang

Design Manager, Plan Group
"Course gives an excellent understanding and the tools to learn further."

Ethan Lalonde

Project Team Lead, Plan Group
"Integrates practical activities for hands-on learning/retention"

Amy Thompson

Coordinator
"Relates to actual projects."

Allan Potts

PM
"Amazing!"

Mark Browning

Project Manager
"A good overview of scheduling, CCDC & WBS."

Keara Guay

Project Coordinator, Plan Group

COURSE INFO

Course ID: 1551

Course Level: Beginner

Duration: 2 days

UPCOMING SESSIONS

Sessions not found.

PMI PDU BREAKDOWN

The following table provides the breakdown of the professional development units (PDUs) for this course aligned with the PMI Talent Triangle^TM.

	WoW	PS	BA
PMP	14	0	0
PgMP	14	0	0
PfMP	0	0	0
PMI-ACP	0	0	0
PMI-SP	7	0	0
PMI-RMP	2	0	0
PMI-PBA	14	0	0

The three columns in the above table are Ways of Working, Power Skills & Business Acumen.

Other Credits

Other professional (re)certification credits are available, including:

Certified Business Analyst Professionals (CBAPs) earn 14 CDUs (Category 2B)
Certified Software Quality Engineers (CSQEs) earn 2 RUs
CIPS Information Systems Professionals (ISPs) earn 14 Learning Credits
CIPS Information Technology Certified Professional (ITCPs) earn 14 Learning Credits
BOMI Real Property Administrators (RPAs) earn 14 CPD credits
BOMI Facilities Management Administrators (FMAs) earn 14 CPD credits
BOMI Systems Maintenance Administrators (SMAs) earn 14 CPD credits