An integrated approach to construction management

[From Introduction] The purpose of this research is to develop an integrated model of the construction management processes within a dynamic construction system. An integrated model reflects the true state of the construction decision-maker in a multi-project system that continually changes with time. The decision- maker manages projects by planning, scheduling, and controlling construction operations within the dynamic system. These management processes require evaluating the costs of alternative courses of action that accomplish construction operations. These alternatives interact among the projects in the system, jobs within the projects, and the available resources. The decision-maker seeks to improve the cost-effectiveness of his management organization by selecting those alternatives which reduce the total cost of construction operations. The Integrated approach to construction management provides a new decision tool for minimizing total system cost In a dynamic construction system. Current decision tools focus only on the "when" of decision-making for single projects. The integrated approach specifically addresses the broader management problem of the Interaction of the "when", with the "what" and "how" of performing construction operations in a multi-project environment so as to minimize the total system cost.