Skills, knowledge and competencies for managing construction refurbishment works

An appropriate body of management skills and knowledge for construction refurbishment is established: a skills and knowledge inventory. Of the 75 types of management skill and knowledge, the six most important are leadership, communication (oral/written), motivation of others, health and safety, decision making, and forecasting and planning. Refurbishment managers' jobs as defined by their application of skills/ knowledge are, on the whole, homogeneous, with some overlap across levels of management and types of organization, and this dispels the view that management tasks are totally different across management strata. A comparison of the relative importance of management skills/knowledge for refurbishment and management skills for general construction shows that the skills/knowledge associated with forecasting and planning, managing conflict and crisis, tenant welfare, team building, and decision making are higher than in general construction management; reflecting the uncertain nature and the relatively higher levels of risks associated with refurbishment works.