Construction Project Management Exam 2 (quizzes)

Lean requires that you measure against the average to avoid failure

False - measure against the best possible ("Good enough never is", the elegant solution)

2D drawings cause too much waste and should be eliminated from job sites

False - only a waste if it is the base of the workflow and technology still needs 2D information

Cardinal Change

So many changes that result in a breach of contract

Binary Apporach

Successful only when the activity size is no more than 30-40 hours

The performance factor tends to be stable when the project is __% complete

25%

______% of all projects do not make schedule or budget

30%

Using the following information, what is the peak manpower? Cost = $1,200,000 Total Manhours = 56,000 hours Duration = 70 weeks

32 workers

Addition / Deletions account for ____% of the reasons that lead to change orders

40-45%

Outstanding projects have ___ control meetings per month.

5

The Project Management Institute's Project Outcome research found that one in ____ projects were deemed a failure.

5

Absenteeism should be less than ___%

5%

Physical measure of quantity installed

A time consuming method

Sustainability is:

A values statement based on environmental capacity

Formal Change

A written authorization provided to the contractor approving certain change above or beyond the original scope of work.

Overtime is defined as every hour above the 40 hours per week.

False - every hour over normally scheduled working hours ?

A performance factor less than 1 indicates a good performance.

False - greater than 1 indicated a good performance

Performance factor < 1

Bad performance

Delta is caused by

Bid errors, inefficiencies, and contractor's inefficiency

BIM

Building Information Modeling/Models

CMMI

Capability Maturity Model Integration

Constructive Change

Changes mandated by field conditions

Peak is defined as the optimum number of workers on site.

False - highest number of workers throughout the job

The project management maturity model moves from Level 1 - ad Hoc project management to level 4 - organization of project management system.

False - it moves from Level 1 to level 5

Project size is measured in terms of dollars.

False - manhours

Whose profit gets put into an escrow account for an economic incentive?

Contractor

Match each conventional tool with its corresponding lean substitute.

Critical path method - pull planning Milestone estimate - continuous target value Hierarchical structures- core team

Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the CII Project 210-2 project case study's results? -Higher final project costs than original budget estimates -Significant rework needs -Decreased contingencies -Limited 2-way risk management

Decreased contingencies

Of the project delivery systems, ____ is most similar to IPD

Design - build

Project Budgeted Hours: 2400 hours Project Percent Complete: 20% Actual Hours: 550 hours

Earned hours - 480 Performance factor - 0.873 Predicted hours at completion - 2750

If an activity is to be excluded from the contract, it can still be excluded even if it wasn't mentioned in the contract agreement.

False

Material is considered the number one risk in the construction industry.

False

More complex projects aren't necessarily as likely to have formal risk management plans as less complex projects.

False

Politicization and personalization are two advantages of sustainability.

False

The construction industry productivity has been increasing over the years.

False

According to John Nelson, there are three stages that products and services go through.

False - 4 ? (Conceptual, definition, execution, closeout)

The actual value added in the construction industry is 60%

False - 41% (maybe)

SMCI models stands for: Standardize, Metrics, Control, Information.

False - SMCI stands for Standardize, Measure, Control, Improve

Sustainability is the same as Sustainable development.

False - Sustainability is abstract, multi definitional, and implies Utopia , while sustainable development is tactical, tangible, and immediate action oriented

There is promising research that project outcomes, such as projects being completed within original budget or on schedule, have been improving within the past decade.

False - actually both have been slightly declining

Sustainability involves a lot of facts since it is value-based.

False - balance between facts (physical laws) and opinion (human constructs)

The implementation of new technology in the field will eliminate the need for craft workers

False - successful project management mixes the abilities of the "technician" and the "professional" - professional = craft workers

According to John Nelson, the barriers to shifting the construction industry towards lean are framed within the technical and economic context and not the culture and social context.

False - they are framed by culture and social

In most private contracts, soil report is available for the contractor to review, and the contractor is not obligated to visit and investigate the field.

False - they do need to visit the field because soil reports is only available if there is a DSC clause

According to professor Hanna, there are five methods to determine the percent complete of an activity

False, there are 4 - subjective evaluation, quantity installed as measured, binary approach, partial complete method

What advice would you give the contractor to increase their chances of success?

For both teams, having the owner as the correspondent would increase chances of success. They should also both try to reduce turnover rate. Scenario 2 should include a constructability program. Finally, if possible both teams should increase project manager subordinates and control meetings.

FTE =

Full Time Employer

If you are ready to mobilize in the field, which "gate" are you entering in the risk management process

Gate 3

Hurricane Katrina's extreme tragedy is linked to which of the following?

Inability to communicate risk to stakeholders

Subjective Evaluation

It's very cheap and doesn't consume time, but can be completely inaccurate.

Labor Productivity is classified as which kind of risk?

Known-unknown

The key to profitability is:

Labor productivity

The first productivity pillar is:

Management

Is productivity increasing more in the Non-Farm industry or in the construction industry?

Non-farm

What stage does the majority of the building expense occur?

Operation / using / changing stage

The degree of severity of "impact" is defined by:

Overmanning and change order processing time

Who can find value from technology in construction?

Owners, laborers, building operators, users, and subcontractors

According to Professor Russell's definition of project success, project success is typically measured in:

Quality, Safety, Time, cost NOT productivity

University of Texas faculty found that top key success criteria related to project outcomes included all of the following:

Schedule, budget, client satisfaction, functionality NOT quality

Bid = $5,000,000 Actual Costs = $8,000,000 Material Costs = $800,000 Approved change orders = $1,500,000 Contractor's error and omission = $500,000 Contractor's inefficiency = $800,000 The difference between the first and second lowest bid is 1.4% indicating that the contractor's bid was reasonable.

The contractor is entitled to $1,500,000 under the total cost method, $200,000 under the modified total cost method, and cannot be determined by the measured mile method

TIME stands for:

Tools, Information, Material, Environment

According to John Nelson, lean is first a change in philosophy and then a set of applied technical tools

True

Additions/Deletions, Design Changes, and Design Errors and Coordination account for 85% of the reasons that result in change orders.

True

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in construction today

True

CMMI reflects the evolution from the incomplete project management processes to the optimization level.

True

Experience can be used to determine the percent complete only when the size of the activity is no more than 5% of the total project hours.

True

In the construction industry more than half of the effort in material and cost associated with constructing a building is waste.

True

Increasing lean intensity on projects directly related to an increase in project success

True

Lean is about doing your best

True

Material is the first source responsible for wasting time

True

Project Management Maturity is a term used to describe the ability of an organization to consistently deliver excellent project management results across the organization.

True

Sustainability involves making an investment now that has a distant future benefit that is hard to quantify.

True

The average RFI (request for information) processing time is 4.8 weeks

True

The best time for contractors to send RFIs is during the Pre-construction planning phase

True

The decisions made during the making stage have a major influence to a building during the operating stage

True

The improvement of project management processes within an organization are reflected in the processes and practices used at the project level, program level, and portfolio level.

True

The metrics in the "Operating/using/changing stage" matter more than the metrics in the "making stage" of the life-cycle

True

The productivity pillars are known as the 7M's

True

There are three methods to estimate an activity's duration

True

There is always a correlation between project cost and project time

True

To grow as an effective project manager, you need to develop leadership and technical skills

True

Unless otherwise specified, if there is a difference between drawings and specifications, specifications supersede.

True

Unlike overtime, success is not a continuous variable when used in project success models

True

When the percent change exceeds 10%, labor productivity and efficiency are impacted.

True

Can one project be a success in the construction phase but a failure in the using phase?

Yes

change orders, added scope, and early delay leads to

a higher peak/average ration

Peak manpower is calculated by:

average * 1.6 average = manhours (size) / (Weeks (duration) *40 )

A "Peak/Average" ratio equal to or less than 1.6

expected, no impact

It is better to use ______ when calculating labor productivity.

manhours

A "Peak/Average" ratio between 1.6 and 3 has a

minor impact

A "Peak/Average" ratio between 3 and 4 has a

moderate impact

A "Peak/Average" ratio higher than 4

severe impact