This article provides an overview of project management for sustainable commercial buildings, discusses the benefits and risks of sustainable project management practices and explores opportunities for incorporating them at each stage of the project delivery process, and outlines relevant standards and guidelines.
Author for the foundation article: Danielle McCartney
Contents
Summary
This article commences with a definition of project management, examines where project management is used and outlines the key tasks, activities and steps undertaken by a project manager at each stage of the delivery process. The importance and benefits of sustainable project management practice for a commercial building's triple bottom line (TBL) and for the owner, developer, contractor, designer, occupier and manager are outlined. The risks associated with sustainable project management are discussed, as well as the sources of inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the project management process that can potentially have a substantial impact on sustainability performance. Opportunities for improvement of the project management process to incorporate sustainability are outlined for each stage of the delivery process. Standards and guidelines relating to project management are listed. The article finishes with links to sustainability tools, organisations and associations, and a list of references and resources that may be useful to project managers.
Definition
What is project management?
Project management is the process of managing the delivery of a project through the application of knowledge, processes and tools to a wide range of activities, with the aim of fulfilling the requirements of the project. Project management focuses on the establishment and delivery of a set of objectives and outcomes for a project that has a proposed time line and trajectory. A project manager is often involved with a project from inception to completion, and their role is to assist the client to identify their needs and to coordinate the efforts of others to meet those needs. Project managers are responsible for ensuring that all project team members communicate effectively and that all relevant information and outcomes are communicated to the client. In the building industry, a project manager will administer systems and processes such as contracts, invoices, financial and time line reporting, minutes, and consultant coordination in the construction or refurbishment of a building or fit-out. They may also be involved with preparing the initial project brief and managing the design process.
The achievement of sustainability outcomes is one of many issues to be addressed on behalf of the client, along with traditional outcomes such as meeting time lines, budgets and the needs of different user groups. Project management is important to the successful delivery of any commercial building project, and its key sustainability objectives, because of the project manager's role in ensuring an integrated design and delivery process. It is important for the project manager to define sustainability objectives for the project and to continue to keep the client and the design and construction team focused on the implementation and achievement of these objectives.
The move towards sustainable project management practices has risen from the need for property owners, developers and financiers to respond to environmental and social issues, and to demonstrate their corporate responsibility and leadership in sustainability.
The principal difference between a traditional project management process and a sustainable project management process is the implementation of a whole-of-development approach. This approach considers the design and development aspects, as well as the facility management and operational practices that need to be put in place to ensure that the building functions as intended throughout its operating life. Sustainable project management involves an integrated design process where the client, designers, contractors, managers and occupiers are engaged in every step of the process, to ensure that their needs and requirements are factored in and that environmental, social and financial outcomes are achieved. Increasingly, ESD professionals that are independent of the architect, engineer and project manager are being engaged by clients to act as 'the honest broker' on the project team, reviewing the sustainability input of others, ensuring sustainability is integrated into the disciplines and design process, and assisting the project manager in overseeing the implementation of sustainability initiatives and the successful delivery of sustainability outcomes.
Project managers come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds; however, the majority have had previous roles and experience as architects, engineers, valuers, quantity surveyors, planners, economists and builders.
Where is project management used?
Many of the duties of a project manager overlap with the traditional role of the architect. The evolution of the project manager is a response to the increasing complexity and scale of building design, technology, construction and project delivery methods in the building industry, as well as other increasingly complex aspects (such as change management, procurement, reporting, risk management), which do not form part of most architects' formal training and experience. This has resulted in the need to engage an expert in management and delivery systems and methods, in order to obtain the most effective result for the client.
A project manager is used wherever a client expects that they will need assistance in interfacing with a design and/or construction team because of the team's size, the project's complexity, or the client's limited resources in personnel and/or expertise. In such a case, the project manager may be required to represent the client's interests, to assist them to clarify their needs, and to oversee the appropriate professionals in order to deliver the final product.
How is it done?
A project manager may undertake some or all of the following activities, tasks and steps at each stage of the delivery process.
Project inception, feasibility and master planning
At project inception (which is when the idea for a development has just been formulated in accordance with the client's identified business need), research can be undertaken without substantial cost risks, since commitments via major contracts have yet to be made. This initial stage may result in feasibility and master planning outputs that assess overall viability, as well as an outline of the development staging time frame.
Key activities and tasks undertaken by a project manager at this stage may include:
- research into sustainability initiatives, so that they can be incorporated into the project and business case feasibility studies
- working with the client to select appropriately skilled and experienced design professionals to form the design team
- assisting the client to define the project's goals and sustainability objectives
- identifying potential ESD rating schemes that could be used for assessment (e.g. Australian Building Greenhouse Rating
(ABGR), Commercial Office Building Energy Innovation Initiative (COBEII) and Green Star) and the target rating to be sought
- identifying any available design grant funding (e.g. COBEII design grants)
- studying any relevant case studies for similar projects
- undertaking preliminary business case and cost planning in conjunction with the client, consisting of preliminary capital costs versus operational savings/expenditure over time
- outlining a preliminary projected time line for the project
- undertaking preliminary site analysis and investigation of potential impacts on sustainability outcomes (e.g. exploration of the site footprint, site/building orientation, soil conditions, planning/zoning regulations, availability of utilities and infrastructure)
- documentation of the project brief, encompassing all of the outcomes of the above tasks and activities.
In the following Carson Group/Coffey International projects, the sustainability features relevant and fundamental to the project were identified at project inception.
In Kangan Batman TAFE's Stage 1 Automotive Centre of Excellence Docklands project, sustainability investigations and feasibility studies helped to identify early in the project that significant water savings could be made through the use of recycled water in the paint and panel workshop car-washing facility.
In the early stages of developing Zoo Victoria's Hippopotamus Exhibit in Werribee, Victoria, it was identified that world's best practice in sustainable water exhibit design would encompass targets to reduce the amount of traditional mechanical infrastructure required for pump circulation. This target led to investigations and research into natural wetland filtration systems. This was supported by the relative abundance of available land, situated in an area of rich local flora and fauna, enabling large portions of open paddock to be converted into new and natural ecological wetland habitat.
Source: Odette Corbett – Carson Group/Coffey International
Design stage
Once the project objectives, budget, time line, brief and master plan have been fully developed, defined and approved by the client, the project team can commence the design stage, in which the physical features of the development are resolved. This stage encompasses the delivery of schematic, developed and documented designs, and refined programs and budgets, which will inform the tendering stage.
Key activities and tasks undertaken by a project manager at this stage may include:
- managing the design team to ensure that the design is developed in accordance with the client brief and project goals
- overseeing the potential preparation of a return brief by the project team back to the client, to demonstrate their understanding of the project brief
- ensuring that the design produced by the project team meets the needs of the client and user groups, and their functional requirements
- setting ESD performance standards that relate to the project's ESD objectives
- ensuring that the design team takes a balanced approach to developing the building solution, which may involve the implementation of an integrated design process
- commissioning an investigation of site conditions to fully inform the building/civil/landscape design, as site conditions can greatly affect the viability of some ESD initiatives. For example, a high water table can have an impact on the cost-effectiveness of constructing an in-ground water collection tank
- ensuring that ESD is integrated into the building fabric and services design as an essential element, rather than being considered an 'add-on' feature. For example, a building-integrated photovoltaic array that generates electricity can also serve as an integral part of the building façade or roof, as opposed to a solar panel that sits on a separate structure on the wall or roof
- ensuring that the design team is comprehensively briefed by the ESD professional on what information, documentation, calculations and evidence they must provide for the selected ESD accreditation scheme assessment
- ensuring design for commissionability (potentially reviewed by an independent commissioning manager)
- ensuring design for maintainability
- ensuring that the design team produces and delivers their evidence in a timely manner to the ESD professional responsible for submitting the comprehensive documentation to the selected ESD accreditation scheme. Project managers, in conjunction with the ESD professional, oversee and streamline the requests to the project team for information and feedback from accreditation bodies during the rating process
- the facilitation of value management workshops and assessments that aim to optimise the integration of ESD into the project
- further refining the project budget, subsequent to the design decisions made
- further refining the project program for the procurement/tendering, construction and post-construction stages.
Procurement and tendering
The packaging and delivery of the construction stage is undertaken in the procurement and tendering stage. The project manager may be responsible for the process of recommendation and selection of procurement forms and contracts.
Key activities and tasks undertaken by a project manager at this stage may include:
- coordinating the preparation of tender documentation by the project team
- recommending an appropriate procurement form for the client (e.g. traditional lump sum contract, cost plus)
- determining, in conjunction with the client, the procurement and tendering requirements, including any requirements for the tenderer to prove their skills and experience in ESD construction
- determining, in conjunction with the client, the terms of the contracts, including any clauses that will define ESD performance of the construction process (e.g. reporting on the volume of construction waste to be recycled) or of the completed building
- distributing the tendering packages to the selected tenderers and liaising with them regarding queries
- recommending and selecting, in conjunction with the client, the preferred tenderer.
Construction stage
During the construction stage, the project manager (if appointed as superintendent under the contract) is responsible for ensuring that the building is constructed and delivered in a quality manner and within the proposed time frame, as per the brief, tender documents and contract.
Key activities and tasks undertaken by a project manager at this stage may include:
- liaising with the design team, builder and contractors to ensure the scope of works is progressing within the time frame and that any problems arising are dealt with by the appropriate party
- ensuring that any alternatives proposed by the builder to the designer-specified construction methods or building materials are appropriately vetted by the design team and do not deviate from the intentions of the brief, including the target performance objectives
- ensuring that the builder is performing to the required level of construction expertise and detailing in the delivery of the building
- reviewing and authorising payment of invoices
- overseeing the commissioning and building tuning stages prior to and, if necessary, following building handover
- facilitating collaboration between the client, the builder/contractor and the design team during the construction stage, to determine mutual benefits and optimise ways of achieving the desired outcome for the client.
Post-construction stage
For the majority of projects in Australia, the project manager's role tends to end at building handover. However, post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) are increasingly being undertaken for the client and/or building owner and the project manager is likely to have a role in these.
Key activities and tasks undertaken by a project manager at this stage may include:
- organising and overseeing building user training, to ensure that occupants operate the building to achieve the designed performance
- organising and overseeing a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) survey on behalf of the client, to assess whether the building is functioning as designed and to gauge whether the building is meeting the occupants' needs
- facilitating a 'lessons learned' workshop with the client and project team, to download and discuss each team member's experience of the project and to enable improvements to be made on future developments.
What is the importance of sustainable project management practice?
Project managers are increasingly implementing – on their own initiative and at the request of clients – project management practices and processes designed more precisely to deliver sustainable buildings.
The increase in legislation pertaining to sustainability performance (such as planning requirements, environmental approvals, and the energy-efficiency provisions in Section J and access for maintenance provisions in Section I of the Building Code of Australia) has prompted the incorporation of sustainable project management practices into the project delivery process.
There is growing pressure for companies (particularly listed companies whose investors are increasingly focused on ethical investment) and government agencies to demonstrate their corporate responsibility and, as part of this, to report on their triple bottom line (TBL) performance. Implementing sustainable project management practices ensures that a process will be followed and initiatives will be implemented during the delivery process to ensure a measurable and reportable outcome.
The end result of undertaking a sustainable project management process is a sustainable building that performs to a prescribed level. Sustainable buildings have many benefits, including a reduced impact on the environment, community and social benefits, financial benefits, a healthier and more comfortable working environment for building occupants, savings on utility costs for building owners, enhanced organisational profile in terms of corporate responsibility, and enhanced marketability, leading to higher sale and rental returns.
Importance for the triple bottom line
Growing awareness of the impacts that businesses and building construction have on the environment and society has resulted in increased pressure on the companies involved to be accountable for their actions and impacts, and to be responsible for not only their financial performance, but their environmental and social performance as well. For example, many large national and international companies (e.g. Lend Lease, Stockland) voluntarily measure and publicly report their TBL outcomes. Some government agencies (NSW and WA Governments, and all federal agencies) have statutory requirements to report their TBL performance, and any company intending to undertake work for these organisations will need to respond to their TBL reporting framework. Implementing sustainable project management practices maintains continual focus on sustainability throughout the delivery process, with the final outcome being reportable ESD outcomes.
In order for TBL outcomes to be achieved and reported, ESD objectives must be an integral component of the brief. Furthermore, a measurable value of the ESD components must be established to enable their value to be properly accounted for when making decisions, otherwise they are likely to suffer continuing demands for justification during budget review and value management exercises. A good project manager will use TBL accounting when assessing the value of ESD initiatives during the design stage. A TBL assessment will review the financial impact of an initiative (both in terms of capital and operational cost impact), as well as the environmental and social impacts. For TBL to be effective, the environmental and social considerations need to be given a credibility or 'currency' to use in evaluations against capital and operational costs. In this way, when faced with a choice between economic, environmental and social impacts, a clear result should stand out. The project manager can work with the client and other members of the consultant team to establish agreed methods of measurement and assessment of environmental and social impacts. These agreed measures will be greatly assisted by the project brief if it includes clear performance requirements, such as 'the project is not to exceed 115 MJ/m2 per annum in operational energy consumption'.
For example, when reviewing the value of ceiling-mounted sweep fans in an office, the project manager would compare the capital and running costs and the environmental impact of the electricity consumption against the social benefit of the improvement to user comfort and productivity, resulting from increased air movement delivered by the sweep fans. In a similar way, the value of sweep fans could be compared to the value of air-conditioning.
It is important that a project manager ensures that environmental and social criteria are integrated into the design requirements up-front in the design process, along with the standard 'time, cost and quality' considerations, and that the design team is briefed accordingly. Incorporating these requirements into the equation can significantly alter the effectiveness of the solution and triple bottom line (TBL) outcomes.
Lovins and Lovins (2000) illustrate this point by referring to Dutch engineer Jan Schilham, who designed an industrial pumping loop system for a new Shanghai carpet plant, optimising the system design for total life cycle cost (capital plus operational costs). Schilham used large diameter pipes with short, straight runs, instead of smaller diameter pipes with longer, crooked runs. Friction within the pipes was reduced, as was the need for an energy-intensive pumping system. The savings in construction and pump capital costs made it cost-effective to insulate the pipes more heavily, saving 72 kilowatts of heat. A 92% reduction in energy consumption due to pumping was achieved, compared to a standard system designed earlier for the same plant by another engineering firm. Capital costs were reduced, operational costs were lowered and construction time was reduced.
Source: Lovins & Lovins, 2000
Importance for owners
Implementing sustainable project management practices is important to the building owner, as it will ensure that the owner's needs and ESD requirements are carried through the project delivery process and that the projected sustainable outcomes are achieved. This is particularly important for building owners who measure and report their sustainability performance and for those companies that must achieve certain ESD targets. For example, Investa has announced that all of the buildings it will produce in the future must achieve a 4-star Green Star rating or higher. In addition, many state and federal government tenancies have a prescribed ABGR and/or Green Star rating level that must be achieved for tenancies or new buildings that they are to occupy. For example, many Federal Government agencies developing and moving into their own new office buildings must ensure that they achieve a 5-star Green Star rating and a 4.5-star ABGR rating.
The TBL approach that is integrated into sustainable project management practice ensures that long-term operational costs and considerations are taken into account, not just the up-front capital costs. This is important for the long-term financial planning of building owners, portfolio owners and property trusts.
The end result of a successful sustainable project management process is a sustainable building. This has several benefits for owners, including an increased selling or leasing capability, higher rental return, reduced operation and maintenance costs, improved tenant retention due to a healthier and comfortable internal environment, reduced risk and liability from occupants due to poor indoor air quality, and a raised profile in the marketplace for sustainability performance and responsibility.
Importance for developers
Putting sustainable project management practices in place aims to provide the framework to ensure that the building developer's ESD requirements are met, and that the statutory obligations and planning and environmental performance requirements are fulfilled.
The life cycle costing and accounting processes that form part of the TBL approach and sustainable project management practice ensure that the developer is fully informed as to the whole-of-life costs (capital plus operational costs) and real value of the asset in terms of environmental, social and financial gains. This assists in the marketing and the sale or lease of the building.
Importance for builders and contractors
Builders and contractors that implement sustainable project management practices set up the framework to ensure that the ESD requirements that are their responsibility are met (e.g. separation, storage and recycling of construction waste), and that the statutory obligations and planning and environmental performance requirements that are also their responsibility are fulfilled.
The use of an integrated design process often results in fewer problems arising during the construction stage, as each discipline in the design team has been integrated and coordinated with others.
As awareness of ESD grows, clients will be increasingly looking to procure and engage contractors who are experienced in sustainable building materials, construction methods and sustainable project management procedures. Already, a number of large development companies and government agencies are incorporating requirements for contractors to demonstrate their skills and experience in ESD into their procurement and tendering processes. Therefore, builders and contractors with this knowledge have a competitive edge in the market and those without sound ESD knowledge will increasingly be left behind.
Importance for designers
Designers (such as architects, engineers and design consultants) who engage in sustainable project management put in place a structure that ensures that the ESD requirements that are their responsibility are met, and that the statutory obligations and planning and environmental performance requirements that are also their responsibility are fulfilled. This has the advantage of reducing their risk and liability. Designers that understand and implement sustainable project management practices increase their ability to win work in this rapidly growing sector.
For the project manager, the advantage of implementing sustainable project management practice is that their obligations to the client in terms of delivering quality, cost-effectiveness and real sustainability outcomes within the prescribed time frame are managed through each project stage in a structured manner, with definite projected outcomes.
Importance for occupiers
Occupiers benefit from the outcome of a sustainable project management process, rather than from the process itself. The end result of following a successful sustainable project management process is a sustainable building, which has several benefits for building occupiers, including improved staff retention and improved worker productivity due to a healthier and comfortable internal environment, reduced risk and liability from occupants due to poor indoor air quality, a raised profile in the marketplace for sustainability performance and corporate responsibility, and reduced operation and maintenance costs (depending on the lease type).
Importance for managers
The implementation of sustainable project management practices ensures that the ESD performance requirements for the building are achieved, and that the building is operated as the designers originally intended. A good project manager will involve the building's manager (if known) in the design and construction process, as part of an integrated design process. This ensures that knowledge is exchanged between the design team and the building manager, so that the intent of the design is understood and harnessed in operation. Benefits include value-engineering and the efficient design and installation of building services that are likely to require less maintenance by the manager. Through this sustainable project management process, the building manager may be able to achieve significant utility (and therefore monetary) savings for the client. The provision of a building user guide for the tenants, and training that aims to raise awareness of and explain the operation of the sustainability features of the building, can result in greater building efficiencies and reduced call-outs for the building manager.
Risks associated with sustainable project management
There is a risk that the sustainable project management process may involve greater up-front fees paid to the project team and a longer time frame for the design period than for conventional projects, due to the greater amount of time spent in an integrated design process. This may involve workshops, charettes or a number of project team meetings, which aim to deliver a building solution that seamlessly integrates building fabric and services and that will achieve a high level of sustainability performance. However, the risk of higher up-front project team fees and an extended time frame is often offset by the operational costs savings, increased rental returns and the increased asset value that results from a high-performance sustainable building.
Sources of major impact
There are several sources of inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the project management process that can potentially have a significant detrimental impact on sustainability performance. These include:
- poor integration of the design process
- exclusion of consultants and suppliers from the 'intent loop', meaning that they may not fully appreciate the client's needs
- resistance of project financiers to paying the higher costs of an integrated design process
- separation of responsibilities along the building life cycle.
Each of these sources of impact is explained below.
A major negative impact on a building's sustainable performance is the tendency of some project managers to separate the design team members and to deal with them individually (what they view as 'design management') in terms of managing and delivering their scope of works within the required time frame. This approach reinforces the 'silo effect' and has precisely the opposite effect to what is needed to best achieve sustainable project outcomes; that is, the interaction, engagement and input of the multi-disciplinary project team during the integrated design process.
A negative impact on the triple bottom line (TBL) outcomes of the project may also occur if the project manager does not include consultants or suppliers in the 'intent loop'. Whilst is critical for the project manager to understand the client's objectives and needs, it is also critical for consultants and/or suppliers to comprehend these needs and to be involved in the problem-solving process. For example, if a project manager only gives measurable performance requirements to a supplier for a certain product, without disclosing the project intentions and goals, the supplier is not given the opportunity to recommend an alternative product that may better suit the client's needs.
Another source of impact is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the process of sustainable project management. Many financiers of commercial buildings (e.g. owners, developers, trusts etc.) fail to understand the costs associated with sustainable project management. Financiers may resist paying the higher costs involved with implementing an integrated project management process, as the exact benefits of following this process can not be identified immediately and therefore the additional investment may appear unwarranted.
The separation of responsibilities throughout the building life cycle can be a source of inefficiency that can potentially have an impact on sustainability performance. There is a general lack of knowledge sharing and communication amongst project team members and stakeholders in the traditional project management process, particularly between the design team, building managers and building occupants. Designers, such as architects and engineers, tend to be involved in the project up until the end of the construction period, whereas facility managers and occupants are often not involved until the building is occupied. There is a risk that the building may not be operated, managed and maintained by the building managers and tenants as the design team envisioned, leading to operational inefficiencies and, potentially, a greater impact on the environment. This is a barrier that needs to be highlighted up-front to the client, project team and stakeholders, and overcome by a sustainable project management and integrated design process.
Measures and assessment
The traditional measures of a project manager's success are time, cost and quality. The first two factors are easily measured; however, the third can be subjective. Unless ESD requirements are clearly specified as prescriptive elements, or unless clear and measurable targets are set, then a project manager's measure of success in terms of quality and the ESD performance of the building will remain subjective. In Australia, there are several tools and check-lists that measure the outcome of a sustainable project management process (the sustainable building); however, there are none that assess and benchmark the success of the project management process itself. Many organisations have evaluation proformas that are given to clients to rate a project manager's performance, but these primarily rate the personal characteristics of the project manager, such as their communication and organisational skills.
The rise of ESD assessment tools, such as Green Star, ABGR and National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), is at the forefront of a push for accountability in ESD reporting. These tools set clear benchmarks and targets, and provide clear methods of measurement to assess whether targets are achieved.
Opportunities for improving performance
The project manager can influence the performance of a sustainable commercial building at each stage of the building project. In the earlier stages, the project manager can help set targets for ESD and allocate the time and resources (e.g. consultants) to achieve them. During the documentation and construction stages, the project manager can ensure the ESD priorities are maintained and reported against. Finally, at completion and occupation, the project manager can ensure that the building is handed over thoroughly, so that the building will be operated in the way its designers intended. Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) can be used to assess the success of the building design and operation against the original targets set during the early stages of the project. Each of these opportunities requires the project manager to maintain the vision and direction of the project, despite the inevitable pressures they will face to save time and costs.
Project managers can ensure that ESD outcomes are achieved by establishing a framework for the integration of ESD into the project delivery process. They can do this by:
- preparing and communicating a clearly defined and achievable project brief with the project team, which includes articulation of what is, and what isn't, part of the delivery scope
- ensuring that the cost plan acknowledges and reflects the level of performance the client expects from both the project team and the completed commercial building
- instilling the expectation that the project outcome meets the functional, operational and whole-of-life business expectations and needs of the users and operators
- identifying and planning for any potential ESD risks that may arise throughout the project, and by managing and mitigating them effectively so as to avoid any impacts on the final product
- establishing open, accurate and transparent communication (and reporting) with the client and stakeholders, from project inception to handover
- reinforcing the project's objectives whilst navigating through the regulatory requirements (e.g. planning guidelines, BCA) that may pose challenges to achieving the project's desired ESD outcomes
- communicating with government and industry bodies who offer ESD incentives and support, such as government grant and partnership programs (e.g. Sustainable Victoria's COBEII and Victorian Solar Innovation Initiative (VSII) programs, and Brisbane City Council's Sustainable Development program).
'Leaders conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupation and lift them above the day-to-day activities that tear them apart and focus their energy on objectives worthy of their effort.'
Source: John Gardner, founder of America's National Civic League (an American organisation that advocates for community democracy)
Mary Casey of McLachlan Lister, a leading Australian project management consultancy firm, advocates six project management practice fundamentals, or actions, that a project manager should take in order to ensure that sustainability is integrated into the project management process and to ensure successful project outcomes. These project management practices are:
1. Stay informed about trends in the industry, available technology, and recent case studies.
2. Clearly understand your client's goals for the asset or development.
3. Question what is possible – don't settle for doing the same thing again, always seek to improve.
4. Suggest targets that serve – and stretch – their expectations of themselves and the asset or development.
5. Get the right team with the right experience behind those objectives from the start.
6. Make sure you understand the fee implications of a sustainable design process so you can pay those experts accordingly, so you don't surprise your client, and so you get good results from your team.
Source: Author's communication with Mary Casey, McLachlan Lister
The UK's Association for Project Management (APM) believes that project managers are significantly placed to make contributions to sustainable management practices at many levels of their projects. Options include:
Briefing – by encouraging and supporting clients/customers and sponsors/champions to incorporate sustainability into their statements of requirements and applying them throughout the project
Modelling – by recommending, understanding and promoting appropriate financial and funding models at the inception, emphasising the triple bottom line and whole life costings with an awareness and knowledge of financial benefits
Selections – by incorporating sustainability criteria in selecting team members, contractors and suppliers for general outlook and project-specific approaches
Strategies – by considering sustainability in the fundamental options of scoping, phasing, sequencing, sourcing, procurement and contracts of projects and programs
Design proposals – by stimulating designs that respond to statements of requirements, statutory standards and good practice for sustainability
Specifications – by conveying and checking that components and assemblies are sourced and delivered in sustainable ways, including delivery methods and packaging
Change decisions – by addressing sustainability aspects when change is under review; for example, ensuring when making tactical decisions that the change review includes considered value engineering and not just short-term cost-driven capital expenditure effects
Delivery stage – by implementing the predetermined project sustainability arrangements, corporate standards and good practice, including waste avoidance, packaging and sequencing efficiencies
Management arrangements – by adopting effective managerial and operational arrangements covering logistics, meetings, communications, consumables, re-use and recycling
Communications – by conveying the sustainability aspects of the project throughout its duration including to end-users/occupiers at handovers, through documentation, briefings and follow-up support
Source: Association for Project Management, 2006b
Further opportunities for project managers to ensure that sustainability outcomes are achieved for their projects (by integrating activities and tasks into each stage of the delivery process) are discussed in more detail below.
Project inception, feasibility and master planning opportunities
At the feasibility stage, a project manager can assist the client in establishing expectations for ESD that are prescriptive and/or performance-based. The former may be physical items, such as rainwater tanks or certain types of equipment or fixtures. The latter are more likely to be targets to be achieved compared to a given benchmark (e.g. a 25% reduction on potable water use). Performance-based briefing targets create opportunities for design teams to meet targets in innovative ways. The downside of this is that it is harder to allocate definite funding for ESD elements. In addition, innovation requires effort, meaning that the project manager must ensure that adequate time and resources are provided for the design team.
A project manager that works with the client to set a performance-based brief, rather than a prescriptive one, will establish a basis for innovation and set up the framework for the project to be assessed according to industry benchmarks (e.g. Green Star, ABGR). The brief must contain references to ESD if ESD is to be acknowledged during the early design stages with a budget allocation. Briefs with clear targets and methods of measurement for ESD are the most likely to achieve ESD outcomes. A brief that states 'collect rainwater' will be subject to a wider range of interpretation, with less certainty of the outcome, than one that states 'rainwater collection is required to displace the potable water demands of the flushing toilets for 90% of the year'. Clear compliance targets allow a scope of works for ESD to be identified early in the project and an appropriate budget to be allocated.
The project manager can recommend and engage, on behalf of the client, an ESD professional with appropriate experience and skills to undertake the ESD aspects of the design.
Design stage opportunities
During the concept design and design development stages, the project manager can direct the design team in matters relating to time, cost and quality. The project manager will be under pressure to maintain financial and time targets, and ESD requirements may run counter to these pressures.
The project manager has an opportunity at the beginning of the concept design stage to commence an integrated design process. This process could start with a workshop or charette-style meeting with the client, design team and contractors, building/facility managers and occupiers (if known), as well as any other relevant stakeholders (e.g. local community). All pertinent planning, design, construction, management and operational issues can then be discussed, with the aim of working towards the delivery of a building solution that efficiently integrates the building fabric, services and ESD initiatives, and that responds to the client brief and the needs of building occupiers, managers and stakeholders.
As the figure below depicts, most environmental impacts (and therefore the greater number of opportunities to minimise environmental impacts) are determined in the early design stages of a project.
Influence on ecological sustainability by building life cycle stage
Source: Department of Environment and Heritage, 2006
Procurement and tendering opportunities
During the construction documentation stage, the project manager can integrate ESD opportunities that will be delivered during the construction stage. These could include demolition and waste management, recycling targets, water management, use of green materials, adhesives and sealants, auditing and certification of environmental management systems (EMS'), and reporting of targets and outcomes. These requirements can be made clear in the tender documentation and contracts.
Contracts that are developed for ESD-based projects need to be appropriately structured to specify the degree of designer-builder collaboration (without encouraging substantial re-design, which may prove inefficient). They also need to incorporate appropriate follow-up mechanisms that ensure the timely submission of building performance measurement data (particularly for accredited ESD assessment schemes), in order to determine the real and accurate savings achieved through the incorporation of ESD initiatives.
During the procurement and tendering process, prospective builders may be required to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and experience in the field of ESD in order to be awarded the project.
Construction stage opportunities
During the construction stage, the project manager should ensure that the builder adheres to the ESD commitments and reports regularly on outcomes. Records of such activities should be maintained for future reference.
The project manager should ensure that any alternatives proposed by the builder to the designer-specified construction methods or building materials are appropriately vetted by the design team and do not deviate from the intentions of the brief, impact on the environment, or affect building performance. This is very important where materials have been specified for their low impact on the environment (e.g. timber from accredited sustainable sources, products with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content etc.).
At handover, the project manager can have a substantial influence over the building's future environmental impact by incorporating building commissioning, finetuning and user training into the program, ensuring that the building will be optimally operated as the designers intended.
Post-construction stage opportunities
Project managers have the opportunity to facilitate a 'lessons learned' workshop with the client and project team, in order to download and discuss each team member's experience of the project and the degree of success of the incorporation of ESD initiatives. Workshop outcomes should aim to enable improvements to be made on future developments.
Project managers should also allocate time and resources to the project time frame for conducting a post-occupancy evaluation (POE), which will enable the success of the design and the satisfaction of building users to be assessed. POEs close the loop on determining the success of, and validating and proving the benefits of, ESD initiatives through an assessment of the final product.
POEs are usually undertaken between six and nine months after practical completion of the building, when occupiers have had sufficient time to occupy and experience the building and when the building itself has had the opportunity to perform under a range of climatic conditions. Post-occupancy evaluations can provide quantitative and qualitative information about:
- the level of occupant comfort and health achieved through the use of ESD initiatives (e.g. passive ventilation, individual comfort control etc.)
- the projected versus actual utility savings experienced over time (e.g. energy and water savings) and whether proposed targets were achieved
- what does and does not work as envisioned, and what needs to be done to rectify any problems.
Project managers can oversee the independent POE assessment by collating evaluations and audits and reporting feedback to the design team, client and user groups. POEs assist building designers and owners to learn from the process of design and construction, and to apply the lessons learned to their next project. Very few buildings in Australia are currently reviewed in this manner.
The City of Moreland's Civic Centres redevelopment project in Melbourne was a successful project that was delivered on time, on budget and to a high-quality standard. In addition, the project achieved the sustainability performance objectives set out in the brief. The project was delivered using a sustainable project management process. The table below outlines the key project management activities and professional capabilities that delivered a successful and sustainable outcome.
Key project management activities of the Civic Centres redevelopment project, City of Moreland
Source: Graham, Coutts & Hes, 2003
The table below was developed for a Department of Human Services aged care facility and is an example of process tasks and activities that could be overseen by a project manager at each stage of a sustainable building project.
Key project management activities of an aged care facility project
Source: Walker-Morison, Graham & Hes, 2003
Policies, regulations and standards
As yet, there are no industry-accepted regulations, policies, standards or guidelines on how to successfully implement a sustainable project management process that delivers sustainability outcomes.
There are two Australian standards relating to project management; however they are not specifically aimed at implementing a sustainable project management process and improving sustainability outcomes. These standards are:
- AS 4915-2002 project management general conditions: This standard outlines an agreement that can be used when a project requires a project manager to carry out work to completion of their scope of works, and includes variations to the scope.
- AS 4817-2003 project performance measurement using earned value: This standard provides guidance and establishes requirements for measuring and reporting the cost performance of projects within the time frame, using the EVPM method (earned value performance measurement).
In July 2006, the UK's Association for Project Management published the 5th edition of Body of knowledge (APM, 2006a). This publication, though not specifically aimed at improving sustainability outcomes, is a good practice guideline for project managers about how to manage a successful project. The guideline outlines 52 knowledge areas contained in seven sections (project management in context, planning the strategy, executing the strategy, techniques, business and commercial, organisation and governance, and people and the profession) that are required to deliver a successful project.
The Project Management Institute based in the US, publishes the internationally recognised Guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (PMI, 2006). The PMBOK guide provides a structure for understanding project management, the environment in which projects operate, and how the various project management processes interact. The guide outlines nine project management knowledge areas: project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project quality management, project human resource management, project risk management, project procurement management and project communication management.
Links
Tools
Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR): http://www.abgr.com.au
Docklands ESD Rating Award Scheme: http://www.docklands.com
Green Star: http://www.gbcaus.org
National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS): http://www.nabers.com.au/
Organisations and associations
Association for Project Management (APM) (UK): http://www.apm.org.uk
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB): http://www.abcb.gov.au/
Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM): http://www.aipm.com.au
Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA): http://www.gbcaus.org
International Project Management Association (IPMA): http://www.ipma.ch
Landcom: http://www.landcom.com.au
NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) (formerly DEUS): http://www.deus.nsw.gov.au
Project Management Institute (PMI): http://www.pmi.org
Property Council of Australia (PCA): http://www.propertyoz.com.au/
Standards Australia: http://www.standards.org.au/
Sustainability Victoria: http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
References
Association for Project Management (UK) (2006a), Body of knowledge (5th edition), High Wycombe: APM.
Association for Project Management (2006b), Sustainability outlooks, Accessed from http://www.apm.org.uk/download.asp?fileID=499.
Australian Institute of Project Management (1995), Construction industry project management guide – for project sponsors/clients/owners, project managers, designers and constructors, Sydney: AIPM.
Building and Construction Interchange Australia & Green Building Council of Australia (2006), Green building market report, Sydney: BCI & GBCA.
Department of Environment and Heritage (now The Department of Environment and Water Resources) (2006), ESD design guide for Australian Government buildings (edition 2), Canberra: DEH.
Graham, P., Coutts, G.P.L. & Hes D. (2003), What can the process of delivering sustainable buildings teach us about construction management education?, Paper presented at Working Together, 28th Annual Conference, Australasian Universities Building Educators Association, Geelong.
Green Building Council of Australia (2006), The dollars and sense of green buildings: building the business case for green commercial buildings in Australia, Sydney: GBCA.
Lovins, L.H. & Lovins, A.B. (2000), 'Harnessing corporate power to heal the planet', The World and I, April.
Project Management Institute (2006), Guide to the project management body of knowledge, Accessed from Project Management Institute website
Walker-Morison A., Graham P. & Hes D. (2003), ESD initiatives for the master plan for the Kingston aged care centre development. Unpublished report prepared for Hassell Architects, Melbourne.
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