It is interesting that the adage about things getting easier with time does not apply to the construction industry. The said industry has been going in for millennia but in recorded history, things seem to be getting harder with time. Based on available research and commentary, the modern construction industry, including in the European Union is fraught with several major challenges. Advancements in the industry have advanced gradually more so with the incorporation of modern project management theories (Myers, 2016). However, the challenges subsist. The instant research paper contains an evaluation of some of the major challenges facing the current project management in the construction industry. It is important to note that an exhaustive list of such challenges would me too voluminous hence, the paper will focus on four major challenges. These challenges include a lack of skilled and semi-skilled labor, unreasonable deadlines, inordinate expectations, and poor risk management. Project management experts in the construction industry, in seeking to provide their clients with the best possible services are developing substantive mechanisms to cope with or mitigate these challenges. The instant research paper combines an evaluation of the major challenges in the construction industry alongside the mitigation mechanisms put in place.
Issue 1: Labor Shortages
Availability is skilled and semi-skilled labor is one of the major challenges facing the construction industry and one that project managers have been grappling with according to Tunji-Olayeni et al., (2017). One has to wonder how an industry that has undergone so many advancements in terms of mechanization and innovation could be suffering from labor problems. The answer lies in the fact that the innovations and mechanizations have not been able to keep up with the demand. In the course of the 20 th century, population increases and urbanization have been growing trends. These trends have in turn created the challenge of seeking to host a large number of people of an increasingly smaller area. Contemporaneously, the expectations of construction customers on how the finished product ought to be have been growing. On the other hand, the construction industry has to compete with a variety of other sectors such as information technology that seem more attractive to the labor force. According to Tunji-Olayeni et al., (2017), the skilled labor force in the construction industry is not only shrinking but also aging. This means that the current limitation of labor will only worsen with time. Among the solutions suggested in Tunji-Olayeni et al., (2017) is the luring of female students into the construction industry. Traditionally, male workers have dominated the instant industry. However, the industry can no longer afford to be choosy. A concerted effort to attract female students into the industry is underway to mitigate labor shortages.
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Issue 2: Unreasonable Deadlines
Project managers in the construction industry also have to grapple with the challenge of unreasonable deadlines according to Leemann, (2016). Because of unreasonable deadlines, project managers have to work under pressure. Working under pressure visits vagaries in the project itself and on the people working in the project. It is important to note that in the construction industry, more often than not, the project manager is a third party making the client a layperson as far as project management is concerned. Both the client and the manager have a plan. The client’s plan is on how to use the finished product while the project manager’s plan is on how to create it. The client’s plan is, normally superior to the manager’s plan, as it is the actual reason the construction is taking place. In the modern first-moving global economy, a delay for a few months can make a monumental difference for the profitability of a construction project. According to Leemann, (2016), secondary factors such as weather patterns and availability of equipment and materials also bear upon the timetable of a construction project. These secondary factors further complicate the deadlines. Leemann, (2016) recommends that project managers must be honest with their clients about deadlines ab initio to prevent working under pressure. Constructing under pressure not only compromises on quality but also places staff members and third parties in danger of harm, or even death!
Issue 3: Unrealistic and Inordinate Expectations
Project managers also have to grapple with the contrasting expectations of different parties, which expectations can also be unrealistic and inordinate according to Craig (2018). The different human components of a construction project each have demands and it is the obligation of the project manager to meet these demands. For example, the client wants the best possible product at the lowest possible cost. The sub-constructors, on the other hand, aspire for the best possible profits. Contemporaneously, the workers want their work to be as easy and straightforward as possible but well paying. The matrix of expectations above is quite reasonable despite being extremely complicated. The complication augments when any of the parties have an unrealistic or inordinate expectation. A good example happens when the client aspires for a higher quality than what the time or pecuniary allocations can allow. According to Craig (2018), extreme and inordinate expectations from different parties are a common problem for project managers. Among the solutions suggested for this problem is effective communication and honesty. The project manager must be forthright about what is possible or not. Project managers must focus on managing, not meeting, unreasonable expectations, as this would compromise the project itself.
Issue 4: Poor Risk Management
Risk management is another problem that project managers have to contend with since the risks associated with the construction industry are sometimes too grand to imagine according to Renault & Agumba (2016). According to the article, due to the vastness of potential risks, some project managers opt to rely on their instincts as a risk assessment tool. It is a fact that the construction industry, the risks are enormous and potential outcomes catastrophic. The September 2001 terror attack in New York clearly revealed the amount of potential energy that is contained in an erect building. The risks involved in the construction of a building, therefore continue for as long as the building is standing (Myers, 2016). Conversely, there are also grave risks for the labor force, third parties and the process itself during the process of construction. Finally, there are also pecuniary and profitability risks associated with delays or failure to meet expected standards. Having too much focus on risks will cripple the project yet ignoring risks can be dangerous. The primary challenge, therefore, is factoring just the right amount of risk during project planning and implementation according to Renault & Agumba (2016). The best project management regimen in a construction project is thus a careful balancing act.
My Opinion
It is my opinion that as the world moves on to bigger challenges, the relegation of critical issues including basic needs ensued. The construction industry revolves around an issue as critical to humanity as food is and just like with food, the most important elements are no longer fundamental. For example, people worry more about the taste of food than its nutritional value. Similarly, people currently worry more about how a building appears than how safe it is. Conversely, people worry more about the electronics inside the house than the quality of its walls. Many of the challenges plaguing project managers in the construction industry are man-manmade and emanate from the modern attitude about the industry itself. The human labor force that would be involved in construction has been lost to other professions due to taking for granted the making of buildings. Similarly, many of the deadline problems and unreasonable expectations arise because clients do not just want a good building. Most modern clients want buildings that look like they must have been impossible to build and in most cases almost are due to their locations, shapes, sizes, and material used (Myers, 2016). The seemingly impossible project specifications also inordinately increase the costs associated with the industry hence complicating risk management. If the construction industry and its stakeholders reverted to respecting buildings as a basic need, it would be possible to evert many of the challenges facing the industry.
It is definitively evident from the totality of the above that the construction industry faces a variety of major challenges. Despite efforts by experts and industry commenters to mitigate the said challenges, substantive solutions are still evasive. Human talent in the construction industry is low and its volume seems to be decreasing. The mechanization of constructions has also increased the demand for highly skilled human talent. Similarly, unreasonable deadlines and inordinate expectations also plague project managers. It is hard enough to undertake a construction project without the added expectation for doing the impossible while in the process. Finally, risk management in the industry is a daunting and complicated task. Based on a careful evaluation of the challenges above, the most important change necessary to mitigate the challenges above is a change of attitude. The said change of attitude includes reverting to the construction industry the respect that it deserves as a source of one of the three basic needs. In the interim, experts and commentators continue developing ways and means of overcoming the challenges outlined hereinabove.
References
Craig, D. (2018, August 20). Unrealistic Expectations? Here's How to Keep Everyone Happy. Retrieved from https://jobsite.procore.com/unrealistic-expectations-here-s-how-to-keep-everyone-happy/
Leemann, J. E., Ph.D. (2016, March 1). Deadlines can erode safety and promote risk-taking. Retrieved from https://www.ishn.com/articles/103452-deadlines-can-erode-safety-and-promote-risk-taking
Myers, D. (2016). Construction economics: A new approach . New York Coty, New York: Routledge.
Renault, B. Y., & Agumba, J. N. (2016). Risk management in the construction industry: A new literature review. MATEC Web of Conferences,66 , 00008. doi:10.1051/matecconf/20166600008
Tunji-Olayeni, P. F., Afolabi, A. O., Omuh, I. O., Ojelabi, R. A., Amusan, L. M., & Ogundipe, K. E. (2017). Attracting and retaining female students in construction related programs. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology , 425-430
