Construction Project Management (Online) - MSc

• This module will help develop your existing knowledge and understanding of the construction industry.
• Current developments within the sector will be studied along with their effect on the industry. This will include development and review of employability aspects of the construction sector.

• In this module you will explore business case appraisal and examine the key components of the procurement path that projects take from identification of a need through to team formation.
• You will explore ways to clarify stakeholder value and establish the key objectives embodied in the project in the business case and project execution plan. Constraints that can impact on the project will be considered to allow informed decisions to be made.
• Successful project management requires a proactive approach to risk management; as such the module will introduce the key elements of a structured approach. In addition, approaches to procuring the design and construction of a project, including the selection of the project team, will be explored.

• Construction-related contracts are used widely in the industry and play an increasingly important role in your everyday working practice. You will develop your appreciation of key contract rights and responsibilities, including key cases and rules.
• You will develop your existing knowledge so that you are able to undertake contract practice duties and give reasoned professional advice on matters relating to construction contracts.
• Additionally, you will develop a critical awareness of current issues and development in the subject skills of analysing case law and applying it appropriately to arguments surrounding the use of contracts.

• The main aim of this module is to provide you with a framework for a critical understanding of legal processes and legal decision making.
• This will provide you with a basis for a critical appreciation of essential legal rights and responsibilities applied to construction professionals. The module will also provide a basis for understanding dispute resolution.

• The module aims to develop your understanding and critical evaluation of the way parties to a project can work more effectively through collaboration, including the use of modern technology.
• You will develop your understanding of how common goals can be achieved to create a single vision for a project team and its client in order to create effective and efficient working.
• The module aims to improve your understanding of the advantages of using synchronous and asynchronous communication systems, particularly when there is virtual team-working in an international arena.

• This module introduces you to the importance of health and safety during planning and execution of construction projects.
• The module has an overall aim of introducing you to the need for proactive health and safety management within the built environment. It provides a breadth of underpinning knowledge to enable construction professionals to discharge their duties by identifying hazards and advising on in risk management processes.

• Lean project production is a philosophy-based approach that requires a new way of thinking and a new culture in design and construction of buildings and infrastructure. With its roots in manufacturing, the current exemplar of lean is Toyota, whose Production and Product Development Systems are held up as models of lean practice.
• Understanding and translating these lean practices into other organisations even in the manufacturing sector, continues to prove challenging, due to the need for a deep philosophical and cultural adjustment.
• This module will introduce you to the concept of lean thinking and how it applies to construction and design in a national and international context. Using project simulations and real-life examples we will introduce you to the new thinking and the key underlying principles.
• The module will include likely benefits of transforming projects and organisations in accordance with the lean process. This will also include the sustainability aspect embedded in lean thinking.

• This module aims to develop your appreciation of how project design is developed and the roles of the contributors to design realisation. You will also develop an appreciation of the influences of regulation on design and an understanding of how project design can affect project value, project cost and time to completion.
• You will also develop knowledge of sustainable design and modern methods of construction (MMC). This module will also introduce you to planning regulations and land acquisition.

• This module aims to develop your appreciation of how to estimate and cost a project or building at different stages. You will also develop an appreciation of the factors that will influence project value, project cost and time to completion.
• You will also develop knowledge of whole life cost, life cycle costing and cost forecasting.

The module introduces you to the organisational and management environments in which the construction industry operates and the people within it.

Its aims are to develop your ability to:

• discuss the historical bases from which management theory has developed and discuss how historical perspective has influenced contemporary thought
• critically evaluate contemporary and emergent management theory and practice
• critically evaluate current and evolving human resource management philosophy
• investigate human resource issues at management and operative levels within corporate and project arenas, both nationally and internationally
• acquire human resource skills within multi-discipline intra-group and inter-group working across a range of both national and international cultures.

• Provide an enhanced understanding of the complex economic and financial environments within which construction organisations operate
• Develop your understanding of the strategic requirements and capabilities required to plan and manage a business in complex environments
• Develop necessary skills and strengths to enable you to analyse construction company accounts financially, such as to diagnose specific financial problem areas within such companies and to prescribe satisfactory financially-based solutions for them
• Provide you with frameworks that can be used to assess and compare practical aids to decision making in business

The module introduces you to project environments in which the construction industry operates. Its aims are to enable you to:

• critically evaluate a range of potential project environments and the consequences of operating within those environments
• develop competencies in the application of management to both the overall process of project management and to specific stages within that process, including knowledge and understanding of health, safety, welfare and environmental issues in the construction process
• acquire skill in project definition, planning, implementation and completion.

• Effective postgraduate study skills and the ability to carry out research are vital attributes for success in these courses and will assist you in your future work and further study. This module aims to introduce you to the methods and methodology used in built environment research, and the theory behind different research methods and practical aspects of their implementation.
• You will be required to define a research project which needs to be agreed with your supervisor. The research project will examine the connections between theories and principles, business or industrial practice and research in the context of your chosen course. You will own and manage a significant independent academic inquiry. Teaching will guide you through the nature of academic postgraduate work and include specific exercises to develop your knowledge of methodology.
• You will undertake a literature review appropriate to the selected topic and develop/apply a relevant methodology and research design. The results of your research will be described, analysed, evaluated and discussed with reference to the literature review. You will be asked to draw conclusions and make recommendations for both professional practice and further research. You will report your progress in this through a portfolio of essays and reports.
• In addition to the portfolio/dissertation you will also present your research in the form of an academic paper suitable for publication in a relevant refereed journal. You will be required to make a contribution to knowledge and to demonstrate rigorous application of research processes to your selected topic.