Assessment on Design Management Practices of National Consultants Focused on Building Design Projects
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Date
2018-06
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Publisher
AAU
Abstract
In recent years design become reason for the escalation of project cost and time due to
inconsistent approach of design management of Consultants. Many projects must now be
delivered fast track while co-ordinating increasingly complex fabric and content of
buildings with a platform of accepted good practice to manage the design process. Thus,
managing the design process plays a major role on the Ethiopian construction industry for
delivering projects on time, to budget and to the specified quality.
There is a need to educate an increasing number of people in design management
techniques to equip them to manage today‟s fast moving and demanding projec ts.
However, many current design management tools are insufficiently developed for
industry application. Therefore, to improve design management in the industry, current
techniques must be modified to align them with the needs of the modern design manager.
This research has assessed the design management practice of different consultants with
the aim of improving the practice and comprises contents of design process. From this
practice of design management recommendations and strategies developed in order to fill
the gaps between the practices.
This research work presents several issues related to current design management
practices of national consultants. The practice of 34 building consultants was investigated
via questionnaires. Existing practices related with managing and evaluating information
through planning, monitoring and controlling, were assessed in view of identifying
shortcomings and limitations associated with each functions. The results moreover
indicated that most of the surveyed consultants have inconsistent approach to design
management for their projects. Only 36% of the consultants have met the expected
completion contract time of the projects they have undertaken so far. While the other
48% didn‟t meet the contract period expected to finish the design project, the remaining
16% of consultants do the design project without time boundaries.
According to the results of the research, factors contributing to the inconsistent design
management are unfamiliarity with defining tasks, ineffective managing and improper
evaluation of information flow, inadequate planning, monitoring and controlling for
project design process. The results revealed that consultants‟ design controlling process is
not integrated with the management and evaluation of information throughout the design
process with considering the time constraints.
The survey results further revealed the very limited application of tactics for developing a
project culture throughout the design process for facilitating the design management
process.
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Keywords
Project design management, design process, design brief, f, information management, design review