دانش و مهارت‌های مدیریت پروژه برای ساخت و ساز سبز: رفع چالش‌ها

A competent project manager is vital to project success. While many studies have examined competency of project managers, few have done so in the context of green construction. Therefore, this study aims to identify challenges faced by project managers who execute green construction projects and to determine the critical knowledge areas and skills that are necessary to respond to such challenges. Through literature review, surveys and interviews with project managers, this study will help establish a knowledge base for project managers to be competitive and to effectively execute sustainable projects

A competent project manager is vital to project success, and several studies have highlighted critical skills (Avots, 1969, Belassi and Tukel, 1996, Crawford, 2000 and Sayles and Chandler, 1971). Ahadzie (2007) also confirmed the industry's growing awareness of the relationship between achieving project success and construction project management competencies. Successful construction organizations now focus on ensuring that project managers acquire the core competencies required to be successful in their assignments. According to Frank (2002), the project manager has direct influence over 34–47% of project success. Based on these previous studies, it is clear that project managers play an important role in determining the success of a project. An organization can maximize its probability of consistently attaining project success by recruiting, developing, nurturing and retaining superior project managers. Working closely with a range of other professionals, project managers organize, plan, schedule, and control the work and are responsible for getting the project completed within established time and cost limitations (Sears et al., 2008). To manage the project professionally and successfully, a project manager needs to possess the required skills and knowledge. Widespread research studies have documented managerial skills necessary for efficient project performance. Fryer (1985) listed social skills, decision-making skills, problem-handling skills, ability to recognize opportunities, and management of changes as key personal attributes affecting project success. Given the fast changing environment of the construction industry with challenges such as skills shortages, the rapid advancement of information and communication technologies, and the increasing prioritization of issues such as sustainability, environmental protection and climate change, the role of the project manager needs to be adapted. With the mounting global concern for the negative impacts brought upon on the environment by human activities in recent years, many industries are steering towards sustainable development and implementing green measures. Building construction companies from various regions around the world have integrated green concept into their construction plans to mitigate the impacts to the environment (Hwang and Tan, 2010). In fact, Singapore has made sustainable development a key national priority (Lutchmeeduth et al., 2010 and Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), 2009). As the industry changes, project managers find themselves confronted by new issues and must undertake roles that have not traditionally been part of their responsibility (Edum-Fotwe and McCaffer, 2000). Both Ceran and Dorman (1995) and Russell et al. (1997) recognized the changing role of construction project managers and argued that they must supplement their traditional functions with non-engineering knowledge and skills to meet today's professional demands. Today's project manager fulfills not only traditional roles of project management but also must manage the project in the most efficient and effective manner with respect to sustainability. As the green building construction phenomenon continues to grow and gain popularity, there is a need to better understand the pivotal attributes that project managers should possess to manage green construction projects. Despite numerous studies on a project manager's competency, few have specifically examined what critical knowledge and skills are required for the project manager to successfully deliver a sustainable project. As a result, with the intent to enhance sustainability efforts without compromising the competitiveness of project managers, this study aims (1) to identify the essential knowledge and skills required to be a competent project manager of green construction projects; (2) to discover the challenges that project managers encounter in managing green construction projects and determine critical knowledge areas and skills that can respond to the challenges; and finally, (3) to provide a comparison of critical knowledge areas and skills between traditional and green construction projects.

Global concerns over climate change and sustainability have spurred the need for green buildings in the construction industry. In Singapore, all new buildings and major building renovations should achieve the minimum Green Mark standard, as mandated by legislation in 2008. Since project managers play an important role in the success of construction projects, it is therefore essential to identify the critical knowledge and skills that a project manager needs to effectively execute a green construction project. As a result, the objectives of this study were (1) to identify the essential knowledge and skills required to be a competent project manager of green construction projects; (2) to discover the challenges that project managers encounter in managing green construction projects and determine critical knowledge areas and skills that can respond to the challenges; and finally, (3) to provide a comparison of critical knowledge areas and skills between traditional and green construction projects. The literature review provided the essential knowledge areas and skills of competent project managers. It also revealed that the project managers may face challenges such as higher costs on green construction projects and that there are elevated risks due to different forms of project delivery and the lengthy planning and approval process for new green technologies and materials. The analysis of the responses from the survey and the interviews revealed the top 10 challenges, which are critical to project managers in managing green construction projects: (1) the longer time required during the pre-construction process; (2) difficulty in the selection of subcontractors who provide green construction services; (3) uncertainty with green materials and equipment; (4) the high cost of green materials and equipment; (5) increased meetings and coordination required with green consultants and engineers; (6) more frequent alterations and variations with the design during the construction process; (7) difficulty in comprehending the green specifications in the contract details; (8) unforeseen circumstances in executing green projects; (9) planning of non-traditional construction sequences; and (10) planning of different construction techniques. Critical knowledge areas and skills that are essential to respond to the challenges were also identified. The most important knowledge areas were schedule management and planning, stakeholder management, communication management, cost management, and human resources management. In addition, the most important skills that are required to mitigate the challenges were analytical, decision-making, team working, delegation, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, the comparison of the knowledge areas and skills between traditional and green construction projects revealed that there are specific knowledge areas that should be strengthened in order to effectively manage green construction projects. This may be because more emphasis is placed on specific aspects of green building construction projects. The major contribution of this study is to identify more critical knowledge areas and skills required to perform green construction projects, from the perspective of project managers as well as in the context of green construction features that cause various challenges to project managers. While the skills and knowledge areas elaborated in the first couple of sections of this paper have been well recognized by the industry, there have been rare studies that explore and emphasize specific and focused knowledge areas and skills that project managers who manage green projects should be equipped with, based on the existing body of knowledge. Through the findings from this study, the construction industry may gain an understanding of the attributes of a competent project manager in relation to green construction projects. Also, the importance level of the attributes could serve as a guide to companies and learning institutions for developing training syllabi that target and focus on the more critical attributes. Although the objectives of this study were achieved, there are some limitations to conclusions that may be drawn from the results. As the analyses were performed with small samples, caution is warranted when the results are generalized. It was also observed that the survey respondents with more experience in green construction projects tended to give lower ratings for the challenges as compared to those with lesser experience. Further study may be required to control for and balance respondents' years of experience in green construction. Also, this study is limited to the view point of project managers in Singapore. For future studies, it would be of interest to identify attributes that are required for a project manager from the perspective of other stakeholders such as clients, developers, government associations and construction contractors. With different perspectives, future studies could develop a competency framework. Also, it is recommended to carry out further studies on how to improve and strengthen the critical knowledge areas and skills identified in this study. By doing so, project managers can improve their competency in managing green construction projects, increasing the probability of producing successful green construction projects. Lastly, new skills and knowledge areas which were not included in this study can be explored in future studies to further nourish the existing body of knowledge for managing green construction projects.