Construction Project Management: from Theory to Practice

Construction project management – from theory to practice is an introductory text for undergraduate courses in Construction Management or Project Management. From our experience, most of the existing books in construction management are written to serve two groups of readers: students and practitioners. For those textbooks which aim to serve the first group, they are usually founded on theories which barely provide sufficient realistic examples to illustrate the application of construction management techniques in site operations. On the contrary, those that serve the second group of readers are designed as a ‘toolkit’ for the management staff and thus ignore most of the primary concepts. Both approaches cannot answer the needs of undergraduate students entirely, as students are deficient in site experience and have difficulty in appreciating the principles if illustrative examples are not given to them.
On the other hand, although the industrial practice in overseas countries like the U.K. applies well in Hong Kong, there are inevitable cultural and regional differences like regulations, contract forms, nature of construction works, etc. Thus, there is a demand for a textbook that is written in the context of the construction management practices in Hong Kong.
As a result, the primary objective of this book is to provide a concise review of the fundamental management principles which are explained with real life examples from the construction industry in Hong Kong. As the projects in Hong Kong are typically high-rise construction in nature, the book will also serve as a useful guide for construction management practice in high-rise projects.