ARCH 7047 - Cost Planning and Management

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2017

This course is designed to explore the management of cost elements in building and civil engineering projects. All projects require planning and managing cost throughout the various project stages. These cost planning and management exercises are crucial to achieve the project success. This course will examine strategies designed to achieve optimum financial performance at both the project level and the business level.

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Course Details

Course Code	ARCH 7047
Course	Cost Planning and Management
Coordinating Unit	School of Architecture and Built Environment
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assessment	Class quiz, discussion paper and building tender assignment

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Jian Zuo

Lecturer: Ms. Debbie Marsh

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Refer to MyUni for more information.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Distinguish the various types of contracts that are applied to construction projects
2. Demonstrate the administration procedures that are used with various contract types
3. Determine plans and strategies to manage conflicts and disputes
4. Analyse financial performance at the business and the project levels (e.g. cash flow and profitability)
5. Develop corrective and preventive cost planning measures to evaluate financial performance
6. Manage document control, information management and reporting systems

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4,5,6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	4,5,6
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	2,3,4,5,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3,4,5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1,2,3,4,5,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2,3,6

Learning Resources

Recommended Resources

Please refer to MyUni for details of recommended readings and websites

Following journals are suggested reading for this subject:
• Journal of Cleaner Production
• Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• Journal of Management in Engineering
• Building and Environment
• International Journal of Project Management
• Energy and Buildings
• Applied Energy
• Project Management Journal
• Construction Management and Economics
• Facilities
• Journal of Green Building
• Energy Policy

Other locations for resources will be distributed during lectures.

Speaker Series:
The School has a fortnightly lecture series where respected practitioners and academics from the field deliver a public lecture on contemporary architectural practice. In order to expand your knowledge of contemporary directions in design it is recommended that you attend these sessions. The exact detail of dates and speakers is available from the School website and the Front Office.

Online Learning

University Email:
The school uses the University email system to get in touch with the students. So it is imperative that you check your email regularly and keep up to date with any new announcements.

MyUni:
MyUni is an essential online tool which will be used to communicate information regarding the course including details of assignments and interim grades. There are many other learning resources and assessment pieces that rely on the MyUni system for delivery. Therefore it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the various functions of MyUni and employ it to its fullest extent. https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Discussion Board:
The MyUni Discussion Board can be used to interact with other students and tutors and is an essential tool to discuss information and increase your understanding of issues.

Lecture Recording:
In certain cases the recording of the lectures is made available in electronic format for students to listen through on their own time and make notes, and is provided through the MyUni system. However, this service is only available for lectures with essential course content and may not include guest lectures. Furthermore, where the presentation content is subject to copyright or the guest speaker is uncomfortable with the recording of the content, the lecture recording will not be made available online. So students should not rely solely on this mode of learning and arrange to attend or get lecture content from peers.

Noticeboard / Handbook:
General information about the activities at the School is available online from the Student Noticeboard which can be accessed at
https://unified.adelaide.edu.au/group/professons-studentarchitecture/ current-student
Students can also access a copy of the Student Handbook at the following link:
https://unified.adelaide.edu.au/group/professons-student-architecture/enrolments
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The learning and teaching strategy is an active learning one, using a range of problems, application and case studies. The contents of this course will be delivered in forms of lecture, tutorial and workshops. Principles of cost planning and management will be covered in 1-hour lecture on a weekly basis. This will be followed by 2-hour tutorial which is designed to allow students to practice those principles introduced during the lecture sessions. Case studies will enrich student’s understanding of managing cost issues in building and civil engineering projects. Workshops are designed to facilitate students’ communication skills such as documenting cost related information and reporting to various stakeholders.

The approach to assessment is one of integration with teaching and “assessment for learning” rather than of learning. Students will receive feedback progressively throughout the semester. Deadlines for assessment will be strictly enforced which will provide an overall framework for the semester of study.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
The University expects full-time students (ie. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote at least 48 hours per week to their studies. Accordingly, students undertaking this 3 unit course are expected to devote 12 hours per week to contact activities and self-guided studies.

Based on this framework here are some figures that might assist workload management (delete as appropriate):

For a 3 unit course:
Total workload hours: 12 Hrs per week x 13 weeks = 156 Hrs
Total contact hours: 3 Hrs per week x 12 weeks = 36 Hrs
Total self-guided study: 156 Hrs – 36 Hrs = 120 Hrs

For a 6 unit course:
Total workload hours: 24 Hrs per week x 13 weeks = 312 Hrs
Total contact hours: 6 Hrs per week x 12 weeks = 72 Hrs
Total self-guided study: 312 Hrs – 72 Hrs = 240 Hrs

For a 12 unit course:
Total workload hours: 48 Hrs per week x 13 weeks = 624 Hrs
Total contact hours: 12 Hrs per week x 12 weeks = 144 Hrs
Total self-guided study: 624 Hrs – 144 Hrs = 480 Hrs

These 120 or 240 or 480 hours should be used towards preparation of weekly tasks and for completion of the various assignments associated with the course, including development of various skills required to complete the same. Please organise your time wisely.

This is a 3 unit course. Recommended study commitments are meant to be hours of full time study, not just sitting thinking about the subject! The communication skills developed by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

Learning Activities Summary

Essential information on cost planning and management concepts and approaches, definitions of activities, management strategies, analysis techniques and contemporary issues will be dealt with by structured lecture and tutorial sessions. Tutorial sessions are featured with problem based/case study exercises. The approach is progressive, building upon fundamental concepts and knowledge acquisition with increasingly complex problem based exercises.

In lecture sessions, principles of cost planning and management in building and civil engineering projects will be discussed. Students will be encouraged to relate these principles to the real life projects through reading academic papers and resources from the professional bodies such as Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, The Chartered Institute of Building, and The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. In tutorial sessions, students will work in groups to use their skills and knowledge to tackle these cost planning and management related issues such as contract administration, dispute resolution, financial performance reporting, etc.

Specific Course Requirements

Failure to attend teaching due to medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances is dealt with the School Policy, administered by the School Office. Submit the appropriate application for supplementary consideration together with the original signed medical or other relevant officer, to the School Office. If you foresee a problem contact the Course Coordinator BEFORE the problem actually occurs. Otherwise, contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible and submit the appropriate application for supplementary consideration to the School Office.

Please pay attention to following policies:
fieldtrips: Field Work policy and guidelines (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/ohs/handbook/); and
insurance information (https://www.adelaide.edu.au/legalandrisk/insurance/information/);

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due Date/Week	Weighting	Learning Outcomes
Class Quiz	Summative	24/8, Week 5	15%	1,2,3
Discussion Paper	Summative	6/10, Week 9	35%	2,3,4
Building Tender assignment	Summative	5/11, Week 13	50% (20% individual and 30% collaborative)	1,2,3,4,5,6

Assessment Detail

Refer to MyUni for more information.

Submission

All assignments must be submitted through MyUni site. Note that NO LATE submissions will be accepted unless it is due to illness and other accepted circumstances as explained in the School's Student Handbook.

Submissions (General):
All submissions must include Student Name and Student ID Number. Submissions without Student Name or ID Number will not be considered for marking, and will receive zero marks in accordance with the guidelines.

In addition, all assignments need to have an Assignment Cover Sheet which must be signed and dated by the student before submission. Please attach the cover sheet in front of the document, to the top left hand corner.

Please adhere to submission deadlines and follow instructions provided.

Students must not submit work for an assignment that has previously been submitted for this course or any other course without prior approval from the Course Coordinator.

On occasion, the lecturer/tutor may wish to retain students’ work for future reference and the relevant student will be informed at such a time.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator