CCMAS Course Search

Analyses, interpretation and application of condition of contract clauses. Introduction to common standard forms of contract in use in the construction industry. The following are to be examined: Latest or current versions of JCT variants, FIDIC, NEC and the Nigerian standard form in use by the Bureau of Public procurement. Construction contracts record management. Claim and administration of claim in construction contract. Types of claims. Claims initiation, preparation, presentation and negotiation. Types of claims, quantification of claims, restitution claims – claim for a “reasonable sum”. Claims avoidance and prevention. Delay analysis and extension of time, acceleration claims.

Structure of the construction industry. Variation in workload of the construction industry. Relationship of output of construction industry to available resources. The construction economy, its relation to the national economy. Effect of government actions on the Construction Industry. Functional requirements and cost implications of constructional methods. Economics of building development. Nature and scope of development projects. Factors affecting the supply and demand for landed property. Introduction to the methods of valuation of landed property, including simple calculations. Construction and use of valuation tables.

Review of fundamental concepts in construction economics: estimate, cost, price and value, the concept of value for money. Preliminary estimates, methods of preparing approximate estimates. Theory and practice of construction cost planning and cost control. Cost planning principles and types of cost planning methods. Construction cost data: characteristics of cost data, accuracy and consistency of cost data. Presentation of cost plan and formats. Utilizing the outputs of cost planning and approximate estimates. Analysis of current research on the practice of cost planning and cost control in Nigeria.

Building cost indices and locational indices: principles, build up and uses. Use of cost analysis data and indices in establishing preliminary estimates of future projects. Advanced cost planning and cost control to align cost plan with preliminary estimate or cost limit; cost modelling techniques; cost engineering techniques: cost estimating or assessment methods employed in cost engineering. Effect of Building geometry on construction cost; development economics: aims of private developers and preparation of developer’s budget. Investment appraisal techniques. Aims of public developers and the use of cost/benefit analysis for evaluating public projects. Choice and acquisition of sites and their effects on developments. Sources of funds for development, public investment, mortgage financing. Development bonds, loans, grants, subsidy and taxation. Group assignment, using peer support to develop the knowledge and skill for aligning cost plan to preliminary estimate or cost limit.

Construction practices and professional relations. Earth-works. Construction equipment and techniques. Form-work design, component assembly. Improvement of productivity and construction practices. Safety. Capital outlay and operating cost, project financing, insurance and bonding, contract terms. Solutions to job site and engineering problems in buildings and heavy construction in Nigeria.

Definition of accounting, the scope and function of financial accounting. The accounting equations, the theory of double entry bookkeeping. Accounting for construction and work in progress. Profit and loss account of a construction firms. Depreciation of assets, cost of capital, working capital and flow of funds, cash flow analysis. Topics include construction financing during all phases of project development involving permanent loans, construction loans, sources of mortgage funds and venture capital, and tax and interest considerations.

Different stages and phases of planning – pre-contract and contract; site organization and site layout planning; Elements of construction planning; Construction methodology for building projects; construction sequencing and logic as part of construction methodology; Relationship between construction methodology and the construction programme; the construction program as a contract document, a planning, monitoring and control tool for time, budget, costs and other resources. Time as a deliverable on building projects; detail exposure to construction planning and programming and use of appropriate software (Microsoft Project/Primavera/Navis Works) for Builders: operation relationships and precedence; resource levelling, resource scheduling, earned value analysis. Timing and milestones in programming, progress monitoring and control; managing (planning, tracking, controlling) resources – time, costs and manpower. using the construction programme; preparation and submission of the construction programme. In this course each student is required to prepare a complete construction programme (using Microsoft Project or Primavera or any other advanced software prescribed by the course lecturer) for a building project. The student is also required to submit a bound construction programme with accompanying report in an acceptable professional format.

Introduction and types of plant and equipment used in heavy/large scale construction works, including their principles of operation, and productivity. Mechanical plants in the construction process: types and uses. Procurement and Management, Equipment ownership, hiring/leasing, equipment selection criteria and cost implications. Operation and maintenance of mechanical plants. Methods of assessing performance. Different types of mechanical equipment such as excavation equipment, materials handling equipment, earthmoving and compaction, drilling and blasting equipment.

Nature of projects and project environment; introduction to project management; major professional bodies responsible for project management and introduction to their books of knowledge. Managing the construction client; project strategy; managing the construction process: work breakdown structure. Construction programming – types of programmes; programming techniques: the Gantt chart, network analysis among others. Managing project finance: client cash flow, contractor’s cash flow and cash flow forecasting; project control – earned value method; techniques and principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). Lean thinking in construction; project commissioning and testing of installations. Managing project completion; project management software. Introduction to project monitoring and evaluation. Application of project management toolkits to green construction.

The course presents a detailed study of current methods and equipment used in building domestic and small scale, simple construction projects. Studies of strip and raft foundation, walls in block work and brickwork, plain and reinforced concrete floors, pitched roof in timber and steel, purlins, roof covering, ceiling, finishing to walls, floors and ceiling, setting out buildings. Floor: Functions of floor, construction requirements, types – solid ground floors, suspended ground floors; upper floors, construction details and practice, merits of different types of floors. Damp-proof: Types, functions, materials used for damp-proof, tanking. Simple roof: Design specifications and functional requirements, types, fixing details, treatment given to openings, door frames and lining; ironmongery. External stair and staircases in buildings: Terminologies in staircases, function, types and methods of construction – setting out staircases, formwork for reinforced concrete, cast-in-situ staircases [the layout]; Ramps: construction and uses. External works: Fence, gates, pavements, drains, landscape work and access roads.