Advanced Diploma in Construction Management

Purpose

This Construction Management qualification is designed to build the necessary knowledge, understanding, abilities and skills required for further learning towards becoming a competent practicing professional technologist.

The graduates of this qualification will be able to

• Evaluate clients' requirements and preferences, assessing user needs and options, appointment of necessary consultants in establishing project brief, objectives, priorities, constraints, assumptions and strategies in consultation with the client.
• Manage, co-ordinate and integrate the detail design development process within the project scope, time, cost and quality parameters.
• Establish and implement appropriate procurement strategies and procedures, including the preparation of necessary documentation, for effective and timeous execution of the project.
• Manage and administer the construction contracts and processes, including the preparation and co-ordination of the necessary documentation to facilitate effective execution of the works.
• Co-ordinate the process of managing and administering the project closeout, including preparation and co-ordination of the necessary documentation to facilitate the effective operation of the project.

Upon the successful completion of this qualification the graduate will be qualified to be admitted into Postgraduate Diploma in Construction and thereafter, to a Master's Degree in Construction.

Rationale

The construction industry is experiencing rapid and significant changes in the way it operates and in the way it is managed. These changes require greater and improved quality of management at all levels in the construction process, comparative to the management of organisations and undertakings in other industries. Construction is an increasingly complex and difficult undertaking that requires a broad range of management knowledge and skills that are adapted and applied to the particularities of construction.

The construction industry provides significant career opportunities for graduates in both the public and private sectors. One can enter the construction industry as a practitioner, such as an estimator or contract manager, or as a professional, such as a construction project manager. With climate change and environmental impact as a prominent concern in this industry, graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of sustainability practices are in high demand.

Construction management is planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to completion. It is about developing the urban growth of cities, the expanding need for residential and commercial properties and the renovation of anything in the built environment.

The qualification adopts an advanced management approach to construction, rather than the narrower 'construction management' approach as in Diploma qualification. It aims to develop the management knowledge, abilities and skills required for effective management, and then seeks to apply these to the management of construction. The focus of the qualification is on the management of the productive resources used in construction and in the analysis and management of construction as a 'process' within a project environment.

Furthermore, this qualification will

• Prepare learners for a career in Construction Management and for achieving technological proficiency in order to make a meaningful contribution to the economy and national development.
• Serve as a base for registration as a professional Construction Manager and Construction Project Manager with the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP).
• Enable learners to articulate in to Level 8 qualifications and then proceed to Master's Degrees.
• Enable learners and professionals in construction industry to achieve proficiencies in construction management.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Recognition of Prior Learning is a process of identifying knowledge and skills of a candidate against a qualification or part thereof. The process involves the identification, mediation, assessment and acknowledgement of knowledge and skill obtained through informal, non-formal and/or formal training. At the institution, RPL can only be done against qualifications offered by the institution, which includes two possible routes: access or advanced standing. RPL applications are handled by a dedicated staff member from the RPL office of the institution in collaboration with RPL representative, an academic staff member of the department. RPL applications are approved by the Executive Committee of Senate.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirements are

• A 360 Credits Diploma in Construction.

Or

• A 240 Credits Diploma in Construction together with the 120 Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Credits.

This qualification consists of compulsory modules at Level 7 totalling 120 Credits.

Modules

• Construction Management, 20 Credits.
• Construction Finance and Cost Control, 10 Credits.
• Construction Entrepreneurship, 10 Credits.
• Construction Project Management, 10 Credits.
• Community Project Planning and Control, 10 Credits.
• Construction Measurement, 10 Credits.
• Construction Law and Procedures, 20 Credits.
• Sustainability and Environmental Management, 10 Credits.
• Advanced Construction Technology, 10 Credits.
• Research Methodology, 10 Credits.

1. Assess user needs and options by appointing necessary consultants in establishing project brief, objectives, priorities, constraints, assumptions and strategies in consultation with the clients.
2. Manage, co-ordinate and integrate the detail design development process within the project scope, time, cost and quality parameters.
3. Establish and implement appropriate procurement strategies and procedures, including the preparation of necessary documentation, for effective and timeous execution of the project.
4. Manage and administer construction contracts and process, including the preparation and co-ordination of the necessary documentation to facilitate effective execution of the works.
5. Co-ordinate the process of managing and administering the project closeout, including preparation and co-ordination of the necessary documentation to facilitate the effective operation of the project.
6. Apply construction and construction related management principles to systematically diagnose and solve well-defined construction and construction problems.
7. Apply knowledge of construction and construction management to applied construction management procedures, processes, systems and methodologies to solve well-defined construction problems.
8. Conduct investigations of well-defined problems through locating and searching relevant codes, policies, legislations and catalogues.
9. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing in construction context.
10. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the impact of construction activity on the society, economy, industrial and physical environment, and address issues by defined procedures.
11. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of construction management principles and apply these principles to one's own work, as a member and leader in a technical team and to manage projects.
12. Engage in independent and life-long learning through well-developed learning skills.
13. Understand and commit to professional ethics, responsibilities and norms of construction technical practice.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria are assessed in an integrated manner across all the Exit Level Outcomes

• Provide documents and produce reports in terms of the construction industry norms, in addition to the strategies of consultation with the clients to establish a viable project brief.
• Translate complex, unfamiliar and ill-defined problems within the context of the built environment into well-planned solutions devised to provide data that are quantitative qualitative.
• Propose and provide solutions to complex, unfamiliar and ill-defined problems.
• Display a good working knowledge of analytical methods, and a high level of computer literacy.
• Present an oral presentation that appropriately describes a complex, unfamiliar and ill-defined built environment problem in accordance to the industry norms.
• Choose economically viable solutions which take cognisance of the need for protection of the environment according to the project plan and resource scheduling strategies.
• Contribute to the achievement of solutions and demonstrate the benefits of interaction with others in the Built Environment in achieving those solutions.
• Provide advice and solutions that benefit society in ways that improve the quality of life through the Built Environment.

Integrated Assessment

• All modules for the qualification will be evaluated in accordance with the assessment policy of the institution as approved by the senate of the institution. A learners' competence will be evaluated using formative and summative assessments and could be hand written or computer based. The types of assessment to prove competency are linked to the Exit Level Outcomes of the qualification.

Final Integrated Summative assessments are normally in the form of a three-hour examination at the end of first semester (for 1st the semester subjects) and 2nd semester (for the 2nd semesters and 2 semesters subjects). It normally covers most of the syllabus that was handled during the course of the semester and is used to evaluate a learner's competence.