We already discussed about organizing a road construction project and it is next step of the project management under project planing. These steps needed to carry out make project success. The three common organizational structures used in road construction projects to accomplish effective project management are: –
(1) Where employees are directly responsible to site engineer.
(2) Where each road work gang is responsible to a sectional foreman (who is responsible to the site engineer).
(3) Where several road work gangs are responsible to one sectional foreman (who is responsible to the site engineer).
A good organizational structures are essential in any enterprise. Any organization which cannot be charted is likely to be illogical and confusing.
These relationships are depicted below in simple chart forms.
(1) All employees responsible to Site Engineer.
This organizational structure is suitable for small projects since there is a practical limit to the number of men one foreman can direct and, in the case of unskilled labor, instruct.
This type of organization is simple and has the advantage of a single line of authority understood by all.
(2) Each gang responsible to a sectional foreman
Here a sectional foreman controls all employees working in his particular field and he is himself responsible to the Site Engineer.
This organization is suitable for larger jobs where the amount of work warrants a separate foreman to control each type of work or where the nature of an activity requires
specialist skills {e.g. Bitumen gang – Bitumen foreman).
(3) Several gangs responsible to one Site Engineer
This type of organization is used where the work load of the site engineer is such that he needs assistance.
Whether a sectional foreman or a ganger is needed depends on: –
• The time required to adequately supervise the operation.
• The difficulty of controlling the operation.
(e. g. It is very easy for a dozer stockpiling gravel in a pit to dig too deep and include in the stockpile undesirable material from the pit floor. Therefore close and continuous supervision of this operation is required -probably by an experienced pit ganger. )
• The cost of the operation.
(e. g. An earthworks gang would cost far more per day than a stone pitching gang. Therefore the earthworks gang should be given greater supervision. )
• Distance between operations. Spread-out operations may require additional gangers foremen.
Good organization is essential for efficient project management for it :-
(1) Encourages employees and staff to co-operate so as to achieve high productivity and quality.
(2) Gives the highest possible degree of job satisfaction to individual employee groups.
Irrespective of the type of structure used, each man must know what he has to do and who his boss is.
Next step of the project planning of project management in road construction project is, how to allocate peoples for particular job function and how to maximize effectiveness towards project progress.