Harris & McCaffer
£24.95
Available from:Construction Books Direct 01344 630810
CBD stock number: 146
The latest revisions to this textbook by Harris and McCaffer will ensure it remains one of the core texts for undergraduate students on construction management courses. The book's three main parts mirror an undergraduate's progression through site management, business management and corporate management; the volume also contains an introductory section on quality management and a concluding section of exercises.
The structure is exemplary. But the book, first written in the late 1970s, does suffer from a problem common to most long-standing texts; despite regular revisions, some of the material is becoming outdated.
The volume starts, appropriately, with an overview of quality management. Section one, titled "Project production management", has useful chapters on planning techniques, estimating and tendering, and cost control. These chapters provide a good foundation for budding site managers.
The chapters on productivity improvements and workforce motivation cover important subjects, but much of their content is outdated. Some relevant topics have also been omitted: the management of subcontractors, the management of information flow and, perhaps most importantly, the management of health and safety.
Section two contains useful chapters on project procurement, competitive bidding, budgetary control, cash flow and interim valuations. Again the content provides a good basic understanding of the issues facing middle management in the contracting business. Because most companies hire, rather than purchase, plant these days, the chapter on plant management needs more comprehensive revision. The paragraphs on "health and safety considerations" more appropriately belong in section one.
Section three discusses company organisation, marketing, international construction logistics, information resources and information technology systems and financial management.
Like any textbook, this latest edition of Harris & McCaffer's volume does not cover every topic; however, more ruthless removal of outdated material and inclusion of topical issues would make the text an essential, rather than a desirable, purchase.
Source
Construction Manager
