Question

Case Study 2 Construction

Fred’s Sheds

Fred Smith, the founder and chief executive of Fred’s Sheds, received a phone call one afternoon from a local farmer, Mr Jones, requesting a quote to design and build a large storage shed on his property. Fred asked Mr Jones what size and type of shed he would like, when he wanted work to commence, and when he wanted it completed.

Mr Jones told him that he required a large shed, big enough to store his tractor and utility vehicle, and spaces for a workbench, tools and fertilisers.  

He also specified that the shed must have power, water and a toilet. He requested that the shed be made of high quality materials, because twice in the previous ten years some of the other sheds on his property had been damaged by inclement weather, costing him many thousands of dollars in repairs.

Mr Jones wanted work to commence in 6 week’s time and would like the job completed no more than 3 weeks after that so he would have a place to store his vehicles before the winter rains came.

Mr Jones asked Fred to come up with a design and quote to build his shed and asked him to present them to him at a meeting at his house in a week’s time.

He told Fred that he was obtaining three quotes from three different builders, and that he would select his preferred builder based on four criteria.

These were quality, the ability to start and finish on time, and cost.

Mr Jones said he would like to spend no more than $40,000 on the shed, but would consider alternate proposals that were a little higher in price if they could exceed his minimum evaluation criteria.

As soon as Fred hung up the phone his mind started to think of all the different tasks he would need to do to win and complete the job. Having built many sheds before, he was confident he had the project management skills to build a shed that met Mr Jones’s extensive criteria. He jotted down some of his thoughts on a notepad so that he would not forget anything.

First of all, Fred knew he would have to come up with a winning design, so he would need to put his designer, Karen, on the job of coming up with some innovative designs.

Fred would also have to source higher quality building materials than he usually used because, although Fred always used good materials, he thought he would try to use the best possible materials, if it was cost effective, to give him the edge in meeting Mr Jones’s stringent evaluation criteria over his two competitors.

Fred also knew that he would need to plan the human resources necessary to complete the job in the timeframe required. Some of his other construction projects were nearing completion, so it would not be too much of a problem getting some of his construction workers to start in 6 weeks’ time. However, Fred was not sure about the availability of his subcontractors, Eddie the electrician, Bob the plumber, Gary the glazier and Tony his fencing contractor and odd job man, because business was booming and they were all very busy.

If he was successful in winning the contract, Fred knew that there would still be lots of work to be done. After signing the contract, he would need to submit a Development Application and construction certificate to the local council and await their approval.

Mr Jones’s final selections for colour and style of shed materials would need to be finalised and a deposit received prior to commencing work.

Once all that had been accomplished, Fred and his team of four would have to prepare the site for construction. This would involve performing underground cable service checks, and perhaps contracting a surveyor to locate existing boundaries as the shed was going to be built close to the boundary with Mrs Mitchell’s neighbouring property.

The site would need to be cleared, temporary site facilities such as a toilet, site fencing, power and water would have to be established, the site set out and the formwork built. Following this, the site would be excavated.

While the excavation was taking place, Fred would need to remember to book a council inspection for the formwork prior to concreting, as well as booking the concrete truck, a date for the shed to be delivered, a date for the shed installation team to put the shed into place, and dates for his subcontractors to come and install power and water.

After pouring the concrete and finish, his team would need to strip the formwork. At this time Fred could invoice Mr Jones for a progress payment as this represented a milestone in the project. Following this the shed could be delivered and installed,

Eddie the electrician could be called in to connect the mains power, Bob the plumber could connect the water and install the toilet and Gary the glazier could install the windows. While they were busy doing that, Fred and his team could start clearing the site, removing any rubbish and the temporary site amenities.

Once all these tasks were accomplished, the job would be at practical completion. Fred would then meet with Mr Jones, present him with a final bill and handover the keys to the shed. Fred smiled to himself feeling confident that he would beat his two competitors to the job and thinking that he would soon have another satisfied customer.

Complete the project budget in the resources and cost template.

******** I need just a simple example

Resource and Cost Template

INCOME:			Inc GST
Total Income
RESOURCES REQUIRED & EXPENSES:			Inc GST
Total Expense
Contingency (10%)
TOTAL:			$40, 000
Project Client:	Version: 1
Mr Jones	Date:
Project Manager:		Your Name

Answer 1

After taking into consideration all the important aspects of cost involved, the following data may be used for reference.

Resource and Cost Template :

INCOME :	Inc GST
Total Income
RESOURCES REQUIRED AND EXPENSES :	Inc GST
Designer Karen ( $ 2000 per week for 3 weeks)	6,000
Building Material (wood, fevicol, etc.)	4,500
Human Resource ( $ 400 per week for 3 weeks)	3,200
Electrician Eddie	1,500
Plumber Bob	1,200
Glazier Gary	1,400
Fencing	1,300
Odd man job (Miscellaneous)	600
Temporary power, water and toilet facilities	1,000
Trucks for loading and unloading	1,000
Underground Cable Check	900
Surveyor	1,000
Development Application	4,500
Construction Certificate	1,500
Council Inspection	1,500
Others	5,000
Total Expense	36,100
Contingency (10%)	3,610
TOTAL :	39,710 < 40,000
Project Client :	Version 1
Mr. Jones	Date :
Project Manager :