Contents Page
Introduction
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Conclusion
References
Introduction
One of the more peculiar contradictions of the English city of is manifested in Canary Wharf. At the same time as English culture might be said to have reached the apogee of anti-urbanism, it engaged on the biggest urban construction project in Europe, a job that has only recently been exceeded in scale by the reconstruction of Berlin (Budd & Whimster 1992). Canary Wharf has much in common with city developments in other global financial capitals, and as a result, it tends to appear in urban discourse as an exemplar of global urban trends, the implication being that it could be anywhere, but just happens to be in London. Canary Wharf represented an entirely different set of political beliefs; its construction was supported by a Conservative government, and it quickly became a symbol of that government. Second, it represented a challenge to another ideology, that of Modernism. It revived historical styles; it concealed functions behind thin historical façades. All the buildings made by Canary Wharf group were modern in construction, making use of steel frames, lifts, mechanical ventilation and modern cladding. Yet they contrived, in the postmodern manner (Williams 2004). Canary Wharf Group Plc is a company that owned and developed Canary Wharf in London. For the past years the company created various office spaces than any other developer on London. This paper intends to identify a new product, service or process for Canary Wharf. The paper aims to identify necessary resources for the new product, service or process that Canary Wharf will implement. The paper will determine the implementation of the new product, service or process and how it will be controlled. This paper will make use of books and online resources to gather information.
Task 1
Canary Wharf Group’s project to make use of recycled materials in construction would help the firm compete against competitors and it would help the firm have a good image with the clients. The use of recycled materials in construction would reduce the expenses of the firm and would strengthen its goal to be known as an environment friendly firm. Green architecture has come to represent the holistic concern for a broad array of environmental topics in architecture, from energy efficiency and indoor air quality to resource conservation and land use planning, and from an accounting for the environmental impacts of raw materials acquisition through to the life of a building and beyond. Broadly stated, green architecture seeks to design for the health of both the individual and the planet. Green building is not a fixed concept. It is under constant change, definition and redefinition. New green themes are adopted as new global and local problems, situations or risks emerge (Guy & Moore 2005). Where the energy crisis was the overall theme of the 1970s, zero-energy buildings were the answer, and the relevant actors in developing this were engineers and scientists. When the problem was later formulated as a radical critique of the growth-oriented society, the answer coming from the grassroots was self-sufficient eco-villages and experimentation with ideology, technology and social organization. When the authorities seriously started to act on the urban ecological scene it was through subsidizing the different actors to promote impressive examples in an urban housing context (Fox 2000).
In the new millennium the model of a welfare society is under pressure, and market-oriented approaches have been substituted for public subsidies in many areas (For green building the goal is that the building sector itself can handle its environmental problems, and as a part of this approach manuals and measurement methods are being developed. In understanding these developments there is not one social explanation or theory that is able to capture all. The low-energy building period may be understood as technology development, with individuals acting as system builders and driving forces, whereas the ecological alternatives must be seen primarily as part of a social movement. In the two later approaches, the large-scale urban projects and the market approach, the main actors are, respectively, the authorities and the building sector professionals, but with different roles to play: in the first the authorities act as driving forces, while in the second the professionals are given the role of initiators of an ecological modernization of the building sector. This development of green building implies rivalry among the different approaches, in terms of funding, public attention and general understanding of the right strategy to be followed (Baird 2001). For instance, scientists involved with low-energy buildings tend to see the ecological approach as far too experimental, with too many technical mistakes and without achieving general results. They fear that the politicians will confuse low-energy buildings with eco-buildings, resulting in a lack of funding for research into low-energy buildings. Despite recognition that environmental issues are important in construction, this has not led to any significant changes in practice (Harrison, Wheeler & Whitehead 2003).
Quarries are still running; toxic waste is still being burned to produce cement; dioxin by-products from PVC manufacture are still being accumulated; waste materials are still being dumped in landfill sites. Hardwood timber is still being imported from Latin America and the Far East, where forests are being clear felled and burned. The main difference is that the manufacturers and distributors will tell the people that their materials are environmentally friendly. In other words, the green agenda creates a marketing opportunity. If individuals are to provide an authoritative source of information for people who want to be environmentally responsible when they design, commission or build buildings, people need to have both a methodology and a set of principles that will underpin any claims that some make. So far this has happened in a largely pragmatic way without much debate as there are, as yet, no commonly accepted standards. Such principles also have to be defensible as they may be attacked by trade associations defending their products and those companies who would not appreciate it if their product was maligned (Bennetts, Radford & Williamson 2005). There are two main aspects to deal with. One is to establish a framework for green construction, to identify the main areas of concern such as energy efficiency, embodied energy, resource depletion, extraction and manufacturing pollution and emissions, the impact on health and waste and disposal issues. The other issue is to establish criteria at a more detailed level that make it possible to say whether one product is more environmentally friendly than another by identifying risks to health and the environment. There is no need at all for environmentally responsible buildings to cost more than conventional buildings; indeed they can be potentially cheaper (Edwards & Turrent 2000).
Unfortunately, providing products that are green labeled is seen as an added value by most producers and a way of increasing profits, as they exploit a niche market. Builders normally tender higher when faced with unfamiliar materials or construction systems. Alternative technological strategies are the result not of technical superiority, but of distinct approaches to green design embedded in particular design and development processes. The onset of green buildings paved the way for a project for Canary Wharf Group to use green construction materials. Often people associate green architecture with seemingly exotic construction materials such as straw bale and rammed earth. While these represent useful strategies in certain circumstances, a wide variety of other alternative building materials can be used in a much broader range of cases. Essentially, any material that reduces life-cycle resource consumption or long-term social and environmental impacts is worth exploring. Sustainably harvested lumber is perhaps the resource with the widest applicability since much construction in North America will continue to be wood-based (Brookes & Poole 2003). Buildings in Europe and elsewhere typically use higher proportions of non-wood materials such as precast concrete, steel, stone, and brick. Certified sustainably harvested wood is grown within forests that are managed under carefully developed rules, for example, prohibiting clear-cutting, requiring buffer zones around creeks, and mandating replanting and a rate of harvesting that preserves the viability of the forest. Certified wood products are now becoming widely available through mainstream outlets (Wheeler 2004).
Reused lumber from older buildings is another sustainable source of wood products. Frequently, demolished structures contain large beams and supports that can be salvaged, and such wood is often of higher quality than anything available now since it came from old-growth forests that have since vanished. To reuse such lumber, nails and other hardware are removed and the wood is re-planed in a mill to produce finished beams, studs, and boards. Alternatively, new structural wood and fiberboard can be produced from smaller pieces of recycled wood bonded together or laminated with resins or other adhesives. Old and weathered boards can be reused directly to achieve certain architectural effects. Steel framing may at times be an ecologically desirable alternative to wood, despite the fact that steel often costs more and may contain higher embodied energy. Metal studs and other structural building components reduce needs for logging, are relatively reusable and recyclable, and support jobs within existing domestic industries. The replacement of wood two-by-fours with steel framing has in fact been happening anyway within parts of the construction industry owing to rising lumber prices (Scott 1998). Recycled concrete and asphalt is another alternative material that offers environmental benefits over new versions of these substances. Any rubble from past construction can be crushed on-site to produce aggregate for new foundations or paving. Materials can also be delivered to off-site recycling facilities. A wide variety of other materials can be recycled into green construction products. Durable, attractive, plastic lumber made from recycled consumer plastics is ideal for decking, park benches, or other uses where wood might otherwise be subject to rot. Recycled glass collected through municipal recycling programs is now frequently mixed into asphalt used for roads and parking surfaces (Sebestyén 1998).
Recycled wood from bowling alley lanes, can be used to create hard, durable, aesthetically pleasing kitchen counter-tops. Such reused or recycled building materials represent one of the most promising avenues to greener buildings. Rammed earth represents a new variation on one of the oldest building materials such as local soil, used for thousands of years within adobe buildings in many parts of the world. In the simplest versions of this technique, earth is simply compacted within wooden forms that are removed after the wall is created. Usually a small amount of cement is mixed in with the earth to provide increased strength (Fineman 2000). Straw bales have been widely used in recent years in a variety of buildings and provide exceptional thermal insulation as well as utilizing local agricultural waste. Typically bales are used to fill in a wall that is supported by post-and-beam construction; the wall is then plastered and painted. But load-bearing straw bale walls can also be created that are pinned with iron rebar or wood. If properly dried and insulated, straw bales are rot-and fire-resistant. Building codes in many countries have now been changed to allow use of this material. Bamboo is an alternative construction material traditionally used in Asia and Latin America that has great potential application. Incredibly strong and light, it can be used for framing small buildings or as a material for flooring, furniture, or fences. With a tensile strength greater than steel, it can be used to replace iron rebar in reinforced concrete. This extremely fast-growing resource could be cultivated sustainably in tropical or subtropical countries as a substitute for wood from temperate forests. Traditional practices such as thatched roofs are being explored again as well. Roofs made from a variety of natural materials represent a green alternative to the use of asphalt shingles that tends to dominate current construction (Betsill & Bulkeley 2003). The use of recyclable materials in green building would focus on the use of recycled concrete and asphalt in some building projects. Such materials would be complemented by the use of construction materials that are known to be environment friendly. The equipment that would be used in construction would be properly maintained so that it will not emit hazardous materials to the environment.
Task 2
The main resources would be finances, supplier of the recycled materials and knowledge ability of the personnel of Canary Wharf. Finances would be minimally needed since the recycled materials would induce minimal cost. Finances would be used to purchase construction materials that would be created by organizations that specialize in recycled products. Finances would also be needed to introduce the new product to the personnel and society. Finances would be important to shoulder some cost in implementing the project. The company would need companies that will supply the recycled materials. The project would require that the firm would look for organizations that will offer recycled materials or organizations that create materials out of disposable substances. Moreover a resource would be the knowledge that will be imparted to the personnel and those who will construct buildings for Canary Wharf. The project would require that the firm impart the importance and the reasons for the use of recycled construction materials. The staff would be given adequate training so that they can adjust to the use of recycled construction materials. Managers would be the ones that will supervise the training of the staff and they will be the ones that will serve as a bridge between the firm and the staff.
Within the project system there are sub systems which are the project Stages and these are created and terminated by Strategic decision processes Strategic decision processes are responsible for setting goals and thus these Stages will be differentiated on this basis. Each stage is comprised of its own sub systems which are referred to as Activities which are created and terminated by Tactical decision processes. Since Tactical decision processes are responsible for devising measures and selecting resources the Activities will be differentiated on this basis (Carpenter 2001).Each Activity is comprised of sub systems which are referred to as Operations and created and terminated by Operational decision processes. Since Operational decisions are responsible for devising means these Operations will be differentiated on this basis which triggers the next. Like all decisions they occur in an instant and occupy no resources time or space. The construction of a building to a defined price, time and quality is a complex risk activity, requiring organizational skills, knowledge, time and resources out with the possession of the average person or organization that requires the building. Thus, the promoter requires a builder or a contractor. However, by relying on a builder to deliver the building to cost, time and quality the promoter requires a contract to protect his objectives (Bosch & Philips 2002). It is worthwhile considering the uniqueness of a construction project. Even if the superstructure is identical to previous projects the substructure may well be different. The logistics involved with acquiring resources to time, price and quality will be different. The climatic, political and economic regimes may be different. Finally, the contractor’s organizational team and sub-contractors may also be different (Finkel & Sharpe 1997).
Policy, Strategic, Tactical and Operational Decisions collectively determine the structure of the construction project organization and thus are referred to as Organizational Decisions. The collective result of these decisions is organizational work which occurs within the Operations at Operational level. It is the Operations that collectively produce the product which satisfies the goals set at Strategic level. The Operations do this by using the resources selected at Tactical level in the manner prescribed at Operational level (Mical 2004). Traditionally the cost control systems was the main management function since estimates had been based on fee scales and resources could be selected to match the given fee. However, as a result of the increasing trend toward fee competition, organizations conceded that the data currently used for cost control could be utilized further for estimating future projects The effects of increased fee competition, either through traditional contractual arrangements or through design and build arrangements, against a background of the need for compliance with predetermined quality criteria, will inevitably require a higher degree of accuracy in the selection of necessary design resources and the estimation of design fees for fee bids than had been required under recommended scales of fees. There can however be no certainty that design organizations’ planning and estimating systems, which have been developed over many years during which fees were rigorously controlled by recommended scales, will be adequate for the new competitive environment. It is therefore possible that the inherent quality of construction projects will be influenced as much by the effectiveness of design managers’ planning and estimating systems as by the technical expertise of the designers (Frame 2002). The project will be a success if the proper financing and resources would be acquired. It is vital for the firm to achieve all the necessary resources and funding so that it can be completed at the earliest time possible. It is also vital for the firm to make sure that the personnel will be properly informed of the changes and the personnel will participate in the implementation and control of the project. The personnel together with the managers will be the ones on the forefront of the implementation.
Task 3
To make sure that the project would be properly monitored and controlled, managers will be asked to report and give their feedback about the use of recycled materials. The managers will be asked on how the recycled materials affected the production and they will be asked on the issues with the recycled materials. In today’s business environment, project professionals have responsibilities that go beyond mere implementation. To be effective, today’s project professionals must be capable in the political arena, able to forge teams in the matrix environment, competent to make independent decisions, qualified to predict future scenarios, able to deal with outsiders through contracts, and skilled at many other tasks. To make sure that implementation can be done properly fixed price contracts would be used. The fixed price contracts will make sure that the firm has enough materials to implement the project. Fixed-price contracts are most appropriate for routine implementation projects. If a particular project has been carried out many times before, cost estimators have a good sense of what project costs will be, so they can estimate these costs with a high degree of precision. These cost estimates provide important insights into how to price the project .Fixed-price contracts are generally not appropriate for high-risk development projects. With such projects, estimates of project costs are very speculative, owing to the unique nature of the work being carried out. If actual costs are much higher than the cost estimators anticipated, these costs may exceed the project price, putting contractors into a situation where they lose money. If the losses are great enough, the contractor may go bankrupt. Not surprisingly, competent contractors are reluctant to bid on high-risk projects if they are funded under a fixed-price contract (Reiss 1995).Fixed price contracts would be made with suppliers who can create the recycled construction materials. The project would be implemented in about a month so that proper changes and adjustments can be made. As the project is implemented, advertisements on the website would be done to inform everyone about the changes to the organization. As the new materials will be used in the various processes of Canary Wharf group, it will be monitored and controlled. To begin the progress monitoring process, the company will normally evaluate what work has been done on the project since the last monitor. This may involve a number of visits to the project and may mean discussions with contractors working both on and off the project. The monitoring function takes so long that control is impossible. By the time the company find out what the problem is, it is too late to do anything about it. Some people approach this problem by dealing in cash commitment. This tries to show not what actually has been spent but how much has been committed (Reiss 1996).
Conclusion
Canary Wharf Group’s project to make use of recycled materials in construction would help the firm compete against competitors and it would help the firm have a good image with the clients. The main resources would be finances, supplier of the recycled materials and knowledge ability of the personnel of Canary Wharf. To make sure that implementation can be done properly fixed price contracts would be used. The fixed price contracts will make sure that the firm has enough materials to implement the project. To make sure that the project would be properly monitored and controlled, managers will be asked to report about the use of recycled materials.
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