Human beings build houses, roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, airports, factories, shopping centres, offices, warehouses, etc. Public and private organisations participate in the execution of these projects with the collaboration of architects, engineers, companies, financial entities, etc. The scope of the “construction” term includes the primary sector (quarries), secondary sector (equipment and construction materials) and tertiary sector (engineering and architecture consulting companies), that is, industrial, commercial and service activities. Therefore, it includes private initiatives and the activities of the public administrations.

Construction is set within a sensitive socio-political environment, affected by the need to protect the fundamental rights of persons, such as public health, homes, road safety, environmental integration, etc. It is easy to understand the problems in establishing a set of economic activities in an ordered and coherent framework, taking place in an environment with many players from various sectors , with conflicting interests and branches towards many other economic sectors. In a broader sense, construction is an important motor and, at times, an obstacle to economic growth.

In view of this scenario, this book is focused exclusively in the construction phase of that process. The contractor’s point of view is chosen, even though the links with the owner are always taken into account. An envisioned outline of the management at the construction site is looked for, from the signing of the contract to the beginning of the operational phase.

Aiming to develop a useful and applied text for students in post-graduate construction programmes, five authors work together. They all have a wide experience in the construction industry; in fact, this book is based on their previous experience in several Leonardo da Vinci projects financed by the European Union. Four of the authors develop their main task as professors in two different universities: Eugenio Pellicer, Víctor Yepes and Joaquín Catalá at the Universitat Politècnica de València, and José Teixeira at the Universidade do Minho; Helder Moura works for the Portuguese Highway Agency. Each author has led those chapters in which they can add more value to the work due to their professional and academic practice. Nevertheless, all of us have contributed to the whole. Continue reading «Construction Management. Wiley Blackwell» →