Project Management Development in Malaysia: A Case Study

S.N. Ting1, H.K. Khoo1, S.B.Wong2

1
Faculty of Engineering University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
2
School of Engineering, United College, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia

S.N. Ting. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Malaysia

Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel: (60) 82-671000 ext. 551 Fax: (60) 82-672317 Email: snting@feng.unimas.my

Summary. Even though the concept of project management has developed tremendously in
the construction industry for the past 40 years, the maturity and attitude of our construction
industry in Malaysia towards project management knowledge and practice is still of a
concern. This research study had look into the various types of practices and tools and
techniques that project management has to offer. Based on a local Malaysian case study of
an infrastructure project over RM100 million worth, namely “The Project”, this study reviews
how two local construction companies, who had joined to form a joint venture vehicle,
namely “The JV Contractors”, had utilized and carried out some of the project management
tools, techniques and procedures in order to fulfil the objectives of the Project.
Recommendations were also included in this paper for project teams to enhance and sharpen
their skills and knowledge in project management and create the awareness towards the
power and strength that project management has to offer to provide the winning edge in civil
engineering projects.

Keywords: Project Management Knowledge, Development

1 Introduction

The Malaysian construction industry represents a strong push and an important element in the
country’s economy, not only as a stand-alone but also because of its extensive linkages with
the rest of the economy. Even so, the construction industry in Malaysia has been regarded as
a sector, which is plagued with bad publicity of cost overruns, uncontrolled and unrealistic
schedules, accidents, shoddy workmanship, conflicts among project team members and worse
still, abandoned and unfinished private and public construction projects, requiring huge
amount of money and time to revive. By its nature, construction is a risky business. It
encompasses many elements, which have to be synchronized to ensure the project success.
There are the human factor, material factor, site condition factor, and machinery and
equipment factor and so on. All these elements have to be managed and controlled.

Project management represents a powerful vehicle, which contains various tools and
techniques and procedures for planning, managing and controlling that albeit may not entirely
eliminate the challenges and problems mentioned, could to a certain extent actually prevent
them from occurring, controlling the possible causes and minimizing the effects and impacts
of their occurrences. This goes to say that practice of project management knowledge and
tools and techniques could actually enhance if not guarantee the attainment of the objectives
and goals and ultimately the success of the project.

Even though the concept of project management has been evolving tremendously for the past
forty years in Malaysia, the development of knowledge and the application of project
management is still of a concern. The question remains does our engineers and engineering
personnel understand the importance and the edge provided by effective and timely
application project management knowledge in the mounting competitive environment of
construction and engineering. And how much do they know about project management and
the tool and techniques it has to offer in realising the project on time and within the budget
and quality specified. Besides, do our engineers understand their roles as project managers in
managing and controlling the elements of the projects, not only in big scaled, complex, multi
billion dollars jobs but in all construction projects?

2 Methodology

This paper aims at reviewing the most current development of project management practice
in the Malaysian construction industry, especially in the state of Sarawak. Through a case
study of a local infrastructure project, hereafter is referred to as “The Project”, the study
looks into the use and implementation of project management tools and techniques, and the
knowledge employed into the Project by local project team from a local team of construction
companies. This study also takes a look at the attitude and the extent of project team’s
knowledge and application of project management concept and theory in the Project.

The case study of the Project is carried out based on project life cycle as a framework. A
project life cycle could be defined as the development of a project from the original idea to its
completion, operation and end of its life span (Young 1996). Civil engineering projects
develop from an idea or need/demand to its conceptual and development stage to its planning,
then realisation, that is the construction stage and to operation and maintenance with
demolishing or recycling at the end of its life cycle. The project life cycle is summarised as
follows:

• Needs/Ideas
• Conceptual Phase
• Development Phase
• Planning Phase
• Construction Phase
• Commissioning Phase
• Post Commissioning Phase

Study and observations through site visits, various records and reports, are carried out on the
project management procedures, tools and techniques employed for each of this phase in the
life cycle of the Project. Literature review is carried out on the theoretical and common tools
and techniques offered in project management knowledge in these phases of engineering
projects. Comparison between the actual implementation and the theoretical concepts are
done and recommendations are made for areas, which require improvement and/or enhanced
knowledge and effort from the project team. The scope of study is limited to the phases of the
life cycle starting from the needs and ideas to the construction phase as the Project is
currently on going.

3 Description of Case Study

The Project basically is split into two parts, the construction of an interchange in Sarawak and
the proposed upgrading of the existing roads stretching 7km from the interchange. The
interchange has been designed to ease the traffic congestion in the area. It consists of an
overpass and underpass combined with the at-grade roundabout. The underpass is to be
constructed between two major local roads and overpasses between another two. Whilst the
at-grade roundabout will be maintained and upgraded to ensure smooth entry and exit
conditions with the at-grade separation scheme.

There are two overpasses or so called ‘fly-overs’ namely Overpass A and B. Overpass A
consists of 10 spans whereas Overpass B has 11 spans. Each span is 22-meter long except the
end span, which is 24-meter. The superstructure consists of cast-in-situ prestressed concrete
box girders, which give a pleasant profile, and is supported on piers. All piers are supported
with 1-meter diameter cast-in-situ bored piles. The overpass is designed to 60km/hr design
speed. The underpass is of open-cut type in order to enhance the aesthetics of the
interchange. For the underpass, only passenger cars of motorcycles are catered for with a
clearance of 3.5-meter. Localized drainage will be affected by two numbers of submersible
pumps. The other components of the project include upgrading of the existing roundabout,
widening of the slip roads, retaining walls, approach embankment on both sides, drainage,
general street lighting, traffic signals and roadside furniture.

The upgrading of the road will be carried out on current road that transverses an approximate
distance of 7km through densely populated residential housing estates. At present, there is
practically no access control to the road with many feeder roads joining it. The situation is
worsened by the direct access to many private dwellings. This frequent occurrence of left
and right turns slows down the traffic flow to a crawling speed at some places. This road is to
be upgraded by widening from the present single carriageway of two lanes to dual
carriageway of four lanes. The width of the carriageway is 3.5-meter each lane with a design
speed of 80 km per hour. The carriageway is divided by a median of a uniform width of 1m
where the single post double-armed street lightings will be located. Hard shoulders, which
double up as sidewalks are provided on the outer edge of the carriageway to enhance the
safety of pedestrians. Guardrails will be installed adjacent to the shoulder/sidewalks at
specific areas.

Currently, two common forms of pavement failure are noted along the to be upgraded road,
namely the crocodile cracking, troughing or dishing, which are caused by soft soil deforming
under wheel load and longitudinal cracks, which are caused by the lateral movement of
subgrade or subbase or base. Geotechnical treatments are needed on the widening areas to
prevent any differential settlement between the newly widened lane and the existing
pavement. The geotechnical treatments recommended are surcharging, prefabricated band
drains, and reinforced pavement with geowebs and pile-supported embankments. As for the
existing pavement a recycling technique using cement will be used. This technique is found
not only able to provide a substantial increase in strength but is also very flexible and suitable
for soft soil areas.
Other works involved are the upgrading of the drainage system on both sides of the road, bus-
bays, and co-ordination for any required relocation of public utilities and other existing
structures. The design of this road upgrading is based on consideration of factors such as
minimization of long term effects on adjoining properties and disruption to existing road
users, the limitation of existing road reserve and land acquisition, which could be expensive.

The contract is made between the Federal Government of Malaysia and two local
construction companies jointly serve as joint venture partners as turnkey contractors,
hereafter is to be referred to as the JV Contractors. Local authority namely the Public Works
Department had been appointed to oversee and complete the project. The construction and
completion of this project is estimated to take about 3 years with contract value over RM100
million. It is considered as one of the largest and more publicized construction project in
Sarawak in the more recent years. And is therefore considered as one of the few of better
local case study for the assessment and review of project management knowledge and
practices development. Moreover, the project team is involved throughout the entire project
life cycle from conceptual to construction and operation of the facilities.

4 Findings and Discussion

The procedures and tools and techniques of project management used in construction projects
vary from company to company. Even though each project manager develops his or her own
style of management and each project is unique, there are basic principles and knowledge that
are applicable to all projects. If these principles and knowledge were properly applied, it
could provide positive and constructive effects to civil engineering projects.

4.1 Needs and Demands

A project always starts with a need or demand by the owner for the design and construction
of a certain facility to provide certain service or product (Oberlender 2000). According to
Oberlender (2000), the first requirement for any civil engineering construction project is the
clear definition of the owner’s needs and objectives for the project. Project management
knowledge stresses on clear project definition because accurate and good definition provides
sufficient information to identify the scope to be designed and work to be performed, which
allows the design to proceed with minimal significant changes later that may have adverse
affects not only the project budget and schedule but also the overall integrity of the project.

By needs, project management emphasizes on the fulfilment of the needs of the owner and
subsequently, the end users of the project. Objectives indicate the criteria the project has to
fulfil in order to fulfil the need of the project. Project objectives generally consist of three
components; performance, budget, and schedule (Kerzner 1995). It is important that all three
of these objectives be clearly defined. Failure to provide well defined needs and objectives of
the project could start a project off in the wrong direction and leads to future problems
(Oberlender 2000). An inadequately defined project scope leads to changes during design
and/or construction. An incomplete scope leads to costly change orders and frequently, to
claims and disputes, which lead to major cost overruns, delays and other problems
(Oberlender 2000). Therefore, by having a well defined goals and objectives of the overall
scope of work would guide the project team toward project success.
With the Project case study, there is a clear definition of the needs and objectives of the
project. The project client, Public Work Department, recognized the need to why the project
has to be carried out that is to solve the long-standing traffic congestion problem along the
specific local roads. This is a firm basis for the project and all designs and construction works
revolves around providing a solution to this problem. The JV Contractors were familiar with
the client’s needs and expectations and major project requirements include completion of the
project in three years time from 18 February 2002 to 17 February 2005 within the specified
contract sum and the quality requirement specified without compromising on the safety
aspect of the job and people and environment.

4.2 Conceptual and development

The conceptual and development phase of project life cycle in the project management
knowledge emphasize on preliminary investigations as one of the critical work item to be
carried out by the project team. Preliminary studies include feasibility studies, conceptual
reports, and studies on economic and social impacts on the region, and the development and
selection of options (Antil & Farmer 1991). It gathers reliable data and information, which
first of all, validates and rectifies any assumptions for design conceptualisation, and secondly,
identifies and characterizes critical aspects of the project to ensure that it can go forward
smoothly. Much time and cost savings can be achieved at this early stage of the project life
cycle through proper conceptualisation of the scope of work (Gan 2003). Likelihood for
changes in the design and especially during construction will also be reduced with proper
preliminary study. Most features revealed by preliminary investigations will show up later if
the investigations are not properly performed. Discovering them at later stage of the project
can sometimes be disastrous especially if it turns out that key assumptions are invalid and
that the remaining time or resources are inadequate to achieve the objectives. For instance, if
the project were discovered to have the wrong assumptions made in design, it would then
take time to revise the design and drawings causing project delay and cost overruns. The
worst is when part of or the constructed structure had to be demolished and reconstructed or
the end product is not fit for its intended use.

In this case study, preliminary investigations that had been carried out is that of route location
study, engineering design study, material survey and subsurface investigation. Qualitative
studies on economic and social impacts and public acceptance of the project at project area
had also been carried out. However, in general, it would be more appropriate if more
quantitative studies could be carried out in order to provide more accurate, reliable data and
information to decide whether the project should be carried out. It would have been more
fitting if the public were to be provided with actual numbers and figures on the potential
social and economic impacts of the project rather than a descriptive one. One commendable
feature is the emphasis on environmental impact assessment, which the JV contractors had
carried out to a very detailed extent.

Another element in conceptual and development stage provided by project management is the
project economic evaluation. Tools and techniques that could be practiced are annual cost
method, present value method, benefit-cost method, sensitivity analysis and etc. Results of
economic evaluation provide important information on the economic rationality of the project
(Hollick 1993). This is especially important when deciding on the options best to compete for
limited government funds. As much as possible the project under consideration should yield a
reasonably good value benefits and returns.
The JV Contractors in this case study were found to have utilised to certain extent
engineering project economic evaluation. Several options were thought of when devising the
best possible route location for the project. Consideration and selection of options were based
on economic and technological feasibility. With the option chosen by the client, the JV
contractors then move into the design development stage, carrying out more investigations
including site studies, development of drawings and specifications, schedules and cost
budgets and obtaining relevant commitment and approval from the client and other
authorities, which may be affected.

4.3 Planning Phase

Project management knowledge stresses on planning because it incorporates not only the
planning function but also forms baselines for the functions of monitoring and controlling the
project.

First and foremost, time needed to be planned, that is time expected to complete the overall
project and planning for time for each activities in the project. Project team needs to get
project completed within the given time (Young, 1996). And effective time management
tools and techniques must be employed to make time a resource (Kerzner, 1995). According
to Kerzner (1995), the project manager usually is heavily burdened with meetings, planning
and preparing for crises, report preparation and internal and external communication.
Therefore, delegation of tasks and employment of effective time management principles are
essential.

According to Kerzner (1995), for any size project, large or small, work breakdown structure
(WBS) is the most useful tool in specifying the project activities and similarly JV Contractors
had used this tool in this Project. WBS is used from the start to the finish of the project for
planning and controlling. It is an effective means of defining the whole project, by parts, and
providing effective communication channel for exchange of information that is necessary for
management of project (Gan, 2003). Developing WBS is time consuming, but it should not
be treated lightly. The success of the project depends greatly on how detail the WBS is. In
our case study, the JV Contractors were considered to have a detail WBS as they had workout
a 3-layer WBS, which had very well define the scope of the project to be carried out.

There are several techniques that can be used for time planning such as Gantt chart, space-
time diagrams, and target completion time, line of balance and network diagram (Gan, 2003).
The Gantt chart is by far the most common form of bar chart and is indeed what most people
refer to as a bar chart. Bar charts are popular as they do not get excessively complicated as
the number of activities and number of time periods increase and they can be drawn for
various levels of detail e.g. long-term, monthly, weekly, daily or hourly time-scales. Indeed,
resources requirements also could be derived from Gantt chart. The JV Contractors had
utilised this technique in their time planning. The project had three different levels of details
for its bar charts that is the master programme for whole construction period; 90 days work
programme and weekly programme. These programmes are also used as a baseline to monitor
the progress of project. If any delays and extension of time occurs in the project, these bar
charts would be revised to provide updated time plans towards more realistic objectives
achievement. A consequence of the simplicity of bar charts is that it is often difficult to see
immediately the effect of changes to the overall project time.
The critical path method (CPM) is another powerful and could even be better scheduling
technique in time planning as interdependencies among activities are not so clearly shown on
Gantt charts (Kerzner 1995). Unfortunately the JV Contractors did not practice it. CPM is
better in such a way critical activities could be identified and especially so if project team is
planning of crashing some activities (Meredith & Mantel 2002). The project team generally
run a risk of paying much attention to the activities not in critical path instead of the critical
activities and consequently result in project delay. Obviously, the activities not on the critical
path will have a certain amount of spare time by which they could afford some delay without
having to affect the project completion time. On the other hand, the delay of the activities on
critical path leads to delay of the whole project.

Cost overruns do represent a critical risky factor for civil engineering projects. It is not only
a success-failure indicator; it could represent financial loss to the company (Kerzner, 1995).
Large companies may have the luxury to spread project losses over several projects, but
smaller companies with only few projects, it could have dire consequences (Kerzner, 1995).
Therefore, effective project cost management is a very important ingredient in any projects in
order to avoid cost overruns and financial losses to the company.

In cost estimating and planning, the JV Contractors were using a detailed cost estimate
technique that is the quantity/unit cost estimate. This is one of the more accurate methods but
could be rather time consuming, as detailed takeoffs must be made for all components of cost
such as labour, machinery, material and so on in the system. The cost estimating tasks were
carried out by the JV Contractors’ experienced quantity surveyors, as this method requires
that design and planning for construction be sufficiently advanced so that accurate quantity
takeoffs can be produced. It also requires detailed yet up to date historical data for applying
unit man-hour rates, machinery-hour rates, and monetary costs to the estimated quantities.
The JV Contractors had been very detailed with the cost planning and had an overall clear
budget. The budget of the project was distributed over the project period and is presented
with the S-curve. S-curve is not only for planning purpose but also for the cost monitoring
purpose. The actual expenditure would be compared against the targeted budget at the end of
each month and corrective actions would be taken in order to keep the expenditure within
budget.

Equipment, materials and resources allocation planning are not exactly practiced by the JV
Contractors as they had sub-contracted out most of the tasks to different sub-contractors.
They depend on the sub-contractors to plan out their own resources needed to carry out the
works within time and budget.

However, in order to do a better cost planning, detailed resource plans should be worked out.
Resources planning are an important element in project planning and monitoring (Gan 2003).
During the construction phase, the primary resources required are labours and subcontractors,
materials, and machinery and equipments (Antil & Farmer 1991). The correct quantity and
quality of material must be ordered and delivered to the job-site at the right time to ensure the
efficiency of labour. Materials represent major expenses in construction, so minimizing
procurement or purchase cost represents opportunities for cost reduction. Poor material
planning might result in extra costs during construction. If the materials are purchased early,
capital may be tied up and interest charges are incurred on the excess inventory of materials.
Even worse, materials may deteriorate during storage or stolen unless special care is taken.
However, delays and extra expenses may incur if materials required for particular activities
are not available. Moreover, special equipments and materials to be installed in the project
often require long lead-time from the fabricator. Furthermore, effective labour planning
would also have an effect on labour productivity in addition to increase labour quality
performance in their works. Good assessments of labour productivity are essential for a
quality cost estimate. Cost planning, scheduling and controlling could be ineffective without
an adequate evaluation of labour productivity. Thus, a resource allocation plan is essential to
ensure high efficiency and productivity during construction.

One of the biggest problems in engineering industry worldwide is the resource and
management control necessary to achieve adequate levels of quality in completed projects.
And when picking on what can be given away, quality is usually sacrificed. Poor quality
performance in constructed facilities can result in very large costs. Even with minor defects,
reconstruction may be required and facility operations impaired. Increased costs and delays
are the result. In worst case, failures may cause personnel injuries or fatalities. Good quality
management would not only reduce the exposure to liability suits, reduction in rectification
works and thus savings but also earning good reputation and be more competitive in local or
even international construction sector.

In terms of quality planning and management the JV Contractors had shown commendable
effort in upholding the principle of delivering good quality job within the requirements
specified. The client had been very satisfied with the quality performances of the project.
This effort could prove to be an excellent example for other local contractors in the industry.
The JV Contractors had devised a proper quality assurance plan, consisting of quality charts,
tables, testings, and inspections and had put in practice good quality monitoring techniques
for the project with a stringent control on the quality of material and workmanship. A team of
quality personnel are employed to look after the quality aspects of the work and various
policies and forms were designed and used. Quality management on this project site had been
a consistent effort.

The nature of engineering is that accidents will never be entirely eliminated. Hence, project
management knowledge stresses on safety management. Accidents during the construction
process can result in personal injuries and large unexpected costs. Indirect costs of insurance,
inspections and regulation had been steadily increasing. Prevention of accidents is also for
humanitarian reasons. Successful safety management emphasizes on safety to workers, public
and also environment (Young 1996).

The JV Contractors were found rather lacking in area of safety management to workers and
public but had considerably adequate effort on safety management to the environment. With
respect to the safety for workers, many more items need to be improved in this project. For
example, helmets and safety boots, which are the basic equipments that should be provided to
all the workers, the JV Contractors had only provided the helmets while the safety boots are
only for their engineers and supervisors. Many are walking around without proper
identification and protection during work. In addition, the Construction Industry
Development Board’s safety course, which is actually a must for all the workers in
construction site, the JV Contractors including their sub-contractors do not pay adequate
attention to it. Improvements in this area are much needed. This can be done through more
effort in planning for safety and stringent approach to the execution of the safety plans.
Workers and site personnel need to be trained and educated through activities such as
continuous education programs, inclusive of providing training courses, booklets, and films
for workers in order to stress on the importance of safety.
As for safety for the public, the JV Contractors had set up a set of safety rules for the safety
of road users during construction phase but the implementation of these rules is considered as
insufficient. They were supposed to install barriers blinking light at night along the roads to
enable the road users to identify the correct routes but the barriers used had caused the road to
become narrow and difficult to travel. The blinking lights were found missing but not
replaced. Moreover, temporary signs at work in progress location such as ‘works in
progress’, ‘dangerous’, and etc, are inadequate and may cause accidents to happen. The JV
Contractors need to improve its safety program further for public safety assurance.

Risk management is another important element in project management planning phase but
unfortunately it is not practiced in this project. It is often the unforeseen risk, which causes
problems during construction. Risk management begins with risk identification, which
determines the potential key variables that could contribute to risky situations in civil
engineering project. Efficient risk management involves sound measurement and
classification of potential risks and determination of the appropriate responses to such risks.
Should the JV Contractors had developed their risk management system to carry out risk
assessment in a formalized manner, problems such as material prices increasing and material
shortages could probably be foreseen and mitigated much earlier on in the project.

Effective fulfilment of the objectives of civil engineering construction projects depends on

sound planning and effective means to control and monitor these plans during construction.

4.4 Construction Phase

During construction, record keeping and reporting are useful in order to provide vital
information for project control such as diaries, field books, time/bonus sheets, quantity
surveying valuations, job cards and coding system, minutes of meeting and etc. The purpose
of the records and reports is to identify areas of poor performances of the project. Records
can indicate any variances of the actual work on site as compared to the original work
planned. When variances appear on site, records could assist in locating where the problem
areas are more precisely and the areas, which need improvement. With these records, there is
reliable information for the project team to identify and correct any variations problems
effectively. Moreover, records are very important information for contractual purpose such
as applications for payments, extension of time, variation and so forth. In the event of
disputes these records would prove to be very valuable supporting documents to determine
the case.

Compare to project management knowledge diverse sources for record and reporting for
project, the JV Contractors had indicated their appreciation of records and had utilised
adequately some of the sources for records and reports to monitor and control their works.
The project team for our case study had referred to site daily records for machinery and
manpower performances, monthly reports for time and cost performances and quality report
for quality and safety performances of the project.

Site meetings are the other important tools for the coordinating and directing of the project
activities. The purposes of meeting are to exchange information, evaluate progress, define
problems, solve problems, review and clarify and to raise issues. If properly practiced, it can
prove to be a powerful tool to enhance the success of the project. According to project
management theories, site meetings should be held weekly throughout the duration. The
project team for this case study did carry out site meetings but not on a consistent. Meetings
between the client and the main JV contractors were held sometimes once a month and
sometimes once in two months. The major problem with the Project case study meetings is
the absence of the many as required members and the managers from representatives. This
caused the meetings to be less effective as the decisions could not be made immediately and
therefore, distracted the progress of the project. Meetings between the JV Contractors’ in-
house team and/or with subcontractors were not regular either and these were generally held
in coffee shops during tea break or lunchtime. This made the meetings rather inefficient, as
the participants may not feel the seriousness of the matter.

5 Conclusion

All successful project work rests on a foundation of setting objectives, planning, monitoring
and controlling. It is always assume that project management is costly and time consuming
and involves lots of paperworks. Project planning is not easy. It takes a long time and a lot of
effort to produce a good plan. Project control is not easy. It is very difficult to control a
project with a poor plan or to base control action on largely qualitative information.
However, to help with project planning and controlling, there are many techniques and tools
available in the project management knowledge. It really depends on the project team to
fully appreciate and utilise the power project management. If that knowledge is applied
appropriately, it may not guarantee but it definitely enhances the success of the project.

This case study carried out had reviewed the level, which our local construction industry had
understood and utilized the available engineering project management knowledge with its
tools and techniques when conducting a civil engineering construction project. This study
had provided us with a better clarification and understanding of the development of project
management in our construction industry and reviewed into how our one of local construction
companies had carried the practices of project management knowledge and practices for their
project. This case study had also indicated the maturity and attitude of our local project team
in terms of their level of project management knowledge and practices.

From the case study, it is found that the JV contractors did practice and utilize the knowledge
of project management throughout the project life cycle. However, the techniques and tools
that they had used are the general and basic ones. Even though these techniques and tools
were able to plan and control many aspects of the job including time, cost and quality, there
are other more advanced techniques and tools available in project management knowledge to
achieve even better performance of the project in terms of time and cost savings without
compromising other aspects such as quality and safety. Besides time, cost and quality
management, there is other project management knowledge that could and should have been
applied in the project such as risk, resources and safety management.

The contractors for our case study are considered one of the larger local players in our
construction industry. And if their practices are not as advanced and detailed as should be, it
does indicate that our local industry is very much in need to gear up and be more enthusiastic
about project management practices. This could be stemmed from the fact that our local
project teams are not entirely familiar with these areas of knowledge and the tools and
techniques it has to offer; their awareness in terms of their project management knowledge
and practice is still at a lower level; their attitude, skills and knowledge still in need of
sharpening and improvement.
As the construction industry evolves at a very rapid pace, emphasizing more and more
effective construction methods, time and cost savings and increase performance, it was found
that practices of the tools, functions and procedures, which project management has to offer,
are becoming more and more important and frequently use to enhance the performance of the
project. Not only it is important to use project management knowledge to enhance the
performance of civil engineering project in local construction industry, as our country moved
towards industrialization and ultimate globalization, it is paramount that our engineers and
project managers can compete with the rest of the world. Construction companies from
abroad are coming to Malaysia for projects and local construction companies may want to go
for international projects. Thus, even though, technical capacity and knowledge is essential,
project management knowledge and practices are there to enhance the performance of not
only the project but also the whole industry. Our engineers need to be more aware of the
power and strength that project management has to offer. Without proper acknowledgement
of project management knowledge and practices, it would very difficult ultimately to be
competitive in global world.

6 Bibliography

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Melbourne, Australia, March 1996

7 Acknowledgment

A special thank you to University Malaysia Sarawak for this opportunity to carry out the
research. The case study is the compliment of the Public Work Department Sarawak (JKR
Sarawak) and the JV Contractors.