SUMMARY: CHANGE MANAGEMENT Nikita Shinde USC ID- 8125139985

Firstly, Change can be defined as any event which results in a modification of the original scope, execution time, or cost of work, is inevitable on most construction projects due to its uniqueness and the limited resources of time and money available for planning. The CII change management Research team quantifies that amount of change on a project has a direct impact on its labor productivity, both in design engineering and construction. And this impact declines the overall productivity due to an environment of excessive change that alters the cost/benefit evaluation of potential changes. Most of the construction projects in US fail to meet the cost and schedule requirements. This change cannot be aptly managed by the companies which results in inconsistency achieved on projects. One of the major key principles of change management is to evaluate each potential change accurately which means having a clear vision of the probable outcomes of the change. A change is treated as any event which results in a modification of project work, schedule or cost. Owners and designers mainly initiate changes as the project design is completed and to reflect basic changes in the project scope. Whereas, the contractors initiate changes to accommodate actual field conditions, permit substitution of material or other scope of work or to facilitate construction. As per the study, following recommendations and measures can help handle change management more effectively. A special effort should be made during project design to assure accuracy and completeness of the contract documents and information related to site conditions. Secondly, owners should not employ fixed-price contracting when they know the project will be subject to numerous changes. Thirdly, Modern computer equipment and software should be used to manage changes effectively. In this manner records can be maintained and we can yield cost saving results through more effective management and control of the projects. Fourthly, field studies should be documented that would help the owners in future decision and prevent them from wasting time. Then, the schedules and interaction with crew should be planned such that it takes into consideration deleterious effect of interruptions of any type on labor productivity. Further, estimators must critically examine each project to have a good pricing of the project.

Thus, for effective change management, there should be creation of valid baselines through detailed and documented planning of the work before it begins. One should track the project performance in detail to include time lost and other impacts as a consequence of changes. Maintaining complete files is very important. Usage of up-to-date software will further aid change management.