Reference no: EM132157644 , Length: word count:4000

Assignment -

Background and summery of the assignment - In this simulation, students are requested to conduct an analysis for the construction programme for an unnamed college in the UK ("The College"). This analysis is delivered in the form of a report, which will form parts of the project documentation to be used for a variety of purposes, most notably, the Developed Design (RIBA Stage 3).

Students undertaking this assignment should assume the point of view of a consulting construction professional, directly advising the client, which in this case are the Master and Fellows of The College. This is a simulation exercise and students need not consider existing, real projects that are like this one.

The financial package required to complete the project is based on a £35M bond, a fundraising campaign, rental income from students and staff, conferences, events and other activities. Obtaining successful support for the project requires satisfying a broad range of challenges; include environmental, financial and aesthetic considerations.

The College also wants to consider the possibility of including design and construction features that might add to the future proofing of the new development.

The project - The College has, for many years, wanted to provide accommodation for more students on campus. The city planners encouraged this approach as it fits into their master plan for the controlled growth of the city. The College wants to create a comfortable, durable and modern addition to the campus that is functional, cost-effective, elegant and sustainable. The project is extensive and ambitious and will replace existing, outdated accommodation with a suite of new buildings and amenities. The scheme will also be aesthetically pleasing and will be built with the latest energy conservation systems.

The site sits along the eastern perimeter of the college's sports field and currently contains a number of existing dormitories that are in use but are considered outdated and unsuitable buildings. A few buildings that are of historic importance will remain.

The proposed construction programme -

The architect's concept sketch - Figure 1 (in attached file) contains the architect's sketch plan for a campus consisting of twelve (12) new building: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, D3, the Sports Pavilion and Assembly Hall (not numbered).

The propose use of the new buildings - The proposed use of the new buildings are as follows:

• 92 undergraduate rooms in Buildings A1, A2, A3 and B2 with a common room in A3.
• Seven fellows' flats (larger one-bedroom apartments) in Building B1.
• A large flat for a visiting Professor on the top floor of the Building B1
• 120 Post-graduate rooms in Buildings C1, C2, D1, D2 and D3 with common rooms in D1 and C2.
• One resident manager (Assistant Praefectus) flat on the ground floor of Building C2.
• A Sports Pavilion with a dining area and kitchen.
• An Assembly Hall

Construction methods

All the residential buildings are designed to be built using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) frame, a novel pre- fabricated wall and floor system. These are mounted on steel reinforced concrete basements with structural steel stairwells, connecting and underground structures. The Pavilion and Assembly Hall are made from a combination of concrete foundations, structural steel, pre-fabricated cladding and Glulam spans for the roof. All building contain extensive custom carpentry, large windows, and high quality floor finishes.

The Financial plan -

The College development budget and financial advantages

The College benefits from several significant institutional and financial advantages. First, they can rely on a reliable cash flow from student and staff rent as well as other activities such as conferences and return from investments. The College has excellent credit ratings and can raise funds from both bond issues (private placement) and fundraising from their extensive and successful alumnae base.

The financial model -

The College intends to finance the construction and operation of the new buildings by a combination of private placement (bonds), fundraising, by their endowment and via operational cash flow. A £35M bond, due for repayment in 45 years, is planned for issue January 2019. A fixed annual interest rate of 3.37% requires coupon (interest) payments of £1.1795M per year to be paid monthly.

The initial elemental cost estimates are likely to change as more detailed plans and contract bids become available. However, for the purposes of this exercise, these estimates are sufficient. Cash flow needs to be managed carefully as the college works on a tight budget. Additional fundraising can make up deficits, but advanced preparation is required to launch a campaign. To predict cash flow over the entire project duration (until the bond is paid off), then the timing and size of outgoings and income from rents need to be combined.

Estimation of construction costs and the budget -

The itemised costs of the project are presented in Table 1 are partially completed. As this is an elemental plan, students are expected to provide a reasonable estimation based on the architect's concept drawings and an elemental cost plan.

Initial cost estimates	Area (M2)	Cost/M2	Cost (£)
Asbestos survey			55,000
Ecological and environmental study			35,000
Demolition of the two large residential buildings			500,000
Demolition of existing houses			124,000
Undergraduate rooms	2,763	3,800
UG Common room	90	3,500
Postgraduate rooms	4,293	4,800
PG Common rooms	200	3,500
Fellows' accommodation	604	5,500
Pavilion	407	3,000
Landscaping	3,000	128
Parking	1,000	200
Service and plant rooms	250	1,200
Assembly hall			1,500,000
Subtotal
Other costs (as percentage of whole)
Contingency	%	5.0%
Professional Fees	%	13%
Insurance (construction only)	%	0.75%
Total	12,357

Table 1 contains the elemental estimates for the project budget. Costs such as site management, temporary works, etc are included within the elemental costs in the table. However professional fees are not included here. The total values need to be calculated by filling in the grey squares.

The budget as shown in Table 1 requires some explanation. Several items in the list shown in Table 1 have fixed costs, notably the Assembly Hall and the two demolition projects. All other costs must be calculated based on multiplying the area by the cost per square meter. The professional services required for the project (listed in Table 4) are not included in the elemental costs described in Table 1.

Income from rent

An estimate of income is required, in addition to the costs, to calculate the cash-flow projections for the development. The following data for income are included in Table 2. Income from these sources are collected only after the buildings are complete (as per the programme, yet to be created) and students are enrolled at the start of each academic year. Post-graduate students rent for a 12-month period (September to August) while undergraduates rent for a 9-month period between October and June. Additional income is derived from renting the undergraduate rooms to summer students and conference events during the summer. This income is significant as summer residents can be charged higher rents. Additionally, these rents will increase at market rates, unlike student rents, which are limited by University policy to rise and a reduce rate.

Units	Space	Rental  per month (£)	Notes
92	Undergraduates (A1, A2, A3, B2)	292	Rented on monthly licenses.  This income increases per year by an amount set by the University, currently at 2.94%/year.
92	Undergraduate rooms (summer only)	250	Rented on monthly licenses.  This income increases per year by market demand, currently at 3%/yr. Income starts from the summer after A1, A2, A3, B2 blocks built
7	Seven fellows' flats (B1)	800	Annual rental lease after Building 'B1' built.
1	Visiting professor's flat (B1)	1,400	Annual rental lease after Building 'B1' built.
120	120 PG rooms (C1, C2, D1, D2 and D3)	333	Annual rental leases.  Income starts at start of term after buildings built
	A sports pavilion with a dining area and kitchen.	1,800	Income from events that increases per year by CPI, currently approximately 2.7%/year
	Assembly hall	1,500	Income from events that increases per year by CPI, currently approximately 2.7%/year
1	Resident manager flat on the ground floor of Building C2.	n/a	This flat is provided free of charge
130	Students in the two existing residential buildings	240	This income will continue only as long as the buildings are in service.
10	Fellows' houses	800	This income will continue only as long as the buildings are in service.
	Totals

Table 2 contains the expected annual income from the rooms and facilities in the new buildings and the current income from the 2. The rents will not be credited until after the buildings are complete.

Rents currently paid by students housed in the 130 rooms of the 2 existing buildings and 10 fellows' houses on the North side of the site must be included in the cash flow estimates. As buildings are vacated and students transferred to other rooms, these rents will no longer be collected. Error! Reference source not found. contains the income from rents in existing buildings. Students will have to calculate totals.

Cash flow modelling -

Cash-flow forecasting is made by estimating the monthly position as cumulative cash flow to produce a cash flow model. To complete this exercise, consider the financial duration as the 45 years of the bond issue. The convention for cash flow modelling is that money entering into the project account (such as the bond and the rents) is positive (+'ve) and cash paid out (expenses) is negative (-'ve). Cumulative, in this context, means the combined flow at any given time.

Set up a spreadsheet to create your model, using column to sum income from rent and expenses from the building project. Cash-flow calculations will need to consider any annual increase in rents charges as detailed in the Notes column of Table 2. . Market demand annual increase is currently 3%. The timings of completion are important as well as students rent starting in September, so that buildings completed before get rent only for the summer months.

Several assumptions can be made when completing the cash flow tables. These are:

• Estimate the construction costs to the best of your ability, with payments made at monthly interviews during the various phases of the programme.
• Include the income from rooms only when they are occupied.
• Include the financing costs of the £35M bond based on the coupon rate, with the fully pay-back at the end of the full term of the bond (i.e., 45 years).
• Include the income currently being obtained from the dividends of the investments of the bond money. These are currently at 5.2%/year. As this is the most uncertain part of the cash flow estimates, then it would be advisable to consider a range of income, from best (at around 8%/year) to worst (as low as 2%/year). The proceeds from the bond will taper off as the investments are sold off to pay for the project.
• Assume full occupancy of all rooms once buildings are complete and that the use extends to the summer.
• Calculate the total for each year and the Cumulative cash flow as the total debt or excess for each year.

Cash flow modelling requires that the construction programme is established and that payment size and date can be approximated. These are estimates and modelling of this sort requires that approximations and assumptions made explicit.

The construction programme and proposed phasing -

The build programme that is being considered is a multi-phases approach with first the 'A' then 'B' blocks built first. After they are complete, the then students currently occupying the two (2) existing large residential buildings, are moved in to rooms the completed buildings. Following phases include the remaining buildings, is started once the move is complete. The timings and duration for the task are listed in Table 3.

Two-phased plans are advantageous or the following reasons:

• Less debt is required as the project can be partially funded by cash-flow.
• Students will have minimum disruption to their housing.

A phased approach is conditional on effective and safe site management as the residents will be resent during construction. The Site Management Plan calls for a number of measures to allow this, notably the division of the site into safe residential zone while still allowing construction to take place. The Plan includes the provision of a through-road to allow one-way construction traffic to enter the site to the west of Blocks A1 & A2 (on the upper left corner of Figure 1), cross the perimeter of the site and exit to the east of Block B3.

In order to maximise rental income and with the understanding that students need to secure housing before the start of the semester, the opening dates should correspond to the term dates that can be found below (in attached file):

Consultants and contractors -

List of subcontractors, consultants and suppliers

The following table should help you assemble the responsibility matrix, initial workpackages and work breakdown structure. As this is an early stage project, fine detail of the work breakdown structure is not required.

List of professionals, designers and consultants

The initial cost estimates are made before the professional fees are added in. The consultants are listed in Table 4. Their fees are calculated as a percentage of the total. The principle activities is required for the responsibility matrix.

Professional role	Principle activities
Architect
Project Manager
Structural Engineer
Environmental Engineer
Cost Consultant
Health & Safety, CDM and asbestos coordinator
Planning Consultant
Fire Consultant
Lift Consultant
Arboriculture Consultant
Archaeological Consultant
Acoustic Consultant

Table 4 contains a list of the professional consultants contributing to the project.  Filling in the principle activities will inform how to schedule the programme for the project.

List of pre-selected contractors for the project

The list of subcontractors shown in Table 5 contains a list of the pre-approved sub-contractors. Other specialists may be called in if the detailed technical plans require them.

Axiome Ltd	Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing
Aztect Screeding Ltd	Screed underflooring (all ground floors)
Cohill Engineering Ltd	Structural Steelwork (all buildings)
Craftwork Interiors Ltd	Dry-lining (all buildings)
Crittalle Windows Ltd	Windows (all building)
Crowne Ceramics Ltd	Ceramic Tiling (All buildings except Assembly hall)
Eurbanne CLT Framing Ltd	CLT frame (All residential buildings)
FISH Products Ltd	Waterproofing Specialists
Foundation Piling Ltd	Secant wall and bearing piling
Fussley Piling Ltd	Sheet piling
HAG door Ltd  (fabricators and installers)	Doors manufacture and installation
Idealate Flooring Ltd	Flooring
Marrone Civil Engineering Ltd	Enabling Works
Marrone Civil Engineering Ltd	Groundworks
Marrone Civil Engineering Ltd	Drainage
MCJX Fabrications Ltd	Architectural metalwork
Northoltaire Glass Ltd	Curtain walling and entrance screens
OGS Stonemasonry Ltd	Brickwork and stonework
Panarct Interiors Ltd	Acoustic Panelling
PlanetApe Partitioning Ltd	Internal glazed screens
Powermatic-ace Ltd	Automatic opening vents
Racey Furniture Ltd	Lecture Theatre and Pavilion Seats
Specialist Lift Service Ltd s	Lift
Sylva Trees Ltd	Tree removal, pollarding and planting
Thrislingtown Cubicles Ltd	WC cubicles
TMQ Roofing Ltd	Roof covering
Turner & Summers Partnership	Internal and finish carpentry
Walters Modular Construction Ltd	Bathroom pods
Willowhill Pumps Ltd	Drainage pumping

Table 5 contains a list of the pre-approved sub-contractors. Other specialists may be called in if the detailed technical plans require them.

The list of subcontractors are not required for the report, but are included here for interest and to demonstrate the extent of specialist services and products required for a project of this type. 

Specific requirements for the assignment -

The assignment requires students to consider project organisational structures, time and cost management elements, project monitoring, control, handover and close-out.

Elements of the report

1. Provide a good, original title for your work.

2. Produce an introduction to your report that contains the purpose, topics covered, scope and limitations as well as demonstrating intent. The introduction should initiate a logical argument that is progressively linkage to subsequent sections that lead to a set of useful conclusions.

3. Create a set of work-packages to complete the project based on a description of the work and the list of subcontractors that have been pre-selected. There is no need, at this early stage (RIBA Stage 1 - 2) of the project, to create highly detailed work-breakdown, work-package or Gantt chart. A broad-stroke approach is suitable for this exercise.

4. Formulate a simplified project programme in the form of a Gantt chart, based on the information provided in this brief. Present this in the report in readable and clear manner, ensuring that you provide a good introduction to the chart, a complete caption and some analysis afterwards.

5. Provide a futureproofing strategy indicating what elements of the construction should be prioritised to ensure that the structures will retain their utility and cost-effectiveness into the future. This strategy should contain three or four design suggestions that would help ensure that the building would remain viable well into the future.

6. Present a summary budget in the report in a simplified, readable and clear manner. If you find an inconsistency or conflicting information, use your best judgement to resolve the conflict. This is an important aspect of the task, so do your best to show resourcefulness and intuition.

7. Perform a cash flow evaluation of the project using, as a starting point, the calculations provide in the budget and the sequencing of the tasks in the table provided. your assumptions clearly listed. Indicate periods (if any) where is heightened risk of cash-flow problems.

8. Provide a prediction of the financial return on the investment that the College will make on the project. This can be the internal rate of return, net present value or return on investment.

9. Assemble and display a Work Breakdown Structure based on your understanding on how the project is being organised and conducted.

10. Produce a Design Responsibility Matrix, using as a starting point the professional listed in Table 4 that shows who is contributing to the detailed technical design.

11. Provide useful conclusions to the report including a summary of findings, a critical and insightful analysis of the project plan and budget and any suggestions you have on the viability and quality of the building programme.

Assessing the report -

The report will be assessed based on 5 criteria as listed below and further detailed in the grading grid shown in Table 6.

1. Introduction and title: It is important to ensure that the reader has a clear idea of what the report contains, what the objectives of the document are, and the scope of what the material covered. The contents of the introduction should be reflected throughout the document, in subsequent sections and with the logical argument clearly set out.

2. Budget: A simple budget is required to predict the cash flow of the project. Describe the financial details of the project: costs, expenses, cumulative cash flow and additional cash requirements if they are needed. Additionally, provide a standard measure of the financial return.

3. Programme: A schedule of the building programme displayed in the form of a simplified Gantt chart. This should take up no more than a single A4 page, displayed in landscape format. In addition, a Work Breakdown Structure leading to a list of work-packages, derived from an extended version of the information in Table 3. Finally, a responsibility matrix that shows the roles and responsibilities of the professional design and consultants' team. These should be introduced, presented and some analysis and linkages provided.

4. Figures tables: All tables and figures that you insert into the figure must be clearly presented as described in the Formatting and Presenting the Report section. In all cases, tables and figures need introductions, good presentation, then a simple analysis to explain how the information in the table relates to the objectives of the report and other sections.

5. The report must demonstrate in the conclusions clarity and impact and leave the reader with a clear set of instructions and recommendations. To do this, the report must be well organised, have a good logical flow and use expressive language. The conclusions must also contain professional advice and include some ideas on how to future proof the development.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar