Compared with the traditional domestic infrastructure headquarters construction management model, PMC mainly has the following advantages:
First, it helps to improve the level of project management during the entire construction period. Ensure the project is successfully completed. Most of the companies selected by owners to undertake PMC are well-known engineering companies at home and abroad. They have rich project management experience and many years of PMC background. Because they specialize in engineering construction management, their technical strength and management level are stronger than those affiliated to the owner. infrastructure headquarters.
Second, it helps owners save project investment. Most of the contracts signed between owners and PMCs stipulate that they will save investment and provide corresponding proportional rewards. PMC will generally try to save investment for owners while ensuring the completion of goals such as project quality and time limit. PMC is generally fully involved in project management from the beginning of design to the completion of the project. Starting from the basic design, they can control based on the principle of economy, thereby reducing investment in later stages of project procurement, construction, etc., in order to achieve cost savings.
Third, it is conducive to streamlining the owner’s management organization during the construction period. For very large projects, if the owner chooses a construction headquarters for management, he will inevitably need to establish a headquarters with a large number of people and a complex organizational structure. Moreover, how to resettle these personnel after the project is completed is also a headache for the owners. The relationship between PMC and the owner is a contractual employment relationship. During the construction period, PMC will form an organizational structure suitable for the project according to the characteristics of the project to assist the owner in the work. The owner only needs to retain a small number of people to manage the project, thus allowing the owner to streamline the organization. . Fourth, it helps owners obtain financing. In addition to daily project management work, PMC will also provide comprehensive support to owners in terms of project financing, export credit, etc. Since companies engaged in PMC are familiar with international financing institutions and export credit agencies, they often play an important role in assisting owners in financing and selecting export credit agencies. In order to ensure the success of their investments, financing institutions are willing to use these engineering companies engaged in PMC to Manage project construction to ensure the successful completion of the project and provide guarantee for the realization of investment returns. These are roles that the domestic infrastructure headquarters cannot play in project construction.
Existing deficiencies and some suggestions
There are still several deficiencies in domestic engineering companies undertaking PMC. Without working experience in PMC, there is a lack of foresight and initiative in overall planning for project execution. The service targets are Chinese and foreign owners with different cultural backgrounds. While implementing the owner's intentions and meeting the contract requirements, it requires extra efforts to gain the recognition of the Chinese and foreign owners. As a Chinese company within a PMC, it is generally easy to gain understanding and recognition from the Chinese parties in the joint venture, but due to work philosophy and communication reasons, it is more difficult to gain recognition from foreign owners. There are cultural differences and different corporate cultures within the PMC consortium, and Chinese companies have just entered the market economy environment, so it is difficult for them to adapt to these differences for a while. PMC must achieve unified procedures, unified methods, unified regulations and standards, and has very strict requirements on work planning and predictability. However, many Chinese engineering company personnel stick to their traditional working methods and find it difficult to adapt to this new change. . The personnel invested by the Chinese side in the project team must withstand difficulties in language communication, management style, working environment and habits. It is necessary to organically combine traditional experience and methods with advanced management models, and obtain the understanding and approval of local governments. There is a big gap between the working methods and depth of health, safety, and environmental protection compared with foreign engineering companies, and there is a lack of quantitative analysis methods. There is a shortage of legal, insurance and tax professionals.
Based on the above aspects, the following suggestions are put forward:
China and foreign countries should carry forward the principle of complementary advantages in engineering construction. It is generally recommended that foreign parties adopt the following division of labor model in domestic projects managed by PMC: process design and basic design are generally undertaken by the foreign party; the Chinese party is mainly responsible for detailed design, domestic procurement, on-site construction management, preliminary design, government approval, etc. For the work of functional departments such as quality, control, and safety, it is recommended that the Chinese and foreign parties jointly undertake the work. The foreign party can provide some internationally accepted procedures, and the Chinese party can supplement and modify them according to the actual domestic situation for use in the project.
Make full use of the advanced management experience of foreign companies.
As foreign companies in a PMC consortium, they generally have a lot of advanced experience in basic design of process equipment, overall project optimization, project financing, project procedures, etc. The Chinese side should actively learn from this and make full use of these advantages.
Use Chinese design, procurement, and construction management resources as much as possible to reduce project costs. Through optimal use of local resources, project costs can be reduced and investments saved. At the same time, domestic engineering companies are familiar with domestic infrastructure construction procedures, which facilitates obtaining government approval for projects, and are familiar with domestic mandatory standards, regulations and laws, and avoid rework caused by ignorance of regulations. .
The management work interface must be effective. The project is a complex system engineering that must effectively and properly handle the interface relationships between the owner, the patentee, the project management contractor, the design contractor, the construction unit and other third parties. A dedicated interface manager should be set up on the project. The interface manager is responsible for formulating and improving the project's interface management manual. The manual needs to confirm the interface relationships of the relevant parties, the transmission methods of information materials, their respective responsibilities, and the interface work procedures.
PMC work should mainly focus on overall coordination and project management. Because PMC, as the representative and extension of the owner, is mainly responsible for the overall management of the project, and the specific project implementation is undertaken by the EPC or EP+C general contractor, so the PMC must not interfere too much with the work of the general contractor.
The introduction of the PMC management model in the construction field of engineering construction will definitely promote the improvement of the management level of domestic engineering companies. Domestic engineering companies should strengthen management, cooperate closely with foreign parties, strive to learn advanced foreign project management experience, and cultivate a group of technical and management experts who can execute international projects in a purposeful and planned manner, and in this way promote the improvement of the entire management level. improve.