Planning and control processes and techniques for refurbishment management

Using a case study approach involving four refurbishment projects from both the construction and shipping industries (hospital, warship, hotel and passenger ship), 36 semi-structured interviews with key functionaries from both sectors and 49 completed postal questionnaires, this paper attempts to shed light on the function of planning and control by examining the various systems, methods and techniques associated with refurbishment management in both industries. The conclusion is that there is a substantially longer planning lead time in the ship refurbishment sector than in construction. The state of completion of design before refurbishment work commences is higher in the shipping industry. Site managers from the ship refurbishment sector are brought into the planning and control processes earlier than their counterparts from the construction industry. In both industries, however, schedules and bar charts are the most frequently used formal planning techniques, in comparison with computer based techniques such as PERT, GERT and expert systems; the main reasons being familiarity, the relatively low levels of skill and knowledge needed to understand them as much as their perceived flexibility and relative cheapness for their production and updating. Planning and control involving the management of risks and uncertainty by improving the quality and timing of relevant information for the works, and the timely integration of key functionaries in the refurbishment process, help to improve planning accuracy and effectiveness.