Modern Construction Management, Seventh Edition by Frank Harris & Ronald McCaffer - Book review

Modern Construction Management, Seventh Edition

By: Frank Harris, Ph.D., Ronald MvCaffer, Ph.D

Published: May 6, 2013
Paperback: 572 pages
ISBN-10: 047067217X
ISBN-13: 978-0470672174
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell










This book is intended for students and graduates of civil engineering, construction management, building and quantity surveying, and arranged to reflect site, business and corporate responsibilities embraced by the latest national vocational qualifications available for supervisory and management levels of career development", write Emeritus Professor of Construction Science, University of Wolverhampton, Frank Harris, Ph.D.; and Emeritus Professor of Construction Management, Loughborough Univeristy, Ronald McCaffer, Ph.D., in their new edition of their classic and comprehensive textbook Modern Construction Management, Seventh Edition. The authors describe the topics essential for complete understanding of the crucial elements of construction, including the development of the business and technical skills essential to managers.

Frank Harris and Ronald McCaffer understand that a modern construction manager must not only possess strong technical skills, but must demonstrate knowledge in the business processes of the industry. With these added business abilities, the young construction manager will be better equipped for an executive and decision making role. The authors present the latest developments in the construction industry that includes strong consideration of environmental, people oriented, and socially responsible industry practices.

The authors also place emphasis on the management of teams, customer relationships, processes, and quality management. With the increasing complexity of the construction industry, the authors ensure that new construction managers and related professionals are prepared fully understanding and executing the most up t date and modern strategies.

Ronald McCaffer and Frank Harris recognize the transformation that has taken place in the construction industry where value must be considered for customers, employee safety and engagement, the environment, and society as a whole. The authors also present a complete overview of the increasing role of social responsibility and how these changing attitudes hace changed the role of the manager.

The authors divide the book into four overarching sections the include the new and expanded role of responsibilities for the construction manager. Those four major sections are as follows:

* Project production management: Techniques relating to project management including environmental aspects and legislation
* Business management: Business aspects of both project and company management
* Administration and company management: Executive management of overall corporate control
* Self-learning exercises: Selection of problems including complete worked solutions for the classroom, tutorials, and seminars

For me, the power of the book is how Frank Harris and Ronald McCaffer combine a comprehensive overview of both construction project management and business management, with the effective teaching tools to enrich the learning experience of the students. The authors take a holistic approach to the concepts of construction management and go beyond simply discussing the technical aspects of the subject material. Instead, the book contains a strong section on the business and corporate decision making aspects of the job, including the management of people.

This seventh edition goes beyond the business and technical aspects of construction management and moves beyond those principles to add an extra emphasis on the environment, carbon usage, lean construction, sustainability, and other societal issues. With these very salient topics now a critical part of the construction management role, the authors were wise to include them in the book. As a core undergraduate textbook, this book is very modern in its approach to the construction industry. The authors include a complete section of the book that includes management and construction problems including complete worked solutions for the classroom, tutorials, and seminars.

I highly recommend the landmark and very modern best practices oriented textbook Modern Construction Management, Seventh Edition by Frank Harris, Ph.D., and Ronald McCaffer, Ph.D., to any students and graduates in civil engineering, construction management, building and quantity surveying, corporate leaders, and government policy makers seeking a clear and all encompassing guide to the current business, technical, environmental, and societal issues and challenges of modern construction management. This book is a tremendous starting point for students and professionals at any level of construction project management.