On the Synchronisation of Activities During Construction Projects

Abstract

Summary Construction projects are inter-organisational arrangements established to complete a large network of tasks characterised by complex interdependencies. This chapter focuses on the synchronisation of activities in inter-organisational construction projects. Drawing on prior literature, it discusses the types of task interdependencies exhibited by such projects and how they are generally managed. The chapter also discusses how the synchronisation of activities is associated with performance outcomes at the level of both construction projects as a whole and the individual organisational participants. Maintaining the synchronisation of the supply of materials has been linked to the success of manufacturing firms. Finally, the chapter examines factors that support the ability of individual organisations and the entire inter-organisational project network to maintain synchronisation over the course of the project and practices/strategies project managers use to restore synchronisation. Multiple factors at the organisational, project, and institutional levels influence a construction project's vulnerability to desynchronisation events.