The Construction Management specialization is curated for professionals in the construction and civil engineering industry looking to advance their careers. Through this specialization, students will gain comprehensive industry knowledge along with the latest trends and development within the industry. This 5-course specialization will cover the major facets of construction management including project initiation and planning, scheduling techniques and procedures, cost estimating and control, and construction project financials. After students complete this specialization, they will have gained significant skills and tools to stay relevant and ahead of the curve in the world of construction management.

This specialization is designed to build on the foundational skills developed in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate; earn a dual credential when you complete a Google Career Certificate and this specialization.

This course introduces the types of cost estimation from the conceptual design phase through the more detailed design phase of a construction project. In addition, the course highlights the importance of controlling costs and how to monitor project cash flow. Learners will work on a break-even analysis of construction tasks in a project. The course begins with Professor Odeh providing an overview of what will be covered. Next, learners explore the stages of design in a construction project. Professor Odeh then describes the types of cost estimates in a construction project, and the tools and methods used to create estimates.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-Acquire the fundamentals of cost estimation and the design phase to perform cost estimation
-Learn about cost control and cost control methods, emphasizing the Earned Value Method or EVM 
-Understand the close out period of the project by exploring the punch lists, final approval, and turnover to the client

Construction Cost Estimating and Cost Control

This course expands the knowledge of a construction project manager to include an understanding of economics and the mathematics of money, an essential component of every construction project. Topics covered include the time value of money, the definition and calculation of the types of interest rates, and the importance of Cash Flow Diagrams.

The course covers these topics in three sections. The first section focuses on the foundation of building the mathematics of money, often referred to as value of money. It also highlights the present value techniques and the internal rate of return from a construction manager point of view.
 
The second section of the course focuses on vertical construction finance and the last part focuses on horizontal construction finance. Under the vertical construction finance, the instructor discusses real estate finance and how that has been done with more in-depth details and gives examples for students to solve with instructions. 

The last topic, horizontal finance, is divided into two parts. To begin, the instructor introduces vast details about public private partnership. This module highlights around three case studies about PPP projects, which would be an introduction to project financing in horizontal work. After introducing case studies, the instructor demonstrates the risks associated with construction finance. After that, similar to the previous three courses, the course finishes with emphasizing the importance of construction finance.

Construction Finance

Construction Project Management introduces learners to Project Initiation and Planning. Columbia University professor, Ibrahim Odeh, along with industry experts join together to provide a comprehensive overview of the construction industry. There are 10 modules that allow learners to become knowledgeable of construction management within the dynamic construction industry. 

Professor Odeh teaches learners about the fundamentals of the Project Development Cycle while guest lecturers discuss Lean Project Delivery method and Lean Design Behaviors. Technological advances, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), will be introduced with real world examples of the uses of BIM during the Lifecycle of the Project. The course concludes with Professor Odeh discussing the importance of project planning and scheduling and an opportunity to develop a Work Breakdown Structure.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-Learn about construction management, including an understanding of the construction industry, the role of a project manager, construction contract types, and project delivery methods 
-Explain the fundamental principles to establish Environment, Health and Safety in the construction industry
-Detail the principles and application of sustainability development in construction industry
-Summarize the work breakdown structure (WBS) and estimate the construction activity duration

Construction Project Management

This course focuses on learning how to develop and manage a schedule. The first module provides an overview of the Construction Scheduling course. The second module introduces bar or Gantt charts and how they are used as scheduling tools. During the third module, learners will create activity precedence diagrams, also referred to as activity on node diagrams, which graphically represent the construction activities in a project and their relationships. The fourth module provides an overview of the types of construction activity relationships encountered in a construction project and how to represent them in an activity precedence diagram. Forward and backward pass calculations are covered in the fifth module, and during the sixth module, Professor Odeh discusses the importance of critical paths, including what it is and why it is important.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-Discover key project scheduling techniques and procedures 
-Learn how to develop and manage a schedule, and understand scheduling tools such as bar charts, activity on arrow, and activity on nodes
-Explore the multiple relationships that connect all the construction activities in our project from start to finish 
-Learn about creating a network diagram, defining the importance of the critical path in a project network, and defining project activities float
-Understand  the fundamentals of bar charts, precedence diagrams, activity on arrow, Program 
-Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), range estimating, linear project operations, and the line of balance (LOB)

Construction Scheduling

This final course in the specialization provides an introduction on types of the construction projects as well as the main concern of the productivity challenge in the construction industry. Through case studies, you will learn the industry characteristics and its unique environment that led to such productivity performance as well as touch base on other several examples of challenges we are facing internally in the industry.

In the 2nd part of the course, Professor Odeh will give an overview of 10 mega trends that are making us change the way we think about construction. Furthermore, Professor Odeh will discuss the main role of three levels on what needs to be done: an industry collaborative effort and role; a government role; and last but not least a company role. In this discussion, Professor Odeh will also touch base on several technological and innovative trends that are rising in our construction industry.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
-Understand the overall history of construction industry
-Analyze the optimal ways to respond to the opportunities and challenges brought by current industrial trends such as aging infrastructure, climate change, sustainability trends and tools, the rise of urbanization, and an aging/shrinking workforce
-Recognize the importance of collaborating with governments and public officials in pursuit of industry transformation
-Comprehend the rising technological trends in the AEC industry and give examples of how to apply technology to the construction industry

Construction Management Specialization

About the Program

Description

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