BLCN29004 - Construction Procurement and Cost Planning

General Information

Unit Synopsis

While construction procurement is essential in planning delivery methods and procurement tasks of a construction project, cost planning is critical to the financial management of the project throughout all phases of the building life cycle. Construction procurement is always associated with cost and cost planning is dependent on construction procurement. In this unit, therefore, you will study cost planning along with the knowledge of construction procurement. You will develop skills to critically examine the complexity of issues associated with strategic procurement and components of sustainable procurement processes. You will also analyse the impact of construction procurement decisions on economic, environmental, social, and cultural outcomes referring to a number of national and international case studies. This will enable you to reflect on the key themes in relation to procurement strategies, i.e. partnering culture as well as management of risks, stakeholder relationships, and supply chains. The knowledge gained here will eventually make you confident in practicing construction procurement within complex construction management environments in the public and private sectors. In the cost planning spectrum, the unit covers broader insights of design economics, cost estimating procedures, cost control mechanisms, and life cycle analysis for construction projects. The application of critical self-reflection skills and research principles and methods relevant to the construction industry will help you to prepare for dynamic construction industry environments and make sound professional decisions.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites:
BLCN29001 Construction Technology and
BLCN29003 Construction Measurement

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

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Brisbane
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Term 2 - 2024 Profile
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Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
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Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
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Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Research Assignment 50%
3. Reflective Practice Assignment 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 30% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: CQU Sute Student Feedback comments
Feedback
The learning approach was experienced as very helpful to the students. The students commented that it made them feel comfortable to share ideas.
Recommendation
This learning and teaching in this unit will continue to actively engage students in the class discussions and support sharing of professional knowledge on Construction Management practice.
Action Taken
The face-to-face lectures and tutorial classes offer active learning opportunities where students and staff discuss and share knowledge and expertise on relevant topics and issues.
Source: Industry engagement event organised by unit lecturer
Feedback
Through this class students made contact with industry professionals and prepared for a boardroom presentation.
Recommendation
Continue building students' learning and skills development in connection with industry stakeholders.
Action Taken
Students continue to actively participate in classes and learning activities designed to develop their professional skills and connect to industry events, i.e. the AIB professional institute.
Source: End of unit CQU survey feedback
Feedback
Students commented that this unit provided a great learning process.
Recommendation
The unit will continue to make the scaffolded learning and student skills development across this unit explicit. This allows students to monitor and plan their learning journey each week and confidently complete all assessments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: End of unit CQU survey feedback
Feedback
Several units cover ethical and behavioural issues. This could be covered over several weeks in one unit.
Recommendation
Ethical behaviour is critical to a successful career in the highly legislated, high-risk construction industry. The potential situations and implications vary due to context and subject matters at hand. Therefore, it is referred to in several units and knowledge fields to highlight its integral linkage to industry practice through examples.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Critically examine concepts and principles of construction procurement and cost planning across the building lifecycle
  2. Apply contemporary practice and research knowledge to project-specific contexts, managing project budget and feasibility
  3. Evaluate the impacts of construction procurement decisions on economic, environmental, social, and cultural outcomes
  4. Reflect on the key themes of procurement strategies and cost planning in contemporary management contexts.

This unit enhances your professional construction management knowledge and industry attributes in areas such as elemental cost planning, budget and cost control, procurement methods and contracting as well as sustainable procurement strategies and life cycle assessment.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Research Assignment • • •
3 - Reflective Practice Assignment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • •
2 - Communication • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • •
4 - Research • •
5 - Self-management • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • •
7 - Leadership • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8