Teamwork for pre-construction project planning success in public sector projects

Abstract

Pre-construction project planning phase is a critical component of successful construction projects and can distinctly affect project duration, budget, and also the standards. This phase involves a range of activities, including project budgeting, scheduling, and resource allocation. Teamwork is the most vital part to ensure the success of this phase. Identifying team challenges faced by teams during this planning phase and explores strategies to overcome them were most important to achieve the successful output. Through a comprehensive literature review, various theoretical frameworks and empirical studies related to project phases, team dynamic, and team challenges have been examined. This reveals that a well-structured and highly collaborative team is a crucial catalyst for the pre-construction planning phase. Four case studies were examined to identify team challenges in Sri Lankan public sector construction context with contribution of five stakeholders from each case. Expert Interviews were conducted to identify effective strategies of the participation of eight expertise in the construction field. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was carried out to validate the challenges and effective strategies and the questionnaire was distributed among 60 participants electronically and 41 responded. A total of 14 main strategies were derived from research findings, which were then utilised to identify best practices for pre-construction project planning teams. The aim is to investigate how to improve teamwork towards the successful pre-construction project planning in public sector projects in Sri Lankan context. The study’s implications extend to project management practices, emphasising the significance of investing in team-building activities and fostering a positive team culture. The results encourage project stakeholders to recognise the value of teamwork and its direct impact on minimising risks, enhancing project efficiency, and achieving timely completion of pre-construction tasks.