PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS FACTORS FOR GREEN OFFICE PROJECTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

A tropical country like Singapore tends to face major challenges with regards to building designs. The climate condition has to be carefully considered in order to achieve a comfortable building environment for building occupants to live, work and play throughout the day. However, the need for such climate modification of spaces within the building will require large amount of energy consumption (Snippets of 3rd Green Building Masterplan, 2013). Thus, it is important for the buildings in Singapore to balance their needs and to be responsible for the environment. Office buildings are the most common type of commercial buildings in Singapore. Hence, bringing green into offices will help to make a significant difference in terms of environmental friendliness. Conversely, despite the growing environmental consciousness and the proliferation of green practices in construction, project managers still face tremendous challenges in delivering a green office building project and leading it to success. Additionally, the relatively new compulsory Green Mark scheme introduced in 2006 posed as another form of challenge for project managers. Achieving Green Mark has become a determining factor for project success. However, to achieve Green mark will require great effort and careful planning. Furthermore, the owner of the project has to be supportive to allow the project manager to deliver his project roles and responsibilities more efficiently. There have been an extensive literature reviews and researches done regarding on project management in construction and also on the challenges project managers are likely to face in green projects. However, there are limited detailed studies on project management success factors which can help project managers facilitate project success in green office building projects in Singapore. This study will explore the challenges project managers will likely to encounter in green office building projects and at the same time, identify the critical project management success factors which will help ensure project success in the local context. Comprehensive literature reviews and interview was conducted with professionals in the Singapore’s construction industry to explore 2 more about the nature of green office building projects in Singapore and how success factors are relevant for these projects. A survey was conducted to identify the critical success factors relevant for project managers. With a detailed data findings and analysis, people-oriented factors, technical factors and client involvement were found to be the most critical project management success factors for green office building projects in Singapore.