Managing construction of public healthcare projects in Singapore

Abstract

Project management has been part of Singapore’s construction industry for many decades. However, a comprehensive study of the project management of public healthcare projects based on ten knowledge areas have not been performed before. Therefore, the aim of this research is to uncover project management strategies for developing public healthcare facilities in Singapore to ensure that they achieve project objectives. Based on this aim, the specific objectives of this study are (1) to identify project management related factors that contribute to good performance of public healthcare projects, (2) to investigate the key factors that lead to poor performance of public healthcare projects, and (3) to recommend a suitable project management framework for managing public healthcare projects in Singapore. Two public hospital projects were selected as case studies. Interviews were conducted with the participants involved in each project to gain a better understanding of the current public project management framework in Singapore. It was found that a well-defined project scope with the inputs of relevant stakeholders, proper change control system, close monitoring and control of project cost and expenses, regular site inspection for quality control, clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the project team members, adequate communication mechanism, and the use of latest communication technologies improve the success rate of a public healthcare project. Conversely, unclear project scope, the absence of an adopted strategy when cost overrun occurs, irregularly updated and inadequate risk assessment, incomprehensive evaluation criteria for contractor selection, and high staff turnover of project personnel lead to poor performance of public healthcare projects. The findings serve as a basis for project participants to understand how to drive projects to success and avoid project failure. A Project management framework was proposed for adoption in future public healthcare projects. The framework provides guidelines on how to manage the construction of public healthcare projects, not only for local project participants, but also for foreign ones.