In response to the current revitalisation of the construction sector, the growing need for qualified site managers, and the development of the new paradigm of construction and rehabilitation 4.0, it was deemed pertinent and useful to reformulate the Postgraduate Course in Site Management at FFP/UFP, the 1st edition of which took place in the 2018/19 academic year under the coordination of Professor Doctor Miguel Branco (in memoriam) and Professor Doctor Miguel Ferreira, following on from an initial proposal by Eng.º Carlos Rocha, a lecturer on the Civil Engineering Degree at Universidade Fernando Pessoa, assisted by Eng.º Luis Amado (in memoriam).

The Construction Manager is one of the most classic and emblematic roles for Civil Engineers and Architects in the construction sector, which are currently faced with new realities and challenges arising from technological evolution, namely those resulting from the consolidation of Industry 4.0, using technologies such as BIM. It is therefore necessary for the theoretical and practical knowledge associated with Construction Management to be constantly renewed and adapted to the current situation.

The Construction Manager is a duly qualified technician, integrated into the technical staff of the construction company, who is responsible for ensuring the execution of the works, reporting to the Supervision Manager, complying with the execution project and, where applicable, the conditions of the licence or prior notice, in compliance with the legal and regulatory standards in force.

Currently, a Construction Manager is someone increasingly focused on the temporal and economic optimisation of the contract, while remaining concentrated on its technical details and attentive to the positive contribution that new technologies can bring to their activity.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Construction Management consists of 11 curricular units, covering the main aspects of construction management, namely initial site preparation, management of productive resources, cost, schedule and quality control, as well as environmental management and occupational health and safety, taking into account the necessary updates and improvements related to the technological innovations characteristic of the 4.0 industrial revolution, such as BIM geared towards construction management activities.

This postgraduate course will feature an important practical component and intense collaboration with relevant construction and rehabilitation companies, which have a strong presence in the region and a vast and diverse portfolio of completed projects. This will enable students to benefit from the knowledge and experience accumulated over many years of these companies' professional activity. To this end, the seminar curricular unit, which concludes the postgraduate course, includes four lectures and two study visits, inviting Site Managers from construction projects of significant technical complexity to share their knowledge and experience with the students and the general public.

OBJECTIVES

The aim is to reinforce knowledge on specific issues related to site management, favouring a practical perspective, namely through the presentation of concrete examples and the holding of seminars and study visits. In particular, this Postgraduate Diploma aims to provide knowledge and mastery of:

– Legislation relating to the activity of construction management;

– From the setup and organisation of construction sites;

– On the procedures for the initial preparation of a work;

– Of the methodologies for the execution of the planning and control of a construction contract;

– Of the resources required for the execution of a contract;

– Two methods to be undertaken for the execution of the general coordination of the construction work;

– From the duties of the construction management team leader;

– Of the methodologies and tests to be undertaken for the effective quality control of a construction project;

– From the need to implement effective environmental management on a construction site, complying with sustainability and circularity criteria;

- Of the procedures aimed at the execution of works with health and safety conditions;

– From BIM implementation to site management activity.