EPM5710 Project Procurement Management Assignment Help

Your company has been selected to project management the upgrade to a building that has cladding issues. You are to present to the Owners Corporation a recommended strategy in replacing the cladding. The Owners Corporation will need three options in cladding with a recommendation. This assessment is around sourcing materiel and the decision criteria.

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Section 1: Introduction

Grenfell tower building is building in west London which has 24 storey and 120 apartments. A fire broke out in this building on 14 June, 2017. This incident resulted in the death of 73 people living on the different storey of the building. Fire spread with a cigarette that was thrown on the fourth floor. The fire started from a fridge freezer on the fourth floor and then, it spread across all the buildings. The building was made in 1974 and refurbished in 2017 with all new cladding. Initially, it was believed that the cause of the fire was fridge freezer but with later investigations it was revealed that the fire broke out due to faulty cladding in the building which was placed on the building during refurbishment. 

The cladding paved a way to fire instead of resisting it. Aluminum cladding was used in the building and panels of cladding were installed in the building ("Grenfell Tower tragedy echoes the public safety issues of Mid Staffs", 2017). The Victorian Building Authority investigated that the there were similar incidents of fire in and around the buildings near Melbourne which used similar type of Cladding. The cladding was the major cause of the spread of the fire across all the building. Many people became the victim of this fire and they lost their lives in the incident.

Section 2 of the report will describe the need analysis by introducing the building, highlighting the known issues in the building and describing the problem of cladding in the Grenfell building. Section 3 will describe the suppliers of the cladding in the market. Section 4 highlights the parameters that must be kept in mind while deciding the cladding for a building.

Section 2: Need Analysis

The section will highlight the brief of the building by describing the number of storey, cladding and other things. The issues which are already known regarding the building are also described. The description of the cladding and its problem with the current building is given in this section.

Section 2a: Introduction of Grenfell tower building

Grenfell tower building is a building in the West London which was made in 1974 by the the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council. The building possessed 24storey and contained 120 apartments of 1 BHK and 2 BHK. The Grenfell tower building is used for residential purpose. The building was renovated in 2017 which became the major cause of spread of fire that broke out in the year 2017 on 14th of June. The fire spread from a fridge freezer on a fourth floor and subsequently to all floors in the building. The real cause of the spread of the fire was the cladding which was used during renovation. The tower was named after a British Army officer Lord Grenfell ("Grenfell Tower tragedy echoes the public safety issues of Mid Staffs", 2017). The building was not tested for fire after the renovation. Initially, a fire proof cladding was planned to be used for the building but then, cheaper and non fire proof cladding was used for the building.

The cladding is a material that is used around the building to protect the building from fire, make the building energy efficient and make the building appear more beautiful. The building was managed by Kensington and Chelsea Tenant management organization and they were responsible for seeing all the work in the Grenfell tower. They saved a lot of money by using the cheaper cladding material for the building. The cladding which was used in the building during renovation was not meant to be used for the buildings which height more than 32 feet. The cladding material comes with clear warnings but even then, it was used in the building.

The incident of fire broke on 14 june, 2017 immediately after the completion of the renovation work and this incident sacrificed the lives of the 72 people who failed to escape from the building. The victims of this incident are still living in the temporary residential areas and they do not have their permanent house till now. Government is putting efforts to change the cladding of the building (Mitchener, 2018). This report will suggest few recommendations for replacing the cladding of the building.

Section 2b: Known issues pertaining to the building

The Grenfell building with 24 storey suffered from a number of issues. This section will highlight the major issues pertaining to the Grenfell building which has 120 apartments. The building had known issues related to the ventilation systems, doors, fire mains and lifts. The fire doors of all the 120 apartment s were replaced in the year 2011 but the original doors were not picked from the place which gave a way to the fire.  The lifts of the building did not perform well due to which the transportation of the fire fighting equipments was not possible. This resulted in problems for the residents as the residents were not able to use these equipments in case of fire. Another issue with the building was stairs. There was one and only staircase route for escape from the building and this staircase get clogged with smoke in the incidents of the fire.

 The dry fire main system of the building was not made by following the construction guidelines in mind and the system did not comply with the current standards also. The smoke control system of the building did not work properly which means the smoke was not controllable at the time of fire incidents which make the situation more worse as the people are not able to find the escape route in case of fire incidents. The central alarm system was also absent in the building to alert in case of incidents of the fire. 

The major issue in the building was cladding which was used during the renovation .The cladding used was of aluminum and it was not fire proof (Wilson, 1983). The cladding was prohibited to be used for the building with the height of more than 32 feet. The management of the Grenfell tower building used the cheaper cladding to save the overall costs. The fire brigade had already warned the management for the fire incident, 2 months ago but the management did not take any action. The carelessness of the management resulted in the death of the 72 people living in the building. The cladding can spread fire to whole building if it is not compatible to the building.

Section 2c: Current Cladding Problem

This section will describe the cladding problem of the Grenfell tower building. Cladding is material that helps in the insulation of the building from fire, make the building energy efficient and the buildings look much beautiful with cladding. ACM cladding was used in the Grenfell tower building. ACM stands for Aluminum composite material with layers polyethylene layers in between.  This cladding provided insulation to the building in case of rains and electricity. The rain water did not penetrate into the walls of the building with the help of this cladding.

ACM cladding consists of two layers ("Lightweight cladding material", 1973). The outer layer is made up of Aluminum and the inner layer is made up of material of metal such as polyethylene, poly urethane or any other profiled metal.  The cladding is available in various colors and designs that increase the compatibility of ACM cladding with the building. The cladding is designed to be used for the buildings with height less than 32 feet. The cladding is manufactured by Reynobond. The cladding is not resistant to the fire. Aluminum cladding material consists of two thin sheets of the aluminum and polyethylene is used in between the sheets. The sheets are 3mm or 7mm thick. The sheets have coating of zinc or copper.

The cladding of ACM was not compatible with the building regulation guidance. The polyethylene material gives further way to the fire. The fire incident which broke out on 14 june, 2017 in Grenfell tower was caused by the ACM cladding as the cladding is not resistant to fire. This cladding is cheaper than the other types of the fire resistant cladding available in the market. The ACM cladding has rating of the class A2 ("Lightweight cladding material", 1973). The polyethylene material melts with the heat of the fire and acts as a catalyst for the incidents of the fire.

Aluminum cladding caused the major issue with the building which was used in the building during the renovation of the building in 2017. The non fire resistant property of the ACM cladding posed a threat to the lives of the thousands of the people living in the building. The building was having 24 floors and ACM cladding is devised to be used for buildings with height less than 32 feet. This cladding saved a cost of 2,93,000 and management of the building gained huge profits by saving the costs. The fire brigade had already warned the management for the fire incident, 2 months ago but the management did not take any action. The carelessness of the management resulted in the death of the 72 people living in the building. The cladding can spread fire to whole building if it is not compatible to the building. The renovators do not tested the building against fire and there were other issues such as lack of ventilation systems, lack of smoke control system and lack of proper escape route in case of the fire also made the incident more severe.

Section 3: Assessment of suppliers of the Cladding in the market

This section will describe the different suppliers of the cladding material in the market. The cladding market is segregated into four categories based on the material, component, region and application. On the basis of the material the market can be segregated into wood, metal, vinyl and brick and stone. On the basis of the application the market can be segregated into residential and non residential. On the basis of the region, the market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Row. On the basis of the component, the market can be segmented into windows, doors, wall, roof light an vent.

Section 3a: Specification of three new types of Cladding

This section will specify the specifications of the three new types of the cladding. There are various types of cladding available in the market. Fiber cement cladding has the highest fire rating. The rating of this cladding is A2 and this cladding does not catch fire if it is exposed to dried flame or extreme heat. The UPVC and vinyl cladding are not resistant to fire. The UPVC and PVC have the fire rating of class C or class D ("Lightweight cladding material", 1973). When the PVC burns then, a toxic gas is released with the burn. Fiber cement cladding is durable and has low maintenance cost. Fiber cement cladding is resistant to different types of the weather. The cladding is easy to install.

 Another cladding type is reconstituted timber products. Fire resistance of this cladding is good. The maintenance cost of the cladding is moderate and cladding is durable. The cladding also provides water proofness to the building. The parts of the cladding are easy to repair when there is any defect. The third type of cladding is brick cladding which has best capability to resist fire. The maintenance cost of the building is low if the building is left unpainted otherwise, the maintenance cost is high for this cladding. The water proof capacity for this cladding is low and this cladding is non toxic ("Cladding systems | YourHome", 2019). This cladding is highly durable and suitable for buildings of different types. Brick cladding does not require any paint in the building. Brick cladding keeps the building free from moisture.

Section 3b: Sourcing of Cladding

Sourcing of the cladding is described in this section.  Reconstituted timber cladding is made from recycling of the forestry waste. Many brands provide this cladding and this cladding is available at most of the locations locally and globally. This cladding has low embodied energy. The maintenance cost of the cladding is low and this cladding requires painting of the surface. The surface of this cladding is stable which lead to low maintenance cost. The cladding is highly durable and suitable for buildings which has high seismic and geo technical movement. The breathability of the building is good due to the presence of the cavities. Fire resistance of the cladding is good ("Cladding systems | YourHome", 2019).

The sustainability of the fiber cladding is high. The cladding is easily available due to the high transportability of the cladding. The cladding has low embodied energy. The cost of the maintenance of the cladding is low and surface is stable. The painting on the surface makes the cladding resistant to the water. Fire resistance of the fiber cement cladding is high and water resistance of the cladding is also high. The durability of the cladding is high. The cladding is made from cement which is not renewable.

Brick cladding is most used cladding for the buildings (Lydon, 1993). The embodied energy of the brick cladding is high. The durability of the cladding is also high but the cladding is less used for buildings having seismic movements. The cladding is not much water resistant. The insulation power of the brick cladding is laso low. Fire resistance capacity of the brick cladding is also high.

Section 3c: Risks associated with Procurement of Cladding and Possible mitigation of risks

This section describes the different risks associated with the procurement of the cladding and the possible mitigation strategies for the risks. When the buyer is not able to specify the requirements then, he may procure wrong cladding (Maneetes & Memari, 2014). The building can suffer from huge losses. For instance, the Grenfell building suffered the huge losses due to usage of the wrong cladding.  Another risk in procurement of the cladding is the availability of the cladding. Some types of the cladding are available at some particular locations only which makes those claddings not accessible for other areas. The type of contract to be used in procurement poses the risk of funding. If the lumpsum contract is used then, it may be difficult to secure all the funds in one go. 

Section 4: Developing Sourcing plan and Decision making model

This will describe the decision criteria by briefing the parameters such as cost, quality, practicality, ascetics and availability (Maneetes & Memari, 2014). The benchmark criteria is also highlighted in this section which will tell the best in the current market. The contract type for the purchase is also described.

Section 4a: Decision criteria

Decision criteria for the purchase for the cladding is base do certain parameters such as ascetics, practicality, availability, cost and quality. The cost of the cladding should be optimal with high amount of features associated with it. The ascetics should not be compromised for the cost. The cladding must be effective in terms of the cost. The quality of the product must be high enough to past the various tests conducted on the building. The durability of the cladding must be high and it should be able to withstand all the weather conditions. The cladding should be easy to install and transport. The cladding must be easily available globally so, that it does not pose the problems of the availability while procurement. The maintenance cost of the cladding should be low. The appearance of the cladding panels should be good enough to make the building beautiful. The cladding must be able to resist fire and the cladding should act as a protection for the residents of the building. It must be kept in mind that whether the cladding is being secured for the residential or non residential building. The height of the building should also be kept in mind. The cladding should be compatible with the height of the building. The building should be resistant to water and provide protection to building in case of heavy rains.

Section 4b: Benchmarking Criteria for Cladding

Ceramic cladding systems are considered best in the market. Every cladding system should be compared with ceramic before purchasing. These systems set benchmark criteria of the cladding. The systems have the highest durability and the lowest maintenance cost. The systems are easily available everywhere therefore, they have low transportation costs. The system is highly resistant to fire and water. The system protects the building from all types of the weather conditions. They are easy to install and repair also. 

Section 4c: How we are going to purchase

We are going to purchase cladding by the lump sum contract. This type of the contract will help in securing all the cladding in one go. The progress payments may increase the overall cost by adding more and more features. We will purchase the cladding from the local supplier as local supplier can easily be complained in case of problems in the cladding and the buyer can easily ask for the replacement. The transportation costs are also low for the local suppliers. We will request quote from the different suppliers so, that we can select the supplier with the minimum quote. This will give cost advantage,

Section 5: Conclusion

The report highlights the different aspects of the cladding in a building. The report gives a brief description of the Grenfell building. The fire incident is deeply investigated by the report and it is noted that the cladding was the major cause of the fire in the building. Low cost cladding was used in the building to save money and enjoy high profit margins by the management. The cladding was not prone to fire and acted as a catalyst for fire. The report also gives various recommendations to replace the cladding of the building. The major issues in the building such as lifts, ventilation, doors, windows and stairs are also described. The parameters that should be considered while purchasing the cladding are also given in the report. There are various risk associated with the procurement of the cladding such risk of choosing wrong cladding. The cladding for the building must be selected with care by considering all the requirements of the building otherwise, it may lead to dangerous incidents which may cause severe harm to life and property.

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