The Need for Change and Dependency Management in Energy Efficient Retrofit Projects

Changes are inevitable in construction projects and through the life of a building. In many cases, each change triggers a chain of other events which need to be managed. This makes change and dependency management one of the most critical activities in construction project and operations management. This is particularly important in retrofit projects, which are typically complex due to the constraints in the availability of information (such as original owner requirements, design and specifications and associated decisions) and limited or lack of access to the project team involved in the original design and construction of the building. This paper aims to highlight the need for managing changes and dependencies in energy efficient retrofit projects. A review of theoretical and practical issues in change and dependency is presented; including basic definitions. Insights from ongoing research in construction and other industries are used to discuss the context for change and dependency management in construction projects. The paper further examines change and dependency management issues in four case studies. Critical problems originating from poor change and dependency management, which resulted in project failures and, in some cases, catastrophic incidents, are identified from the cases. Analyses of the case study findings are informative and indicative of the importance and benefits of good change and dependency management, which need to be adopted in retrofit projects. The paper concludes by identifying critical issues in energy efficient retrofit projects which make change and dependency management vital to their success. The initial efforts in developing and implementing appropriate processes and systems for energy efficient building retrofit projects are briefly outlined. Recommendations for broader research in this area are also provided.