All construction projects have four primary components; quality, safety, cost and schedule. To successfully execute any project requires that these elements are addressed. Every project has limited resources and the proper balance must be achieved for a successful project.

Quality is essential to meet or exceed the owners’ expectations of the quality of the work. The quality of work expected should be clearly communicated in the contract documents or work agreement with the owner. Quality cannot be sacrificed in order to hit the schedule or cost objectives. Increased quality above what is expected will consume precious cost and schedule resources. Specifications alone will not guarantee the total quality of the completed project. The final quality standards are set by the entire team involved in the process, depending on the costs and time allowed. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to complete an exceptionally high-quality project unusually fast, at a low cost, and in a very safe work environment.

Safety is an extremely important objective of any project. Safety can never be compromised to hit the cost or schedule objectives. Like other project elements maintaining proper safety consumes project resources. Proper training of the work force is essential. Planning the work and understanding the risks is an important element. Effective communication at all times is required to maintaining a safe work environment.

If cost is primary focus of a project then quality, schedule and safety will be impacted. Quality will be sacrifice because inferior products will be used often by an untrained workforce. Safety will be compromised due to the lack of experience and ability. Schedule is often impacted because of rework and the lack of the necessary manpower. Cost is often the only measure of success of a project. It is too easy for a project manager to only focus on this element.

If schedule is the driving force of the project, time is of the essence. Quality cannot be maintained or shortcuts are taken. Cost increases due to overtime and excessive manpower which often reduces productivity. Safety is sacrificed because time can be saved by not using the proper equipment or methods. When the crew is pressured by a time constraint they often work carelessly and take unnecessary chances.

One of the major challenges of project management is to balance time, cost, and quality, while ensuring a safe work environment. The project manager must keep all of these in mind and not let the pressure on one decrease the effective management of the others. Some projects inevitably demand that more emphasis be placed on one of these objectives. The experienced manager nonetheless will keep them as closely balanced as possible. It is important for the project manager who wants to satisfy all stakeholder objectives and to under promise and over deliver. If, during the initial planning stage, the project manager senses that quality must be above the norm, the additional costs and time must be determined and included in the estimate and the schedule to ensure the project’s success. Moreover, if initially it is realized that the project must be completed in an unrealistic time frame, the additional costs and safety precautions must also be planned for in advance, along with the steps to be taken to ensure that the project’s quality standards are met.

Compromising on these major objectives to the appropriate extent is a delicate task that the project manager must consider and handle carefully. The project’s schedule must represent a realistic attempt at meeting all four of these primary objectives. Again, the best schedule is not the shortest; it is the schedule that meets the project’s time, cost, quality, and safety objectives.