Housing Research 184 - June 1996
Effective site and project management techniques for community self build

Community self build projects can enable a wide variety of people to gain better homes, often accompanied by new skills, confidence, training and qualifications. However, to be successful they need to be appropriately structured and carefully managed, according to a study carried out by the Community Self Build Agency. The study showed that:

• It is important that projects are clear about what they intend to achieve: targets must be reasonable and all participants - especially the self builders - must be clear about what is involved.
• A wide range of individuals make up the professional 'team' which supports the self build scheme, but often little or no opportunity is provided for them to discuss their approach or expectations.
• Training providers and TECs have a vital role to play in schemes where the self builders lack building skills and/or are unemployed; however, arrangements for training can often be unspecific in terms of the relevance to work on site.
• Cost control and proper project management depend on good monitoring procedures, which can be difficult to achieve unless the self builders themselves are trained in appropriate procedures.
• Dispute, disruption and delay to the programme is often due to breakdown in co-operation between members. The role of site or project management staff in avoiding or resolving conflicts can be central to the project's success.
• Legal disputes often delay completion of schemes - especially in respect to the expulsion of members. These could be avoided with more thought applied to drawing up, imposing and explaining working regulations.
• Support workers' role in ensuring the success of schemes for young people was apparent, but their relationship with other professionals was not always clear.
• The choice of tenure for the scheme must match the aspirations of the self builders as closely as possible.
• The project must be set up to provide work or training opportunities for unemployed participants once the building work is complete, otherwise skills 'go cold' and the momentum of the project is lost.

Introduction

It is widely accepted that community self build offers opportunities to those on low incomes to gain new, affordable homes, new skills and a real sense of achievement, but the process can be complex and is often misunderstood. The situation is made more difficult by the fact that schemes can be diverse. Often the aims or the emphasis of the projects are different; the targeting of an age group, the role of training and qualifications, or the emphasis on one form of tenure.

A number of roles have been identified as crucial. These include the project manager, responsible for the overall structure and timescale of the projects; the site manager (or contract manager, or site supervisor), who runs the project on a day-to-day basis on site; and the support worker, who has a particularly central role in schemes for young people. The importance of setting up projects on the most appropriate contractual basis has also been widely identified.

With the continuing input of public and charitable money to support community self build, it is important that the self build movement can show it is using its growing experience to become more professional and more efficient. Initially, most schemes have involved professionals new to self build - trying to interpret experience from elsewhere and develop procedures that worked for self build. This need no longer be the case, provided the expertise of consultants and other individuals presently involved in self build can be made readily available to new projects.

The projects and the issues

The purpose of the study was:

• To identify issues relevant to site and project management.
• To examine a sample of projects to look for evidence of successful and unsuccessful practice.
• Through a process of discussion and feedback from the project participants and others, to produce a manual to assist participants in future projects.

The six projects examined had many differences; all available forms of tenure were involved (rented, shared ownership and outright ownership), some projects were for young people and others for families, some were entirely made up of building tradespeople and others of people with no previous building experience. This in turn led to varied support structures being required - from one scheme with just an architect, quantity surveyor and project manager to others with training providers, site training supervisors, support workers, site managers and other professionals.

It was apparent that the more complex the support structure, and the more individuals and bodies involved, the more likelihood there was for overlaps or gaps between the responsibilities of the various parties. In a number of instances potential problems had been avoided by co-operation between participants, but this co-operation between professionals was left to chance - with the professionals themselves often having widely differing aims and ideals. In some cases, the project provided 'teambuilding' training for the self builders, but never for the professional team.

In addition, the majority of the schemes involved conventional housing associations and, with the on-going need for capital subsidy in 'social' self build, this is likely to continue to be the case. Housing associations and self builders often have different agendas and little experience of each other.

The study showed great variations in the way schemes had worked both prior to start on site and when on site. In general, the schemes involving building tradespeople had been simplest to organise and they had required less support. However, their outputs - in terms of the benefits for the participants - had also been more limited. They had set out to achieve straightforward, housing-related aims, and had been successful. It was clear that projects need to set out clearly what they intended to achieve - especially where funding providers (TECs, City Challenge and SRB authorities etc) increasingly link funding to anticipated outputs.

Those projects working with unemployed people generally incorporated provision of training. The type of training required varied with the chosen construction method but in all cases timber structures were used. In all cases where training was provided prior to start on site further training was given when on site. In most cases this was provided as a path towards an NVQ - although in some cases the levels attained were lower than originally intended.

The degree to which the self builders participated in the process of monitoring of progress, cost and quality varied between the projects. Where site management staff were employed, their relationship with the group was often critical to the success of the project. Styles of site management varied greatly, but the approach of the site manager needed to be appropriate - both for the group and the type of building construction - and clearly understood by all.

The problems experienced by the self builders and the professionals working with them were examined in detail. A high proportion of the difficulties were due to the breakdown of co-operation and communication within the self build group. The resulting disputes, loss of morale or lasting ill-feeling had a clear impact on the progress and ultimate cost of the schemes. In many instances problems could have been avoided with action by the site manager, or more careful consideration of the working regulations and other rules governing the behaviour of the self builders. There was in many instances a lack of appreciation and understanding of the various contracts involved in the project - often simply for the lack of someone suitably qualified to explain the contracts to the self builders.

It is also clear that thought needs to be given to linking the self build scheme to the broader aspirations of the self builders. This may include - for unemployed people - both their long-term training and work opportunities (as skills gained during the project do not last for ever, and will rarely guarantee on-going employment without on-going development), and - for all participants - their expectations in terms of ownership and control of their own new homes. The form of tenure, on-going maintenance arrangements, and rent levels are all issues needing discussion and agreement at the earliest stage of the project.

About the study

The study was carried out by Phil Bixby on behalf of the CSBA, with regular discussion taking place with an advisory group representing the remaining three voluntary sector bodies with interest in self build and project-based training: The Walter Segal Trust, Community Self Build Scotland, and The Young Builders Trust.

The study focused on six self build schemes across England with varied characteristics, the intention being both to examine the different structures and procedures used and also to look for common strands across them all. Initially various participants in each scheme were asked to respond to a questionnaire seeking information and views, and subsequently participants were interviewed in person or by phone. The same participants were asked for their views on a draft manual produced from the study, and other professionals and people involved in self build were asked for comment or advice on specific issues.

Further information

The study has been used to feed information into the production of a manual, aimed at professionals working on site and project management with self build schemes, together with other professionals involved, and the self builders. It is understood that everyone will have their own approach - and also that projects vary greatly - so the manual is not generally prescriptive. It sets out many issues of consideration and discussion between participants, suggesting suitable stages for the consideration of each issue and the people who should be involved in discussions.

The manual aims to ensure that all participants are able to plan in advance for the majority of eventualities, and difficulties can be dealt with on a basis of prior consideration and planned response rather than simple (and often in appropriate) reaction. The manual is published in ring-bound format to enable purchasers to add to, personalise and regularly update their own copies. A disk (31/2") is available containing template files giving a helpful starting point for the use of computers in self build schemes.

The manual of effective site and project management techniques for community self build is available from the Community Self Build Agency, 40 Bowling Green Lane, London EC1R 0NE. The price is £11.95, with the disk available for a further £2.50 plus a further £4.04 postage and packing.