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University Programme in Lean Management in Civil Engineering

The construction industry is facing fundamental change resulting from technological advances and new demands placed on it by society. With construction projects becoming increasingly complex and pressure on costs rising, builders have to find new innovative ways of working in order to bring construction jobs to a successful conclusion. Builders have major commercial, organizational, legal, and social responsibilities that are not usually covered in depth in a traditional professional education.

This university programme aims to teach advanced knowledge of lean construction management and to equip students to manage modern, agile project organization and delivery. The students, who should ideally have a degree in a relevant subject and some professional experience, will get an understanding of life-cycle optimized construction processes and will learn how to apply them in practice. The programme will show students how to maintain a holistic, sustainable view of construction management across all phases of a project. They will learn to apply methods, tools and approaches of lean construction management, building information modelling and other cutting-edge methodologies (system engineering) competently. Beside the technical knowledge, the students will also build their social skills in people management and motivation, so that they can work well in collaborative project delivery settings.

Content

  • You will receive a comprehensive introduction to the principles and methods of lean management.
  • You will develop the skills needed to study and prepare written work effectively.
  • You will learn about all aspects of construction project management, from design and development to management and control of the production phases.
  • The programme covers advanced topics in sustainability in construction: economic, ecological, socio-cultural and functional sustainability.
  • You will also learn the essential skills in cost and investment accounting and calculation in the different project phases of lean construction management.
  • You will receive an introduction to building information modelling (BIM).

The university programme consists of 7 modules:

  • Module A: Lean management
  • Module B: Studying and writing skills
  • Module C: Construction project management
  • Module D: Life-cycle oriented construction
  • Module E: Business studies for builders
  • Module F: Building information modelling
  • Module G: Soft skills

Target Groups and Admission Requirements

For admission to the programme, applicants must provide evidence of one of the following qualifications:

  • An internationally recognized master’s degree at a university or university of applied sciences in the subjects civil engineering, engineering management, building services engineering or architecture;
  • An equivalent degree from a post-secondary educational institution in Austria or abroad, in the subjects civil engineering, engineering management, building services engineering or architecture;
  • A bachelor’s degree from a university or a university of applied sciences and at least three years’ professional experience in development, design, construction or operation of buildings;
  • Graduation from an academic or vocational secondary school or a comparable school in Austria or abroad and at least ten years of relevant professional experience in a management position in development, design, construction or operation of buildings.

Additionally, German language competence of at least the C1 level is required.

Dates and Deadlines

Next programme: 2023 to 2025

Start date: 6 March 2023

Application deadline: 15 January 2023

Quick Facts

  • Duration: 4 semesters
  • ECTS credits: 90
  • Final degree: Master of Engineering (MEng in Lean Baumanagement)
  • Language of instruction: German
  • Registration fee: 27,290 Euro
    • If a company enrols 5 or more persons in the programme: 21,800 Euro per person
  • Number of participants: 20
  • Course location: Graz and Vienna

Curriculum

Calendar of the programme 2023 to 2025

The construction industry is entering a massive transformation because increasing complexity means the traditional way of running construction projects is no longer efficient. TU Graz is responding to this by offering the first standalone master's programme in lean management in civil engineering in the German-speaking countries. This programme shows what construction management of the future will have to be like – covering lean management and building information modelling.

Career Options

The part-time degree programme Lean Management in Civil Engineering presents innovative approaches for dealing with problems of central importance on the construction sites of the future.

Following successful completion of the programme, the graduates will have a wide range of professional opportunities – from design to production and operation of buildings; working as consultants, experts or in a position of leadership.

Lean management and lean construction, along with building information modelling, are trending topics in construction. Despite this, experts on these approaches are in short supply both in design teams and on construction sites. This university programme enables students – as a complement to a conventional degree – to get insights into the latest practices in management of design and construction projects, thanks to the large proportion of the teachers who are professionally active.

Although the basic ideas of lean management are more than 50 years old, the potential of this approach in construction has only been discovered in recent years. An understanding of lean is an eye-opener on the amount of waste that happens along the way from the original project concept to the finished and operational building. Until now, this knowledge had to be patched together over years of experience in projects, in experiments and a variety of different seminars. The university programme Lean Construction Management makes these experiences accessible in a single package in the space of four semesters.

Modules: A bis C (in German)

Modul A: Lean Management

  • Systems Engineering
  • Lean Management Grundlagen
  • Lean Design
  • Lean Construction I
  • Lean Construction II
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Lean Management I – Integrierte Projektabwicklung
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Lean Management II – Kooperative Vertragsformen
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Lean Management III – Produktionssysteme
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Lean Management IV – Praxisbeispiele

Modul B: Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten

  • Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten I
  • Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten II

Modul C: Bauprojektmanagement

  • Bauprojektmanagement I
  • Bauprojektmanagement II
  • Prozessmanagement
  • Projektentwicklung
  • Bauvorbereitung
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Bauprojektmanagement
  • Baulogistik

Modules: D bis G (in German)

Modul D: Lebenszyklusorientiertes Bauen

  • Nachhaltigkeit
  • Gebäudetechnik in der Planung
  • Gebäudetechnik in der Bauabwicklung und im Betrieb

Modul E: Bau-Betriebswirtschaftslehre

  • Baukaufmännische Grundlagen
  • Projektkaufmännische Grundlagen
  • Kalkulation
  • Strategische Managementsysteme I
  • Strategische Managementsysteme II

Modul F: Building Information Modeling

  • Building Information Modeling Grundlagen I
  • Building Information Modeling Grundlagen II
  • Planungsprozesse mit BIM
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Building Information Modeling I
  • Ausgewählte Kapitel Building Information Modeling II

Modul G: Softskills

  • Kommunikations- und Konfliktmanagement
  • Leadership
  • Führung und Motivation

Application

Applications must include the following documents:

  • A completed and signed application form (in German) with a photograph
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Documentation of academic degrees and/or completion of professional training and/or school
  • Certificates/evidence of employment
  • Copy of passport or personal identification card

Please send your complete application by e-mail or post to:

TU Graz
Institute of Construction Management and Economics
c/o Dipl.-Ing. Kurt Philipp Rockenbauer
Lessingstraße 25/II
8010 Graz, Austria

k.p.rockenbauernoSpam@tugraz.at

Contact

Kurt Philipp ROCKENBAUER
Dipl.-Ing. BSc
Institute of Construction Management and Economics
k.p.rockenbauernoSpam@tugraz.at

Programme Director

Gottfried MAUERHOFER
Univ.-Prof. Mag.rer.soc.oec. DDipl.-Ing. Dr.techn.
Institute of Construction Management and Economics
Phone: +43 316 873 4250
gottfried.mauerhofernoSpam@tugraz.at