Syllabus

LK0393 Open space management – quality and control, 15.0 Credits

Subjects

Education cycle

Modules

Advanced study in the main field

Grading scale

Language

Prior knowledge

Objectives

The purpose of the course is to provide the student with skills used by a landscape engineer to execute and follow-up outdoor-environment projects as well as knowledge on the most common quality requirements from planning and procurement to inspection and maintenance.

After completion of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• explain the basics of construction law and how the most common agreements work to regulate liability during the construction process and the management phase; 

• explain different forms of contracting as well as the roles and relationships of different actors in these forms of contracting and how this is connected with quality assurance of outdoor-environment projects;

• identify different ways to control the construction process and describe how they can lead to different results;

• describe different types of inspections and the purpose for them;

Competence and skills

• make a life cycle analysis of an outdoor-environment project;

• perform continuous quality control and follow-up during ongoing construction work;

• apply the basics of inspecting an outdoor environment project;

Judgement and approach

• reflect on interests and priorities in the interaction between clients, designers, contractors, outdoor-environment managers and maintenance contractors;

• suggest how the landscape engineer can contribute to high quality in outdoor-environment projects that are run under their own management, as well as various forms of contracting;

• discuss how quality can be ensured at different stages of the management cycle.

Content

In this course, students will gain professional knowledge on techniques used by the landscape engineer to contribute to high value-experience and sustainable ecosystem services linked to outdoor-landscape environments. By alternating between theory and practice, students develop their ability to contribute to appropriate quality in outdoor-environment projects through quality control and follow-up in planning, procurement, design, construction, inspection and operation. The course contains compulsory elements.

The students will improve their knowledge on the construction process, different forms of contracting and the legal conditions that apply to the procurement of consultants and contractors in the construction of land facilities through lectures, literature studies and case studies. The students will equally develop their knowledge in construction law and the regulation of the construction process according to Swedish standard agreements that regulate construction processes from the planning to the execution stages. This also includes knowledge on how these regulations affect the quality of a project, as well as what common tools one has for controlling the quality of a construction project. The student is also given an introduction to the tools life cycle analyses and calculation of life cycle costs for project management.

Within the course, a case study of a construction project will be examined from a project manager and contract law perspective. Special focus is on the quality requirements set at different stages of the project.

Inspection is an important part of this course. This means that students deepen both their knowledge and their practical skills in inspecting various types of outdoor-environment projects. This is done through lectures and compulsory parts in the form of excursions and practical exercises.

Grading form

Formats and requirements for examination

Approved assignments and written exam, as well as active participation in compulsory excursions and seminars.

• If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.

• The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.

• If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.

• For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.

Other information

• The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.

• If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.

Additional information

Responsible department

Department of Urban and Rural Development