Business in Construction Industry

Teachers

Included in study programs

Teaching results

Knowledge:
• An overview of the construction industry, its specifics, legislative framework, classification of construction output, and the particularities of construction business operations. Overview of the economics, management, and organization of a construction company.
• Knowledge of material management and human resources in a construction company, including related standards and the standardization of current assets and labor.
• A comprehensive view of the costs of a construction company and their monitoring from the perspective of a contractor and an investor. Preparation of cost estimates and budgets. Orientation in construction prices and their development, as well as an overview of real estate prices and their trends.
• Insight into the financing of construction projects and, on the other hand, the financing of real estate acquisition by clients. Information on the real estate sales process from the administrative, procedural, and legal perspectives. Marketing and its specifics, along with modern trends in construction.
• A cross-sectional view of the life cycle and durability of buildings. Knowledge of the evaluation and analysis of project efficiency, while considering the time and the time value of money.
Competence:
• Effectively use essential information about a construction company as a business entity, legal forms of business in practice, set goals, and evaluate performance.
• Critically assess the course and specifics of the business transformation process in a construction company with an impact on the preparation of a quotation estimate.
• Ability to communicate with specialists in construction regarding production, technological, managerial, legal, and commercial matters.
• Enter business relations between a construction company, investor, client, or financial institution in connection with a construction project or completed real estate in an informed manner.
• Propose solutions and defend conclusions or recommendations aimed at increasing the efficiency of business activities in a construction company and improving the sales of its output.
Skill:
• Basic reading and orientation in construction project documentation.
• Orientation in the electronic version of the cadastre and its functionalities, and the ability to create electronic submissions, prepare an application for a building permit, as well as orientation in the zoning plan.
• Ability to create, analyze, and critically evaluate a quotation estimate for a simple construction project.
• Orientation in construction costs and in the prices of construction materials and works.
• Basics of working with software for construction management and budgeting (Cenkros) and 3D modeling software for architecture, interior design, and construction (SketchUp).
• Select a suitable loan for financing a property based on various criteria and create a repayment schedule using the dynamic annuity calculation in MS Excel.

Indicative content

Thematic definition of lectures:
1. Introduction to the course, literature, and course requirements.
2. The Cadastre Act. Contents of the Act, basic concepts, cadastral proceedings.
3. The Building Act and implementing decrees. Contents of the Act, basic concepts, building proceedings.
4. The construction company and its business activities. Legislative forms of construction business entities, number of business entities within the construction sector in Slovakia.
5. Material management in a construction company.
6. Workforce and occupational health and safety in construction companies.
7. Costs of a construction company. Costing formula in construction.
8. Costing system in construction.
9. Prices in construction. The Act on Prices.
10. Financing in construction and real estate.
11.Assets of a construction company. Acquisition and depreciation of fixed assets.
12. Life cycle of a building and evaluation of project efficiency.
13. Completion and evaluation of the semester. Discussion. Closing of assessments.

Thematic definition of exercises:
1. Project assignment – preparation of a quotation estimate for a simple construction project. Assignment of partial seminar tasks.
2. Introduction to project documentation of a construction work. Developing the ability to read simpler technical construction drawings and budgets.
3. Introduction of students to construction budgeting software and demonstration of its use. Reading and explaining the context of zoning plans in relation to construction planning.
4. Introduction of students to architectural design software and demonstration of its use. Summarizing documents and preparing a building permit application.
5. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of earthworks and excavation works.
6. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of construction works related to foundation structures of a simple building and waterproofing.
7. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of construction works related to vertical structures in a simple construction project.
8. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of construction works related to thermal insulation and finishes, floors, and fittings in a simple construction project.
9. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of construction works related to roof structures and roofing of a construction project.
10. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of construction works related to sanitary and technical installations.
11. Preparation of the recapitulation of the quotation estimate created in Cenkros or MS Excel.
12. Finalization of semester projects. Submission, presentation, and evaluation of projects.
13. Submission, brief presentation, and evaluation of semester projects and assignments. Final awarding of final grades for seminars.

Support literature

Basic literature:
1. ŠÚBERTOVÁ, Elena - UHLIAR Miroslav – KOVALEV Andrej. Podnikanie v stavebníctve.
Bratislava : Vydavateľstvo EKONÓM, 2017. 192 s. ISBN 978-80-225-4433-7.
2. ŠEDIVÝ, Štefan, Ľuboš REMEK, Ľubomír PEPUCHA a Žilinská univerzita v Žiline. Ekonomika stavebníctva 1. Žilina: EDIS-vydavateľstvo ŽU, 2019, p. 12. ISBN 9788055415895.
3. MESÁROŠ, Peter. Cenotvorba v stavebníctve : súčasné trendy a vízie. Bratislava :
vydavateľstvo Eurostav, 2018. 172 s. ISBN 9788089228577.
4. Zákon č. 25/2025 Z. z. Stavebný zákon a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov.
5. Zákon č. 162/1995 Z. z. o katastri nehnuteľností a o zápise vlastníckych a iných práv k nehnuteľnostiam.
6. Zákon č. 513/1991 Zb., Obchodný zákonník
Supplementary literature:
1. BUDKEOVÁ, Branislava – KLÍMEK Vojtech. Poradca stavebníka pri výstavbe rodinného
domu. Návody a postupy pri príprave, zabezpečovaní a preberaní stavebných prác. Bratislava :
Eurostav, 2006. 80 s. ISBN 8089228038.
2. ČAVOJSKÝ, Jozef. Oceňovanie stavebných prác, (Klasifikácie, kalkulovanie, oceňovanie a
rozpočtovanie). Bratislava : Cenekon, 2012. 318 s. ISBN: 978-80-970678-1-6.
3. FELLNER, Thomas. Baubetriebslehre / Baubetrieb un Baumanagement 3. Wien : Hölzel
Verlag, 2018. 290 s. ISBN 3706855690.
4. GRUNEBERG, Stephen - NOBLE, Francis. The Economics of Construction (The Economics
of Big Business) Agenda Publishing, 2019, 240 s. ISBN 1788210014X.
5. HAČKAJLOVÁ, Ludmila. Stavební ekonomika a management. Praha : Sobotáles, 2006. 241 s.
ISBN 80-85920-79-4.
6. HALPIN, Daniel W. – SENIOR, Bolivar A. – LUCKO, Gunnar. Construction Management.
John Wiley & Sons, 2017. 416 s. ISBN 1119256801.
7. LEIMBÖCK, Egon - KLAUS, Ulf Rüdiger - HÖLKERMANN, Oliver. Baukalkulation
und Projektcontrolling: unter Berücksichtigung der KLR Bau und der VOB. Berlin : Springer
Vieweg, 2015. 198 s. ISBN 978-3-658-04871-6.
8. MESÁROŠ, Peter – MANDIČÁK Tomáš. Ekonomika stavebníctva. Košice : Technická
univerzita v Košiciach, 2015. 128 s. ITMS 26110230093.
9. MYERS, Danny. Construction Economics : a New Approach. London : Routledge; 4th edition,
2016, 358 s. ISBN 1138183725.
10. RUMANE, Abdul Razzak. Handbook of construction management : scope, schedule, and cost
control. Taylor & Francis Group, CRC Press, 2017. 84 s. ISBN 9781482226645.
11. SCHÓBEROVÁ, Alexandra. CENKROS plus: oceňovanie a riadenie stavebnej výroby,
príručka užívateľa. 1. vyd. Žilina : KROS, a. s., 2012. 504 s.
12. TRÁVNIK, Igor. Ekonomika stavebného podnikania. 2. vydanie, elektronicka forma.
Bratislava : STU, 2003. 127 s. ISBN 80-227-1895-5.

Syllabus

Thematic definition of lectures: 1. Introduction to the course, literature, and requirements for completion. Construction as a sector of the national economy. Specifics, basic concepts, legislative framework of business in construction. Associations and professional organizations in the construction industry. 2. The Cadastre Act. Content of the Act, basic concepts, cadastral proceedings. Registration of rights – example of creating an entry in electronic and paper form. The title deed and its contents. Overview of administrative fees. Working with the online cadastre, search options, cadastral map. 3. The Building Act and implementing decrees. Content of the Act, basic concepts. Building proceedings. Final approval proceedings. Sanctions for violation of provisions of the Building Act. Construction supervision, construction logbook. Building permit, notification of construction – requirements in their processing. 4. The construction company and its business activities. Legislative forms of construction business entities, number of business entities in the Slovak construction sector. Management of a construction company, examples of managerial control and organizational structure. Construction output and its classification. Current statistical overview of realized construction production. 5. Material management in a construction company. Structure and examples of various traditional and modern construction materials. Procurement of materials and related logistics. Standards and standardization of current assets in a construction company. 6. Workforce and occupational health and safety (OHS) in construction companies. Qualifications, structure of employees, and labor performance indicators. Remuneration and wage structure in the sector. Overview of wages in construction according to various criteria. Tasks and responsibilities of employees in construction concerning OHS. 7. Costs of a construction company. Costing formula in construction. Composition of production price according to costs. Costs from the contractor’s perspective. Costs from the investor’s perspective. 8. Costing system in construction. Types of costing in construction and the necessary documentation for their preparation. Costing methods in construction. 9. Prices in construction. The Act on Prices. Structure of price and types of contractual prices. Factors influencing construction prices. Methods of price formation. Development of construction work prices. Price levels and development of residential property prices in Slovakia by regions and types of housing. 10. Financing in construction and real estate. Financing of a developer and financing of property purchase. Mortgage loan, stages of processing, required documents. Annuity repayment of a mortgage loan and calculation of annuity payments. 11. Assets of a construction company. Acquisition and depreciation of fixed assets. Methods of calculating depreciation. Machinery and equipment of a construction company. 12. Life cycle of a building and evaluation of project efficiency. Phases of the life cycle and related cost levels. Types of building durability and examples of durability of specific building components. Time value of money and methods for calculating the economic efficiency of investments. Impact of inflation on investment efficiency. 13. Completion and evaluation of the semester. Discussion. Closing of assessments. Thematic definition of seminars: 1. Introductory information and organization of seminars. Assignment of the project – preparation of a quotation estimate for a simple construction project based on a bungalow-type family house design. Demonstration of a sample and real projects from practice. Assignment of semester tasks. Discussion with students. 2. Introduction to the content of the technical part of project documentation for the purpose of submitting a building permit application. Explanation of basic technical drawings and their content. Acquiring the ability to read simpler construction technical drawings and budgets. 3. Demonstration of work with software for budgeting, planning, and managing construction production. Example of an output – quotation estimate from construction software. Demonstration of a specific zoning plan, extracting information from it, and explaining its role in construction planning. 4. Introduction and demonstration of work with architectural design software (e.g., Google SketchUp, Chief Architect). Summarizing supporting documents and preparing a building permit application. 5. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of earthworks and excavation works. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Division of students into working teams. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in student teams. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 6. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of foundation works and waterproofing. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in team projects. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet or in Cenkros. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 7. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of vertical structures. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in team projects. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet or in Cenkros. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 8. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of thermal insulation, finishes, floors, and fittings in a simple construction project. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in team projects. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet or in Cenkros. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 9. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of roof structures. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in team projects. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet or in Cenkros. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 10. Explanation of technical and economic aspects of sanitary and technical installations. Demonstration and explanation of calculations on a sample project. Teamwork on the assigned topic. Calculation of quantities and prices for materials and labor in team projects. Searching for construction material and labor prices on the internet or in Cenkros. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 11. Preparation of the recapitulation of the quotation estimate in Cenkros software or MS Excel. Demonstration on a sample project. Teamwork on the recapitulation of the semester project. Completion of any missing parts of the project. Discussion. In-class consultation of team projects with the lecturer. 12. Finalization of semester projects. Submission of the semester project. Short presentation and defense by student teams. Evaluation of semester projects and presentations. Discussion. 13. Submission of the semester project. Short presentation and defense by student teams. Evaluation of semester projects and presentations. Discussion. Evaluation of seminars and awarding of final grades. Completion of the semester.

Requirements to complete the course

40% seminar paper and its presentation, ongoing assignments and projects – min. requirement 51%
60% written, oral, or combined exam – min. requirement 51%

Student workload

104 h (attendance at seminars 26 h, preparation for seminars 13 h, preparation of term paper 13 h,
attendance at lectures 26 h, preparation for examination 26 h)

Language whose command is required to complete the course

Slovak

Date of approval: 10.03.2025

Date of the latest change: 01.09.2025