| The Art and Science of Managing Design & Construction |
| Professional construction project management is a super fine-tuned system designed to facilitate planning, coordination and control of a project from the early stages all the way to project closeout and completion. Qualified construction managers use specialized project management techniques to orchestrate a project’s schedule, costs and quality. And orchestrated it is. Imagine that you’re underwriting a concert. You have an orchestra and a conductor in mind, a dream program, you know who you want to invite, and you expect flawless execution. But have you thought about all the details? Choice of venue, dates, flying your favorite cellist in from Hungary, personnel, permits, paperwork, rehearsals, unions, sound engineers, media, concert program printing, lighting, the piano tuner, ushers, caterers, etc.? Maybe not. In terms of putting on a dream concert, someone has to manage all that. And in the world of building a complex construction project, of overseeing the big picture and fine-tuning the details, orchestrating everything is precisely what your construction management team does. |
Construction management is a highly professional system designed to facilitate planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to completion.
The members of your team provide managerial expertise. Once a clear vision of your project has been elaborated, they control budgets, initiate cost-saving ideas, mitigate risk and ensure the flow of communication. Their role is to represent the owner’s best interests, and they do that by making sure that the project progresses as smoothly as possible according to objectives in terms of time and resources. And they’re able to accomplish that because they know how to manage a construction project step by step—it’s what they do.
A construction manager’s bigger view of the project as a whole is essential in order to manage and coordinate the many project team members, each of whom is focused on their own particular contractual role.
Qualified construction managers use specialized project management techniques to manage a project’s schedule, costs and quality. There are many requirements for successful construction management, and these can be regrouped under three main categories: cost, scope and schedule.Cost includes the obvious, but it also covers elements that you, the layperson, may not see coming, as well as risk assessment and wiggle room for the unpredictable.Scope is a major element in construction project management. What it means in this context is: what exactly is the owner’s program and architect’s design intent, and how will it be accomplished? To make this all happen, the services that each team member provides need to be clear—everything covered, but no duplications. Who is booking the cellist’s hotel room? Who’s making sure that all the permits are in order? Who’s serving the champagne? If exact roles aren’t designated from the get-go, you can expect delays and extra costs while they’re determined on the fly. A good construction program team will work with the best construction management software to make certain that every detail of your project is accounted for before actual construction begins. Schedule is a straightforward concept that also requires risk calculations and Plan Bs. Life is unpredictable—juggling your/the owner’s evolving ideas, new regulations, the contractor’s kid’s wedding in Tuscany, natural disasters and all the rest is best left to the experts. Trust your construction manager to get things done as well, as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible, so you can relax and enjoy your evening at the concert.
