Our Approach
Construction Management offers an Owner a professional approach to administering a capital improvements project. The scope encompasses either work in a single facility or can include programs in several facilities over a period of several years. Actual construction work can be bid to separate prime contractors or in some cases to a general contractor.
Construction Management allows an Owner single project accredibility by allowing the Construction Manager to act as the Owner’s agent throughout the design and construction phases. For an Owner who does not have the expertise or the staff necessary to undertake building projects, the Construction Manager provides the owner with a professional team experienced in managing design and construction, meeting schedules, seeking budget goals and maintaining a quality of construction. Most Owners are not aware of the necessary required time to devote to the multitude of day-to-day details associated with getting any project built. Controlling time, cost and quality is the focus of construction mangement.
Construction often is a complex process involving serious decisions regarding design, budget and schedules. Although the responsibility of managing construction risk eventually lies with the Owner, the employment of a professional Construction Management firm can greatly mitigate the risk through careful selection of the team members who in turn, use their respective skills in designing, planning and managing risk control.
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| Construction can be, and often is, a puzzling process involving complex relationships at various levels. The customer is really buying a service, not a product. Construction skills, necessary to oversee completion of a project, contain tens of thousands of parts delivered over a lengthy period of time and governed by complex details, contracts, work rules and responsibilities. Owners should be aware the team members they select are actually service providers, not product providers. |
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The Construction Manager, during the pre-construction phase, addresses the three (3) types of risk—design, budget and time; all of which include and concern money. Close teamwork is a necessity so that all areas of risk are addressed. Even though team members may concentrate on their certain specialty, no team member should dominate the preconstruction effort. |
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Because the design/cost equation is constantly changing, a great deal of uncertainty and ambiguity exists in the preconstruction phase. A poorly managed team at this phase can degenerate into chaos if the participants hide behind their respective disciplines and do not work together as a design/construct team.
As the project moves into actual construction, the risk moves from planning to supervision—the design is fixed; the budget is set but cost control is dependent upon adhering to a realistic schedule. The Construction Manager’s goal is to control and manage risks within reasonable limits through communication and planning.
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Construction Management Services
- Assist Owner in developing overall project budget
- Review for Owner alternate site selections
- Communicate goals, strategies and procedures to team members
- Prepare list of possible consultants
- Establish preferred method of construction
- Prepare master, predesign, design, and construction schedules
- Prepare critical path activity schedule
- Further establish budgets
- Continue to communicate goals, strategies and procedures to team members
- Attend Owner and architect design meetings, document and distribute minutes
- Document responsibilities of all team members
- Assist Architect in scheduling design work; identify critical activities
- Review plans and specifications as they develop
- Continue to develop master schedule
- Advise architect on construction systems, availability of materials, labor, etc.
- Identify long lead items
- Recommend divisions of work into separate contracts
- Prepare estimates
- Establish methods of construction
- Recommend to constultant and owner value engineering ideas.
- Establish strategy for bidding or negotiating construction
- Further divide construction into divisions of work
- Prepare bid schedules
- Establish bidders list, market project and promote interest
- Hold pre-bid conferences
- Evaluate contractor qualifications
- Analyze bids
- Compare bids to estimates and budgets and make recommendations
- Begin reviewing economics with bidders and possibilities of value engineering
- Assist Owner in securing necessary permits, licenses, and bonds
- Conduct preconstruction conference with successful bidders
- Expand master schedule with Contractors into CPM schedule
- Finalize value engineering cost
- Write contractor contractual agreements
- Monitor bond and insurance status
- Prepare daily reports
- Establish and maintain project account of each contract
- Monitor construction schedule
- Monitor submittal process
- Review and comment to Architect on monthly payments due Contractor
- Assist Architect in negotiating change orders
- Maintain job record prints and specifications, as well as library of shop drawings, submittals and samples
- Confirm that orders have been placed for long lead items
- When required, conduct job site meeting; resolve problems; expedite job
- Close-out contracts
- Receive and review Lien Releases