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Construction Management Services Professional Construction Management for Public and Private Clients A successful construction project is defined as one that is completed:
In an effort to minimize the risks inherent in every construction project, many Lenders require that a “Professional Construction Manager” be hired to oversee the project as a precondition for Owner construction financing approval. Lenders highly value the knowledge and experience that professional Construction Managers bring to the project, and view them as a form of insurance against Owner defaults. What is Professional Construction Management? Construction Management was developed as a sub discipline of Civil Engineering during nearly a century of practice. The discipline is primarily engaged in estimating costs, scheduling work, writing and administering contracts, risk management, controlling project budgets, jobsite safety, quality control, and managing the day-to-day events of construction projects. The principal difference between Architectural and Engineering disciplines and Construction Management is that A&E Design Consultants develop the project plans and specifications, while Construction Managers build the plans and specifications in the field. What are the Qualifications for a Construction Manager? Many States require that a Construction Manager be a licensed General Contractor. Additionally, some States require that a Construction Manager have a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Architecture or Engineering. What Does the Construction Manager Do? Once design has been completed, the Construction Manager provides the Client with a management system to control the budget, schedule and quality of the project. The principal components of this system are described below.
Design Phase: At the Owner’s direction, A&E Design Consultants produce a set of plans, specifications and engineering calculations that fully describe the project. The Design Consultants required for a single family dwelling usually consist of an Architect or Architectural Designer, a Structural Engineer, and a Civil Engineer. On a commercial project or larger and more elaborate homes, an Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Fire Protection Engineer, Lighting Designer, Interior Designer and Landscape Architect may also be retained. Thorough and complete design work is absolutely essential to a successful project. Experienced Design Consultants can very often eliminate potential problems during the design phase where corrective measures are inexpensive. Poor design work, containing errors and/or omissions, invariably results in field problems that are considerably more expensive and time consuming to resolve. The cost of thorough design work pays for itself several times over through savings in field construction costs. Constructibility Review: The preliminary plans and specifications are reviewed for errors, omissions and difficulty of construction. The marked-up plans are returned to the Design Consultants for revision along with Requests For Information to clarify specific items. By identifying and resolving as many issues as possible prior to putting the project out to bid, subcontract prices will more accurately reflect the true cost of the project. Additionally, change order costs will be minimized. Value Engineering: Alternate means, methods and materials of construction are compared with those selected by the Design Consultants to determine if any savings in cost and/or schedule time are possible or desirable. Requests For Proposals: Upon receipt of the Design Consultant’s revised bid set of plans and specifications, the Construction Manager defines scopes of work and prepares “Requests For Proposals” specific to the several different sub trades and vendors that will be providing labor, materials and services to the project. The bid documents consist of plans, specifications, addenda, scopes of work, preliminary schedule, and instructions to bidders. The Subcontractors and Vendors reasonably rely upon the bid documents when estimating their costs. Any items not specifically described in the bid documents are, by default, excluded from the sub trade bids and will appear later on in the project as a change orders. The returned sub trade proposals are reviewed in detail with the Client and Design Consultants to determine the “best value” for the price. The lowest bidders are quite often not the “best value” when their scope of services, quality of workmanship and materials are factored into the equation. Estimate Summary: The Construction Manager prepares a project “Estimate Summary” that includes:
The completed Estimate Summary is a working document used for preparation of the Project Budget. It may also be submitted to the Lender as part of the construction loan application package. Permits: The Construction Manager submits the completed plans, specifications and permit applications to the appropriate Public Agencies for plans review. If properly drawn by competent design professionals, the plans are usually approved as amended by the Public Agency. The Owner is responsible for the cost of any scopes of work beyond those included in the sub trade bids that may be required by Public Agency amendments. Project Schedule: The Construction Manager next creates an initial “Baseline Project Schedule” describing the time frames within which each of the Subcontractors should be able to perform their respective scopes of work, and Vendors should deliver materials to the jobsite. This initial schedule is distributed to each Subcontractor and Vendor along with a “Notice of Award.” After the Subcontractors and Vendors have been selected and their contracts bought out, the initial Baseline Project Schedule must be revised to more accurately reflect the actual durations that the Subs and Vendors will need to perform their individual scopes of work and deliver long lead time materials to the jobsite. Subcontractor Buyout: Once the successful bidders are selected, the Construction Manager sends out “Notices of Award” to inform them that they will be receiving subcontracts. After final details are negotiated, Subcontract and Purchases Order Agreements are written between the Client and Subcontractors or Vendors. This is known as the “Multiple Prime Contract” method of project delivery whereby the Client utilizes a Construction Manager for a fee rather than a General Contractor for a percentage mark-up to construct the project. Schedule of Values: The Construction Manager creates a “Schedule of Values” from the Estimate Summary showing all Subcontractor, Vendor and other project costs. The Project Budget is derived from the Estimate Summary and Schedule of Values. Notice To Proceed: After the Public Authorities issue permits, the Construction Manager authorizes Subcontractors and Vendors to start work with a “Notice to Proceed.” This document notifies Subcontractors to:
Licensing, Bonding and Insurance: The Construction Manager checks each Subcontractor’s licensing, bonding and insurance policies to make certain that they are current, and that Federal, State and Local laws, regulations and ordinances are complied with during the course of the project. Construction Phase: The Construction Manager organizes the Subcontractor’s work and Vendor’s material deliveries, to insure that the revised Baseline Project Schedule will be followed. This includes:
Project Administration: The Construction Manager:
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