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Construction projects are highly structured endeavors. Whether the project consists of building a shopping mall or a single-dwelling residence, each project has many moving parts that must be precisely coordinated.
Just like any other project, construction project management has phases. From designing to planning to scheduling to the build itself, each phase is complicated and part of a more complex overarching process.
That’s why there’s construction project management software. But is project management software robust and dynamic enough to carry the weight of a construction project? Before answering that question, it’s important to first have an understanding of what exactly construction management is.
In brief, construction management is the process of managing construction projects. When comparing construction project management to other types of projects, the main distinction is that construction is mission-based. That means that the project’s organization ends with the completion of the project build.
While generally project management is defined as managing resources over the life cycle of a project through various tools and methodologies to control scope, cost, time, quality, etc.—when working in the construction industry, your outlook must be broader. Construction management usually includes a wider variety of constraints to consider that are specific to the design and build of construction projects.
Construction project management can interact with a variety of different disciplines in the lifetime of a project as well, from architecture to engineering to public works to city planning.
There are a variety of different types of construction projects that depend on the construction sector. The two sectors in construction are residential and commercial and there are four different types of projects:
That means there are a wide variety of types of construction projects that require construction management in order to be successful. Construction management might be required for a simple home to a large bridge, from engineering a dam build to an airport seismic retrofit project. Construction project managers, then, manage the beginning and end of a project build, often managing on-site to ensure safe, successful construction.
There are several types of construction projects and each of them has different challenges. However, all of them require a project owner, construction project manager and general contractor.
The project owner commissions the project and directly or indirectly finances it. The owner also supervises the project from a high-level view and makes important decisions such as defining the bidding process, selecting the contractor and choosing the project delivery method.
Construction project management is run by a construction project manager. This person plans, coordinates, budgets and supervises the construction project.
The construction project manager is usually a Project Management Professional (PMP) certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The Project Management Body of Knowledge explains the different roles and responsibilities of a project manager in depth.
Also, the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) explains the responsibilities of a construction manager, which is basically a project manager that specializes in the construction industry.
The role of a construction project manager requires a thorough understanding of the construction process. Check out our construction management templates to help you get started.
A general contractor oversees the daily operations of the job site and provides the equipment, materials and labor required for the execution phase of the construction project. General contractors usually hire subcontractors to execute specific tasks.
A general contractor is selected after the project owner reviews bids from multiple general contractors and chooses the bid that better adjusts to the project requirements.
Our construction proposal template for Word can be easily customized to fit your needs as a general contractor when creating a project proposal for the bidding process.
A construction estimator is a construction professional who’s capable of estimating the costs of a construction project. To do so, he must include all types of costs such as hard & soft costs, labor, materials and unit prices.
This person can be either in-house or subcontracted by the general contractor. There are also construction estimating firms that can help you throughout the process of creating an accurate and competitive construction estimate.
Bespoke house builders in the United KingdomConstruction estimates are one of the most critical documents for a construction firm as it affects their profitability and their ability to win the bidding process. That’s why construction estimators rely on construction estimating software to make sure everything goes well.
Construction subcontractors are construction firms that specialize in a particular area of construction such as plumbing, electrical work or carpentry. General contractors usually reach out to them to execute work that’s outside their expertise.
It’s the responsibility of the general contractor to oversee the performance of the subcontractors. They do so by checking daily construction logs. But, at the end of any construction project there will always be some unfinished tasks or work that needs to be re-done. Our punch list template is the perfect tool to help you make sure no task is left behind at project closure.
Most construction projects follow the design-bid-build model. First, the project owner gets the design from architects or engineers. Once the project owner has blueprints and a material take-off (MTO) for the construction project, the next step is to select the general contractor through the bidding process.
Then, general contractors present their bids, which include details like the statement of work, payment terms and how much it will cost.
Open bid: These bids are publicly advertised and are used on public projects. Any general contractor can submit a bid.
Closed bid: The project owner selects a group of contractors and only receives bids from them for the construction project.
Closed bid: The project owner selects a group of contractors and only receives bids from them for the construction project.
Best-value selection: This selection method evaluates both the contractors’ qualifications and the price to choose the contractor with the best price-quality relationship. The project owner also closely examines the request for proposal (RFP) submitted by contractors to make a decision.
Qualifications-based selection: This selection method focuses on the contractors’ qualifications. To do this, project owners analyze each contractor’s request for qualifications (RFQ) to decide which is the most qualified contractor for the project.
Once a contractor is chosen, a payment agreement contract must be signed, and the bidding process will be finished. Let’s review the most commonly used contract types.
These construction contracts are a legal agreement between the project owner who needs to outsource job site work and the general contractor who will get it done. Their purpose is to clarify things like the project scope and payment terms so that everybody is on the same page.
Some projects may involve a contract administrator, superintendent or field engineer, which act as assistants to facilitate the process.
Lump Sum Contract: A lump sum contract or fixed price contract, defines a total price for the completion of the project.
Cost Plus Contract: Cost plus fee contracts are made of two parts: a fixed fee that’s agreed upon by the project owner and the contractor, plus additional costs that are added as the project progresses.
Time and Materials Contract: This type of contract is used when there’s uncertainty about the project scope. The general contractor charges an hourly rate for labor and materials.
The purpose of these construction delivery methods is to define how the project owner, the general contractor and the licensed designer (architect or engineer) will interact throughout the project.
