Managing a construction project involves creating synchronicity between the teams involved with making the project successful. Since even the most carefully thought out projects are subject to alterations at any time, continuous management is vital to the project’s stability. Below you will learn how to manage a construction project and all of the specifics associated.
How to Manage a Construction Project - Know the Specifics
A construction project manager’s duty is to ensure the various aspects of construction are coordinated in order to guarantee client satisfaction. It is their responsibility to:
• Create work timetables.
• Compile budget and cost estimates.
• Select the most effective strategies to complete the project.
• Go over the technical as well as contractual details of the project with the other professionals involved with the project.
• Coordinate with the on-site construction specialists.
• Supervise the workers and other construction personnel at the job site.
• Keep the clients informed of the progress.
The construction project manager is tasked with finding the right contractor for the project once it is out of its design phase. Contractors can be selected using either of the following three criteria:
• Price – lowest bids are preferred.
• Value – this is an evaluation of the cost of a contractor in relation to their qualifications to effectively determine what they bring to the table.
• Qualifications – the level of expertise and experience of a contractor are prioritized over the cost of hiring them.
Traditionally, it is the project owner who reaches out to contractors when hiring them via closed or open bids. Open bids are usually associated with public projects and are open to all interested contractors. Closed bids, on the other hand, are privately sent to shortlisted contractors by the owner.
So, what are the phases that are involved in project management?
1. Initiation
During the initial phase, the feasibility of the project is evaluated to determine whether it will be successful or not. Afterward, a plan of action is created. DataStreet says this is this stage that the project initiation document (PID) is introduced, on which the entire project is based.
2. Planning
The planning phase involves the estimation of costs and time required as well as the resources needed. What follows is strategy development to determine the best plan to work with the available resources. Here, the work breakdown structure (WBS), another crucial document, is created to allocate work to specific teams on the construction site by divvying it up into smaller portions.
3. Execution
The construction begins in earnest during the execution phase. This phase is divided into two: execution, and monitoring. While the first part deals with the actual building of the project, the second entails monitoring and controlling the process, making changes where necessary to facilitate smooth execution.
4. Review (Closing)
The last phase of project management involves reviewing the entire process, noting the tasks that are completed, those that remain unfinished, and the tasks that were failed to be executed. All this information is then stored within the project report, which provides valuable insight for the construction of future projects.
Project scheduling, budget management, and the legal aspects of a construction project all fall under project management, and it is the construction project manager that is tasked with overseeing that all of these are undertaken properly to guarantee the success of the project. Hopefully this article has shown you how to manage a construction project and answered all of your questions.
