Introduction

Project management is the cornerstone of every building project. A construction project manager needs to have a wide range of skills and abilities in order to guide the project and connect the different teams in a way that works. Construction projects have a continuous need for alterations In this way, project management is the key to making sure the whole process goes smoothly. In this article, we’ll try to explain the most important ideas and rules about managing a construction project.

What does construction project management (CPM) mean?

Construction project management is the process of directing, controlling, and keeping an eye on a project from the time it starts to the time it’s done. The end goal of construction project management is to meet all of the client’s needs for a project that works and stays within budget. There are many different kinds of building projects, like commercial, residential, industrial, and heavy civil.
The main idea behind construction project management has a lot to do with technical factors like budget and execution, but it also needs good communication between all the people involved (stakeholders, contractors, community).

The role of a construction project manager

A construction project manager is in charge of planning, coordinating, making a budget, and keeping an eye on projects from start to finish. In short, a construction project manager is responsible for:

  • Make a budget and talk about how much it will cost.
  • Set up a schedule for the work.
  • Choose the best way to build and the best ways to do it.
  • Keep in touch with the clients about work or the budget.
  • Talk with workers and other professionals about technical and contract details
  • Watch the people working on the building site.
  • Work with experts in building and construction

Contractor: Role and duties

As soon as the design is done, the person in charge of the building project chooses the contractor. This can happen sometimes even when the project is still being made. Several contractors bid on the job, and the winner is decided by the highest bid. Most of the time, a contractor is chosen based on three things: the lowest bid, the best value, and the qualifications of the contractor.

Contractors need to know how to deal with things like deadlines, budgets, public safety, making decisions, quality management, working drawings, human resources, and math.

Construction project management: The primary functions

Most of the time, Construction management includes a lot of different tasks. The most important ones can be summed up as follows:

  1.  Specification of the project’s goals and plans, including drawing up the project’s scope, making a schedule, making a budget, deciding on the requirements for success, and choosing the people who will work on the project.
  2. Boost the efficiency of the resources by hiring the right people and getting the right tools.
  3. Running a lot of different tasks by coordinating and managing contracting, planning, estimating, design, and construction in the right way throughout the whole process.
  4. Getting the agents to talk to each other well so that they can solve any problems that come up.

The main principles of construction project management

Construction project management is a very complicated field, which is not a secret. But there are a few basic rules that anyone who is just starting out in the field should remember.

Everything starts when the person in charge of the project contacts contractors to ask for bids. The owner will then get bids from the construction managers who want to work on the project. The bid will have information about how much money the project owner needs to pay for the job to be done. Bids come in two forms:

1. Open bid: Public projects can’t be done without open bids. It’s an auction, and any contractor can put in a bid. Most of the time, an open bid is publicised.

2. Closed bid: Bids are closed for private projects. The person in charge of the project sends an invitation to bid to a certain number of contractors.

After getting all of the bids for a project, the owner can choose the contractor in one of three ways:

1. Low-bid selection: In that case, the price is the most important thing. The construction management companies put in their lowest bids for how much they are willing to do the job for. The person who owns the project chooses the lowest offer and moves forward with it.

2. Best value selection: In this process, both qualifications and price are important. The owner will choose the bid that is both the best quality and the best price.

3. Qualifications-based selection:When qualifications are the only thing that are used to choose a construction management company, this method is used. A request for qualifications (RFQ) is a way for the owner to find out more about the contractor’s experience and how well they can run a project.

Contract types

After the selection process is done, the type of contract also needs to be decided. Most of the time, there are four types of contracts:

1. Lump-sum: This is the most common kind of deal. The price for the whole project was set by the owner and the contractor. Even if the total cost of the project turns out to be more or less than what was agreed upon, the price won’t change.

2. Unit price: This method is used when it’s hard to know for sure what the final price will be in advance. The owner of the project offers materials at a set price per unit in order to cut costs.

3. Cost-plus fee: The best contract for contractors is a cost plus fee contract. On top of the total cost of the project and the agreed-upon fixed fee for the contractor, the owner must pay for any other unexpected costs at the end.

4. Guaranteed maximum price: The last type of contract isn’t too different from the ones before it. The main difference is that this one has a maximum price that can’t be beaten.

Project management processes

Now that the bidding process is over, everyone involved in the project needs to make it happen. In general, every project has the same life cycle, even if it has its own unique features. This building could be broken down into four basic steps:

1. Project initiation

During the first phase, the project’s goal and whether or not it can be done are decided. This is a crucial stage of the whole process because it can show whether or not this project is a good idea. If needed, a feasibility study is done, and based on the results, a suggested plan or solution is given.

A project initiation document (PID) is made once everything has been decided. One of the most important parts of project management is the project initiation document, which lays the groundwork for the construction plan.

2. Planning phase

During the project planning stage, the team decides what needs to be done. It’s something that will be done until almost the end of the project. During the planning phase, the most important thing to do is to plan the project’s time, costs, and resources. The team is making the plan that needs to be followed based on these requirements.

This is also called “managing the scope.” A work breakdown structure (WBS) is another important document that needs to be made. It is a list that divides all the needed work into smaller, more useful categories (you can do that in our construction scheduling software).

Once the budget, schedule, and work have been decided, the project is almost ready to start risk management is the next step in this very important process. At this point, the team should look at all of the possible risks to the project and come up with good ways to deal with them. Lastly, a communication plan is important because it will set up a smooth flow of information between the people involved in the project.

3. Execution phase

In the execution phase, the plan for managing the construction project is put into action. Most of the time, this phase is made up of two main tasks: putting the plan into action and keeping track of it. The project team makes sure that all the tasks that need to be done are done. At the same time, changes are made based on how things are going.

In fact, a project manager spends most of his time on the monitoring step. Based on the information he gets, he changes the tasks and keeps the project under control.

4. Closing phase (closure)

The project is officially done when the last step is finished. The project manager is thinking about what went well and what might have gone wrong. In the end, the team makes a report about the project, figures out the final budget, and talks about any tasks that are still not done.

Together, the project report and the analysis of what could go wrong will be useful information for future building projects.

Project scheduling

Reliable scheduling can eliminate many risks that could happen during a building project. The main goal of scheduling is to make sure that materials and resources are used in the best way possible for a project. So, any possible delays can be avoided, and all the different people involved can talk to each other better. A project manager could choose from a number of different ways to set up a schedule:

  1. Gantt charts: It is without a doubt one of the most useful tools a project team can have. A Gantt Chart can give you a big-picture view of a construction project and show you which tasks are being done on time and which ones aren’t. Gantt Charts are also an indispensable component.
  2. Line of balance scheduling: The line of balance method is a great way to schedule tasks that need to be done more than once. It can help a lot with meeting deadlines and allocating resources in a good way.
  3. Method of the critical path: It’s one of the most popular scheduling tools, and it helps a lot with organising how resources are used and figuring out when things need to be done. In a nutshell, a critical path method can help you finish your construction project faster or at least on time.
  4. Q-Scheduling: This method for making a construction schedule is becoming more and more popular because it helps project managers put a lot of tasks in the right order, even if they sometimes don’t go together.

Budget in construction project management

Setting a budget is by far one of the most important things to think about when starting a construction project. Cost estimation can be difficult, but if it’s done right, it can be one of the keys to success. As a general rule, a project manager should keep in mind the following four things:

1.Analysis of the project: The first thing that needs to be done is to make sure that everyone understands the project’s different objectives and limitations. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a better idea of what you want to do and who you need to help you do it.

2. Estimation of the budget: Once you’ve figured out the most important parts of your project, it’s time to set up a solid timeline and budget. Now is also a good time to get bids from contractors who are interested.

3. Cost tracking: As soon as a construction project starts, it’s very important to start keeping an eye on costs. The sooner you start doing this, the better, because it will help you find any possible misuses of resources before it’s too late.

4. Accounting: It is important to have a highly skilled accounting department. Together with the project team, they will be in charge of making sure that all the financial agreements go as planned.

The Legal Aspect of a Construction Project

There are many different parts to a building project. One of the most important things that a project manager shouldn’t forget is the law. A construction project manager who is well-prepared should always be able to answer questions about possible legal parameters or risks.

So, the whole project will be safe and built on solid ground. In general, there are five main things that should be thought about:

1. The parties: This group includes everyone who has something to do with the building project (contractors, consultants, sub-contractors, purchaser, etc.)

2. Contracts: Even though there are set contract forms for building projects, the agreements often need to be changed, so legal advice is more than needed.

3. Legislation & Regulation: A strong legal team can make sure that all the laws and rules are being followed correctly.

4. Procurement: The procurement process is how all of the materials and services needed for a construction project are bought. So, it is important that the whole project is well regulated from a legal point of view.

5. Insurance:On a construction site, it’s no secret that there are many physical risks. So, a project manager should have known everything about the insurance agreements and taken care of every little thing.

Conclusion

Putting together a building project is a very difficult task. There are many parameters and factors that should be carefully looked at. That’s why it’s important to give your project’s management to construction management software that will make your life easier and give you the chance to take your building plan to a whole new level.

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