Professional construction management refers to a process of discrete steps and construction management strategies that facilitate overall planning, coordination and control of a project from start to finish. Its purpose is to produce a functionally and financially viable project that is completed on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.
You should consult with a professional Construction Manager if your project:
- Requires Construction Expertise. Our highly qualified, multi-disciplinary senior project managers bring a wealth of experience from their backgrounds in large commercial construction.
- Requires Professional Specifications. As construction experts, we investigate and capture all existing defective conditions into a comprehensive and meticulous scope of work, complete with associated costs. This allows for informed decision making, and avoids design changes and rework. It is virtually impossible to evaluate contractor bids in the absence of professional specifications.
- Involves multiple trades. There can be significant financial advantages to obtaining bids directly from specialty trade contractors, rather than from a general contractor. In addition, quality is directly related to careful oversight and proper integration of building systems.
- Is large. The higher the $-value, the greater the cost-savings opportunities. Because we buy millions of dollars a year in construction, our negotiating power translates into savings for our clients.
- Involves water intrusion and/or exterior renovations. High-risk projects require professional risk and contract management to safeguard against liability. Click the link to learn what is contract management in a construction project.
Savings Opportunities. The earlier a construction manager is retained, the better. Most savings opportunities are identified during the planning and preconstruction phases when a comprehensive and accurate scope of work is established and the budget defined. Every scope decision has cost implications that need to be explored and weighed for value against schedule. Many contractors only have experience in the construction phase, when changes to the project plan incur expensive change orders. In addition, due to our approach to bidding, cost controls and our construction change order process, we save our clients significantly on contracted costs. We strategize the best way to perform the maximum amount of work possible within your budget.
Risk Management. Risk, which is essentially anything that can go wrong, is inherent in construction. As your advocate, our job is to identify project risks, advise on how best to manage those risks, and protect you from liability. This can include financial risks from cost overruns; from uncontrolled change orders or unstable market pricing; unforeseen conditions such as hazardous materials; the potential for construction defects, accidents or mistakes; unrealistic expectations and insurance disputes. Correcting deficient work is expensive and can negatively impact a contractor’s bottom line and unfortunately, many will not call your attention to their own mistakes. You cannot rely on the building inspector to protect your interests. As independent construction experts, Stonemark’s own highly experienced project managers will physically inspect the work to make sure it is in accordance with the contract documents, is of highest quality, and is what you paid for. Owners should not try to reduce costs of a major project by attempting to handle it without professional management. Owners should also be sure to hire PMs that have experience in the type of construction the owner is building. For example, if you are building a residence you should probably hire a residential construction project manager over a commercial project manager.
What Does a Professional Construction Project Manager Do?
- Guide you in developing the best project plan to achieve your goals
- Advise you on the best qualified and most appropriate project team
- Provide and balance critical budget and quality controls
- Coordinate multiple issues, including insurance, legal, and contracts
- Act as project liaison to coordinate all required trades, identify problems in advance, mitigate change orders and ensure quality
- Accelerate and manage the schedule – time is money!
To learn more check out our article Construction Manager vs. Project Manager.
At Stonemark, we believe that a construction manager should not be paid on a % of construction – this is an incentive to drive up the cost of your project, and is a conflict of interest. We provide fixed, stipulated fees that are not tied to a percentage of construction costs, eliminating any conflict of interest. Our services typically save our clients money well in excess of our fees and any incremental costs we bring to a project are, at a minimum, offset by the savings we generate.
We provide a very high level of professionalism and expertise with a focus on managing the overall project as your representative so that you benefit on every level from risk management expertise in contract and insurance issues to improved quality, budget and schedule controls. We encourage teamwork and pledge total integrity and transparency in all our processes.
