Managing a Construction Project

How to Manage a Construction Project


A construction project is generally carried out on a large scale, and hence it needs proper management and supervision in all areas. This article focuses on how to manage a construction project properly.

A construction project is one that includes managing the building of structures, right from the start to the finish. The design professional that is responsible for the overall management may be referred to as a construction project manager. There are a wide range of factors that are required for the project to be successful. These factors are classified into project designing, cost management, time management, quality management, contract management, and safety management. In the following, we are going to concentrate on how to manage a construction project successfully.



How to Manage Risks in Construction Projects:
Construction Project Planning

First, you need to meet with the clients, owner, developer, and supervisors to plan the complete project. This will include the main purpose, area of development, facilities, resources needed, amenities to be provided, project risks, work schedule, and many other aspects. Preparing a blueprint will give you a rough idea to move to the next step. You may even need to conduct geographical surveys for finding out the suitability of the project.



Contracts with Parties Involved

The next step is to carry out all contract formalities about the project. In a construction project, the project manager has to establish and review the contracts of all entities connected with the project, such as the owner, the architect, and the builder. The manager can also get the contracts checked by a professional, regarding any criteria that has to be met before commencing the project.



Obtaining Required Permissions

The contracts may consist of certain conditions regarding legal formalities to be completed with city or state government authorities in the area. Since in a construction project, there is land and other geographical elements involved, you need to consider obtaining relevant licenses. Check if you need to obtain permissions from authorities such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).



Budget Planning

The next step would be to create a plan for financial resources. You need to calculate individual costs to be incurred on each part of the project. Obtain a budget and divide the costs for layout, building, plumbing and water system installations, electrical fittings, roofing, flooring, and so on. Owing to the possibilities of construction management risks, keep a small amount of finances aside for additional requirements and modifications.



Resource Allocation

The construction manager is responsible for hiring all workers and allocating duties for the project. This stage also includes buying raw materials and arranging for construction tools and equipments. Make sure the workers use available resources in the best possible manner, to keep costs in control. The material and resource management has to be executed as per the budget set in the initial planning phase.



Work Coordination and Communication

The construction manager is supposed to oversee the duties assigned to all workers on the project. He has to coordinate work among personnel, such as the builder, architect, engineers, and other workers. See to it that the workers are doing their job as planned, and are working according to the deadline. Communicating with other members of the project will resolve most problems that tend to show up unexpectedly.



Site and Safety Inspection

Site inspection is one of the most essential tasks in a construction project. This is important to supervise workers in certain areas of the project, and also to make sure about the safety standards maintained. Inspection also helps the construction project manager know about the actual status of the work being done. You need to adhere to safety and building codes administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Safety codes are to be documented and presented to the safety inspector, if asked for.



Proper communication with the construction team is a must when it comes to managing the project efficiently. Today, there are many advanced construction management software that aid construction project managers to keep a track of the design, budget, progress, deadline, resources, etc., of the project. Managing construction projects requires a great amount of physical efforts, so you need to be physically fit to handle miscellaneous on-site management tasks.

By Stephen Rampur
Image by Evgeny Deligodin

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