Nowadays, most contractors are experts on everything about construction except the most crucial part: construction business.
As a construction estimating service, we here at IAM Builders work with contractors across the country, and one of the most common problems we see today is that many contractors don’t fully understand how to manage the business side of their company.
That’s why for this post, we’ll be delving into the topic of construction project management. Making sure that projects go according to plan and . With that in mind, let’s look at the top five construction project management tasks and see how they contribute to a project’s success.
1. Planning the Scope of Work
One of the key roles of construction project management is to design and define the project’s scope. In construction, the “scope” of work refers to the outline of all the activities in a project. It’s at this step that project managers not only have to identify project goals and objectives, they also need to understand the client’s needs and develop the overall vision for the project. A typical scope of work usually includes these four parts:
- Work breakdown structure (WBS): A hierarchical organization of the project’s tasks and subtasks.
- Schedule: A timetable that outlines the order of tasks, milestones, and deadlines.
- Budget: An estimate of the cost of resources, materials, and labor.
- Risk management strategy: identifying possible hazards and establishing mitigation methods.
You can see here that the scope is one of the most important parts of the whole project management process. It essentially lays the foundation for how prepared you and your team will be to handle the project according to the client’s budget. By meticulously planning and defining the scope, the project manager sets a clear direction for the entire team and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals.
2. Managing the Budget
The next most important responsibility in construction project management is effective resource and budget management. This means allocating the right resources to the right tasks at the right time.
At this step, the project manager has to also keep an eye on how quickly the project is consuming supplies or the budget, so that way they can prevent as many delays as possible (which are pretty much inevitable in construction).
Apart from keeping track of expenses, project managers also have to coordinate with suppliers and subcontractors in order to negotiate for better costs. This can get especially complicated when change orders need to be made, or when problems occur on the supplier’s end.
This all goes to show that project management can easily become the most time consuming part of the construction process, so it’s important that you get yourself a project manager as soon as possible. If you want more information on structuring your construction business, feel free to check out our article on construction management tips for more.
3. Maintaining Quality Control
One of the most critical roles of building project management is quality control. Setting quality standards, monitoring production procedures, and assessing completed work are all part of making sure the project meets or exceeds the client’s expectations. To do this, the project manager must:
- Provide specific quality standards and rules for each assignment.
- Perform routine inspections and audits to evaluate work quality.
- Coordinate with subcontractors and suppliers to ensure that materials and workmanship satisfy the quality requirements of the project.
- When quality flaws are recognized, remedial steps must be taken.
By maintaining strict quality control, the project manager not only ensures client satisfaction but also helps protect the reputation of the construction company.
4. Communicating and Resolving Conflicts
Good communication and engagement with stakeholders are critical tasks for construction project managers. This involves keeping open lines of communication with customers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other project participants. The project manager should conduct frequent project meetings and update stakeholders on progress, challenges, and adjustments.
Part of facilitating communication also means creating a collaborative workplace. As a project manager, it’s your job to handle disagreements and misunderstandings quickly and professionally and in construction, those disagreements will happen on almost a daily basis…
Speaking of disagreements, the most important decisions you will have to make will come from project owner and architect conflicts, which tend to be the most sensitive parts of the whole project and make or break its success.
Many people don’t realize that construction is a people business, so one of the most important roles you will play as a project manager is to foster strong relationships with stakeholders and make sure everyone is focused on completing the project
5. Monitoring the Project and Being Ready for Anything
As you might have noticed from the previous sections, construction is the kind of business where problems can creep up at a moment’s notice. The truth is that being a full-time project manager means always being on your toes.
It’s crucial that project managers monitor the project throughout the whole job and compare it against the schedule, taking action when needed to stay on track (which usually means making hard decisions on short notice).
To sum it up, project managers need to:
- Review the project schedule on a regular basis and make revisions as needed to account for delays or changes in scope.
- Monitor the financial performance of the project and take action when cost overruns occur.
The Secret to 10X your Construction Business
If you are interested in growing your construction business, I’ve prepared a short training video for you that you can watch for FREE:
In this training, I will show you how you can put your estimating on autopilot and boost your sales to 10X your business in 90 days; step-by-step with a simple copy and paste formula!
Nowadays, most contractors are experts on everything about construction except the most crucial part: construction business.
As a construction estimating service, we here at IAM Builders work with contractors across the country, and one of the most common problems we see today is that many contractors don’t fully understand how to manage the business side of their company.
That’s why for this post, we’ll be delving into the topic of construction project management. Making sure that projects go according to plan and . With that in mind, let’s look at the top five construction project management tasks and see how they contribute to a project’s success.
1. Planning the Scope of Work
One of the key roles of construction project management is to design and define the project’s scope. In construction, the “scope” of work refers to the outline of all the activities in a project. It’s at this step that project managers not only have to identify project goals and objectives, they also need to understand the client’s needs and develop the overall vision for the project. A typical scope of work usually includes these four parts:
- Work breakdown structure (WBS): A hierarchical organization of the project’s tasks and subtasks.
- Schedule: A timetable that outlines the order of tasks, milestones, and deadlines.
- Budget: An estimate of the cost of resources, materials, and labor.
- Risk management strategy: identifying possible hazards and establishing mitigation methods.
You can see here that the scope is one of the most important parts of the whole project management process. It essentially lays the foundation for how prepared you and your team will be to handle the project according to the client’s budget. By meticulously planning and defining the scope, the project manager sets a clear direction for the entire team and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goals.
2. Managing the Budget
The next most important responsibility in construction project management is effective resource and budget management. This means allocating the right resources to the right tasks at the right time.
At this step, the project manager has to also keep an eye on how quickly the project is consuming supplies or the budget, so that way they can prevent as many delays as possible (which are pretty much inevitable in construction).
Apart from keeping track of expenses, project managers also have to coordinate with suppliers and subcontractors in order to negotiate for better costs. This can get especially complicated when change orders need to be made, or when problems occur on the supplier’s end.
This all goes to show that project management can easily become the most time consuming part of the construction process, so it’s important that you get yourself a project manager as soon as possible. If you want more information on structuring your construction business, feel free to check out our article on construction management tips for more.
3. Maintaining Quality Control
One of the most critical roles of building project management is quality control. Setting quality standards, monitoring production procedures, and assessing completed work are all part of making sure the project meets or exceeds the client’s expectations. To do this, the project manager must:
- Provide specific quality standards and rules for each assignment.
- Perform routine inspections and audits to evaluate work quality.
- Coordinate with subcontractors and suppliers to ensure that materials and workmanship satisfy the quality requirements of the project.
- When quality flaws are recognized, remedial steps must be taken.
By maintaining strict quality control, the project manager not only ensures client satisfaction but also helps protect the reputation of the construction company.
4. Communicating and Resolving Conflicts
Good communication and engagement with stakeholders are critical tasks for construction project managers. This involves keeping open lines of communication with customers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other project participants. The project manager should conduct frequent project meetings and update stakeholders on progress, challenges, and adjustments.
Part of facilitating communication also means creating a collaborative workplace. As a project manager, it’s your job to handle disagreements and misunderstandings quickly and professionally and in construction, those disagreements will happen on almost a daily basis…
Speaking of disagreements, the most important decisions you will have to make will come from project owner and architect conflicts, which tend to be the most sensitive parts of the whole project and make or break its success.
Many people don’t realize that construction is a people business, so one of the most important roles you will play as a project manager is to foster strong relationships with stakeholders and make sure everyone is focused on completing the project
5. Monitoring the Project and Being Ready for Anything
As you might have noticed from the previous sections, construction is the kind of business where problems can creep up at a moment’s notice. The truth is that being a full-time project manager means always being on your toes.
It’s crucial that project managers monitor the project throughout the whole job and compare it against the schedule, taking action when needed to stay on track (which usually means making hard decisions on short notice).
To sum it up, project managers need to:
- Review the project schedule on a regular basis and make revisions as needed to account for delays or changes in scope.
- Monitor the financial performance of the project and take action when cost overruns occur.
The Secret to 10X your Construction Business
If you are interested in growing your construction business, I’ve prepared a short training video for you that you can watch for FREE:
In this training, I will show you how you can put your estimating on autopilot and boost your sales to 10X your business in 90 days; step-by-step with a simple copy and paste formula!
