How We Manage Large Construction Projects
Millions of dollars, thousands of little details that can make or break the project, and an extremely strict deadline to finish it. Projects like these can and inevitably will overwhelm both the project manager and the client. In order to combat this, we embrace our core elements of communication, team work, situational awareness, and planning. First things first though, we need to establish a strategic plan for how to go about completing the project.
All Great Projects Start With a Great Plan
To set the project up for success, it is vital that the owner and the contractor choose an effective project delivery strategy. This will inevitably drive the project’s timeline, quality of design, construction approach, cost and long-term maintenance requirements. Project-delivery strategies can range from a fully-integrated approach where the owner has the largest stake in the management and execution of the project to minimal involvement by the owner, where a contractor or project manager facilitates all aspects of the project
Delivery strategies can generally be placed into the following three categories:
Traditional: The traditional approach can be defined as the design-bid-build approach, where the timeline is significant but not rushed. This method is generally characterized by the contractor and the designer (if applicable) working together to get a clear design plan for the project, including all the materials, a timeline, budget, etc. After building a quote and receiving the final approval from the owner, the contractor can go forward and facilitate the construction phase of the project until it has been completed. One disadvantage of this method is that, depending on the size of the project, the design phase can last a long period of time, delaying the process. Also, this process offers less accountability and transparency as details of the project can be left out of the bidding process which is provided to the owner before the start of the construction phase.
Collaborative: This method provides the most risk for the project manager or the management team. Most the time, this method is used when there is a time crunch on completing the project or the project manager is left out of the designing process. Early feedback from construction experts is imperative to ensuring the completion of a successful project as there are details and issues that can be looked over by designers and architects that a project manager would pick up. In this case, project managers can start a project and realize that there are significant issues that may hinder the completion or safety of a building. This can push back the timeline, or if skipped over or missed, can limit the functionality and durability of the project.
Integrative: An integrated approach is our preferred method and what we believe offers the most opportunity for creative designs while maintaining a reasonable timeline and keeping costs down. The difficulty of this option is that it requires the most amount of ownership and responsibility for the owner or main stakeholder in the project. In this case, the major stakeholder, the project management team, and the designers (if applicable) all share equal standing, working together to complete this project. Of course, there will be aspects of the project for which individual members have more autonomy over the others, however, this integrated approach invites each individual member into a healthy team environment to work together towards this common goal. The most significant advantage of this method is that ideas and plans can be pressure-tested by other members of this executive team to limit errors and back-tracking during the project.
So How Do I Decide What Method Will Work For My Project?
In the end, the choice of a project delivery strategy relies on the desire and intention of the main stakeholder(s) for controlling various aspects of the project. For instance, some stakeholders have an outstanding in-house engineering department that can prepare the design of the project and they just need to rely on a project manager for the work itself. Other owners may feel much more comfortable handling the direct purchasing of all materials and equipment and want to rely on the project manager of the labor itself. In the end, flexibility is key. Whatever project delivery method you decide to chose, do your best to align your strategy with your objectives, resources, timeline, cost and quality expectations, administration capabilities.