Project Manager role is vital

By Peter Aves

Most people in the construction sector know what a Project Manager does, but getting a lay client to understand not only what they do but why it is vital to employ one is much more difficult.    

It doesn’t matter whether you want a new office or factory, extensions or alterations to your existing buildings, or even a new block of apartments, if it involves anything other than minor building works, you’ll need a Project Manager.

And you’ll need him (or her) involved from day one – i.e. the day that you first settle on the project. Appointing a Project Manager when the design is halfway through or the planning application has already been lodged is too late.   

Several specialist consultants and contractors are involved in the construction process. Managing them and the flow of information between them is an essential role, as is keeping an experienced eye on the programme schedule and end date.

Then there’s the controlling of costs – and not just the build cost. Specialist fitting work, for example, won’t always form part of the construction contract, but still has to be included in the programme and budget. It’s also a common misconception that by the time a project actually starts on site, the design and cost forecast is complete to the point where it won’t change.  It invariably does.  

There are plenty of builders who will offer to take on the design and project management.  Some are good, some bad. But remember, they’re all in business to make a profit and there are always plenty of opportunities during the process for them to claim extras for things that they say hadn’t been priced. To avoid too many nasty shocks, the basic specification and drawings will need to be thoroughly tested before the builder sets foot on site.    

The nature of the construction process is that it will always take longer and cost more, and although the Project Manager may not be able to prevent this, they should be able to minimise it…but only if they’ve been on board from day one.  Apart from keeping the procurement process and programme on track, the Project Manager is there to warn the client of looming disaster if the right decisions have not been made early enough.

The Project Manager is the ‘cement’ that binds all this together.  Architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors will all offer their project management services, but the Project Manager needs to be independent of all of these people, sitting over them as the client’s ‘right hand man’.     

Done properly, Project Management should pay for itself, if not in actual cash then certainly in taking the load and the worry off the client.

July 2011