Professionals
According to the American Institute of Constructors, the term constructor is generally used to define the professional responsible for all construction activities whether they work as a general contractor, a construction manager, or a specialty contractor. The profession of constructor includes job titles such as, but not limited to, project manager, general superintendent, project executive, operations manager, construction manager, and chief executive officer. The constructor's job is to do the following:
Interpret the plans and specifications and prepare cost estimates and time schedules to meet the requirements of the owner.
Determine and implement the best construction practices, means, and methods to satisfy the owner's requirements for time, cost, and quality.
Oversee and manage all of the construction operations into a single, safe coordinated effort.
General Contractors
The general contractor, also known as the prime contractor, enters into a contract with the owner to deliver the construction project in accordance with the plans and specifications that have been prepared by the architects and engineers. They may or may not actually perform any of the actual construction work with their own forces. When they do, they are said to be doing self-performed work. When they don't, they arrange for subcontractors or trade contractors to perform the specialized craftwork such as excavation, concrete placement, painting, or plumbing. Today, more often than not, the general contractor maintains only a management staff and a field staff as permanent employees. The construction management staff includes estimators, schedulers, and purchasing agents, while the field management staff consists of superintendents, foremen, field engineers, and lead workers. The work of the trades is performed under separate subcontracts with various specialty contractors.
self-performed work
Construction work that is performed with the general contractor's own forces or labor. This is work that is not subcontracted.
Construction Managers
Construction managers may be employed by construction management firms, general contractors, architects, engineers, owners, or specialty contractors. The primary responsibility of the construction manager is to organize the project team to perform the construction management function that is the topic of this entire book.
Specialty Contractors
Specialty contractors are often referred to as subcontractors because they perform their work under a contract with another contractor (typically the general contractor) to do a portion of the contractor's work, as opposed to contracting directly with an owner. These subcontractors, in turn, may engage other subcontractors. Thus, there can be several levels of subcontracting to a general contractor.
The Building Trades
It is important to include the trade workers as part of the construction professionals’ discussion because, without them, there would be no construction at all. These are the men and women (plumbers, electricians, ironworkers, and so on) who actually perform the work. These skilled and semi-skilled workers are the construction industry's most valuable asset, although they are rarely recognized for their immense contribution. Unfortunately, too, their ranks are dwindling to crisis proportions, despite relatively high compensation, because of decreased training opportunities, traditionally provided by labor unions and vocational schools. However, various trade associations such as the Associated General Contractors (AGC), Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) have tried to pick up the slack by introducing educational opportunities through special initiative programs.
Secondary Players
Construction is second only to the restaurant business when it comes to high-risk business endeavors. Four out of five construction companies will go out of business during their first year. There are many factors for this. One of them is the power that outside parties have over the entire construction process and outcome. These secondary players, or what I call layers of influence, are beyond the immediate control of any of the primary players. I have divided these layers of influence into three levels.
First-Level Players
This level of influence includes subcontractors, material suppliers, and equipment vendors. This layer directly influences the outcome of a job in a serious way. Although this group is often directly connected to the primary players via a subcontract agreement or a purchase order agreement, they are primarily independent operators and not under the immediate control of the owner, the architect, or the contractor. And because they are not under direct control and yet provide vital services, they always add risks to the project. For example, a subcontractor is scheduled to start their portion of the work on a certain date but instead shows up three weeks later, delaying the startup of other related work and, therefore, delaying the completion of the overall project. Or a material supplier promises to deliver the concrete block for a commercial building on a Monday, and your masonry subcontractor has a full crew waiting to start the work at 7 a.m. The delivery doesn't arrive, and the subcontractor goes off to start another job. The block delivery then shows up on Tuesday, but the subcontractor is unwilling to return to your job until he finishes the one that he has already started.
Second-Level Players
This level of influence includes insurance companies, utility companies, bonding companies, building code officials, zoning, labor unions, and manufacturers. Although this level has no contractual connection or obligation to any of the three primary parties, they hold great influence over your project. For instance, a building inspector can shut down operations on a job for even the slightest code infringement, causing work stoppage for trades not even involved in the infringement. Or an insurance agent who fails to issue certificates of insurance on subcontractors in a timely fashion can put a monkey wrench in the administrative requirements and ultimately put the project schedule at risk. Or a strike at a manufacturing plant thousands of miles away can delay the delivery of your air conditioning units for a new retail store, delaying the completion of the job, delaying the opening of the store, and, therefore, costing the owner thousands of dollars in lost revenue for each day of delay.
Third-Level Players
This layer of influence includes the courts and attorneys, local government, state and federal government, trade associations, education and training, bankers, and others. Like the second level mentioned previously, these parties do not have a direct link to the primary players but do influence construction projects on a regular basis. Although the effects are not always immediate, actions and decisions by this group of players can have a significant impact on the whole industry, which eventually trickles down to the project level. For instance, government agencies that adopt policies or create new laws relative to such things as growth, wetlands, or endangered species are constantly having an impact on the construction industry. With the stroke of a pen, a project can be stopped dead in its tracks,
