and utilizing appropriate labor, material, and time resources in a manner that minimizes costs and maximizes customer/owner satisfaction.”
Although this definition explains the function of construction management, the discipline or profession of construction management is not quite so easy to understand. That's because construction management is not just a single task or activity. It comprises several tasks and is usually delivered by a construction management team. At the same time, an individual member of a construction management team performing even one of the CM functions is said to be doing construction management. Is it any wonder that the general public is by and large unaware of construction management as a distinct career?
If that isn't confusing enough, let's also consider the different ways the construction management function is offered as a service to the consuming public. In the most traditional sense, the construction management function is simply provided alongside the actual construction services. In other words, when an owner hires a general contractor to perform work for them, they get that contractor's construction management services as part of the package. The general contractor uses these skills to keep the project running on time, within budget, and in accordance with the plans and specifications provided by the owner's design professionals. However, if there are errors or omissions in the plans and specifications that were not discovered prior to construction, the contractor is not liable for any resulting cost overruns or time delays.
On the other hand, construction management may be contracted by the owner as a professional service separate from the work of the general contractor. In this case, part of the construction manager's job is to review the plans and specifications before construction begins. Doing so will reduce unwanted consequences and repercussions resulting from a lack of oversight by a construction professional. Construction management in these circumstances is usually provided as a distinct service or project delivery method.
I realize that much of this may seem a bit confusing right now, but later in the chapter I will spend time discussing the various project delivery methods and the functions of construction management. For now, I just want you to understand that many different people perform construction management services. This group of people includes general contractors, subcontractors, project managers, construction managers, construction estimators, general superintendents, job foremen, safety officers, quality control managers, and many other construction professionals. It takes a whole team of players to manage the construction project.
NOTE
Throughout this book, when I use the term construction manager, project manager, or constructor, I am referring to any one of the entities that delivers construction management services: the general contractor, the construction management team, the construction management firm, or any individual construction manager trained in all aspects of construction management.
The Construction Project
As discussed in Chapter 1, construction projects are extremely diverse and come in every size, shape, and flavor. However, some characteristics about construction projects are common to all types, and these characteristics clearly distinguish them as unique from other industry sectors.
When we build a computer, a piece of furniture, or even an airplane, we typically build a prototype first and then test it and work out the bugs before we put it into production. We do all of this under controlled conditions, using state-of-the-art mechanics, robotics, and technology. These projects are usually built utilizing a relatively constant workforce, standard parts, and stable materials.
Now let's take a look at the construction project. Every project is built as a one-of-a-kind facility, which means that each is built on a different building site, under variable weather conditions and particular environmental and topographical conditions. Each one is a prototype in and of itself. There is no testing it first to make sure it works. Instead, the bugs get worked out as we go. Our workforce is primarily transient practitioners of an assortment of trades moving from job to job as assigned, coming in and out of the process at various stages throughout the duration of the project. Although more automation is being utilized, for the most part, our labor is still performed by the human hand—laying the brick, forming the concrete, and setting the steel. Finally, many of our materials, such as lumber, concrete, and steel, are sourced from nature-made components. They react to the heat, the cold, and the humidity on any given day.
In spite of these uncertainties and unique circumstances affecting the project, a construction manager is expected to deliver a high-quality facility on time, within budget, and accident free. That's one heck of a management challenge, to say the least! But let's identify exactly what it is that we are trying to achieve. The primary objective of the construction management function is to control three main factors or values. They are time, cost, and quality. These three factors are commonly referred to in the industry as the three-legged stool.
However, there is actually one more very important factor, and that is safety. Construction can be a dangerous business, and safety must be the foundation upon which all other values are placed; without it, the whole project is at risk.
Let's take a closer look at all the factors that influence the construction project and how the construction manager considers each of them as part of the management challenge.
Project Values
In 1996, a group of owners, architects, contractors, and engineers gathered in San Francisco to discuss common goals and opportunities for collaboration in the building industry. This group formally organized themselves as the Collaborative Process Institute (CPI). During their discussions, they came up with what I think are the best descriptors of the factors that need to be managed and controlled on a construction project in order to produce a successful outcome for the owner and all parties involved. They referred to these factors as the six dials of project value: cost, time, quality, safety, scope, and function.
The idea is that each of these dials has a most advantageous setting for any given project, and it is the project team's job to optimize these settings. As noted earlier, only the first four project values are within the traditional range of services provided by the construction management team: cost, time, quality, and safety. The last two, scope and function, are typically determined by the owner and their design team prior to the construction manager being involved. However, some project delivery methods bring the construction professionals onto the team early in the process so that they may assist with scope definition, overall function, and programming. I will discuss project delivery in greater detail later in this chapter.
NOTE
Although the Collaborative Process Institute (CPI) is no longer a functioning organization, its work and the ideas that came out of those first meetings are noteworthy and, in my opinion, reflect current trends in construction management.
These dials of values and how they are monitored and controlled are illustrated in the following list. The Collaborative Process Institute describes them as follows:
Cost It is essential to predict and control what the construction project will cost. Costs are established, targeted, and controlled by means of an estimate or budget. As the work progresses, expenditures for materials,
