SWIM WITH THE SHARKS – Without Being Eaten Alive has been one of the top selling business books of the last few years.  Author Harvey Mackay colorfully counsels us on how to outsell, out-manage, out-motivate, and out-negotiate our competition.  We can all learn from him.

    For most Owners, during the process of planning, designing, developing, constructing, and furnishing their facilities, there are plenty of sharks in the waters.  Few have the time to personally manage the process effectively, and with today’s emphasis on streamlining staff and cutting overhead, there is often little or no in-house staff with the expertise to keep the project on track.  Increased costs, delays, and poor quality can literally “eat you alive.”

    How can Owners navigate these shark-infested waters?  By engaging independent professional assistance from a Construction Manager, the Owner gets the help needed to produce a project that is on budget, on time, and with the specified quality.  A Construction Manager represents only the needs of the Owner, serving as its agent in coordinating development activities, planning and design, and construction and furnishing of the project.  An effective Construction Manager brings in-depth experience from all phases of design and construction, and uses this background to manage all members of the project team.  The costs of professional construction management services are usually much less than the savings realized by the project.

    Savings are greatest when the Construction Manager is hired at the start of the project, when the project is just a “gleam in the eye.”  The Construction Manager leads the set up and execution of budgets, master plans and schedules, and management reporting systems.  After assisting in the selection of the design team, the Construction Manager works with the Owner and the Design Professional to determine the program needs and to develop cost and schedule evaluations of alternative methods to meet those needs.  Code and constructibility reviews and value engineering are undertaken.  By guiding the team through this early part of the process, sometimes gently persuading and sometimes insisting, opportunities for saving time and money are maximized.

    The Construction Manager directs the selection of the construction team, using bidding or negotiations as the situation demands.  Using computer-based systems, the Construction Manager pro-actively monitors and manages costs during the construction phase by forecasting the likely cost of proposed scope changes, weather delays, building code revisions, etc.    This allows the Owner to deal with issues ahead of time and better choose how to spend the money allocated for the project.   Schedules are monitored and managed to help keep the Contractor on time, and to coordinate the phasing of the project with the needs of the Owner.  The Construction Manager works with the Design Professionals to insist on quality work from the trade contractors.  A Construction Manager must have “hands-on” experience to have the credibility to manage and direct the Contractor for the benefit of the Owner.