architect, engineer, or contractor under separate or special agreement with the owner of a
construction project. Traditionally, these services are not a part of the architect’s or
engineer’s basic services, but additional services.
Often these services are included in a comprehensive service or construction
management contract. The construction management contract formalizes the arrangement
wherein responsibilities for coordination and accomplishment of project planning, design,
and construction are given to a single construction firm.
Construction management services include nine primary activities: developing and
operating the overall management system, estimating the project cost, project planning,
project scheduling, reduction of project time duration, resource management, project time
control, the project cost system, and contract administration.
Developing and operating the overall management system provides for the general
management of the project from its conception through any warranty period. It is the
oversight mechanism that ties all phases of a project together.
Estimating the project cost affords the owner and potential construction contractor a
measure of the complexity of a project as well as a way of seeing whether finances are
adequate. Project cost estimating is an iterative process that starts often at the time of
project conception and continues until the project completes its warranty period.
Project planning is a general planning process that details the steps by which a project
can be accomplished. Project planning often continues throughout the entire project
implementation period.
Project scheduling is tied to project planning and attempts to attach work or time
periods to each of the project implementation steps. Often the project scheduling process
is undertaken within the framework of a formal scheduling process, often incorporating
the critical path method (CPM).
Reduction of project time duration is the iterative process whereby the project
schedule is adjusted to reflect time constraints imposed either by the project owner or the
contractor and subcontractors.
Resource management looks at the availability of labor, equipment, and material
resources during the course of the project. Often resource management is a subfunction of
the project scheduling function and is accomplished during the scheduling function.
Project time control is a general management function that provides an accounting of
labor and equipment expenditures in terms of time and money on various project
activities. Often performed on-site by the clerk of the works, project time control is often
incorporated along with the resource management and project scheduling activities to
provide the owner and contractor with an overall project status report.
Project cost system is the activity that provides the project owner and contractor with
detailed information regarding the status of project expenditures. In addition to the
management of payments, the project cost system provides management of change orders
and other construction contract modifications.
Encyclopedia of 20th-century architecture 570
Contract administration is a general function that provides for a review of construction
contract provisions to ensure that both the owner and contractor comply with the
provisions of the contract between them.
According to the Construction Management Association of America, modern
construction management takes several forms, the most common being Traditional
Design Build, Construction Management at Risk, Multiple-Prime Contracting, and
Agency Construction Management Services.
Traditional Design Build remains the most common form. Here the owner engages an
architect or engineer who prepares the design of the complete facility, including
construction drawings, specifications, and contract packages. Once completed, the design
package is offered to interested general contractors who prepare bids for the work and
execute contracts with subcontractors to construct various specialty items. Usually, but
not always, the contractor submitting the lowest bid that meets all of the project
specifications is selected to perform the construction. This contractor is then responsible
for constructing the facility in accordance with the design. The architect-engineer may
also assist the owner in administering the construction contract, including determination
of project progress, for interim payments made to the contractor. Some disadvantages of
the Design Build Process are that the process is time-consuming, as all design work must
be completed before solicitation of the construction contract; the owner generally faces
exposure to contractor claims over design and construction issues because the owner
accepts liability for design in its contract with the contractor; the contractor pursues a
least-cost approach to completing the project, requiring increased oversight and quality
review by the owner; and the absence of a contractor’s input into the project design may
limit the effectiveness and constructibility of the design. Important design decisions
affecting both the types of materials specified and the means of construction may be
made without full consideration of a construction perspective.
Construction Management at Risk is a system adopted and promoted by many large
general contracting firms. It is similar to the Traditional Design Build approach in that
the construction manager acts as a general contractor during construction. Yet, although
the construction manager holds the risk of subletting the construction work to trade
subcontractors and guaranteeing completion of the project for a fixed, negotiated price
following completion of the design, in this approach the construction manager also
provides advisory professional management assistance to the owner before construction,
offering schedule, budget, and constructibility advice during the project-planning phase.
Thus, rather than dealing with a traditional general contractor, the owner deals with a
hybrid construction manager/general contractor. Besides providing the owner with the
benefit of preconstruction services, which may result in advantageous changes to the
project, the Construction Management at Risk form offers the opportunity to begin
construction before completion of the design. The primary disadvantages cited in the
Construction Management at Risk form involve the contractual relationship among the
architect, engineer, general contractor, and owner once construction begins. Once
construction is under way, the construction manager converts from a professional
advisory to the contractual role of the general contractor. Often, tensions over
construction quality, the completeness of the design, and effects on the schedule and
budget can arise because of this change. Interests and stakeholding can also become
similar to the Traditional Design Build system, and adversarial relationships may result.
Entries A–F 571
Multiple-Prime Contracting is a system in which the owner holds separate
contracts with contractors of various disciplines, such as general
construction, structural, mechanical, and electrical. In this system the
owner, or its construction manager, manages the overall schedule and
budget during the entire construction phase. Work in each construction
discipline is bid separately, allowing the flexibility of awarding
construction contracts on the first portions of the project as soon as the
respective aspect of design is completed. Furthermore, the system allows
the owner to have more control over the project schedule, as the owner
sets the schedule for bidding individual portions of the work. For example,
if an initial phase of construction is delayed, the owner may reduce
liability for delays by postponing the bidding of follow-on work. The
problems primarily arise from lack of coordination and contractor delay
issues. Although the general construction prime contractor is often given
contractual responsibility to coordinate the work among trades, including
schedule, this contractor lacks the contractual authority to dictate the
schedule of another contractor.
Agency Construction Management Services, or construction management-for-fee,
encompasses a range of services provided by a construction manager on behalf of an
owner. It is a common misconception that Agency Construction Management Services
represents a distinct project delivery system. In fact it consists of a distinct set of services
that are applicable to any project delivery system. These services can be used by the
owner as necessary to extend or supplement the owner’s own expertise and that of its
own staff and to manage the construction process to help address some of the shortfalls of
the project delivery system chosen. A construction manager working as an agent of the
owner primarily provides the benefit of independent, professional services provided on
the owner’s behalf throughout the project. In contrast to some other project participants,
the Agency Construction Management Services manager has no stake in the project—in
either its design or construction—and maintains a fiduciary duty to act on the owner’s
behalf and to provide impartial advice concerning the construction project. The Agency
Construction Management Services form may include predesign and design services such
as selection of a design team, budget and cost estimating, constructibility review (a
review of design plans and specifications will help the owner verify that the design as
presented is clear to the contractor, poses no construction conflicts, and is economically
feasible to build), value engineering, and contract bidding. Construction services include
construction inspection and surveillance, project controls, and change order review.
When considering whether to use Construction Management Services, an owner may
wish to consider the following items to determine the proper delivery method: type of
project, size of project, owner capabilities, time considerations, and likelihood of
changes.
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