A construction project has a much better chance of being completed on budget and on time if an Owner’s Representative or Project Manager is brought in early, even when a general contractor has been selected. Early in the process it may appear that everything is fine and this extra person is unnecessary, but the benefits in the long run are great and will probably net in savings. Especially when peace of mind and predictability is enjoyed by the owner.
When hired as an Owner’s rep, also called Project Manager, I will quickly assess the situation and embark on the following tasks.
That first task would be to vet the current proposed contractor to see if he or she is a good bet for this project.
- Vetting the contractor:
- Check his financial and professional standings
- Inquire and verify as to his or her’s commitment and availability for this project
- Establish his experience, knowledge and skills
- Establish what systems if any will be used for budget and schedule management.
- Verify with contractor that key early steps such as site utilities are planned for.
- Vetting the major sub contractors and verifying they can fit our construction schedule.
If this contractor does not seem appropriate for this project, I have a comprehensive list of general contractors that we can select from and interview together.
After vetting the contractor, the following list would typically apply for my involvement in making sure that the project stays in control.
- Become familiar with the plans and specifications
- Verifying that the Budget is appropriate and sufficient for the planned work
- Analyze the contractor’s budget line by line item and compare to historic data
- Comparing the budget values to the proposed construction schedule duration. (e.g: is supervision enough)
- Review all plans and specifications
- Review all contracts with all subs and owner paid consultants
- Provide global budget
- Maintain and update global budget as needed
- Provide detailed construction schedule
- Maintain and update construction schedule as needed
- Weekly site meeting with Owner’s Rep and Builder.
- Twice monthly meeting with Owner’s rep, Architect, Contractor
- Verify all utility plans installation, temporary and permanent
- Provide recommendations for additional subcontractors as needed
- Review of all change orders and negotiating all outstanding change order issues
- Create punch lists of defects and variances from specifications for remedying
- Giving options to the design team when needed to potentially save money, including alternative construction techniques
- Reviewing all invoices and lien releases
- Managing final close out at completion:
- Collect all lien releases
- Collect all warranties
- Manage final payments to subs and contractors
- Prepare Operating Manual for owner’s future use and maintenance with emergency preparedness.
The cost of my involvement in performing all the tasks above will vary between 1% and 3% of construction costs depending on how much I am needed and the size of the project.
Whether it is me or another qualified Owner’s Representative or Project Manager, the owner will enjoy the benefits of having a construction expert on his side.