The Profession

The following is a brief exposure of our profession, what we do, and the history of its inception.

The goal of the Construction Manager’s profession and its main objective are illustrated as follows:
The Construction Manager’s main role is to complete a project ON TIME, with GOOD QUALITY, and ON BUDGET.
In fact, a project that is completed on time but with poor quality or with an excessive budget, or within budget but late, is a project that has not been properly managed.
Therefore, the Construction Manager’s main responsibility and concern are to always tend to all three goals without jeopardizing any of them.

The Project Manager acts as the technical eyes and ears of the owner, and his or her main concern is the protection of the owner’s interests. Therefore, the Construction Manager is sometimes also called the “Owner’s Representative”. His or her mission is usually to:

•Review the project’s design and the coordination among trades.
•Set up a budget and periodically monitor it.
•Prepare an initial construction schedule and continuously update it.
•Bid, negotiate, and contract the work.
•Implement a quality assurance and quality control program.
•Monitor monthly payments and progress of work.
•Periodically revise and update the budget, and make the necessary adjustments to keep the project on track.
•Ensure the overall delivery and operation of the facility.

The Construction Industry

Construction is a manufacturing industry that entails the involvement of hundreds of items that must fit together perfectly in the right sequence and at the right time.

It is, however, a non-typical type of manufacturing as each building is different from the other. Therefore, special attention and coordination should be given when producing such a non-typical product.

The construction industry is usually among a country’s main economic indicators. Investors, businessmen, and manufacturers look at this indicator when investing in a city or country as the construction industry affects a wide variety of businesses from sand quarries to steel manufacturing, aluminum fabrication, carpentry, appliance dealership, furniture shops, etc.

The history of Construction Management can be traced back to the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge (1869-83) when the engineer in charge, Washington Roebling, suffered from a crippling sickness and was confined to bed. He continued to observe the work with field glasses from his Brooklyn apartment. In order to assure the success of the project, he introduced a reliable communication and management system to help him track the three major functions of the project:
•Opening the bridge on time,
•Assuring its quality to last for a very long time, and
•Not exceeding the budget given to this very first suspended bridge project.
With the construction boom of the 1950’s, 60’s and even 70’s, very large construction companies began to see the light in many countries around the world. These companies had their own concrete shops, carpentry, aluminum, plumbing, and even electrical subdivisions. They carried out most of the work with their own workforce and equipment. They were called “General Contractors”.

 

However, in the 1980’s, the construction industry started seeking higher quality, and with the economic slowdown, the construction industry evolved into a more specialized form. Subcontractors started emerging such as specialized concrete contractors, aluminum contractors, electrical and mechanical companies, etc. 

Standards of Construction Management

General Contractors found it was more competitive to award the work to these specialized companies while personally supervising and managing them. The principles of subcontracting became more appealing in the 90’s when most General Contractors became “Construction Managers”.

The Standards of Construction Management became more elaborate when owners and developers found their work to be more economical and of a higher quality when using the construction management method. Moreover, numerous research teams and university studies were launched since the early 80’s before Construction Management became a viable profession.