Project Management and Administration

     Quality project manangement and administration are essential to the completion of a project, on budget and in a timely manner.  Management and administration are complimentary tasks that can involve overlapping personnel and processes.  Key players in project management and administration include the project manager, superintendent, engineer and the owner's representative. 

    Project Management: The judicious allocation and efficient use of resources to achieve the timely completion of a project within the established construction budget.

    Project Administration: Consists of the actions that are necessary to achieve the established project goals.  This may involve duties that are imposed by contract or that are required by good construction and business practices. 

     Project Manager: The person responsible for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the constraints of the project management triangle, which are cost, time, scope, and quality.  The project manager must be flexible and have the ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.

     Project Superintendent: Handles the day to day direction of the project operations.  The role of the superintendent also includes important quality control and subcontractor coordination responsibilities. On anything other than small projects, he/she is often assisted by a project engineer also employed by the construction company. The project manager and superintendent cooperate and share control effectively. Superintendents are almost universally stationed on the jobsite, while project managers are usually based in the contractor's office instead with part time on site responsibilities.

    Project Engineer:  The role of the project engineer can often be described as that of a liaison between the project manager and the technical disciplines involved in a project. The project engineer is also often the primary technical point of contact for the customer.

A project engineer's responsibilities include schedule preparation and resource forecasting for engineering and other technical activities relating to the project. They may also be in charge of performance management of vendors. They assure the accuracy of financial forecasts, which tie-in to project schedules, and ensure projects are completed according to project plans.

     Owner's Representative:  The duties of an owners' representative can vary greatly depending on the form of the contract, type of construction, and wishes of the owner.  Typical duties include such things as inspection and quality control, checking shop drawings, keeping job records, checking pay requests, attending project meetings, making location surveys, materials testing, processing change orders, preparing "As-Built" drawings and similar type functions.