Construction Project Manager: role overview and how to qualify

The Construction Project Manager is responsible for a project in all its different phases. Find out about what kind of tasks are involved and how to qualify as a Construction Project Manager!

Construction Project Managers are certainly one of the most important roles in the construction industry. With specific software and an adequate BIM management system, they become responsible of all phases of the project.

But do we really know their tasks ans the career journey they should follow to cover this role? Let’s find out in this article.

What is a Construction Project Manager?

A Project Manager in the construction sector oversees a project execution from the beginning through the closeout phase.

Being those who know the entire project scope, from start to finish, Project Managers become a crucial part of the Coordination process. The delivery of the construction in full compliance with safety and structural regulations depends on them.

According to the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), Construction Project Managers are responsible for dealing with the various project stakeholders, including customers, designers, general contractors, contractors and subcontractors. They  lead a team of construction specialists with the ultimate goal of achieving quality constructions.

What tasks are covered by the Construction Project Manager?

A Project Manager’s main task in the AEC sector, is to ensure correct project implementation according to the expected timing, budget and quality requirements. In order to achieve these objectives, Construction Project Managers need to carry out multiple “sub-tasks”, including:

• understand customer requirements;
• negotiate and set necessary time, costs and resources for the implementation of the project;
• draw up a detailed coordination and management plan for each design phase;
• recruit and guide the project team;
• negotiate with contractors and suppliers;
• lead a multidisciplinary team;
• ensure cooperation and communication between the various stakeholders;
• supervise more than one project at the same time;
• guarantee cost management aspects, scheduling and quality standards for each project phase;
• periodically update customers and the various stakeholders on project advancement and progress;
• resolve any problems or delays;
• has great knowledge of the construction sector;
• draws up tender offers.

How to become a Construction Project Manager?

There are different ways to become a Project Manager in the construction sector and they may vary depending on your country.

In general, they may be required a degree in engineering or architecture and professional experience in the management field and technical skills closely related to the construction world.

In addition to having good technical skills, Construction Project Managers will also need to develop the so-called “Soft Skills” or those transversal skills, such as: communication skills, conflict mitigation, problem solving, great determination, leadership and business management skills too.

Finally, they should be able to evaluate the idea of obtaining a certification in Project Management through specific training programmes for the use of construction management platforms improving project organization and management.

What are the 5 strategies to become a successful Construction Project Manager?

We have seen how filling the role of Construction Project Manager requires different skills and competences, both technical and transversal. Filling this role is not easy and for this reason  here are 5 useful tips to follow:

1. Create a communication flow:
   communication is essential at every stage of the project. It keeps the various stakeholders up to date and ensure cooperation and collaboration in an increasingly multidisciplinary project perspective. The information content to be transmitted is considerable, so the most efficient way to cooperate is through specific BIM collaboration platforms.
2. Frequent scheduling:
   planning the upcoming phases of work in advance and always  creating an accurate schedule is very useful for Project Managers. This will help reaching the execution phase on time and predicting possible interference or problems that could arise and therefore being ready to solve them.
3. Observe and ask questions:
   it is very important to be 100% involved in the project, plan periodic site visits, keep up to date on the status of the work. Also, active communication with all the actors involved in the process is paramount.
4. Manage and fit the project budget:
   respecting the project budget is very important but, especially when it comes to large projects, it can be quite tedious and difficult task.
5. Update project documentation:
   managing project documents in the AEC sector can end up becoming a complex process with costly errors if not dealt with correctly. This implies that keeping documents under complete control becomes essential and Project Managers will certainly end up needing to rely on specific engineering document management software to create, organize, consult and share all project documents across a cloud-based ecosystem.

5 tips to become a successful Construction Project Manager

Luckily, Construction Project Managers can get some help by integrating the traditional design process with BIM methodologies that can provide advanced collaboration tools to cover the role of the Project Manager throughout the entire project life cycle, from planning to demolition.

That’s why you should start to look at the various solutions available in the world of BIM and use a BIM management system to ensure cooperation and collaboration at every stage of the project!