What is Construction Program Management?
Construction Program Management is the systematic application of management and construction expertise to the planning, design, and construction process for the purpose of controlling the time, cost and quality of the project, and improving the educator’s satisfaction with the process.
What’s it all about?
Educators, first of all, must be more accountable for the educational success of the young people in their charge. Second, good well-planned facilities make that responsibility more possible. Someone must become accountable for ensuring that the allocated resources are used properly to develop the needed facilities. That accountability should be to the educational policy makers that allocate resources. Third, construction management is concerned with delivery. A capital construction project requires the participation of a variety of players, including policy makers, educational program planners, administrators, financial advisors, architects, engineers, planners, programmers, construction managers, maintenance personnel, and the end-users (pupils and teachers). Each group has different motivations and perspectives. Someone needs to lead, coordinate, and assume responsibility for integrating this array of talents into a successful project delivery team.
Elements of Construction Management
The following elements of effective construction management should be addressed regardless of whether the services are provided by district staff or a private sector firm. As each project is unique, there may be other project or district specific requirements to be addressed. The important thing is to realize there are many objectives your project delivery team needs to achieve. A systematic plan with adequate resources must be implemented to accomplish these objectives.
• Educational Management
Services provided by architects and construction management firms that guarantee that the educators’ facility desires and needs are accommodated and met in light of time, place, budget limitations, and quality control.
• Program Management
Services provided to a school district having a single major project or more than one project underway at the same time, and desiring to have a degree of criteria standardization, control consistency, reporting, and contract administration.
• Project Management
Services provided to a district during the planning design, and construction phases of a single project when the district intends to utilize contractor(s) to perform the construction.
• Construction Management
Services provided to a district during the stages of pre-referendum, design, bid/award, and construction phases of a project when the district holds a number of prime contracts with trade contractors who are managed by the Construction Manager on behalf of the district. †Click here for a PDF version of this document
