Delivery Approach

In part three of his series of articles, Richard Sitnik of PinnacleOne (Lorman Education Services) points out the services a Project Management\CM can provide:

"If you are an owner, while you can't get around risks, it is possible to reduce them to an acceptable level. When given appropriate responsibility and the ability to provide effective leadership, Project Managers/CMs as Advisor promote project success through informed, experience-based decision making, and well-disciplined and regimented project controls.

The Project Manager/CM as Advisor can provide a wide range of services to the owner throughout the design, bidding, negotiation, and construction phase of the project. A number of these are as follows:

• perform needs assessments

• provide direction on alternate project delivery systems

• assist in the selection of appropriately qualified consultants

• manage governmental agency approvals

• identify and manage risks

• anticipate potential problems before they become costly

• produce master budgets and schedules

• establish project controls

• control costs

• perform quality controls

A Project Manager/CM as Advisor's maximum value occurs when they are engaged well in advance of design starting to establish controls, including budgets and master schedules. This contributes to more efficient designs, the less likelihood of surprises to the owner on bid day, and fewer change orders in the field.

Lack of factual, timely, and unbiased decisions can be one of the biggest causes of delays, cost overruns, and a general failure to meet project objectives. Project Management/CM as Advisor generally prevents this from occurring by providing the owner support and truly independent advice and counsel, helping the owner make informed decisions, and coordinating and balancing the multiple agendas and competing interests of the design professionals, contractors, and owners."

Well spoken, Mr. Sitnik!

Delivery Approach - Design Build v. CM at Risk

Do you agree with this assessment of Design\Build v. CM at Risk? As published Petina Killiany of PinnacleOne in the Lorman Educational Services topic of September, she states:

The design/bid/build approach is generally best suited for projects when:

• The owner desires the protection of a well-understood design and construction process;

• The owner desires the lowest price on a competitive bid basis for known quantity and quality of the project;

• The owner has the time to invest in a linear, sequential, design/bid/build process;

• The owner needs total design control.                 As for CM:

• CM @ Risk has several advantages over design/bid/build:

  • Because construction can often begin before the design is complete, the overall project duration can be shorter;

  • The owner generally gets better estimates of the ultimate cost of the project during all phases of the project;

  • The owner benefits from a contractor perspective in making decisions on the trade-offs during the design phase between cost, quality, and construction duration;

  • Constructibility and design reviews by the contractor prior to bidding often result in better designs and lower trade contractor contingencies and bids;

  • The expertise of the construction manager in pre-qualifying trade contractors helps achieve better performance and workmanship by the trades;

  • The architect and contractor working together during the design portion can result in a better team effort after the GMP is established.