Construction Management
“Pioneer construction managers know that CM is not a person, it is a multidiscipline organization with specialized capabilities and human resources. The level and range of expertise with the resource group are fundamental to the success of a CM project or program.” – C. Edwin Haltenhoff, Fundamentals and Practices “The CM Contracting System”.
Learn more about Construction Management Agency and Construction Management at Risk by clicking on the links to the left.
As your Construction Manager, CMSWillowbrook is YOUR ADVOCATE!
Unbiased advice, responsive only to the owner’s interests and dedicated exclusively to delivering the best possible finished project? That’s the goal of construction management.
In the CM approach, the Construction Manager works for you on a fixed fee basis, and has no stake in the multitude of construction contracts and obligations that make up a typical large construction project.
Not affected by any conflicting interest, the Construction Manager represents you in such crucial areas as:
- Release and use of funds throughout the project
- Project scheduling
- Control of the scope of work
- Optimum use of other firms’ talents and resources
- Avoiding delays, changes, disputes and cost overruns
- Optimum flexibility in contracting and procurement
- Assuring the project is built to specifications to meet your needs.
Construction Managers provide specific expertise for all facets of the delivery process (pre-bond, planning, design, construction, etc.) without having to retain individuals on the payroll for specific tasks. By involving a professional Construction Manager from the earliest stages of your project, you maximize your chances to achieve a smooth and trouble-free construction process and a facility that meets your needs.
Before launching a project, your Construction Manager can help you reach sound decisions in such areas as:
- General project characteristics and performance requirements
- Site analysis and selection
- Coordination with ongoing school activities and other public and community concerns
- Development of a preliminary budget and comprehensive master schedule
- Apportionment of general funding among a number of individual projects according to specific project needs
- Establishment of a management information and reporting system to meet your requirements
- Development of detailed and complete bid documents to assure timely, responsive and comparable bids, while avoiding questions and protests
- Assistance in reviewing and analyzing bids and selecting contractors
In the design phase:
CMSWillowbrook will help you:
- Perform life-cycle cost analyses and other review to maximize the return on your construction investment
- Coordinate your technology implementation strategy with your construction plan to assure that your finished building will truly be equipped to deliver the support current and future needs
- Develop a detailed design schedule and supervise its implementation
- Review design in progress to assure construct-ability with minimal changes and fewer problems in the field
- Develop detailed component cost estimates at every design submittal
During the bid process:
As your CM we will:
- Conduct pre-bid conferences to clarify the project’s needs and assure responsive bids
- Assure that all bid documents are clear and all questions are answered
- Help you evaluate and compare bids
- Recommend bidders for contract award
While the construction is underway:
- CMSWillowbrook will be your eyes and ears, and most of all, your advocate. A professional CM will:
- Assure that all contractors, subcontractors and other participants fully understand the project’s design and requirements at every stage
- Deliver timely and clear reports to you concerning construction progress, milestones, and other elements
- Manage the change order process for maximum effectiveness while minimizing delay and costs
- Monitor the construction process to anticipate difficulties, resolve issues early, and keep the work flowing
- Administer progress payments to assure that work milestones are being met and that all current expenses are paid in a timely manner
- Assure that the contractor provides a safe workplace, both for project workers and, in renovations, for students and other personnel who continue to use the facility during construction
- Eliminate the need to retain increased staff after the “burst” of construction activities; thereby reducing future operating and payroll costs when the construction has been completed
- Coordinate the final stages of construction, including contractors’ punch lists and similar tasks that must be completed, often in a very compressed time period, before your new school can welcome its first students
- Help you plan for installation of systems, furniture, and other resources to be sure everything is ready when it needs to be. The “first day of school” is an inflexible deadline and your professional CM will help you meet it.