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The
following is a brief exposure at our profession, what we
do and the history of inception.
The goal of the Construction Management's profession and
its main objective are illustrated as follows:

The
Construction Manager's main role is to complete a project
ON TIME, with GOOD QUALITY, and ON BUDGET. Moreover, a project
that is completed on time but with poor quality or a higher
budget, or if it is completed within budget but late, then
this project has not been properly managed. Therefore, the
Construction Manager's main responsibility and concern are
to always watch for all three goals without jeopardizing
any one of them.
The project Manager is the technical eyes and ears of the
owner and his main concern is the protection of the owner's
interests. Therefore, the Construction Manager is sometimes
also called the "Owner's Representative". His
mission is usually to:
Review
the project's design and the coordination of trade.
Set up a budget and periodically monitor it.
Set up an initial construction schedule and continuously
update it.
Bid, negotiate, and contract the work.
Implement a quality assurance and quality control
program.
Monitor monthly payments and progress of work.
Periodically revise and update the budget, make the
necessary adjustments to keep the project on track.
Ensure the overall delivery and operation of the facility.
Construction
is a manufacturing industry that entails the involvement
of hundreds of items that must fit together perfectly in
the right sequence and at the right time. It is, however,
a non-typical type of manufacturing as each building is
different from the other. Therefore, special attention and
coordination should be given when producing such a non-typical
product.
The construction industry is usually among a country's main
economic indicators. Investors, businessmen, and manufacturers
look at this indicator when investing in a city or country
as the construction industry affects a wide variety of businesses
from sand quarries to steel manufacturing, aluminum fabrication,
carpentry, appliance dealership, furniture shops, etc.
The history of Construction Management is tracked back to
the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge (1869-83) when the
engineer in charge, Washington Roebling, suffered from a
crippling sickness and was confined to bed. He continued
to observe the work with field glasses from his Brooklyn
apartment. In order to assure the success of the project,
he introduced a reliable communication and management system
to help him track the three major functions of the project:
Opening the bridge on time,
Assuring its quality to last for a very long time,
and
Not exceeding the budget given to this very first
suspended bridge project.
With
the construction boom of the 1950's, 60's and even 70's,
very large construction companies began to see the light
in many countries around the world. These companies had
their own concrete shops, carpentry, aluminum, plumbing,
and even electrical subdivisions. They carried out most
of the work with their own workforce and equipment. They
were called "General Contractors".
However, in the 1980's, the construction industry was questing
for higher quality, and with the economic slowdown it became
more specialized. Subcontractors began surging. Specialized
concrete contractors, Aluminum contractors, Electrical and
Mechanical companies, etc. were being set up.
General Contractors found it was more competitive to award
the work to these specialized companies while personally
supervising and managing them. The principles of subcontracting
became more appealing in the 90's when most General Contractors
became "Construction Managers".
The Standards of Construction Management became more elaborate
when owners and developers found their work to be more economical
and of a higher quality when using the construction management
method. Moreover, research teams and university studies
were incepted since the early 80's until Construction Management
became a viable profession.
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