Why Project Managers Are So Important In Construction

When it comes to construction project management, there are a lot of things that make up the bigger picture. The project managers take on many responsibilities to ensure the completion of a successful construction project.

Now, let’s explore their role and why they are so important to this success.

The Role of Project Managers in Construction

Project managers manage a large array of different aspects throughout the entirety of a contract. Depending on the stage of the contract the role evolves from the pre and post tender to the final close out of the project. In most scenarios the project managers scope of responsibilities is vital to the entire process.

Project managers in construction don’t only manage things like time, cost, and quality. They are also there to oversee every detail that contributes towards the success of their undertaking: a completed project build. A successful project manager in construction will ensure that their team meets deadlines, reaches targets, and adheres to set budgets.

A construction project requires planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure. It is the project manager who takes on the lead role in each of these aspects. They also take on the responsibilities of managing day-to-day activities and client relations.

They are there to keep track of the project at hand, and to report back to management and clients on the progress of the project. Overall, they are integral in connecting the team with a myriad of moving parts.

Why Are They So Important?

1. Time management

A leading responsibility for any project manager is time management of the construction project. Project managers will have an in-depth view and knowledge of how the project is to be built, as this will have a significant impact on the construction processes that are used on site and thus affect the project plan/ schedule.

The intricate knowledge of the projects critical path and the ability to report back to stakeholders on progress of the contract, not only keeps the contract within its required timeframe, but maintains a good overview of the project and allows for protective measures to be put in place if progress was delayed for any reason.

2. Ensuring Project Success

As we have mentioned, project managers take on the main role when it comes to the following steps:

• Planning
• Execution
• Monitoring
• Control
• Closure

Projects can only run smoothly if all of these steps are executed appropriately and this leads to project success

This is another reason why project managers in construction are so important. They are fully responsible for whether or not the project achieves its mission with as few snags as possible. However, if problems do arise, (this is construction at the end of the day), it’s the processes and procedures that are implemented by the project management team that will assist in rectifying and correcting the mistakes and get the project back on track to achieve project success.

3. Safeguarding strong relationships through effective communication

Client relations are key, and it is again the project manager who takes on the role of keeping the relationship between the construction company and its clients as optimal as possible. They will report back to the clients and identify any possible delays and updated progress of the project.

This is extremely important when it comes to ensuring that requests are granted timeously and that clients are aware of any impediments that could possibly be caused by communication shortfalls, e.g. RFI’s not being answered within the contractual timeframes.

Good communication can lead to great client contractor relations and could lead to beneficial treatment for any future tenders or projects. It will always do a company well to satisfy the needs and wants of their clients. This can lead to referrals and help on more construction projects.

4. Providing a winning formula

When someone oversees so many moving parts, they are bound to pick up patterns and trends that will help the company to optimize their future projects. Because project managers must monitor, control, and report, they will have full visibility into the inner workings of a project. Lessons learnt from previous projects are an industry norm, and experience counts greatly within the construction industry. Identifying and maintaining winning formulas are key to future success.

Project managers, with their experience garnered and training, are able to identify where things could possibly go wrong and work on how to make amendments or bring on positive outcomes for these arising issues.

With the correct software to aid in identifying and mitigating problems they can identify trends and spot processes that they need to streamline or improve. As a result, they can contribute to the improvement of the company and its systems in the long run.

Final Thoughts

It is clear that project managers play an important role in the success of construction projects. They keep everything running smoothly and make sure the project is on track throughout every stage.

For the best results, why not use a built-for-purpose solution that can make project management easier and more efficient? Take a look at our range of construction software solutions that will help your project managers boost the success of each project.