We’ve all been there; organising an event, a trip or a small project can be stressful and overwhelming. There are multiple moving parts to consider, organise and effectively work together and the stress of this can make your events, trips and activities become tinged with negative thoughts and feelings. And don’t even get me started on the feelings of frustration when something goes wrong!
So, why are you still allowing this to happen on your construction projects?
Below, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a Project Manager, what they bring to the project and why they should be used.
But the real question is, are you going to employ a Project Manager or suffer through the stress, frustration, and overwhelming feelings your project could bring about?
What Is a Project Manager?
A Project Manager is a professional person who is responsible for the planning, organisation, and execution of a construction project. They make sure that said project is delivered on time, within the budget allowed and within the scope of works commissioned and agreed upon at the beginning of the process. It’s all very technical and OCD, but it is important for many projects, regardless of the industry.
To any aspiring Project managers, the route to this job role may be through experience only. This shouldn’t worry employers or wannabe Project Managers; experience via working in that environment, and being hands on, can sometimes be more beneficial. This way, you’re able to experience the role of a Project Manager first-hand, what their day-to-day responsibilities are, what problems they may face and how they solve them in real-world, first-hand experience.
That’s not to say that qualifications, degrees, and certifications are not a waste of time. An aspiring Project Manager may choose to complete a degree in Project Management, but other additional qualifications may also be chosen, such as, PRINCE2 which is a structured methodology, and commonly used for end-to-end project management, and is available at foundation, practitioner, and agile level.
Once a period of five years of experience has been achieved in the role of Project Management, an individual can apply to become a part of the Association of Project Managers (APM).
How Do They Help Your Project?
Project Managers can use highly sought-after skills, characteristics, and traits, along with knowledge, to ensure your project is working effectively, within the budget set, and according to the schedule of works that has been agreed upon.
Some of these skills and traits include time management, organisation, negotiation, risk management, leadership, and communication. By using all the above traits together in unison, they can enable your project to run as smoothly as possible. Not every project runs smoothly, there are problems, causes of concern and other impacting decisions and behaviours that mean your construction project can hit a problem or stall. However, the Project Manager is there to make sure that these problems are solved and eradicated before too much damage has been inflicted upon the project and ensure that the smooth running of your project is continued.
Alongside the above traits and skills, the Project Manager has several responsibilities regarding their role on your construction project.
These can include:
- Defining the project
- Scheduling
- Budgeting
- Risk assessment
- Project control
- Providing direction and support to the construction team
- Quality checking
- Reporting progress, problems, and solutions
- Assessing the results of the project
- Closing the project
- Managing and working with multiple stakeholders
Not only are Project Managers responsible for a multitude of activities and bring much needed skills and traits to your project, but they also bring three key elements to the process.
- They remove and reduce the stress you may face during the project – instead of organising all the moving parts, bodies and elements of the construction process yourself, a Project Manager takes all this and relives you of this job. They are there to make sure the inner workings of the project work smoothly and efficiently with their extensive knowledge =, experience and ability to ‘compose the orchestra’ of the project.
- They ensure that proper coordination is met and withheld – with their knowledge and experience, they can coordinate and organise the multitude of workings that are brought together during every project, coordinate the members of the construction team and their consultants, and make sure that everyone is aware of their roles, what they need to be doing and to what timeline they are working towards.
- Project Managers are the right-hand man/woman to your project – they organise all the activities, are there as the first line of defence against problems and can take the project forward without the need to involve yourself.
As we’ve stated above, the role of a Project Manager is extensive, and relies upon multiple organisational skills, characteristics, and traits, alongside working knowledge and experience of construction projects. Combined, these skills and knowledge enable them to successfully push forward the project to completion, with minimal problems and delays on their behalf.
So, again, the question is, are you going to employ a Project Manager on your next project?