Construction Management

Typically, the construction industry includes three parties: an owner, a designer (called the architect/engineer), and the builder (called the contractor). Traditionally, there are two contracts between these three parties as they work together to plan, design, and construct the project. The first contract is the owner-designer contract, which involves planning, design, and possibly, some aspects of construction. The second contract is the owner-contractor contract, which involves construction. An indirect, third-party relationship exist between the designer and the contractor due to these two contracts.

An alternate contract or business model replaces the two traditional contracts with three contracts: owner-designer, owner-construction manager, and owner-builder. The construction management company becomes an additional party engaged in the project to act as an advisor to all three parties. The construction manager`s role is to provide construction advice to the designer, design advice to the constructor, and both construction and design services, such as materials and subcontracts as necessary, to the owner.