There was a time when architects, builders and clients were the only people involved in completing small projects, and that was known as the triumvirate of building. On the larger projects, quantity surveyors and mechanical engineering consultants were brought in to complement the team. As far as I remember, sometime during the 1970s, the term “project manager” was coined as a new rank of professional acting as an information filter between the client and the architect; on some varied, fast-tracked projects they also helped the client with issues which wouldn’t be within the architects brief like liaising with the buildings end user.
So what’s happened?! Now bricklayers and carpenters are calling themselves builders, but because they’re ill-equipped to deal with managing the other trades or controlling building costs etc so the “project managers” are stepping in. They’re taking on responsibility for the project being built on time, and to an agreed cost as well as organising the various trades. It seems to me that they have become what we used to call “The Builder”, I think we need this new breed, given that builder who properly manages a project are difficult to come by, and architects have lost their traditional role of contacts management; that’s often because the clients aren’t willing to pay the extra costs that this service brings. It’s interesting because sometimes the client is willing to pay for a project manager instead. Don’t get me wrong, there are many builders who are competent at carrying out the traditional role, we work with many; but with a traditionally competent builder, there wouldn’t be any need for a project manager.
I understand the concern that comes with these projects which leads to taking on a project manager, there are now people from all kinds of backgrounds describing themselves as project managers; as long as they operate within their own fields such as IT or the petrochemical industry they’ll be fine but I do wonder how they’d manage the process of building.
My advice to all of you taking on a project manager is to make sure they have a proven, and relevant track record.
Written by Tony Keller. Building Tectonics.
