Construction Management Issues

Construction Management refers the study and practice of the managerial and technological aspects of the construction industry (including construction, construction science, construction management, and construction technology), or to a business model where one party to a construction contract serves as a construction consultant, providing design and construction advice.

The construction industry includes three parties: an owner, a designer (called the architect/engineer), and a builder (called a contractor). Traditionally, there are two contracts between the three parties as they work to plan, design, and construct the project. The first contract is the owner-designer contract, which involves planning, design, aspects of construction. The second contract is the owner-contractor contract, which involves construction. An indirect, third-party relationship exists between the designer and the contractor due to the 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 a additional party engaged in a project to act as advisor to all three parties. The construction manager's role is to provide construction advice to a designer, design advice to a constructor, and both construction and design services, such as materials and subcontracts as necessary, to an owner.

Agency CM is a fee based service in which the construction manager is responsible exclusively to the owner and acts in the owner's interests at every stage of the project.

In the UK the industry is regulated though Construction Design Management regulations, which prevent incidents on construction sites and civil engineering structures once completed. Most of the construction trades are now covered by the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), which is becoming the industry standard.

Different schemes still exist:

CPCS stands for the Construction Plant Competence Scheme - a card scheme to prove the skills of plant operator. It is directed by a management board of employers, trade unions, federations and training providers who consult the rest of the industry and set standards on the scheme

BES : Building Engineering Services division of CITB-ConstructionSkills. To provide training, assessment and certification for individuals operating in Gas, Electric, Water, Oil, Refrigerant and Steam industries.

Construction engineering concerns the planning and management of construction of structures such as highways, bridges, airports, railroads, buildings, dams, and reservoirs. Construction of such projects requires knowledge of engineering and management principles and business procedures, economics, and human behavior. Construction engineers engage in the design of structures temporary, cost estimating, planning and scheduling, materials procurement, selection of equipment, and cost control.

Construction software referes to a broad range of computer software applications designed for businesses in the construction, real estate development, civil engineering, and architecture industries. Applications function in the operations and management of construction projects,

http://www.acce-hq.org/ American Council for Construction Education

http://cmaanet.org/ Construction Management Association of America

http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/ non-profit making organisation

http://www.bpf.org.uk/ British Property Federation

http://www.cic.org.uk The Construction Industry Council (CIC) representative forum for the professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the construction industry.

http://www.constructionskills.net/ ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council for construction.

http://www.cscs.uk.com/ Construction Skills Certification Scheme

construction contracts manager - general building contractors - construction consultant - construction management contracts - contractor construction -
construction contractors - building consultant - building contracts - building maintenance contractors