WHAT DOES A COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER DO?
Published: July 30, 2024 - The Commercial Construction Project Manager manages commercial construction projects from initial estimation to completion, including site work, stakeholder meetings, and all phases of construction. This position coordinates with field crews to ensure timely and accurate project scheduling and budgeting, while also overseeing submittals, contracts, and change orders. This role maintains comprehensive project documentation within the company’s contract management system, ensuring all project goals in terms of cost, schedule, and quality are met.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Commercial Construction Project Manager
1. Commercial Construction Project Manager Duties
- Customer Relationship Management: Manage customer relations and have daily communication with all clients that have active projects with us.
- Staffing Needs Analysis: Determine staff requirements to maintain desired service levels.
- Recruitment and Training: Hire and train great people to become excellent team members.
- Goal Setting: Work with employees to set their goals and objectives.
- Staff Development: Identify opportunities to further train & develop staff in order to maximize their potential.
- Business Process Evaluation: Evaluate current business procedures and systems for dispatch, client interaction and work flow.
- Operational Efficiency Planning: Plan and implement procedures or systems to maximize operating efficiency.
- Performance Analysis: Review performance data, financials, and sales activities to monitor and measure productivity, good progress, and employee activity levels.
- Daily Operations Coordination: Conduct daily meetings with project administrator and dispatcher to obtain current work order details.
- Training Program Development: Schedule and develop monthly training program for dispatchers and Service Technicians.
2. Commercial Construction Project Manager Details
- Performance Evaluation: Quarterly review service tech performances
- Task Time Analysis: Evaluate time spent by employees per task for use in employee evaluations
- Personnel Management: Review personnel requirements for each project and fill positions or outsource to subcontractors
- Project Scheduling: Ensure project schedules are created according to company policies and client requests
- Schedule Adherence: Ensure project schedules are followed
- Budget Management: Ensure that project costs remain within the budget set for the project
- Additional Duties: Carry out other duties and responsibilities, and assist other company personnel
- Education Planning: Must have a written continued education plan
- Training Documentation: Create and maintain comprehensive employee training manuals
- Safety Enforcement: Enforce safe work environment in the field and in the shop as per safety manuals and OSHA standards
- Career Tracking: Actively track and pursue written career goals
3. Commercial Construction Project Manager Responsibilities
- Estimating Process: Assist in the estimating process.
- Project Construction: Build the project from the ground up, including initial site work.
- Field Crew Partnership: Partner with the field crew to ensure project delivery and accurate scheduling/budgeting.
- Stakeholder Meetings: Lead update meetings with all stakeholders.
- Project Management Assistance: Assist project management with submittals, subcontracts, change orders, pay applications, and closeout documentation.
- Project Documentation: Responsible for initiating and maintaining accurate and timely project documentation.
- Contract Management: Maintain/manage project(s) within the company’s contract management system.
- Preconstruction Assistance: Assist with project management and preconstruction, and in some cases, concurrent projects.
- Customer Communication: Assist with communication with both internal and external customers to ensure that project goals, cost, schedule, and quality are achieved.
- Change Documentation: Ensure proper documentation and review of all project-related changes/modifications.
4. Commercial Construction Project Manager Job Summary
- Operational Process Management: Directing and coordinating operational processes, management, contractual, and financial activities relating to projects.
- Relationship Management: Maintain Owner, Architect, Subcontractor & Vendor relations.
- Leadership and Support: Provide leadership, support, and direction to the management team in the proposal and estimate processes and delivery.
- Contract Documentation: Maintain General Contract and Subcontract Documents.
- Quality Assurance and Control: Maintain Quality Assurance and Control.
- Administrative Procedures: Establish and monitor administrative procedures.
- Staff Training: Organize work and train staff organization on projects.
- Payment and Collection: Assure applications for payment and collection are properly disbursed.
- Project Progress Reporting: Keep management informed on the progress of projects and budget.
- Project Accountability: Accountable for project completion and financials, Critical Success Factors, and Customer Satisfaction Results.
5. Commercial Construction Project Manager Accountabilities
- Client Relationship Management: Collaborate with the Project Management Director and with the project’s Senior PM (if assigned) to develop effective client relationships and maintain a thorough understanding of the client’s needs, expectations, and concerns about the project.
- Client Relations Activities: Participate in client relations activities from initial pursuit of work through the lifecycle of a project and work with the Director of Business Development in business development responsibilities and processes.
- Advocate Client Interests: Communicate and advocate client interests with the project team and subcontractors through all phases of the project.
- Effective Communication: Deliver timely and effective communication with the owners and architects on project status and plan modifications in response to questions or concerns.
- Project Delivery Plan Management: Lead and manage the Project Delivery Plan (PDP).
- Variance Tracking: Ensure that variances in the PDP are tracked.
- Project Leadership: Provide leadership and accountability through proper reporting means and methods, and communication for project estimates, cost status summaries, and schedules throughout the lifecycle of the project.
- Project Financial Management: Manage and oversee project financials throughout the life of a project and provide complete, accurate, and timely financial forecasts.
- Contract Administration: Oversee all aspects of contract administration including writing, change requests, invoices, and progress payments.
- Accounts Receivable Management: Track and follow up on project progress payments, aging reports, and all accounts receivable concerns.
- Job Control Program Implementation: Implement and utilize Sellen’s Tight Job Control Program on each project.