So just what does a construction manager do?

During introductions of KKG, Inc., a common question is “so just what does a construction manager do?”.  Showing our value added and providing concrete financial results, as a result of KKG’s professional contribution, is easy.  However, setting our work apart from the haze of consultation services sometimes requires a look back to see how we came to be and how construction management has become a vital component of the development process.

It is a new facet of development that but for our contribution, would have cost our clients more than $80 million that otherwise would have slipped away.

Real estate developers have existed in some form since the onset of population centers.  Designers and architects who provide the creative spark to the development process, have been working since the time of the pyramids.  Builders and contractors, likewise, have existed in one form or another for two millennia.  In contrast, independent professionals like construction managers are relative newcomers to the development and construction process.

This profession that has evolved in the last 30 years driven in part because of the growing complexity of technological, legal, and governmental strata that have been introduced to the process of designing and constructing present day urban structures.

Certainly, specialization of the process has led to a heightening of sophistication at each level.  A century ago ago, the architect served as the sole representative of the owner and developer, orchestrating a symphony of trades to reach the crescendo of a finished project.

The early 20th brought about the “general contractor,”  a professional administrator of the construction process, who rode herd over an assortment of “sub-contractors”.  By their nature and responsibility, general contractors became risk managers and delegators who, at the same time, still knew how to lead their troops to the vision dictated by the architect and designer on behalf of the developer.

By the 1980’s, the collaborative relationship had passed by the wayside.

General contractor were no longer the owner/developer’s, but instead in a defensive position of  in which they bore sole culpability when things didn’t go right. 

During this same period, the design profession grew equally myopic.  Cost and constructability oftentimes took a back seat to creativity and unique expression.  While this sometimes resulted in grand projects, it often generated projects that were simply not viable.

To make a long story short, what started as a collaborative process has evolved over a century of legal progression to one of accusation and liability.

Enter a new profession known as “construction management”. 

Some developers grew their own personnel from within.  Many found that to be inefficient, in that in-between projects that specialized player sat on the bench waiting for the next opportunity.  In other cases, in-house staff had specific skills, but not broad experience.  And these in-house construction managers often lacked the same expectation of performance because it is always harder to discharge an employee than an outside vendor.

As a result, most developers have turned to a growing cadre of veterans who decided to freelance with their skillsets and use their hard-won experience to represent developers rather than continue on as contractors.

Acting in this capacity, firms like KKG have had the unique opportunity to spread their team of professionals over a much broader array of projects than would ever be possible to do as a general contractor.  Consequently, experience quotient of a construction manager is typically much higher than that of the contractor they direct or in-house construction management personnel. 

It is those skill sets that yield the financial and efficiency of design results that have allowed a ground up, one employee office grow into one that has participated in 500 projects valued at more than $2 billion.

To do that, it took formulating a structure that compartmentalized into different practice areas: pre-construction and entitlement, utility expediting, constructability, costing, contract negotiation, construction oversight, change order management, quality control and close out.  Each field is staffed by professionals with experience in each field, just like a sports team where individual players with individual skills apply them on behalf of the larger team.

It is a profession that came into being through the demands of the marketplace that isn’t going away any time soon.