What Does a Construction Manager Do?

On a live project the construction manager runs the schedule and the cost picture together. That means a lookahead schedule the trades agree to, a monthly cost report that separates committed, spent, and forecast, and a log of the decisions that are waiting on someone. During design the same person reviews drawings for buildability and pricing, which is why construction managers read RFIs, submittals, and specifications every week.

In the field the work is coordination more than supervision of individual crews. The trades each manage their own people. The construction manager makes sure the drywall crew is not waiting on above-ceiling inspection, that long-lead equipment has been ordered against the schedule, and that the owner hears about a problem before the owner finds it.

In agency construction management the CM is the owner’s agent. The owner signs the contracts with the architect and with each trade contractor, and the CM manages them for a fee. The CM gives advice and is accountable for how well it manages, but does not guarantee the price or the schedule.

In construction management at risk the CM contracts with the trades and typically commits to a guaranteed maximum price once the design is far enough along to price. The CM is then a builder with a stake in cost and schedule, and the owner’s advisor role usually moves to an owner’s representative. The contract, not the title on the business card, determines which arrangement applies.

A general contractor holds the construction contract and answers for means and methods. A CM at risk looks similar from the field but is engaged earlier and is paid for preconstruction services. A project manager is a position inside a firm, and a project manager at a contractor does very different work from one at an architect.

An owner’s representative acts for the owner across design and construction decisions. An agency CM overlaps heavily with that role, so an owner who hires both should write down which one runs the owner-architect-contractor meeting and which one owns the cost report.

The work runs on documents. The construction manager reads the contract and general conditions to know who may approve what, tracks RFIs and submittals against the schedule, reviews pay applications and change orders, and maintains the punch list through closeout. Most disputes on a project trace back to a document someone did not read, or read an older version of.

That is why the record matters as much as the schedule. A decision made in a meeting that never reaches the drawing, the specification, or a change order will be built the old way, and the construction manager is the person expected to have caught it.

Most construction managers hold a bachelor’s degree in construction management, engineering, or architecture, and learn the job through on-the-job training, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. Many move up from assistant project manager or superintendent roles, and some earn the Certified Construction Manager credential from the Construction Management Association of America.

The path matters for a reason that is practical rather than credential-driven. A construction manager who has run a field operation reads a schedule differently from one who has only reviewed one, and owners tend to want both views on the team.