ABOUT US
Who are we?
We are a non-profit organization servicing the Northern California construction industry from San Luis Obispo up to the Oregon border. The Board of Directors and Committee members are made up of volunteers with the mission to promote and encourage the growth and development of Construction Management (CM) as a professional service and to enhance the quality of the CM practice at the regional level. Proceeds from all programs go to a scholarship fund to help local Rising CMs through their education.
What is Construction Management?
Construction Management, or CM, is a service that uses specialized, project management techniques to manage the planning, design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its end. e purpose of CM is to control a project’s time, cost and quality. CM is compatible with all project delivery systems, including design-bid-build, design-build, CM At-Risk and Public Private Partnerships. No matter the setting, a CM’s responsibility is to the owner, and to a successful project.
What Do Construction Managers Do?
Every construction project features some amount of CM. However, professional construction managers (CMs) are typically reserved for capital projects which are generally lengthy, large-scale, high budget undertakings like commercial real estate, transportation infrastructure, hospitals, industrial facilities, etc. The project’s commissioning entity is the owner. Few owners maintain the staff resources necessary to pay close, continuing attention to each of the projects details – yet these details can make or break a project. As such, these projects require a dedicated management professional.
At its core, a capital project is usually made up of three parties (excluding the CM):
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The Owner, who commissions and subsequently funds the project.
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The General Contractor, who oversees day-to-day operations and manages specialized subcontractors.
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The Architect, who designs the project.
CMs are not general contractors or constructors and typically do not perform the actual construction tasks themselves, but rather act as an advisor to or agent of the owner, charged with assuring projects progress smoothly and achieve the owner’s business objectives. To control a project’s time, cost, and quality, the CM leads a team of specialists to oversee different aspects of construction project management to include scheduling, safety, cost estimating, design, quality assurance, value engineering, commissioning, construction inspection, risk management, and more.
Construction Managers adhere to CMAA’s Construction Management Standards of Practice which establishes industry standards of service and serves as a guide to the range of services that constitute professional construction management.