Communication with Contractors

It is not possible to overstress the role of communication in every construction project. The most common reason for construction disputes is a breach in communication and expectations. Depending on the size of your project, the hub of communications could be the Estate or Property Manager, or it could be a large enough project to warrant the retention of a professional Owners Representative. Concerted effort is necessary to facilitate communications between the team members. This includes the Architect and Contractor, but many other professionals are required as well: engineers, permit & entitlements expediter, interior designer, communications & computer system designers & installers, furnishing installers, landscape designers, etc. A construction project has an enormous number of “moving parts”: A successful project demands that the professionals involved are experienced, appropriate, have the same mind-set, are team players with complimentary skill sets--and that they are managed to bring out their best work to meet the vision and goals of the project.

It is critical that you establish a clear chain of communication and command for the input and distribution of information. All requests for information, change order requests, and directives to and from the Client should be introduced in writing and addressed through proper channels to ensure issues are responded to by the right party without delaying progress, and captured and documented for the project.

As professional project managers, it is our job to assemble the optimum team, coordinate the design and engineering disciplines properly, and skillfully execute the planning and preconstruction phases. With this type of careful, proactive attention to detail, problems can be anticipated and mitigated. The contractors can then accomplish the project smoothly, on time and within budget. During the Construction phase, a continued presence on site serves to monitor the contractors’ work, coordinate the consultants, mitigate change orders, perform quality control inspections and be completely on top of the budget and schedule.

Stonemark Construction Management . 290 Maple Court Suite 120 . Ventura, CA 93003 . 800-844-9240