American project management is based on free market economy. The American market drives down construction costs and improves the efficiency of projects. Every person has a specific role to play in each and every project. Specialist contractors at the top of their profession are included in each and every project who design the components that they apply, who are well experienced in using the techniques involved in their erection.
Americas skyscrapers and high rise buildings claim a big percentage of building works, which are built more for the customers profits than for them occupying the space. In contrast to the United Kingdom, American client’s usually take on the role of project manager. Most clients are developers and are therefore very knowledgeable of the processes involved in their project and of the relevant planning authorities. First and foremost the cost and speed of the project takes prescedence over quality.
Because of this important decisions are made quickly and they have very clear ideas of what they want and the requirements for their objectives to be met. They assess the feasibility of their project and raise the finances. They play a key role in decision making throughout the entire project and are responsible for making sure that the project objectives are met.
In the UK architects tend to be more involved in a project than their counterparts in America. Their job is to make sure the client gets the most cost effective solution to their objectives. In America the design of the buildings components lies with specialists and not in the hands of the architects. American architects have comprehensive knowledge of the property market they work in. they are knowledgeable of building costs, rental values, interest and inflation. Most projects will have four architects assigned to it. They will be a conceptual designer, senior designer, project manager and technical co-ordinator.
The project engineers work with the architects to develop the design, which allows them to define the building technology. They are responsible for ensuring the building can be erected safely and efficiently. Engineers must also try to maximise the useable floor space in the design to maximise rental income for the developer. Most of the time projects in the USA have a quick completion date. This leads to the highly competitive firms of specialist contractors using building components that they have used many times before and they know have a short delivery time. By the specialist contractor using their own component design a lot of the conflict between them and the architects is eliminated.
The specialist contractor knows how the parts work and is not relying on the innovative ideas of the architects. By using methods that are tried and tested, American projects are a lot more accurate in their time and cost estimations. The work of the specialist contractors is co-ordinated by a construction manager. Construction processes are usually controlled by construction managers as early as the design stage.
American project management is split into three sections. The design stage comes first, which is co-ordinated by the architects and engineers along with the client. Then we have the manufacturing stage and the construction stage, which are both co-ordinated by the construction manager. Each stage is seen as a separate package of work. At the start of each section “kick off” meetings are held. These meetings take place to ensure that everyone involved in the stage knows what their role entails. Responsibility for the project passes from one person to another during the project but there are times when there are overlaps in responsibility.
The success of American project management can partly be because of the fact that their client’s are very knowledgeable of the industry and therefore demand high quality from their project team. However, as the client wants their building as quickly as possible and specialist contractors like to use tried and tested methods, there is a lack of innovative design and flair in the American built environment.
