The Importance of Great Project Management to Commercial Construction Contractors
Successful commercial construction contractors have complex operations, with a large number of workers and pieces of equipment. Without proper oversight and management, all those individual items and people could have a difficult time coming together to successfully complete a project. That’s where project managers come in.
In many ways, the project manager is one of the most important people in commercial construction. Success or failure is riding on their shoulders. When looking for a contractor, look for one with one or more strong project managers.
Four Traits of A Superior Project Manager
- Communication Skills
A good project manager must have good communication skills. They are responsible for communicating the needs and overall goals for a project to all of the various workers, sub-contractors and other stakeholders on the project. In addition, they are typically the primary client contact. They need to know how to talk effectively with everyone and to smooth out any conflicts or confusion that might arise during construction.
- Broad Training and Experience
A project manager cannot afford to be a narrow specialist. The more experience they have in the construction industry, the better. A good project manager will be able to produce a full list of the different types of construction projects they’ve been involved in and what they learned from each.
- Some Engineering Knowledge
Good project managers need a solid understanding of basic engineering principles to be effective. If one of their engineers comes to them and says there’s a problem because of reasons X, Y, and Z, the manager needs to be able to understand the situation and suggest potential solutions.
- Problem-Solving Skills
Sometimes cross-disciplinary problems arise that touch on several aspects of the project. This is when a project manager needs a diverse knowledge base, and experience to draw upon. It will fall on their shoulders to find a solution to unexpected problems, and the project will be in trouble if they can’t.
Donald Rushing Construction Can Handle Your Project
We have over thirty years’ experience handling projects big and small, and solving problems along the way. Contact us for a consultation.