The Building Construction Contractor – Roles and Responsibilities

There are generally three groups of major stakeholders in the execution of building construction projects – the Client/Owner; the Professionals (Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors etc); and the Building Construction Contractor. The building construction contractor is the stakeholder saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the adequate planning, execution and delivery of the building construction project. To achieve this, he must determine and implement the best building construction methodology that will guarantee that the project is executed within the specified Project Constraints. In order to help us appreciate the fundamental role of the building construction contractor in the successful delivery of building construction projects, we shall be considering some of their specific functions.

Functions of a Building Construction Contractor

As stated earlier, a building construction contractor has multiple roles and responsibilities, which may vary as occasioned by the contract. There are many roles a contractor can assume during different Project Management Phases, and this section covers the most common ones.

Project Planning Phase

Every building construction project should have a master schedule which describes all activities, together with their time distribution and budget. This schedule has a deadline that the contractor must strive to beat, failure of which liquidated damages may set in. Hence the first duty of a building construction contractor is to create a workable project plan with which to successfully deliver a Durable Building. Some of these responsibilities include:

• Determine all the tasks required for the successful delivery of the building construction project and establish a Scope Management Plan.
• Determine the time required to accomplish each of those tasks.
• Determine the relationships between the tasks – which tasks come before others; which tasks must be accomplished by certain fixed dates or events etc. and establish a Schedule Management Plan.
• Determine the Project Resources (Policies, Processes, Personnel, Money, Machinery and Materials) required for the successful execution of the tasks and establish a Procurement Management Plan.
• Determine the cost of all the project resources and establish a Cost Management Plan.
• Determine the different Project Stakeholders and their characteristics and establish a Stakeholder and Communication Plan for the project.
• Identify the different Project Risks and Establish a Risk Management Plan for the project.
• Determine the quality specifications of the different Project Deliverables and establish a Quality Management Plan.
• Determine the Health, Safety and Environment management approach and policies for the project.
• Compile a Project Management Plan for the Project.

Project Execution, Monitoring and Control Phase

In the project execution phase of building construction project management, the building construction contractor is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the Project resources required for the execution of the building construction project are mobilized and put to good use. To achieve this the contractor shall:

• Mobilize quality Project Resources as at when due.
• Through company personnel, ensure that the resources mobilized are effectively utilized to achieve the desired Project Deliverables.
• Constantly monitor project risks and take necessary actions as outlined in the Risk Management Plan.
• Communicate project status and issues with the relevant project Stakeholders in accordance with the Stakeholder Communication Management Plan.
• Ensure that Health, Safety and Environment policies are strictly adhered to.
•  Manage Change Orders in accordance with the Scope Management Plan of the project.
• Monitor Project Schedule and ensure that it conforms to the project baseline schedule and take corrective measures according to the Schedule Management Plan in the event of deviations.
• Track the cost of execution of the different project tasks and take necessary remedial measures in the event of any negative deviation from the budgeted cost. This is normally done in accordance with the Cost Management Plan of the project.
• Monitor Project deliverable quality to ensure that they meet the standards outlined in the Quality management Plan and take remedial actions when necessary.
• Ensure that all legal and regulatory requirements and conditions are met.

Project  Closeout Phase

In this phase, the building construction contractor shall have the following responsibilities:

• Obtain from the relevant stakeholders the acceptance of the Project Deliverables.
• Conclude any operations and support responsibilities like training the users of the facilities in the building.
• Document lessons learned during the course of the project.
• Demobilize from the project site.

Conclusion

Building construction contractors have many roles during the different phases of the building construction process, and each role comes with different responsibilities. Contractors should be capable of managing risks and taking decisions on a daily basis. Hence the track record of a building construction contractor is very important, since those with ample experience can respond better to common issues in projects.

Conifer Konstruktion (Nig) Ltd has a project delivery track record of 60+ projects. Contact us via email (okoyeebubedike@coniferkonstruktion.com.ng) or phone (803) 404-0894, and we’ll make sure you’ll have a  stress free construction experience.