Introduction to Construction Management Unit 1

Responsive Bid

A bid or proposal package that meets all of the requirements of the solicitation instrument.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

A business venture approach whereby a public sector authority and a private enterprise join forces and combine resources to deliver government projects aimed at serving the public good.

Open Bid

A competitive bidding requirement for all public projects. An open bid is one that is advertised publicly and allows any qualified contractor to submit a bid on a project.

Project Delivery

A comprehensive process by which a building, facility, or structure is designed and constructed.

Agency CM

A construction management option in which the construction manager acts in the owner's best interests at every stage of the project from design through construction. The construction manager offers advice and project management services to the owner but is not financially responsible for the construction.

Multiple Prime

A contracting methodology in which the owner bypasses the use of a general contractor and enters into multiple separate contracts with trade or specialty contractors for the various sections of the work associated with the project.

Constructability Reviews

A design review process in which experienced contractors and construction managers work with designers to ensure that the details of the design actually can be built in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

A document issued by the owner prior to and RFP to solicit contractor or design-builder qualifications. The RFQ may be used by the owner to shortlist potential proposers, or it may be used by itself as the final competitive submittal employed in qualifications-based selection.

Invitation for Bids

A notification sent to a selected list of contractors, furnishing information on the submission of bids on a private project.

Fast Tracking

A practice utilized to speed up a job by overlapping the design phase and the construction phase of a project.

Value Engineering

A process by which various alternative approaches are evaluated and considered regarding design, product selection, or building system in an effort to provide the most efficient, cost-effective solution possible relative to value in response to the desires of the owner.

Design-Bid-Build

A project delivery method in which the owner holds two separate contracts for design and construction. This method is often referred to as the traditional project delivery method.

Design-Build

A project delivery method in which there is only one contract between the owner and design-build entity. The design-builder is responsible for both the design and the construction of the project.

At-Risk CM

A project delivery method where the construction manager acts as a consultant to the owner in the development and design phases but as the equivalent of a general contractor during the construction phase.

Brownfield Sites

A property that is abandoned or under-used because of historic environmental contamination.

Advertisement for Bids

A public notice, usually published in newspapers, trade magazines, and journals, providing information regarding bidding procedures for public projects.

Request for Proposals (RFP)

A solicitation document, written by the owner, requesting pricing and a technical solution for design and/or construction services.

Program

A written statement that identifies and describes an owner or end user's needs and requirements for a facility.

Weighted Criteria

An evaluation method used in best-value selection in which maximum point values are assessed for qualitative and price components of a proposal. Contract award is based upon the highest total point earned.

Curtain Wall

An exterior cladding system that is supported entirely by the frame of the building, rather than being self-supported or load-bearing.

Integrated Project Delivery

Any project delivery method that contractually engages the contractor responsible for constructing the project at the beginning of the design process.

Best Value

Any selection process in which proposals contain both price and qualitative components and the award is based upon a combination of price and qualitative considerations.

Primary Players

Architects, Engineers, Contractors

Second Level, Secondary Players

Building Inspectors, Utility Companies, Insurance Companies, Labor Unions

Slip Forms

Concrete forms that rise up the wall as construction progresses.

Self-Performed Work

Construction work that is performed with the general contractor's own forces or labor. This is work that is not subcontracted.

What are the six dials of project value?

Cost, time, quality, safety, scope, and function

Third Level, Secondary Players

Government, Financial Institutions, Trade Associations, Educational Institutions

Base Isolators

Large shock absorbers made of alternating layers of rubber and steel attached to a building's foundation to allow movement of the structure without causing damage.

What are the three selection methods used to buy construction services?

Low-Bid, Best Value, and Qualification

What are the three typical career tracks?

Management Track, Superintendent Track, and Estimator Track

Shortlisting

Narrowing the field of offers through the selection of the most qualified proposers on the basis of qualifications.

Lean Principles

Principles that focus on creating more value for customers with less work and the elimination of waste.

What are the five sectors in the construction management trade?

Residential, Commercial, Heavy Civil, Industrial, and Environmental

First Level, Secondary Players

Subcontractors, Suppliers, Vendors

Cofferdams

Temporary watertight enclosures erected to prevent water from seeping into an area, allowing construction to take place in the water-free space.

Infastructure

The basic roadways, bridges, and railroad networks that support a community or society.

Notice to Proceed

The owner authorizes the contractor to begin work on a project on a particular day or as soon as possible. This notice is linked to the duration of the project.

Scope of Work

The parameters defining the overall extent of work to be included in a construction contract.

Technical Proposal

The part of a design-build proposal that contains the conceptual design for the project. It may also include information regarding schedule, team makeup, and overall management plan for the project.

Price Proposal

The part of a design-build proposal that stipulates the price at which the design-builder will provide the design and construction services necessary to complete the project.

Prequalification

The process by which an owner, based upon minimum financial, management, and other qualitative data, determines whether a construction firm is fundamentally qualified to compete for a certain project or class of projects.

Construction Management

The profession that carefully does the planning, scheduling, evaluation, and controlling of construction tasks and activities to accomplish specific objectives outlined in the contract documents.

Designers, Architects, Engineers, etc

The project player that assists in developing the requirements and user demands, establishes broad design goals and gives advice regarding the image and character, selects products to fit the program and budget, deals with aesthetic issues, develops final building plans, and construction details and specifications.

Owner

The project player that develops the requirements, determines quality, extent and scope of work, creates budget, and provides the funding.

Construction Professional

The project player that interprets the specifications and plans, estimates the costs and time, determines and implements the best construction practices, means and methods, and oversees and manages all construction operations on site.

Architectural Programming

The research and decision-making process, initiated by an owner, usually with the help of an architect or other programming specialist, that identifies the basic needs of the client and the parameters of the project to be designed and ultimately built by a construction professional.

Specifications

The written instructions from an architect or engineer accompanying the project plans pertaining to the quality of materials and workmanship required for the project.

Specification Writer

This architect accompany the plans for a new building in written project manuals that contain the specifications for the project.

Design Architect

This architect are the creators of the aesthetic solution-they are the concept and idea people.

Architectural Technician

This architect are typically the drafters of the building plans.

Landscape Architect

This architect deals with the building site and outside environmental issues surrounding the structures.

Mechanical Engineer

This engineer design the heating, cooling, ventilating, plumbing and fire suppression systems within a building.

Electrical Engineer

This engineer designs and calculates electrical loads and determines the circuitry, lighting, motors, transformers and telecommunications needed for a building.

Civil Engineer

This engineer designs roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, site drainage, parking lots, runways, and water supply and sewage systems.

Structural Engineer

This engineer designs the timber, concrete or steel structural systems that support a building from the natural elements.

What distinguishes the Environmental sector?

This sector addresses projects that improve the environment, maintain public health, and contribute to a community's quality of life. There is a great deal of earth moving, trenching, pipe laying, asphalt removal and installation, tunneling, blasting and other means of excavation, including typical civil and industrial materials, this sector also requires specialized materials such as filters, membranes or aerators (for example), expect to spend significant amounts of time dealing with governmental and regulatory policies or agencies, and typically collaborates with biologists, chemists, ecologists and other scientists.

What distinguishes the Commercial sector?

This sector addresses the needs of commerce, trade, and government and makes up a third of the total construction market.Typically funded by corporations, agencies or the government, very wide-ranged in scope, typically designed by architects, trained technicians are required, and steel, concrete and glass are all commonly used materials.

What distinguishes the Residential sector?

This sector addresses the needs of the housing market. Typically privately funded, relatively low-tech in terms of means and methods, wood frame construction or light framing, and directly involved with the owner of each project.

What distinguishes the Industrial sector?

This sector is highly specialized and requires firms with vast resources and significant construction and engineering experience. Often basic in exterior design but overly intricate in interior design for its intended purpose, engineers are typically the lead designers, steel, concrete and reinforced concrete masonry make up the primary components, and relocation is very likely in this industry because projects could take up to five or even ten years.

What distinguishes the Heavy Civil sector?

This sector is often referred to as the horizontal sector and addresses the needs for roadways, bridges, tunnels, dams, airports, railways or basically any work associated with infrastructure and transportation. Only few trades are engaged in this sector, huge investments in equipment, asphalt, gravel, concrete, steel and dirt are the primary materials, typically publicly funded, and projects last for long periods of time.

Closed Bid

Used with private projects and is not open to the public. Bidding is by invitation for bids, to a selected list of contractors.