If you’re looking for a career in construction, becoming a general contractor can be an excellent choice. There are several steps to take, including meeting licensing requirements at the state and city levels.
General Contractor Richmond VA is responsible for managing virtually every aspect of construction projects. Here are seven things you should know about their responsibilities.
Project managers, also called construction project management professionals or construction engineers, oversee a project from the initial pre-construction phase through to completion. Their primary focus is advocating for the project owner’s interests and ensuring that all project stakeholders meet the project goals. This is done through establishing plans for project delivery, monitoring progress, managing schedules and budgets, and ensuring that all work is carried out according to the design documents.
During the pre-construction phase, project managers are involved in a variety of activities, including obtaining building permits, providing temporary utilities on site, managing personnel, disposing of construction waste and keeping accurate records. They also establish a detailed project schedule, with milestones and critical paths identified, integrating all relevant feedback into the plan as needed.
They continue to monitor and control project costs, comparing actual expenditures with planned amounts and communicating with all project parties. This is a significant part of project management, as it ensures that the project stays within its approved budget.
A general contractor, like any business, wants to make a profit and build a good reputation so that they can attract more projects in the future. Hence, they will try to minimize their construction cost by using the cheapest materials and labor, while maximizing the quality of the work. This may also include leveraging relationships with subcontractors in order to obtain discounts on materials and labour.
A project manager, on the other hand, will charge a flat fee or hourly rate for their services. This will often cost the homeowner less than a general contractor and, unlike a GC, the project manager won’t have a financial interest in the home improvement project. This means that they will be able to give more unbiased advice and suggestions.
Vendor management is the process of assessing and analyzing vendors to determine the most suitable suppliers for your business. It also includes establishing a contract and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Many companies use multiple vendors to support core operations. This can include janitorial service agencies, seafood suppliers and construction contractors. A well-managed vendor network can help improve cost control, mitigate risk and ensure continuity in the event of supply chain disruption or geopolitical unrest. In addition, it can increase agility and enable your company to quickly respond to changing market conditions and production schedules.
A good vendor management process involves defining the business goals and establishing a dedicated team to manage the program. Once this has been established, a central database should be built to streamline information and provide insights into the status of your diverse supplier portfolio. The process should also include an onboarding process that collects all the relevant documentation to set up a supplier as an approved vendor for your business. This should include essential contact and payment information, tax forms and insurance details.
Another key aspect of vendor management is monitoring the performance of a supplier. This does not mean micromanaging the vendor to the point of preventing them from completing their work, but it is important to ensure they are following the terms of their contract and performing to the standards you expect. This includes a regular assessment of the supplier’s quality and performance against KPIs, as well as an evaluation of any financial or operational risks.
Finally, it is essential to review the performance of your current supplier portfolio on a regular basis. This involves evaluating the value of each vendor, determining whether they continue to meet your needs and assessing their potential for future growth. It is also necessary to evaluate the costs of working with each vendor and to negotiate contracts that deliver the best value.
GCs have to manage multiple moving parts at once, so their communication skills need to be top-notch. Clear and concise communication is the only way they can make sure all parties involved in a project understand what’s expected from each other.
That’s not easy, as even the smallest misunderstanding can have catastrophic results. One example would be when a subcontractor tells the superintendent that they won’t be able to start the week as planned. The GC misunderstands the information and assumes that someone told them about this issue earlier, when in reality, they never did.
Construction projects involve many different stakeholders who need to know what’s happening every step of the way. This can quickly get complicated and lead to back-and-forth communications that slow down progress. For this reason, it’s often beneficial to hire a construction management (CM) firm that can handle communication with all the interested parties and report back to the GC so they can focus on the jobsite.
The GC is also responsible for monitoring construction progress and ensuring that work is completed to specification and the project stays on budget. This requires frequent inspections of the site, daily reports and adjusting schedules as needed. Once construction is complete, the GC will manage project turnover to the owner and tie up any loose ends. They’ll make sure all bills are paid and organize project documentation for future reference.
General contractors need to be able to negotiate with owners and project architects in order to secure their services. They may be asked to provide a bid on a lump sum or stipulated sum contract based on drawings, scope and requirements for the project. They then collect quotes from qualified specialized subcontractors, add in their overhead costs and submit a quote to the project owner. If they win the contract, they are obligated to deliver the entire project at that price.
The quality control process helps to ensure that the project is done correctly, meets standards and specifications, and is completed within the required timeline. While total quality control is impossible in construction, it does help to reduce errors and mishaps. This means that rework is less likely to be needed, which saves time and money for both the project managers and the clients.
Quality control is a responsibility that everyone on the construction team shares in. Managers should provide incentives for participation and encourage employees to think creatively about new ways to maintain quality, such as suggesting improvements to work processes or materials. This approach can help to make projects more productive and will also allow for future potential clients to see that the construction company cares about their work.
A quality control plan is a detailed document that specifies the procedures and methods a contractor will use to ensure that work will meet contract requirements. It also indicates the qualifications and experience of the quality control and testing personnel. The plan also outlines where the tests and inspections will be performed. This may be at the contractor’s facilities, at the construction site, or at commercial laboratories. The quality assurance test results are to be used as a measure of compliance with the contract.
Some contracts require the contractor to include process control testing in the CQCP. This type of testing is performed during the construction or manufacturing process and is intended to give real-time information to the contractor so that the quality assurance test at the end will indicate compliance with the contract. Depending on the contract, the requirement for this type of testing may not be included in the plans and specifications.
A great general contractor will make safety a priority for everyone on the job site. They will ensure comprehensive policies are in place and routinely updated, and will also regularly visit the job site to check in on crews and monitor the safety of all workers. The GC will also work with other stakeholders to promote safety in the workplace and ensure that workers are well-trained on how to perform their jobs safely.
They will have a plan to prevent accidents on the worksite, which may include implementing technology for tracking incidents, providing onsite training to workers, and making sure safety protocols are adhered to by all contractors on site. This helps create a culture of safety within the organization and can ultimately save lives by reducing accidents on construction sites.
The GC will also have a process for enforcing subcontractor compliance by regularly inspecting work sites and directing subcontractors to correct any safety deficiencies. This will help to protect the GC from civil liability in the event that an employee of the GC, or the employees of any other contracting company, is injured or killed as a result of a safety deficiency on a multi-employer worksite.
In addition, the GC will have processes in place to observe contractor performance and improve program efficiency and effectiveness. This includes contractor prequalification and monitoring as well as post-project evaluations and close-out conversations. They will also have the ability to use their construction safety management software to automate processes and streamline reporting, allowing them to make continuous improvement a reality. This software, as well as programs like COR Canada, empower the GC to build a strong safety culture and mitigate any risks on construction projects.
