Project and Implementation Management
Our articles, in which we describe individual steps of cooperation with an architect as well as their interconnections—from architectural study through project documentation—now continue with the topic of project management.
If you've reached this phase in your house or apartment project, you may think you can handle it yourself. You have everything planned out, designed by the architect, drawn, and priced. The tables are sorted, the drawings are on the boards, and we can start building!
You might find the courage to manage the construction yourself, because you know project management in some form or perhaps even make a living from it. From our experience, this part of the construction is the most difficult phase of the entire cooperation. It places enormous demands on coordination, deadlines... basically, this is where you can get burned the most. I once read in a discussion under one of our realizations: 'architect in the house, fork in hand...' We have worked for clients who have had a bad experience with architects. However, this does not mean that cooperation with an architect is a waste of money. I always tell clients in the initial meeting that it's the same as drafting a contract yourself. You may find a template contract on the internet and you might be able to adapt it yourself, but when a problem arises, the contract will be flawed 99% of the time.
How do we approach project management at OOOOX? Our approach at this phase is a bit different. In our view, mere 'authorial supervision,' where an architect visits the construction site once a week, points out everything that's wrong (even if there might be reasons for it), and leaves you to sort it out, is insufficient. We aim to simplify this most difficult part for our clients as much as possible. That's why we call this phase project or implementation management. The goal is to coordinate all suppliers, telling them who will be on the construction site and when, so as to avoid any overlap or conflict in their tasks. We ensure that everything is interconnected. We monitor the execution of all deliveries and keep an eye on deadlines. Even though these are third parties and it's often very difficult to synchronize everyone, especially when one supplier changes their timeline, our aim is for you to have just one point of contact in the form of an architect so you don't have to haggle with everyone individually.
And because the whole responsibility lies with us, we prefer suppliers with whom we know we can communicate reasonably, who adhere to deadlines, and are capable of working according to our requirements. We'll talk more about this in a future article. Besides overseeing the execution itself, within the scope of project management, we also offer administrative support. This includes checking what you're being billed for, analyzing to make sure there are no hidden extra tasks that you haven't approved, and so on. We will provide you with verified invoices just for payment. Even though we will take care of everything for you, there's no guarantee that everything will go smoothly. Construction is a very complex process involving many suppliers. So, hitches can occur. But that's what we're here for. Even if a problem arises, we will find a solution. It might take a bit longer than you initially thought, and it might even cost a bit more than you initially planned, but in the end, it will work out. To sum up our role in project management: we are here to save our clients' time and solve all the technical problems for them. We are here to coordinate the entire implementation, which is the hardest part. And lastly, we want your only problem to be choosing the right option from the ones offered. It's also nice when you have the time to go to work and earn money for the whole spectacle that awaits you.
by Radka - 10. 8. 2023