Avoid the Nightmare & Bring in a Project Manager
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If you don't have the time, knowledge or experience to manage any of your proposed projects then you could set yourself up for financial disaster.
To get an idea if a project manager will be of value to you, breakdown and document all the various elements of what would be involved. You need to ask yourself if it would be more cost effective to engage someone or some company that could manage all aspects of your project on your behalf.
Any renovation, major or otherwise, can be daunting and knowing where to start can be quite a challenge. Depending upon the size of the project, many people will do it themselves to save money. It would be worthwhile to seek a project manager's costings of the project or obtain a quote for engaging a project manager and weigh it up.
Rob Gilshenan, national sales manager for Guest Commercial said, "When you are looking to employ a project manager the fundamental questions to ask are - is your business an ongoing business where you need to employ a fulltime project manager to work within your business or should you engage someone on a consultancy basis?"
Although the refurbishing ideas maybe excellent, many prospective clients do not have a full understanding of the multiple processes or the scale of works required to turn a vision into a reality as well as meeting their projected expectations.
Large companies usually have their own project managers to look after the various aspects of their development. For any medium sized project it would be wise to contact a project manager and discuss with them the type of role they will be performing so it is fully understood. There has to be some level of consultation before any decision is made.
Depending upon the scope of the project manager's role, they may be involved in some of the estimating, project costing, material and labour costs. The early preparation and pre-contract stage is critical. It is essential that it is completed to the highest quality with everything considered or a successful outcome or the project may not eventuate.
Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
No matter how complex your project, a positive outcome can be achieved as long as you prepare for it correctly. Surely you want to save time, money and unnecessary stress. Certain factors to consider are:
- Identifying if the property needs refurbishment/remodelling/rebuilding (what needs to be done)
- What actions need to be taken (how to do it)
- The relevant timing for an upgrade (how long will it take)
- The anticipated return on investment (is it worth it)
Right now, some establishments are behind in their predicted refurbishing schedule and paying dearly for it, because of ineffective project management, lack of foresight and insufficient money set aside for risk allocation. Hindsight often has the answers but it doesn't provide the solutions to what is happening at the moment.
"Built into the developer's contract now is what is called liquidator damages. If, as a supplier you fail to deliver your goods in time with the contract you have been given then it starts to cost you money. You will be sued for affecting their trade if you don't meet your contract obligations on time."
"The project manager has to be a master communicator and essentially they have to map the project and signpost where all the sharp turns are and the bottle necks and communicate those pitfalls to everyone and plan around them," said Mr Gilshenan.
"Part of the project manager's role is to assess the merit of the project or the scope of it and start to work up some contingency calculations. They have to be able to deliver the whole project. It has to arrive and be handed over on time and within budget. That's the key performance indicator for any project manager," continued Mr Gilshenan.
The transformation of the project needs to be carried out with minimal disruption to the working establishment and quality work maintained throughout with specific attention to detail.
"Generally speaking, when someone has been hired as a project manager they will be in charge of all of it. The other big responsibility of the role is documentation. Clear documentation of where the project is at any one stage is imperative, so that literally you can go to a document and see what has happened, what is due to happen and when. "The project manager is usually involved in managing purchase orders, the supply chain, production, suppliers, meeting timeframes, delivery and communicating with the client or the client representative," said Mr Gilshenan.
When refurbishing there is a lot of work involved in choosing your products, getting then to the site and installed correctly. Project managers will work onsite during the delivery and installation phase because there are a number of different trades and services all on the one site, often at the same time.
Many products are supplied from overseas and quality control management is paramount because you don't want containers of defective goods delivered on site. Depending upon available capital, the average time between full scale refurbishments is six to nine years. This is usually interspersed with a soft upgrade or freshen-up, such as new cushions or curtains.
The project manager is employed as an independent person who can manage across all of the trades and services without prejudices and personal agendas and pull everything together effectively and efficiently.
"They spend a lot of their time double checking costs and getting people to justify any variations or increases in costs that weren't allowed for or quoted originally. That's why accurate documentation is necessary," said Mr Gilshenan.
When planning any size project there are many rules and regulations that go with it, for example, marketing of a 'green' product, the process of becoming a sustainable tourism operation accreditation, design features, buildings codes. Once you recognise that there is more to it than meets the eye, then the thought of contracting a project manager may be more appealing.
Remember, a project manager employed by you is there to represent your best interests and achieve the best outcome possible for your project within the budget and timeline contracted from the very beginning.
The project manager's involvement does not end when the physical project is completed. There are other matters to consider, for example, planning for ongoing and future maintenance of the completed project and keeping communication channels open with the client.
"The role of the project manager has evolved over the years and become more formalised in the main stream. In the past a lot of companies would get anyone to do these functions. Project managers are usually well organised and very good communicators. You have to be much more purposeful now and have people who are disciplined in these areas and have a proven track record. It takes a certain type of person to be a good project manager," concluded Mr Gilshenan.
