What’s the difference between project management vs. construction management?
Blog: Monday Project Management Blog
Project managers and construction managers are essential in ensuring that construction projects run smoothly from initial planning to successful completion. While both jobs have many similarities, there are also some distinct differences between project management vs. construction management.
In this article, you’ll learn about the specific job duties of project managers and construction managers and the differences and similarities between each position. We’ll also show you how utilizing monday.com’s construction management templates, and budget trackers can help streamline the construction project process.
What’s the difference between project management vs. construction management?
Construction managers and project managers oversee various aspects of construction projects. Large construction projects often utilize both project managers and construction managers, while smaller projects may have either the project manager or construction manager overseeing the entire operation. The main difference between project management vs. construction management is the specific duties that each position must complete.
Project management
Project management relates to the entire scope of a new construction project. A project manager is generally responsible for the initial planning of construction projects, securing land for new buildings, and writing up project cost estimates from start to finish. A project manager works on initial budgets and plans for projects they oversee, and they’re responsible for recruiting and hiring construction managers. While project managers may visit the work site from time to time, they usually work in an office or travel to meet with clients.
Construction management
Construction managers are responsible for managing construction teams and generally oversee the day-to-day operations on construction sites. A construction manager creates work schedules for crew members, and they write up cost estimates for construction tasks. On smaller projects, construction managers may also be responsible for developing project budgets and hiring crew members. Since construction managers must oversee all aspects of the construction project in real time, they usually spend the bulk of their day at designated job sites.
How does project management help in construction management?
Since a project manager is generally responsible for ensuring the entire project runs smoothly from start to finish, they provide support to construction managers in maintaining and organizing legal documents throughout the project’s scope and scheduling workflows to optimize efficiency. Project managers oversee construction managers, so they also help make final hiring decisions and provide assistance if and when issues arise on job sites.
Tips for managing construction projects
The construction industry is constantly growing and changing, and efficiency is essential in all construction projects.
While each construction project will have its own scope and schedule, here are some universal tips for successful construction project management.
Plan ahead for potential issues
While every construction manager begins each project with the confidence that everything will go smoothly from start to finish, they’re also aware that potential issues may arise in budgeting, scheduling, building codes, and delays due to unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather or equipment issues. While some issues are unavoidable, planning ahead and implementing alternative solutions during the pre-construction phase can help you save time and resources if and when challenges arise.
Communication is key
Construction project managers oversee every aspect of the construction project, from verifying construction plans to hiring subcontractors, so having good communication skills is imperative for getting things done properly. Making yourself readily available to your crew, vendors, suppliers, and supervisors in the field can help you handle issues that may arise in a timely manner. It also shows your team that you’re always open to two-way communication.
Stay within your budget
All costs associated with a project should be efficiently monitored and tracked, so there are no surprises down the road. If your project manager created the initial budget for your project, document all estimated costs for construction tasks and actual expenses incurred when ordering new inventory and supplies. If you’re making the construction budget, consider utilizing a budgeting template such as monday.com’s budget tracker to input and manage your project’s expenses.
Using monday.com for construction project management
Manage your construction projects from inception to completion with monday.com’s Work OS and templates. Our Work OS allows for real-time collaboration with team members, stakeholders, and individuals working remotely, in the office, or out in the field, and it lets project managers automate workflows and assign tasks to individual team members. Once tasks are complete, team members can easily share documents via the monday.com Work OS interface or through Google Sheets and Dropbox. Best of all, all work created and saved in the Work OS automatically saves to the cloud for quick and convenient access at all times.
We designed all of our templates for easy integration within the Work OS, and you can customize each template for use with automation and boards to successfully manage your construction projects from the comfort of your laptop or device.
Related templates to project management templates
Our customizable project management templates allow you to streamline every aspect of the construction process, from creating and sharing your project schedule and construction site notes to assigning individual tasks and editing your cost estimations. Consider incorporating some of these related templates into your workflow to help track and monitor each construction phase.
Construction management template
Our Construction Management Template allows construction managers to monitor projects in real time, from pre-construction to project completion. Project owners and project managers can receive instant updates from the field and implement budgeting and scheduling changes in real time. When incorporated into the monday.com OS, this user-friendly template makes it simple to oversee construction work due dates and assign tasks via our automatically updating dashboards.
Construction roadmap template
Construction managers often manage multiple projects at once, and monday.com’s Construction Roadmap Template is specifically designed for simultaneous project management. With separate columns for inputting data from the initiation phase to bidding and procurement, this template is ideal for project managers and construction managers, as it ensures a streamlined process through every stage of your project. Special features such as map view and timeline allow you to analyze data through different views, and users can also set custom notifications to remind team members of important dates and deadlines.
Single project template
Our Single Project Template lets you bring each aspect of your construction work project together in one convenient place. Color-coded columns allow for easy categorization of tasks based on priority so you never miss a deadline, and you can easily integrate this template into the monday.com OS, where you can sync all due dates with Google Calendar and share files via Dropbox.
FAQs about project management vs. construction management
Is PMP worth it for construction?
The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification can provide a wide range of benefits for construction project managers, including higher pay on certain projects and access to competitive jobs. It’s the highest level of certification for project managers, and the training teaches the best practices for successful project management.
What is a construction manager salary?
The average salary for an experienced construction manager in the U.S. is $117,355, with a low range of $87,042 and a high range of $149,355. Salary rates can vary based on geographical location and seniority level. For example, the average salary for a junior construction manager is approximately $67,929 annually.
How much do project managers make?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, project managers make an average of $98,420 to $159,140 annually. However, specific salary rates can vary significantly depending on the specific industry in which a project manager works, geographical location, and overall experience levels.
Streamline your project management process with construction management software and project templates
Utilizing our construction management software and high-quality templates can help you stay within your project budget while monitoring all aspects in real time, ensuring each project is completed and delivered in a timely fashion.
The post What’s the difference between project management vs. construction management? appeared first on monday.com Blog.
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