You can design, market, sell, and boast upon your companies’ value but what happens if you can’t deliver? It’s simple actually; you fail. While Project Managers (PM) can often come with a heavy price tag, sometimes up to 20% of your projects overall budget, but it’s a price that’s worth the cost. A project manager is a vital part of the team who should be leading most every job your team sells or is a customer of. If you are willing to invest in an experienced Project Manager or insist that your contractor employs a PM on a job, you will save time, money, and have greater buisness partnerships.

The role of a project manager is to achieve the stated aim of the project, within the allocated time and financial parameters set forth at the outset of the project. The process is straightforward – accomplish the desired results in the least amount of time while spending the least amount of money. The complicated part is defining the project. A “Project” is a collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned, with design, implementation and technical teams. If we could implement our projects in a bubble, they would all come in on time and under budget. However, that is not the case in the construction/control’s world. In addition to the scope, cost and time, projects are affected by outside influences which may alter one or more of these parameters. It is the responsibility of the project manager to identify these outside influences and plan responses to keep the team engaged and on task, while satisfying the stakeholders in the process.

And how is this accomplished at TC Controls? Through communication; clear, consistent, communication. After the turnover from the Sales Team, the Project Manager becomes the “Minister of Information” during a project. It begins with understanding the goals and objectives of the project and clearly communicating that scope to the installation team. In continues throughout the implementation process by communicating with the construction team to stay ahead of construction and equipment delivery delays, or design changes from the engineering team. Then following up with your implementation team to insure they have the most up to date communication. This is accomplished by having a consistent presence on site, in order to disseminate information to the site team but also gather critical feedback from the site team. The information gathered by the Project Manager is then prepared in a clear and concise manner for the Project Executives. This can be in a weekly Executive Summary, a Cost to Complete forecast or a Lesson Learned review. The information allows the Executive Team to communicate with the Customer and share successes and challenges of the project. The result is a well-managed project that is a win-win for both contractor and customer. Outcomes like this are the foundation to building lasting relationships that lead to future projects. Communication is key!