Our clients run the gamut from volunteer boards, with zero paid staff, to large multi-state developers with their own in-house construction management. The volunteer board cannot meet the demands of a construction schedule without delegating a significant amount of the decision making to an Owner’s Project Manager, while the larger developer just needs help smoothing out staffing shortages. Our job is to assess the weaknesses of our project team and fill in where we are most needed.

COMMON TASKS OF THE TDS OWNER'S PROJECT MANAGERS INCLUDE:

oac meetings

During construction, the Owner’s Project Manager typically attends all Owner / Architect / Contractor (OAC) meetings and represents the Owner. TDS believes that well run meetings are vital to a project’s success, and the key to effective meetings is great meeting minutes. TDS’ OPMs can run the OAC meetings and generate the meeting minutes, or we can offer guidance to other parties that take on the task.

change order management

When a client does not know the market price of additional work, they must choose between blind acceptance of the Contractor’s pricing, or resort to low information negotiation tactics. Both options can harm the Owner/Contractor relationship.The Owner’s Project Manager should be able to either show a client that the pricing is fair, negotiate a better price, or equip the Owner with the tools they need to keep construction moving in the absence of an agreement.

utility expediting

The most frequent source of project delays is utility companies. In 2021, utility delays may have been supplanted by procurement issues, but strong project teams are now able to manage around those long lead times. TDS has numerous contacts within the major utility companies, and while we cannot guarantee their performance, we do understand their process and can communicate with them in ways that a layperson cannot.

coordination of owner's vendors

A typical project may require an owner to hire numerous consultants outside of the architect and general contractor. These consults include geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, testing and inspection agencies, PHIUS rater/verifiers, security and low voltage vendor, commissioning agents, and/or a photovoltaic subcontractor. TDS can competitively procure these vendors, negotiate their contracts, and coordinate their activities within the construction schedule.

status updates

TDS can provide monthly reports that include summaries of critical issues the team is dealing with, contingency forecasts, and schedule forecasts. No one likes to hear about problems when it is too late to do anything about them. Our goal is to get our clients the information they need, in time to avert the problem.

OWNER'S PROJECT MANAGER