You’ve finally purchased your dream home and want the property’s landscape to match. Or, now that your kids have finished college, you can finally put in the backyard patio or pool that you’ve always wanted. Perhaps your business property needs a face lift. Whatever the reason for your project, you will want someone to be responsible for the project management of the entire landscape construction project.
You may want to rely on landscape professionals to guide you through the design and construction process. These professionals would include landscape architects and landscape contractors. Once the design process is complete and a contractor is selected, your landscape contractor should initiate the landscape construction project management process.
What is Landscape Construction Project Management?
According to Wikipedia, Construction Project Management is a professional service that uses specialized project management techniques to oversee the planning, design and construction of a project, from its beginning to its end. The purpose of Construction Project Management is to control a project’s time, cost and quality.
Project management for landscape construction generally includes the following:
- Specification of project plans and objective. This includes a description of scope, an itemized budget, a detailed schedule with deadlines, specific performance requirements and project outcomes, and the selection of project participants (contractors and/or trades).
- Efficient use of resources. This includes contracting labor, equipment and materials according to the prescribed schedule.
- Proper coordination and control of various operations including planning and design, estimating and contracting, construction and final completion.
- Development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts between the various participants.
Many projects require project management from the very beginning of the planning and design phase. Often the landscape contractor’s expertise can assist with planning decisions that will save time and/or money. Once the project plan and design are complete, your project manager may handle the following:
- Bid administration and solicitation
- Contractor selection
- Project scheduling
- Oversight of construction activities and personnel.
The project manager works in your best interest. They are responsible for ensuring that your landscape project is properly constructed, completed on time and remains within your budget.
Benefits of Landscape Construction Project Management
On-time Completion
Construction Project Management specifies a “critical path” for the flow of work from the project’s launch to its finish. It also establishes a schedule of specific time frames for each step of the critical path. This ensures that the final project result is completed on time and to specification.
Cost Savings
Project management throughout the landscape construction process also can save money. Details of each project phase are accounted for, especially tracking of project materials, equipment and personnel hours. It will also improve efficiency in terms of completing the project on or before the deadline, which minimizes cost and saves you money.
Quality Assurance
In addition to keeping track of the project budget and work flow schedule, construction project management ensures there’s accountability. A good project manager establishes checkpoints where they will inspect the completed work before the project moves on to the next step. This gives them the opportunity to address potential issues before they become costly problems. Frequent inspections during the project also ensure an overall higher quality of work, which will be visible in the final result.
Problem Prevention and Resolution
Proactive project management involves recognizing that unforeseen circumstances will occur at one point or another. The key to successful resolution is to:
- Identify the issues in a timely manner
- Accurately gauge the consequences
- Find alternate approaches to properly manage and resolve the problem.
Having an experienced landscape construction contractor managing your project in these situations can make all the difference between success and a potential disaster.
Thinking of moving forward with landscape construction project? With over 25 years of landscape construction and project management, New England Enterprises can manage your project from design to successful completion. Contact New England Enterprises and request a consultation today, so that your landscape construction project can begin as soon as possible.