Construction management

Construction management (CM) is a professional service that applies project management techniques to the planning, design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its completion. The goal of CM is to control a project's scope, time, cost, and quality (sometimes called the project management triangle or "triple constraints") to achieve the owner’s objectives.

Practitioners of construction management are called construction managers. They combine knowledge of building science and business management to coordinate and deliver capital projects such as commercial real estate, transportation infrastructure, and military infrastructure. Professional services firms in North America and Europe increasingly provide CM alongside related specialties such as critical path method (CPM) scheduling, delay analysis, and expert witness testimony for construction disputes.

Construction management focuses on integrating cost, schedule, quality, safety, and scope throughout the project lifecycle. Unlike a general contractor, a CM firm or professional may be engaged as an owner’s representative to advise during feasibility, design, procurement, and construction.

A construction manager’s responsibilities typically include:

According to the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), the seven common categories of responsibility are: Project Management Planning, Cost Management, Time Management, Quality Management, Contract Administration, Safety Management, and CM Professional Practice.^{[failed verification]}

Core functions of construction management include:

Project documentation may include diaries, logs, and daily field reports. These records are important for dispute resolution and can be used as evidence in legal proceedings.

Methods include mediation, minitrial, and arbitration. Arbitration is binding and typically more costly than mediation.