In the fast-paced, big-stakes design industry, schedules are accelerated and client expectations are high. Literally, time is money and the responsibility for project success or failure rests squarely on the shoulders of one individual: the project manager. Since design professionals rarely receive formal training on project management, the complex discipline can be a sink or swim proposition. For the first time, veteran architect William G. Ramroth, Jr., taps the resources of his 30-plus years of project management experience to offer practical advice, instructions, and techniques to help you think strategically, plan carefully, and troubleshoot problems. Project Management for Design Professionals is written for architects, designers, landscape architects, urban planners, interior designers, engineers and others looking to plan and complete multidisciplinary projects successfully.
This book focuses on problem-solving from managerial, consumer, and societal perspectives. It emphasizes both the business managerial aspects of risk management and insurance and the numerous consumer applications of the concept of risk management and insurance transaction. The tenth edition has been reorganized and fully updated to highlight the increased importance of risk management and insurance in business and society. In particular, the tenth edition refocuses its attention on corporate risk management, reflecting its growing importance in today's economy.
Project Management for Building Designers and Owners presents the concepts, tools, and ideas to help design firms and owner/client project managers to better communicate and perform their jobs. Topics include: Streamlining the complexity and costs of current building design and construction Integrating the often-fragmented nature of the team in designing and constructing buildings Assessing the reengineering trend of reducing in-house facilities and staff in planning, coordinating, and managing a project Outsourcing responsibilities to traditional engineering, architectural, and facilities firms as well as program and project management firms Comparing traditional design firms and specialty firms - in terms of finding and keeping capable staffs, project scope management, fee and time pressures, and a myriad of other issues Communicating effectively within this highly fragmented, specialized, and complex arena This edition comprehensively outlines the fundamental means to effectively manage and control a project's scope, schedule, and budget.
Explains construction professional practice in an appealing, succinct, and relatively informal way This book details the management of construction projects from beginning to end, concentrating on the principles underlying what construction professionals like architects do. It covers the entire process—from the initial meetings with clients through the design, recruitment of a contractor, contract management, construction, and handover—all without referencing legal cases, contract clause numbers, laws, statutes, or the complex jargon that can muddle comprehension. The first part of Professional Practice for Architects and Project Managers offers enlightening chapters that cover: professional standards, perks of the job, bonds and parent company guarantees, office meetings, letter writing, the RIBA Plan of Work, and Building Information Modelling (BIM). The second section teaches all about dealing with the clients, and includes chapters that discuss the extent of services, fee negotiations, conflicts of interest, and more. Next the book looks at such on-the-job responsibilities as surveys, ground investigations, cost estimates, work schedules, letters of intent, etc. The final section goes over everything readers need to know about dealing with a building contract in progress, informing them about advance payments, insurance, site inspections, contractor disputes, terminations, final certificates, and more. Details the entire process of managing a construction project, including dealing with clients, the design process, running a construction project, and more Highlights what the construction professionals do in their positions Shows how principles of construction management are applied in practice Written in a reader-friendly and accessible way Professional Practice for Architects and Project Managers is an excellent resource for architects and other construction professionals such as contract administrators, project managers, quantity surveyors, and contractors.
Staying Small Successfully A Guide for Architects, Engineers, and Design Professionals Frank A. Stasiowski Today's design professional with entrepreneurial ambitions often has in mind a small firm. Written by a veteran architect and consultant, here is a clear, detailed road map to setting up a small business or guiding an existing one to success. Using miniprofiles of several small successful design firms, the author pinpoints exactly what's made them flourish. In a step-by-step format, he describes the six elements of the strategic planning process, tips on doubling average profit levels, building a loyal clientele, making your company a magnet for top talent, as well as measuring the financial health of your firm. This all-in-one seminar includes numerous checklists and flowcharts, a list of design firm management consultants, a typical marketing plan, and a survey of typical marketing costs. 1991 (0-471-50652-4) 297 pp. Value Pricing for the Design Firm Frank A. Stasiowski Essential to the design firm negotiating tough economic times, here is a handbook to garnering the most effective price for your services. Making the traditional cost-per-hour approach obsolete, the book teaches you how to price services based on their value to your client. Full of tactics that can be applied immediately, the book outlines the different methods of value pricing, ways to create value, a format for charging minimum fees, and a formula for price contracts. Other practical pricing tips include mini-scoping your services, charging for reimbursables, pricing change orders, as well as advice on negotiating a better contract. Complete with sample forms and lists, the book is a practical, easy-to-implement recession survival kit for the design firm. 1993 (0-471-57933-5) 240 pp. Cash Management for the Design Firm Frank A. Stasiowski While excellence in design and engineering may generate clients, monitoring and planning the movement of cash is central to a company's survival. This practical guide outlines a det!ailed cash management plan that makes continued financial health possible even during lean economic times. Using a clear, easy-to-implement approach, the book describes: cash management techniques, project budgeting, profitable project pricing structures, controlling project and overhead costs, getting paid, and planning and monitoring performance. The book also includes valuable advice on negotiating a contract, the most profitable contract types, the purchasing process, acquiring capital equipment, and internal financial controls. Numerous checklists and exercises as well as sample reports and financial documents are included. 1993 (0-471-59711-2) 324 pp.
This highly accessible book gives advice to project managers who need to get up to speed quickly. It includes hints and tips on managing budget, time, scope and people. This updated edition reflects changes to working practices such as the use of social media and collaboration tools. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 CMI MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR.
Offers state-of-the-art principles and strategies gleaned from high-profile projects to help readers manage design This guide to managing design process within the commercial design and construction industry addresses a growing pain point in an industry where collaborative approaches to project delivery are outpacing the way professionals work. It synthesizes issues by investigating the “why,” “how,” and “who” of the discipline of managing design, and gives the “what” and “when” to apply the solutions given various project delivery and contracting methods. The book features candid interviews with over 40 industry leaders—architects, engineers, contractors, owners, educators, technology evangelists, and authors—which present a broad look at current issues and offer paths to future collaboration and change. Managing Design: Conversations, Project Controls and Best Practices for Commercial Design and Construction Projects is a self-help book for design and construction that provides aninsider’s look at the mysteries of managing design for yourself, team, firm and future. It tackles client empathy; firm culture; owner leadership; design and budgets; dealing with engineers, consultants, and contractors; contracts; team assembly; and much more. Features eye-opening interviews with 40 industry luminaries Exposes issues and poses solutions to longstanding industry ills Offers a project design controls framework and toolset for immediate application and action Includes best practice tips, process diagrams, and comparative analytical tables to support the text Written in a relatable style, Managing Design: Conversations, Project Controls and Best Practices for Commercial Design and Construction Projects is a welcome resource for owners, contractors, and designers in search of better ways to work together. “Managing Design blends practical advice from the author's five decades in architecture and construction with wisdom from more than three dozen luminaries in the design, delivery, ownership and operation of the built environment. The result is an extraordinary guide to integrating practice across disciplines.” —Bob Fisher, Editor-In-Chief, Design Intelligence “Managing Design peers into the soul of a contentious industry as it grapples with change—a deep dive into the design and construction process in the words of those doing the work. I enjoyed the engineers and contractors’ pleas to be made parties to design process early on. The questions—as interesting as the answers—are both here in this book.” —Richard Korman, Deputy Editor, Engineering News Record “Managing Design hits many of the design and construction industry’s ills head-on with insightful interviews by new and established leaders and real-world tactics on creating better teams, better communications between players, and—most vitally—better project results.” —Rebecca W. E. Edmunds, AIA, Editor, Author and President, r4 llc
This book describes concepts, methods and practical techniques for managing projects to develop constructed facilities in the fields of oil & gas, power, infrastructure, architecture and the commercial building industries. It is addressed to a broad range of professionals willing to improve their management skills and designed to help newcomers to the engineering and construction industry understand how to apply project management to field practice. Also, it makes project management disciplines accessible to experts in technical areas of engineering and construction. In education, this text is suitable for undergraduate and graduate classes in architecture, engineering and construction management, as well as for specialist and professional courses in project management.
This book describes the fascinating wealth of activities as they occur in the design, construction and commissioning of a chemical plant - a jigsaw puzzle of the work of chemical engineers, chemists, constructors, architects, electrical engineers, process automation engineers, economists and legal staff. The author first takes the reader through the conceptual phase, in which the economic relevance and environmental impact need to be considered and supplemented by accurate estimates of capital requirements and profitability. This phase ends with the choice of an appropriate engineering firm and the conclusion of the contract, after which the reader is guided through all aspects of the implementation phase from the engineering of the chemical plant to commissioning, equipment and material procurement, the erection phase and the successful test run, after which the new facility is handed over to its owner. The book also illustrates many potential sources of errors by means of examples from practice, and how, aside professional skills, teamwork and communication are also absolutely essential to keep such a complex project on track.
