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Effective construction management can dramatically improve your bottom line.
Learn essentials of managing projects well and within budget, from scheduling and jobsite safety to quality and customer service in this long-anticipated revision of Basic Construction Management.
Leon Rogers, an experienced builder, author, and educator, offers proven practices for:
- Recruiting and keeping the best trade contractors.
- Scheduling that makes sense.
- Developing and implementing quality practices.
This book guides you step-by-step from construction planning through warranty work, blending proven practices with the experiences of builders in the field. It offers a roadmap to excellence for new construction superintendents and for veterans who want to brush up their skills for managing people and projects.
A companion Web page includes updated quality checklists and other customizable tools to help you manage your construction projects.
From the Preface
I saw a hand-drawn set of house plans the other day and had to laugh. Indeed, when the first edition of this book was written in 1981, the construction world was a very different place. The manuscript was typed on a then state-of-the-art IBM Selectric, which cost more than today's personal computers. PCs were unheard of, cellular phones had not been invented, construction scheduling was just in its infancy, and Total Quality Management (TQM) was a Japanese phenomenon. We were beginning to apply business management principles to residential construction projects, but construction management still was largely "by the seat of your pants."
Much has happened in 28 years. Most residential builders are almost completely computerized. Home buyers have become increasingly sophisticated and demanding, and construction project management is more complex. Cost control and analysis of cost overruns and variances are now standard practices. Formal safety programs are more common. Computerized scheduling is widely accepted. TQM and continuous improvement have been successfully implemented in many companies. Thanks to the educational efforts of NAHB's Home Builders Institute, industry consultants, and educators in college construction management programs, today's builders are more highly educated and better prepared. But so are their competitors. Those who have survived the ups and downs of the housing cycle have done so by managing better and applying basic principles to their day-to day work.
Through all of the changes - perhaps because of them - residential building today remains a dynamic, exciting, and challenging business, one in which the construction superintendent plays a large and important role.
However, today's superintendents face a host of demands. Construction typically includes greater customization of standard designs. The designs themselves are more innovative and complex, resulting in more construction challenges. Materials and methods are continually changing. Superintendents now use computers on a daily basis for cost control, scheduling, and overall project management.
Still, the feeling you get from successfully organizing people, materials, and equipment to create a beautiful and functional home is uniquely satisfying. When you pass by a home that you helped to build years earlier, you look upon it with pride and think, "I built that!" This pride in workmanship is essential for success in the construction business, because the truly successful in any endeavor are often not those who are wealthy or brilliant, but those who are genuinely good at what they do and who take pleasure in it.
Most people who are good at what they do apply simple rules and goals to their tasks. This book attempts to teach the rules of construction management that have helped countless construction professionals and aspiring professionals like you to maintain a budget, comply with a schedule, and establish quality control. These three keys to successful project management are the foundation of long-term success in home building.
About the Author
As president of Construction Management Associates, Leon Rogers has helped many companies improve their management techniques, monitoring, and construction operations. Mr. Rogers is a professor emeritus at Brigham Young University, where he taught for 25 years in the widely acclaimed construction management program.
A popular national speaker and an active builder for more than 35 years, Mr. Rogers. has developed a number of highly regarded superintendent training programs for home builders. A former president of Wayne Homes Newark, Inc., which won the America's Most Organized Builder and America's Best Builder awards, Mr. Rogers has written several other books, manuals, and articles. He is also an OSHA-certified safety trainer.
He has 6 children and 11 grandchildren and lives in Thayne, Wyoming.
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