Christman > Services > Construction Management

Christman’s team-based construction management approach calls for the earliest possible collaboration with the client and design team to envision the project together, define its goals and establish a customized project plan. In our role as construction manager, Christman professionals draw on a foundation of expertise, leadership and partnership to organize and lead the team to a successful outcome and to complete client satisfaction.

The well-managed construction project is a Christman core competency and a cornerstone of our success since 1894. We use effective project planning, streamlined communications channels, the latest technologies and a system of rigid safety, quality assurance and other controls to proactively manage the project cost and schedule. We are fortunate to have been able to play an instrumental role in pioneering the construction management project delivery system in the 1970s, now an industry standard, and continue to be a leader in the top construction management firms nationally. In the past five years, Christman has successfully completed over 185 projects under a construction management delivery, valued at over $3 billion.

There are two types of Construction Management (CM): CM Modified/At-Risk and CM/Agency.

CM Modified/At-Risk (CM Holds Trade Contracts)

Under this approach, the client hires the architect/engineer and construction manager separately. Together, the two entities work with the client to develop the design and establish the project budget. The construction cost may be fixed in the form of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) once a sufficient amount of the design is completed, or kept on an “open book” basis, where the client pays the construction manager the cost of the work, plus a fee. 

Pros

  • Enables qualification-based selection of construction manager
  • Single-point accountability, with construction manager holding all contracts with trade contractors
  • A non-adversarial team approach, with the client’s best interests represented through all phases of the work
  • Early construction manager involvement in planning, including cost modeling, value analysis, constructability and maintainability reviews, etc.
  • Construction manager’s compensation not contingent on final project cost, eliminating potential conflict of interest from project cost management
  • Design and construction can be phased, enabling start of construction services (e.g. site work) before completion of full design, enabling fast-track project delivery
  • Good for large and/or complex projects
     

CM Agency (Client Holds Trade Contracts)

Under this approach, the client hires the architect/engineer and construction manager separately. Together, the two entities work with the client to develop the design and establish the project budget. Since the construction manager serves in an agency capacity and does not directly hold trade contracts, the cost of the project is established on an "open book" basis, where the client pays the construction manager a fee based on the cost of the work plus a reimbursement for certain allowable expenses. 

Pros

  • Enables qualification-based selection of construction manager
  • A non-adversarial team approach, with the client’s best interests represented through all phases of the work
  • Early construction manager involvement in planning, including cost modeling, value analysis, constructability and maintainability reviews, etc.
  • Construction manager’s compensation not contingent on final project cost, eliminating potential conflict of interest from project cost management
  • Design and construction can be phased, enabling start of construction services (e.g. site work) before completion of full design, enabling fast-track project delivery
  • Open book accounting system