Table of Contents
The Roles Assigned to Various Parties
Client (Developer, Principal, Employer, Owner, Proprietor): To organize the financing and administration of the works he wishes to construct.
Engineer: To manage and mediate between the client and the contractor in order for the work to be completed. In order to achieve this goal, he develops and specifies permanent works, as well as oversees and supervises their construction, completion, and maintenance duties and powers are specified in the contract terms.
Contractor: To build, finish, and maintain the works while profitably providing labor, equipment, and materials.
The Duties of Different Contractors’ Employees
Contractor’s Project Manager (Site Manager):
Responsible for overall site administration, including personnel management on-site, weekly program and direct RA, coordination of special and nominated subcontractors, coordination with client/consultant, financial matters on-site, monthly bill submission and follow-up, and quality management.
He has authority to certify all letters to H/O, assign tasks and duties to site workers (save for recruiting and transfer to other sites), change the master plan, certify payments, and purchase within his limits.
Resident Agent (RA):
The RA is in charge of aiding the PM or site manager. His duties include ordering materials on schedule, detailed planning and programming of activities, store administration and control, subcontractor coordination, bill preparation, accounting work, and directing subordinates.
His authority extends to the certification of purchase requests, periodic store checks, bill certifications, and supplier invoices.
Site Engineer:
Quality control and management are among his responsibilities, as are planning out survey and leveling work, studying drawings, preparing shop drawings and bar-bending schedules, providing technical advice to subordinates, and general site supervision.
How to Keep Good Relationships Among Site Members
- When dealing with contractors’ employees, be fair yet firm.
- Attempt to avoid a constant state of aggressiveness.
- Explain to the contractor any aspects of the work that he may not comprehend.
- If a problem arises on the job, be quick and decisive in resolving it.
- Make sure that even small parts of the work are done right from the start of the project so that the contractor understands that only high-quality work will be tolerated through the contract.
- However, be tolerant by not always adhering to the text of the law when serious difficulties develop due to no fault of your own. Unless the job is going to be harmed, relax the specifications and let common sense prevail.
- Instructions should always be conveyed to a responsible member of the contractor’s team. Giving instructions to different people can result in errors, giving the contractor an opportunity to disagree and possibly submit a claim.
- Be quick to criticize work; don’t wait till it’s finished to criticize it.
- Ensure that your engineer is properly informed about any decisions you make so that a contractor cannot acquire a different decision from the engineer.
- Serious disagreements with a contractor or failure to follow instructions should be reported to the engineer.
Consider the following points during contractor meetings:
- Prior to the meeting, the following tasks should be completed: reception of the meeting notice; confirmation of attendance with a list of topics to be discussed; last-minute considerations. Analyze the agenda and develop discussion points.
- During the meeting: introduce new personnel; encourage a cooperative culture; be constructive in your discussion; prevent pocket meetings; confirm any decisions to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding.
- Following the meeting: take action based on your decisions; upon receipt of the minutes, cross-check with your own notes, recordings, and other sources, as well as with the consultant; and follow up, checking on activities.
Related: What is Site Organization?
