Crafting a Successful Construction Management Plan

As a construction professional, it can sometimes be difficult to slow down and take time to prepare. But jobs are repetitive: Issues that can be massive problems at the start of a career can become easy to avoid later on. This can make it seem easier to jump right into a job and get things moving. 

But the old adage is always accurate — an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure — and on large-scale construction jobs, that prevention almost always comes in the form of preparation. One of the best forms of construction preparation is creating a comprehensive Construction Management Plan (CMP). 

This article will highlight who contributes to the creation of a construction management plan, its key components and its benefits. 

Understanding Construction Management Plans

A CMP (also sometimes called a Project Management Plan) is a large-scale document that lays out nearly all aspects of a construction project. The plan's creation begins before a project is even won, during the planning process group or phase. This document helps teams think through the entire project and understand not only the work but also the potential risks and problems. 

Overall, the CMP is a management tool and can be updated and tweaked as often as necessary. As situations and environments change on the project, teams may have to revisit the CMP to change aspects like the budget and overall cost management. 

While this can seem like an overwhelming amount of work to undertake at the beginning of every job, CMPs are relatively easy to templatize and tweak for specific projects. Safety protocols will remain relatively similar from job to job, especially if GCs are working in the same municipalities; budget documents will stay the same no matter the job, only the numbers will change. Therefore, while an initial CMP can be a labor intensive undertaking, most of the work only needs to be done once and then can be used as a template. 

Developing a CMP

A CMP should be created during the planning phase of a project, incorporating other preparatory documents like a cost management plan, resource management plan and scope management plan. 

For the most part, a CMP is an internal document that the project manager, alongside the superintendent, creates and distributes to crews. The project management will bring in other team members who have specific information and knowledge needed to create certain parts of the plan. 

For example, the estimating team will lay out the procurement plan based on their surveys of subcontractors and vendors. That same team will help create overall budgets. The team member responsible for scheduling will assist with timeline documents. Human resource professionals will create their own policy that will be included. 

Stakeholders from outside the organization can also be used to create a more fulsome CMP. Third-party inspectors, subcontractors, and vendors who will be working on a project can be used to develop procurement plans, safety documentation and pricing. Owners and other stakeholders will provide information and final approval of certain aspects. 

What to Include in a CMP

When creating an effective construction management plan, it is important to include clear, helpful information that is easy to find and share across the project team. Below are some common elements that are usually incorporated into a CMP. 

• Project Scope 

  Defines all the parameters of the job — Scope, time and costs are typically created before a project is awarded, and are used to help build an accurate bid. After the bid is won, the documents can be filled out more completely with final budgets and numbers. 

• Timeline

  The timeline lays out the proposed schedule in comprehensive detail.

• Project Costs 

  Based on the scope and the timeline, estimate the overall budget of the project. 

• Quality

  Lay out what issues the team predicts they will face with regard to the project and how they can maintain high quality in all aspects of the work. 

• Safety 

  A safety section details when training will take place when safety inspections occur, who is completing inspections, how workers can notify managers they are in unsafe situations, subcontractor requirements and emergency plans.  

• Communication

  This should explain what each project stakeholder needs to know, their preferred method of communication and how to reach them.  

• Human Resources

  This will contain information for onboarding protocol, drug and alcohol policies, harassment policies and other personnel documents.

• Risks 

  Similar to the quality management plan, this explains the possible risks on the job and establishes mitigation strategies. 

• Procurement 

  The procurement section creates the workflow for material procurement, including how to sign subcontracts, purchase order forms and contracts. 

• Stakeholder Management

  Lay out each member of the project team and what their responsibilities are on the project. 

CMP Best Practices

Plan each step of the process.

Many companies tend to fly by the seat of their pants on projects. Work can become monotonous and good GCs can predict most of the issues and risks that may pop up on jobs. However, a good plan is critical to prevent catastrophes on site. Even the best PMs and GCs can’t keep track of every variable on a massive job site. This makes planning a critical step in every process. 

Creating a CMP not only allows managers and high-level stakeholders to understand the entire scope of a project, the document also creates standardization amongst every team. Various subcontractors and vendors can read a CMP and understand the expectations with regards to safety on site, the documents they can use to acquire materials and their direct lines of communication with other stakeholders. This standardization prevents duplication of work and confusion on massive job sites.

Most importantly, creating a CMP allows companies to see where every dollar of their budget is expected to go throughout the project. While most projects have a budget, the CMP is a formal plan on how the money is going to be used, the different reports that need to be run and the different stakeholders that need to be notified. 

Standardize your documents.

By and large, a CMP will remain the same from job to job. If a team is working in the same state or municipality, safety regulations won’t change dramatically. Once a team has decided how they best like to manage their procurement, those documents will be used across all jobs. While the dates may change, templates can be used for scheduling, RFIs and punch lists. Creating easy-to-use, easy-to-customize templates allows for CMPs to be created quickly and seamlessly.

Be flexible.

CMPs are living documents. They’re created at the beginning of projects that can take months or even years to complete. Situations can change dramatically. Construction management plans need to be revised and revisited frequently to ensure it remains useful. Conversely, the document should not be seen as so authoritative that it causes confusion or bottlenecks on jobsites. It’s critical to have a plan, but companies should remain flexible and nimble. 

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Planning for Success

In conclusion, a CMP can be seen as an unnecessary hassle at the beginning of a massive, already complicated project. But it is always better to begin a project with a plan, rather than jumping in without a full understanding of the work that’s being undertaken. Setting aside time to create templates and reusable policies will cut down on work later on down the road. Any GC should see the creation of a CMP as a critical part of the planning phase of their project. 

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