Branding is critical in today’s market – it’s everywhere – and it must be updated to be current with the times. We typically think of branding as it applies to business cards, advertising and websites. But signage and even building construction are very important aspects of branding as well – particularly for franchises and other multi-establishment companies for whom visual consistency is so important. In fact for building branding one could argue it’s more important than for other media, since the branding covers multiple senses (sight, touch, sound, etc.) and not just visual. Just think about how your multiple senses are affected when you walk into a retail store in a shopping mall or strip mall. This is multi-sensory branding at work – and it starts with construction and signage.
Roll-out construction applies to franchise or multi-establishment rebranding (or even first-time branding), when multiple stores or offices need to be built consistently with the same signage, colors, wall fixtures, etc. Typically a flagship store or office is built first to client specs, and used as a model for company spaces to be “rolled out” to other client building locations.
In the construction field, there are many roles. One of the more important roles is that of construction manager (also known as project manager). A construction manager’s activities include overseeing the entire project and working with clients, contractors and other roles from start to finish to ensure a quality finished project within schedules and within budget. This can be more important for multi-location roll-out construction managers than for single buildings. But what does a roll-out construction manager do on a daily basis?
As stated, roll-out construction managers oversee all the aspects and role interactions of rebranding building projects. They work with architects and engineers to develop schedules and plans, as well as oversee material and labor costs. Construction managers ensure projects are finished within scope and budget expectations. Construction managers additionally manage (and can even hire) subcontractors, facilitate permits and make sure projects are up to code.
One of the upfront activities of a roll-out construction manager occurs in the planning stage. The construction manager needs to plan each project stage for final successful completion. Highly specific project plans are developed and used as benchmarks for each stage of the project to track progress. These project plans are communicated with subcontractors and clients at each stage along the way. Without this planning and upfront communication, projects could go awry with budgeting or schedules. Such plans keep the entire project going smoothly.
Another early activity for construction managers is to create benchmarks. Benchmarks involve milestones across the overall project for project evaluation and approval. Benchmarking ensures the construction manager is clear on the progress, status and performance of the project at all stages. Benchmarks allow the construction manager to track the project’s overall budget, timeline, quality and efficiency all the time.
Risk management is another overall role of the roll-out construction manager. Risk management is defined as seeing and responding to issues during the project and fixing potential negative elements and stages, as well as focusing on worker safety. While internal risk management applies to potential issues such as poor planning design and scheduling conflicts, external risk management can tackle challenges such as weather natural disasters affecting the construction and potential surprise regulatory requirements. For these important issues construction managers have contingency plans to be proactive in their risk management approaches. Construction managers also supervise workers and ensure safety and health regulations are being followed, as well as reporting safety issues as needed.
Construction managers also have a very active roll in time management for roll-out construction projects. The construction manager sets the timeline with benchmarking milestones and uses these to estimate the length of time for each stage of the project to circumvent any potential human issues or delays. Planning and adjusting schedules is necessary here for construction managers. Technology and software can heavily help them in this areas.
Budget management is another critical role for construction managers. Construction managers must help with the initial financial plan and evaluate this budget consistently throughout the project. This means keeping track of expenses and forecasting financial changes. The roll-out construction manager watches the overall spending to keep the budget on track to stay on the lookout for unplanned expenses to communicate with the team.
Construction managers also have to manage the distribution of resources. They have to ensure there are no shortages in these resources, understand the materials needed and allocate enough to complete the project. Often this requires adjusting the overall plan and project scope for these changes to resource allocation. Unforeseen issues often occur during building projects and it’s up to the construction manager to manage these issues and redistribute the resources accordingly. When proactively managed in this way, the construction manager can avoid overall project delays and impacts on costs.
Another key role of construction managers is to manage staff and communicate with these critical contributors to roll-out construction. Construction managers must properly delegate activities to construction skilled roles and ensure project goals and milestones are properly met. The construction manager must be in constant communication with staff to evaluate and ensure the effectiveness of the project plan and its progress within scope and timing. Without this planning and communication, sub contractors may be unclear on resource usage and quality expectations. This consequently can impact the success and quality of a roll-out construction project.
Finally, external communication between construction managers and key stakeholders is also vital throughout a roll-out project. Just as the construction manager keeps up with the budget, quality and schedules of a project, all of this must be communicated to the stakeholders and clients. Internal resources must be coordinated with outside vendors, and the overall project depends on this and communication with stakeholders.
Want more? Read about Buildrite’s roll-out construction services.