A recent survey of construction management practices for home builders conducted by management consultantFMIfound that developing construction managers in the areas of leadership, communication skills and financial management provides significant opportunities for home builders since nearly 40 percent of their construction managers are responsible for more than $20 million per year.
The survey, titled “FMI 2007 Residential Construction Management Survey,” also reported that as many as 27 percent of home builders are still relying on lists and records tracked manually in order to manage the construction process. Nearly one-third of respondents felt it was possible to improve schedules and budget by more than 11 percent by planning in preconstruction and getting trade contractors involved during this phase.
Top construction management concerns of home builders are:
- Lack of communication skills - not only in their area, but also companywide.
- Poor business acumen and little understanding of the financial aspect of construction management.
- Poor project prestart processes.
- Incompetent subcontractors and poor management of those subcontractors.
- Cultural resistance to change.
For a copy of the report, contactJason Baumgartenat 813/636-1255 or baumgarten@fminet.com.