How to Manage School Building Construction Projects

Consult with the school board about the goals for the project. What are the primary objectives of the new construction project? Get opinions from as many people as possible. It's much costlier to change your mind later, so make sure all plans are endorsed by everyone whose endorsement is needed before starting any projects.

Decide on the contract type for hiring your contractors. Will you pay on a time-based basis, or pay for the whole project? Will you specify how much raw material to use? Who's responsible for purchasing the raw material? Is that part of the contractor's job? Should it be included in the bid?

Hire an architect. The architect will turn rough ideas into solid blueprints for actually putting the project into construction. At this point, potential issues may also start coming up. For example, electric lines might clash with existing lines and designs might need to be changed.

Send a Request for Proposal (RFP) to a handful of trusted contractors. Work with people who are recommended by the school board or by your architect to reduce the risk of over spending.

Get all the necessary legal work done. This can be done with the help of your architect or contractor, or you may need additional legal assistance. For any construction project, you'll generally need at least a license and a permit. You may also need to purchase insurance.

Monitor the construction process. Three things to keep an eye on are: costs, quality and time table. Often times construction projects may go over both time and expected costs. As the project manager, you need to keep a close eye on these things.

Inspect the finished building once construction is over. Have the board approve the building before terminating the contract with your contractor. You'll have to organize inspections, likely some follow-up work and a thorough cleaning of the entire building before you can open the new building for operation.