[log in to unmask] wrote:

> i think architectural firms are hiring Hp grads because
> they can pay them less than archItects -- and that's why we'rE finding morE
> and morE unqualified people peRforming construction  administration.

I agree, HP grads, unless they are also architects or engineers, should in their
own interest be aware of the process of CM, but they should keep, if they remain
on the design side and for their own sanity, to a specialty role (i.e..
architectural conservator) and avoid getting involved in project administration.
It may seem unfortunate to say, but I have had construction management experience
up to the $20M level on non-HP projects (clerk-of-the-works, NYC Transit Authority
-- back when the TA had 5 billion to play with) and I am often appalled at the
lack of clean paperwork on the part of design professionals (architects &
engineers) in the HP field. In the real world you can expect the money to generate
intense competition and you learn to develop a paper trail, CYA, to avoid what can
be some really lousy consequences.

It is often much easier for me to type up AIA change order forms, and insist on
their signature, than it is to wait for the design professionals. I often suspect
that from the design professionals view the builder's need to sustain cash flow is
not important enough to go through the process of filling out papers. Since a
builder cannot meet payroll w/out cash flow the inability to process paper tends
to create a lot of tension on a project that can often be avoided. The TA project
I refer to above ended with a $2M change order that was based on a brief letter
being written by the builder each month.
--
][<en Follett
SOS Gab & Eti -- http://www.geocities.com/~orgrease
Bullamanka-Pinheads website
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A0=bullamanka-pinheads