Construction Management Definition

A procurement system which cuts out the main contractor. The employer enters into trade contracts direct with companies who would normally be subcontractors but who are called trade contractors under construction management.

Often the employer will appoint a construction manager (who may be a contractor’s subsidiary, but is more like a consultant than a contractor) to plan and manage the project, and to invite tenders for and negotiate, and then administer and supervise, the trade contracts. But this function can also be undertaken by the employer in-house or by the quantity surveyor or another consultant with project management ability.