The Evolution of the Project Manager

This Construction Business Owner article provides project managers with more real-world construction experience while teaching superintendents social and business skills. It also touches on the "then" and "now" aspects of the technical, construct-ability and business skills vital to modern and effective management.

F Devlenthal, Flickr.com

A long-standing joke has circulated in the industry that the project manager evolved as the solution to the mounds of paperwork a superintendent encounters. Today, the number of contractors who do not have some semblance of a project management corps is minimal. In fact, project managers drive the operations within many firms, replacing their past image as the replaceable paper pusher. Construction management and engineering programs throughout the world’s universities have developed curricula to educate and train future project leaders on everything from change order management to scheduling. However, what does the future of project management hold? Will the skills of today’s project manager be satisfactory as the complement to the field manager? Will firms have to adapt to a new model of project management as new business models in construction arise?

Examination
Project managers became the custodians of the “business side” of construction projects, enabling the superintendents or foremen to build. While the evolution of the project manager started as an office transition for many blue-collar supervisors, universities became fertile ground for growing future managers. Today, many trade contractors still utilize “star field leaders” as new office managers. The advent of the digital age and the computer skills of many younger managers aided the evolution.

For years, engineering and building construction programs equipped managers with a standard “toolbox” of basic knowledge to enter the world of construction. However, the largest criticism of this management group was their apparent lack of real-world construction knowledge. Many project managers could easily navigate the most sophisticated software but could scarcely find their way around the formwork of a multi-story building.

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