Project management assistance is dedicated to supporting the project owner in carrying out its real estate program. It should not be confused with the delegated project management, a legally responsible agent, or the project manager, the individual fully in charge of managing the construction project.
The real estate developer or the project owner expresses the needs attached to his construction project in terms of technical solutions, deadlines, or even budget. For the realization of his work, he must also respect his legal and contractual obligations while organizing the management of the site.
This burden is all the more important as the real estate project is complex. The consequence of problems, usually financial, is proportional to the size of the project. This is where the assistant project manager comes into play, which will endeavor to facilitate the progress of the project in meeting the needs expressed by the project manager.
Mission
The increasing complexity of real estate programs has generated in recent years a professionalization of the client. It is during this clear trend that the place of assistance to the project owner has taken on all its importance.
The scope of the assistant project manager’s missions having no legal framework, it is only defined by the terms of the contract with the project manager. These are above all assistance and advisory services which relate to the activities devolved to the contracting authority himself:
Project design phase
Sometimes, the project owner wishes to be accompanied, from the very first moments of the real estate project, during the very definition of the needs. Project management assistance can then be brought to:
Set up the project
Force of proposal, the assistant project manager the management of the project. It determines the specifications, identifies the various actors as well as their missions and the major phases of the real estate program.
Carry out the land search and feasibility study
In compliance with the requirements and specifications, she can be in charge of finding the land with the ideal location. As part of a more global mission, the assistance to the project owner has the competence to establish a complete analysis of the project. It studies the feasibility of the construction operation with regard to technical, administrative and financial constraints. It thus supports the project manager in its decision-making.
Establish a provisional budget and a financing plan
More specific support concerns financial management. This involves compiling the costs incurred by the project: design, construction, management, communication, finance and administration.
Operational phase of the project
The coordination of the progress of the project is the heart of the activity of the assistant project manager:
Coordinate business consultation
From the proofreading of the DCE drafted by the architect to the choice of service providers through the analysis of calls for tenders, assistance to the project owner here focuses on technical skills.
Managing the site
In coordination with the architect, the assistant project manager manages the monitoring of the construction site. He reports to the client on the progress of the work until its completion. During site meetings, he is the link between the companies, the architect, the design office and the project manager he represents.
During this phase, project management assistance will ensure the compliance of the works and the commissioning of the operation:
Follow up on guarantees
At the end of the execution of the work, the guarantee period (perfect completion, proper functioning and ten-year) begins. The project manager may decide to entrust the customer relationship to the assistant project manager for the management of the implementation of these insurances.
Establish the DOE and DIUO
The closing of the real estate project is carried out by the realization by the architect of the file of the executed works and the file of subsequent intervention on the work. The follow-up of this mission can be assumed by the assistant project manager.
Advantages of project management assistance
The usefulness of the support of project management assistance depends both on the personality of the property developer and his skills and on the specificities of the project itself.
Time saving
A real estate program is an accumulation of time-consuming tasks, especially administrative ones, which have nothing to do with carrying out the work. Relying on an assistant project manager to execute them allows the project owner to focus on the essential aspects or the specific difficulties of the operation. The contract being “à la carte”, he can discharge himself of the actions he wishes.
Expertise
Assistant project managers are project management experts who also have advanced technical skills. This allows them to guide stakeholders, support them in change management and supervise the execution contractor. The stress of the conductor is no longer the concern of the project manager.
Independence
The neutrality of assistance to the project owner is a guarantee of efficiency. Its quality as an external consultant allows it to demand or take positions that are difficult for the contracting authority to hold. The latter is his client: his objective will be above all his satisfaction.
The benefits of choosing project management assistance are certain. The objection of the cost is easily dismissed when it is noted that the savings made by its interventions make it possible to largely cover the costs.
The qualities of an assistant project manager
He shares many qualities with the client. He is generally more technically advanced, which is a real advantage for discussing as equals with the project manager. He must nevertheless have certain human qualities to ensure this role of intermediary between people with sometimes divergent interests:
Outstanding interpersonal skills and ease of communication
The core business of the assistant project manager in terms of interpersonal skills is to know how to exchange, listen, create a dialogue with each stakeholder but also resolve conflicts between people.
Stress resistance
He must be particularly mentally resistant to deal with situations under pressure, complex, with tight schedule deadlines.
A real force of conviction
To assert his point of view and convince when necessary.
Creativity
To find new ways to solve a problem.
Initiative
Knowing how to take the lead, choosing an option on your own responsibility.