Why Your New Design and Construction Project Needs an Owner’s Rep

New design and construction projects always come along with a lot of risk. There is an exceptional learning curve that comes along with becoming proficient in the process, players and even the terminology involved with converting an idea into a reality.

A building owner, even one with experience, will have to overcome challenges to ensure that their vision is realized. One way to reduce this risk is to find a partner, or an Owner’s Representative, that has the expertise needed to guide you through the process. But what exactly does an Owner’s Rep do and how do you know if hiring one is right for you and your project?

What is an Owner’s Rep?

An Owner’s Rep is someone who is hired on behalf of a building owner in order to help manage and execute a design and construction project. An Owner’s Rep is helpful when the building owner does not have the industry knowledge, time or resources in house to do it themselves.

Once goals are established, it’s about management, communication and coordination. An owner should be able to have the confidence and trust that their rep can represent them in all aspects of a project. Their job is to structure scopes of work and schedule to align to a master plan, making sure everything is moving correctly and costing what it’s supposed to.

An Owner’s Rep Can Help with Various Challenges

Every project comes along with unique challenges based on different specific needs, the owner’s familiarity with design and construction, and what they do and don’t know about the process. Although, whether they are the CEO, COO or just someone who has been assigned the project internally, the project owner will be challenged with balancing these new responsibilities.

In an ideal situation, an Owner’s Rep is engaged from the very beginning of the process. This way, they can work alongside the owner and help to identify a budget, project objectives and a realistic schedule that is based upon the project’s goals for success. When the owner and the rep have these fundamental pieces in place, together they can identify and assemble the ideal team of design, construction and specialty consultants to deliver on those goals.

However, we don’t live in an ideal world and oftentimes owners seek out support after the project is already underway for the following reasons:

• They are overwhelmed. An owner who is being inundated with change orders and requests or isn’t able to get their day job done because of all of the different questions coming in from the consultant team might not be able to make timely decisions. Without help, the project will likely fall behind schedule, it is hasn’t already.
• They come across errors. Maybe an owner didn’t realize they needed to hire a permit expeditor or that none of their design consultants own the responsibility of consolidating drawings into a final bid set. Figuring out how to correct a key component of a project that unintentionally slipped through the cracks will take additional time and add cost to the budget.
• They are behind schedule. It is a complicated process keeping a project team on schedule. Every additional day added to a project will have an impact on budget. An overwhelmed owner may not even be able to identify when or why delays happened, which is why they need help to identify issues, reestablish critical milestones and get the project back on track.
• They need an extra set of hands. Sometimes internal staff may not have the experience or background to explain controversial or complex issues to key leadership. An Owner’s Rep can help to handle conflict resolution and cost overruns while staying impartial for developing strategic solutions before these issues impact the project.

How m2e Owner’s Representative Services Can Help Your Next Project

m2e’s Owner’s Rep services can help to lay out and manage resources, time and money for your project. This way, you can appropriately invest time into connection to the project in a manageable way.

When an Owner’s Rep is involved from the beginning of a project, they can bring value for hiring the right team and setting a project up for success. In this case, by the time a project reaches construction, an Owner’s Rep has the cost estimates to establish a practical and precise budget, has hired the right contractor to guarantee it stays on schedule, and has recorded every step of the way to ensure the project meets its established goals.

Contact m2e’s team of owner’s representatives for peace of mind and a final result that’s exactly what you envisioned.