CE 1502
February 16, 2011

Construction Management vs. Program Management Construction management and Program Management are very similar services in the construction industry, but do differentiate in several aspects of the project(s) responsibilities. Construction Management (CM) is the practice of professional management applied to the planning, design, and construction of projects from inception to completion for the purpose of controlling time, scope, cost, and quality (CMAA 1). Basically Construction Management is a team of professionals working together to make some owner’s ideal becomes a reality. Construction Managers are hired to efficiently organizes and manage a specific project from the start to finish, making sure all the owner’s expectations are met. CM started to flourish as a profession as construction projects became more complex and called for more advanced managerial skills. All the different variations of Construction Management practices are placed into two categories, either agency or at risk. On the agency side CM is not in charge of the actual design of the project nor do they construct the project. The owner is directly involved with the contracts for construction, design phase, equipment etc… When CM’s enter into a at risk contract they are directly involved in all aspects of the traditional building process and take on a lot more responsibilities including legal obligations. Normally with the at risk approach CM’s will have to come up with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project and this will determine how much profit the CM will make depending on his/her performance. Program Management (PM) is basically an expansion of Construction Management, using many of the same professional skills to undertake more complex projects. In most cases PM’s are hired to organize and manage large capital programs with several different