Whether they work as an individual professional or operate as a construction firm, General Contractors In Nashville TN oversee the day-to-day operations of a building project. This includes managing the flow of information among stakeholders throughout the project and ensuring compliance with building codes and specifications.
The GC role requires a unique blend of field experience and technical education. This article will explore their responsibilities in more detail.
Project Planning and Management
Project planning is the set of activities, tools and strategies that are used to deliver a construction project on time and within budget. It includes planning for the delivery of work, ensuring that all requirements are met, and identifying potential risks.
General contractors must have the skills to create and manage a project plan for new construction or renovations, regardless of size or scope. They must know how to plan for the unknowns that will come up on a job site, such as weather delays or changes in materials costs. They are also responsible for overseeing the project’s schedule and providing regular reports to stakeholders.
Permitting & Regulatory Compliance
GCs are responsible for pulling all building permits and ensuring that the planned work complies with local zoning laws and codes. This is a key part of the GC’s role, as it carries significant legal liability and is required by most municipalities.
They also act as the liaison between a design team and a construction crew, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This requires a strong background in both engineering and business.
As the steward of the project’s budget, GCs are constantly monitoring construction progress to ensure that the final product meets expectations and stays within the agreed-upon price. To do this, they must be able to anticipate challenges, respond quickly and make informed decisions on the fly.
Throughout the construction process, the GC must coordinate all subcontractors and suppliers to meet deadlines, schedules and delivery dates. This involves leveraging construction project management software, communicating daily with all parties and resolving any issues that arise, including disputes between subcontractors or vendors.
Quality Control
GCs are the gatekeepers of quality, ensuring that all materials and workmanship comply with industry standards and construction specifications. They actively supervise the process, inspecting work in progress and conducting hands-on walkthroughs at the end of each phase. They are able to identify and resolve issues like mismatched paint, scratches on floors or loose electrical wiring before they become serious problems that require costly repairs.
A GC must be licensed in their state to ensure they meet all applicable insurance requirements and regulations, such as worker’s compensation, property damage and public liability. They may also be required to carry professional liability insurance that protects them from damages resulting from their negligence on the job site.
Job Site Oversight
On a construction project, the general contractor manages everyone on the site: the project owner, the architect and designer, engineers, managers, trade workers, subcontractors, vendors, regulators and visitors. GCs must ensure safety and compliance for all of them.
To do so, a GC must inspect the work area on a regular basis, identify hazards and potential violations, and communicate these concerns to all parties. Additionally, a GC must train all workers on the jobsite about the specific risks and how to prevent them.
A GC can be held liable as the controlling employer on a multi-employer construction site for any violation that it has control over, even if the hazard is not directly caused by its employees. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued a serious citation to a GC on a multi-family residential project when an employee of one of the framing subcontractors fell through an open stairwell.
OSHA’s “controlling employer” test combines two elements: (1) whether the employer has general supervisory authority over the worksite, including power to correct or require others to correct hazardous conditions and (2) whether the employer fails to exercise this reasonable care. In this case, the GC had full contract authority over the framing subcontractor, but failed to inspect the jobsite on a regular basis or follow up on reports of potential violations by subcontractors.
The construction industry is very unique in that the GC often has broad contractual authority over all aspects of the work on a project, but also relies on the expertise and commitment of its lower-tier subcontractors to perform specific tasks. In addition, many projects are staffed by both union and non-union workers, salary and hourly staff, some who are IM/O and others who are not.
Managing these varied worker populations can be complicated and requires a high level of coordination and management. This is particularly true in terms of onboarding, training, HR involvement, timecard processing and company policy enforcement. Add the new immigration policies of the Trump Administration to the mix and a GC must be ready to take steps to verify employment eligibility, protect legal resident immigrant workers, and avoid discrimination in hiring practices.
Subcontractor Management
Subcontractors play a pivotal role in executing specialized scopes of work that affect the overall project outcomes. For GCs, successful subcontractor management requires clear communication, coordination and a one-team approach. Effectively coordinating multiple trades on interdependent activities such as steel and concrete fabrication and placement is critical to the success of any construction project.
During the prequalification process, GCs curate lists of specialty contractors based on factors such as their past performance, certifications, references and financial stability. During contract negotiation, GCs clearly define the expectations, responsibilities and deliverables for each individual contractor. This helps prevent misunderstandings, reduces scope creep and ensures that the selected subcontractors are aligned with the project’s goals.
Once the project gets underway, GCs must continue to manage the performance of their subcontractors by setting quality standards and monitoring progress through regular inspections and reporting procedures. This ensures that the subcontractors are following safety protocols, completing tasks on time and adhering to agreed-upon project timelines. It also enables GCs to identify issues promptly and implement corrective action plans to keep the project on track.
Effective scheduling is another crucial aspect of subcontractor management. Using tools like Gantt charts and project management software, GCs work closely with subcontractors to incorporate their schedules into the overall project schedule. This allows GCs to foresee any potential scheduling conflicts and ensure that all the components are scheduled in a way that reflects their dependencies. In addition, GCs may allocate scheduling float that allows for the delay of non-critical tasks without impacting the project’s overall delivery dates.
In addition, GCs must coordinate with subcontractors throughout the duration of the project to communicate any changes in specifications or requirements. They also establish risk allocations and indemnification provisions in their contracts to protect themselves from liability arising out of the subcontractors’ performance. Finally, GCs must provide timely payment for subcontractors to maintain their motivation and productivity. To facilitate this, they develop and communicate a system for approving invoices and processing payments. They may also utilize digital communication platforms to share updates with subcontractors in real-time and reduce the likelihood of miscommunication.
Safety
Safety is a key component of every project, whether you’re working on an office building or a residential house. Your role as a general contractor is to ensure that contractors follow safety protocols and that the entire construction site adheres to government ruling bodies such as OSHA regulations.
This involves creating a safety program that includes regular inspections, meetings, and tracking programs as well as providing the necessary training for workers. It also means ensuring that any safety equipment is being properly used and stored on the worksite. Since many job tasks involve dangerous materials and hazardous atmospheres, this can be a difficult task to manage.
In addition to overseeing the overall project, you’ll often be responsible for hiring subcontractors (including specialty contractors), verifying that they have the required contractor licensing, managing delays, resolving disputes, and ensuring compliance with local regulations and laws. You’ll be tasked with maintaining communication with both the property owner and the subcontractors to ensure that everyone understands their roles on the project.
A general contractor will be the primary employer on a construction site and must ensure that all other employers meet their obligations under federal and state law. This cannot be delegated to anyone else, including subcontractors.
While the safety responsibilities of specialty contractors are narrower, it’s important that they have a strong understanding of safety practices and standards to keep them safe on the job. This includes ensuring that they have the appropriate safety equipment and following trade-specific safety protocols. Specialty contractors must be aware of any unique hazards associated with their specialized work and be prepared to deal with them.
General and specialty contractors are both expected to adhere to the highest standards of ethics. For GCs, this requires fair treatment of their subcontractors, responsible use of resources, transparency when discussing costs with the property owner, and honest reporting of construction timelines and budgets. For specialty contractors, it means delivering high-quality workmanship and open communication on technical issues or challenges they encounter. This can help foster trust between the parties and prevent disagreements. Both roles also require a commitment to the AIC Code of Ethics.