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Owner Builder Blog

Project Management for Owner Builders

27/9/2016

7 Comments

 
Owner Builder Project Management
 
This blog is all about the importance of employing sound Project Management principles and techniques in the running of your owner builder project.
 
As with all areas of building and construction, knowledge is power. The more knowledge and skills you can develop, the greater your chance of being a successful owner builder.
 
Whilst we provide a good basic education on Project Management principles, we are limited by the time available in the courses we offer. I know we go way above and beyond what is mandated in the various owner builder course requirements, but I would encourage you not to leave it at that.
 
Strive to learn as much as you can about Project Management and it will pay big dividends. These benefits will be realised not only in your owner builder activities, but generally in the way you conduct business and your personal life.
 
Project Management is all about being organised and recognising the relationships between the various activities we engage in on a day to day basis.
 
The relationship between these activities or tasks as they are most normally referred to in the Project Management discipline are known as dependencies.
 
A dependency may be a start start, start end or end start relationship. That is, often a task may not be able to be either commenced or completed until the related task is at a given point.
 
We introduce this concept in our Owner Builder Project Management tutorial that remains available to each of our owner builder students. Take the time to review it at various stages of your owner builder project and enhance your learning with further reading on the topic.
 
Business Balls is a great website resource that provides free reading and information on a range of management topics including Project Management.
 
Another important concept for the owner builder to grasp is that of establishing Project Milestones.
 
Project Milestones are identified key target points in your project and are often aligned to the progress payment stages of construction work.
 
Stages the owner builder may use as milestones in a typical domestic construction project include, Base Stage (slab or flooring system completion), Frame Stage (structural framing competed and certified), Roof On, Lock Up Stage and Practical Completion.
 
Linking milestones to these stages provides the owner builder a consistent and logical means to measure project progress. Remember, you cannot manage what you cannot measure.
 
The benefits for an owner builder of managing and documenting (recording) a project in this way are numerous.
 
It provides an opportunity to manage project disruption and delays as well as identifying potential block points and project funding requirements.
 
Remember, if you have questions about Project Management and its relevance to owner builders, we are always happy to provide advice through our online forums or replies to comments on the blog.
 
Happy Building
 
Rick

7 Comments
Peter Noonan
12/11/2016 14:48:09

Very important to read all of these articles. The responsibility an Owner Builder has, involving Work Cover and workers compensation is very interesting. Good reading.

Thanks Peter

Reply
John Watchers
7/12/2016 15:52:19

The value of determining milestones can't ne overstated. When establishing a timeframe for my build, I consulted the main contractors and worked out where we thought we would be at the end of each week, and what would need to be done to make this happen in terms of dependencies. As we did this, a very realistic and clear picture emerged as to what we could expect. After adding some additional time for contingency, the build timeframe we have come up with has provided a great framework to manage the project in.

Reply
rick heaton link
8/12/2016 19:47:39

Hi John,
Agree, the old adage you cannot manage what you cannot measure rings true with Project Management.

Having a predetermined estimate of a timeline/frame, is the best way I know to keep on track.

It provides a great measure or yardstick to help you allocate resources and identify potential bottlenecks and conflicts.

Glad to see you are using good owner builder management principles in the running of your project.

Rick

Reply
Sally Regan link
1/7/2017 18:15:45

Rick
We are using one builder to get us to lock up stage. Typically what would be the typical percentage of the budget to get to this part of our renovation?

Reply
Mark Ferian
14/9/2020 18:29:51

this has been a handy tool to help with getting this project started.

Reply
Geoff Dick
26/7/2021 16:40:58

Hi Rick I found this course very interesting and helpful I have gained a lot of knowledge Thank you
Geoff

Reply
Scott Montroy
2/1/2022 05:44:08

Regardless of how small or large a project is, it's so important to carry out proper planning. The principles remain the same its just the tool for the planning that changes.

Reply



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    Author

    Rick Heaton is a Building and Construction Industry professional with formal tertiary qualifications in management and training.

    With over 30 years assisting Owner Builders, he brings an easy style to providing information and advice to our students.

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