Construction - Managing a Commercial Refurbishment Project

Receive the client brief, visit site, record existing conditions and constraints, and identify phased access requirements that will affect the programme.

Prepare and submit a tender with a schedule of works, proposed programme, and schedule of exclusions. Set up cost codes for each work package.

Issue contract or letter of intent, appoint a site manager, issue the programme to sub-contractors, and confirm mobilization and access arrangements in writing.

Raise purchase orders for materials and issue sub-contractor orders with agreed values. Send RFQs where pricing is still open before committing to programme dates.

Manage the weekly programme, capture variation instructions as formal orders before work begins, and record all dayworks with signed site confirmation.

Carry out a joint snagging inspection, issue the snagging list in writing, track items to resolution, and compile the handover pack with certificates and as-built information.

Issue the final account showing the contract sum, all agreed variations, and deductions. Issue the final invoice once the account is agreed and retention is released.

Coordinating multiple specialist sub-contractors across a partially occupied building without a central programme view leads to trade clashes, wasted mobilization trips, and delays that cascade through the final stages of the project.

Variation instructions arrive by email or verbal direction and are not formally captured before the work is carried out - leading to disputed final accounts where the client challenges extras the contractor cannot document.

Cost tracking relies on spreadsheets updated days or weeks after spend is committed, leaving the project team without an accurate picture of budget position until the project is nearly complete.