Construction
Managed
Q & A W I T H C O N S T R U CT I O N M A N A G E R S AT I S H S A D H U
& P R O J E CT E N G I N E E R C H R I S P E T E R S O N
Construction management (CM) services guide
a project from the beginning to completion.
Construction managers and project engineers serve
as owner representatives, assuring that projects
are delivered on time, on budget, and to owner’s
expectations. P2S CM has been active at sites like
3M Pharmaceuticals in Northridge, John Wayne
Airport and Cal State Long Beach.
Satish Sadhu is a seasoned construction manager
currently working at Cal State Long Beach. He’s
a LEED Accredited Professional and a Certified
Construction Manager by the Construction
Management Association of America. Chris Peterson
is a California Commercial Building Inspector and
is also serving at CSULB as a project engineer. We
spoke to them about construction management’s
daily challenges, the importance of communicating
with all stakeholders, and how CMs help resolve
complex issues on construction sites.
What are the most important job functions for a
construction management team?
Satish Sadhu: Ensuring that the contractor executes
the contracted work in a timely and cost-effective
manner, so the owners are getting what they paid
for, is the most important function of the CM team.
Scope changes are inevitable in construction
projects, whether they come from an unforeseen
condition, a design error, or the requirement from
the owner. The goal for the team is to keep the
project moving forward. When issues or changes
occur, the team assesses the cost and schedule
impacts and strives to achieve a reasonable and
cost-effective solution, collaboratively with the
stakeholders. Ensuring contract conformance and
change order management make up most of the
functions that we do on a daily basis.
Chris Peterson: We as the CM team function as an
owner’s rep. We are making sure the project is under
budget and on schedule. The budget and schedule
10
are the priority and we strive to maintain the
integrity of these critical aspects of the project.
What does your typical daily schedule look like?
SS: A typical day starts with the review of the
upcoming construction activities through the “Three
Week Look Ahead Schedule” that the contractor
provides on a weekly basis. They give a timeline
of what activities are to occur today, the next day
and for the next three weeks, and how they impact
other activities if they were not performed within
the projected timeframe. These schedules pretty
much dictate our priorities for the day and for the
week. Planning and coordinating with the pertinent
stakeholders to ensure the successful completion
of planned construction activities without affecting
the end users becomes a critical daily task. The
rest of the day involves progress or issue related
meetings, change order review and resolution, and
documentation of work.
CP: Everything that happens on a project is
channeled through the CM team. We are the focal
point for the contractor, architect, engineers, owner
and other campus stakeholders. We have to give
the appropriate personnel advance notification of
construction activities that will or could potentially
impact them.
Who are the primary project stakeholders? How do
you communicate?
SS: The primary stakeholders are the owner (CSULB),
CSULB community-staff and students, building
facilities coordinators, design and construction team
and various campus agencies. We communicate and
provide construction updates through emails, onsite
signage, flyers, updates on social networks such as
Twitter, and onsite meetings.
What projects have you worked on at CSULB?
CP: I worked on several projects at CSULB before
joining Satish on the Utilities Infrastructure Upgrade.