Project Management became an in vogue term in the mid 1990s, primarily to emphasize the need for management to be efficient to ensure successful completion of a project. However, the term covers many possible arrangements.
Companies were set up to provide management services. A promoter could, for instance, use a management contractor to manage the construction of a project under either of the arrangements termed Construction Management or Management Contracting described in Section 2.5. Alternatively where a promoter requires management of both design and construction of a project, one of the procedures described in Section 2.6 can be adopted.
Consulting engineers have, of course, always provided independent project
management services to a promoter for the design and construction of a project.
This book deals with many of the arrangements for project management
that are possible, commenting on their benefits and weaknesses, and detailing the practical measures which should be adopted to ensure the successful conclusion of a project.
However, the term Project Manager has such a broad meaning that it is
often used loosely to apply to people occupying quite different positions in various organizations. The following terms are more explicit so are used where necessary.
The Project Manager is preferably confined to mean the person acting on
behalf of the promoter to administer a contract for construction, as defined in the ICEs ECC contract conditions (see Sections 1.6 and 4.2(f));
The Agent a long-standing traditional term is preferably used to designate the contractors person in charge of construction on site;
The Project Engineer can be used to designate the key executive person (usually an engineer but not always) delegated by a promoter or consulting engineer to be in charge of the design of a project who usually also draws up the contracts for construction and sees the project through to completion.
The Resident Engineer another traditional term can be used to designate the Engineers Representative on site to oversee construction, as defined in the ICE Conditions of Contract (see Section 9.1).
7The Government Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions.