General
Since the client generally lacks any professional qualification for the construction project to be realized and is rarely able to meet the regulatory and public-law obligations, a project manager is commissioned for most construction projects to act on behalf of the client towards all other project participants, planners, and executing construction companies. The construction project manager is thus deployed as a representative in matters that would essentially concern the client or building owner, in order to relieve the client in terms of time, organization, and professional expertise. All tasks such as drawing up and updating schedules, financial control over the budget, and the coordination of persons and companies involved in planning and construction are now carried out by the project manager. In doing so, further necessary and supplementary
tasks in the area of controlling within the project team are carried out by him alone
performed (cf. Preuß & Schöne 2010: p. 45). Since to this day no minimum professional requirements are legally imposed on a project manager, it is solely up to the client to appoint a suitable project manager. Ideally, the project manager can demonstrate the necessary competencies and solid construction management knowledge to ensure a smooth construction project workflow. Depending on the complexity of the construction project, it can happen in private construction projects that the planning architect or general planning contractor simultaneously takes on the tasks of a project manager. However, this form rarely occurs in public construction projects, since here, on the principle of impartiality alone, project management is used as an independent body in relation to the other project participants.

In the meantime, project management for more complex construction projects is divided into specialized fields. Thus, the MEP project manager stands out quite prominently alongside the actual construction project manager, as he specifically deals with the complex MEP events / coordination of MEP specialists/engineers, with whom the construction project manager can no longer communicate at eye level on such a complex technical level.

It is also not uncommon for certain construction projects to involve purely specialized measures / renovation and conversion measures in certain specialist areas, such as the complete renovation of sanitary facilities in a school building or the construction of a solar park. Specifically for this, the actual construction project manager (with the professional background knowledge of a civil engineer) is not exactly the ideal choice, which is why professionally experienced MEP project managers are used here.

Tasks & Service Package Project Management

The AHO
As with classic engineering services (which are governed by the HOAI), a kind of regulatory framework and fee schedule also exists for project management in construction. Based on the task areas of the AHO (Committee of Associations and Chambers of Engineers and Architects for the Fee Schedule e. V.), the range of services as well as their contents and remuneration can be better understood and compared.

The AHO Action Areas
The action areas of the AHO are structured as follows:

A – Organization, Information, Coordination and Documentation
B – Qualities and Quantities
C – Costs and Financing
D – Schedules, Capacities and Logistics
E – Contracts and Insurance

A further deepening of these action areas is not covered in this article, but can be found in appropriate literature.

The AHO Project Phases
The AHO not only knows action areas but also individual project phases, in which the individual action areas actually take place. The project phases of the AHO are more or less aligned with the typical service phases of the HOAI (which specialist planners/engineers follow in specialist planning and construction supervision) and are divided as follows:

1 – Project Preparation
2 – Planning
3 – Execution Preparation
4 – Execution
5 – Project Completion

Further details can be found in appropriate literature.

Our Engineering Office for MEP
As an engineering office in the field of building services engineering, we stand by your side solidly and professionally throughout the entire planning and construction process.
In doing so, we also offer specialist project management / MEP project management in the area of building services engineering and overall energy renovation (energy efficiency), to accompany your project from A to Z in all matters – for your security.