Hi
What are the attributes of a general contractor?

A general contractor (GC) considers the big picture and understands the building process from

start to finish. The GC is detail-oriented and can decide if a specific change made now will

significantly affect the quality of the job. A GC can think ahead of the current scheduled work

toward the next day’s, next week’s or next month’s schedule. The GC understands that a mistake

in scheduling today’s work can have a snowballing effect on the future schedule and cause

significant delays in the project completion. The GC is thrifty—he needs to make a profit to

stay in business. Redundancy and wasted material or labor can eat up profits quickly.

Some might even say that a GC is a “control freak” (in this case, it is probably a good thing).

Someone has to be in control. Some owners might feel that they don’t have control if they have a

GC. I don’t think this should be threatening to an owner. In fact I think this gives the owner

more control over a project because the owner directs and controls the GC who in turn controls

the project.

Thanks

Hi
In the project management phase, the GC oversees the project design, resolves design conflicts, contracts with all the subcontractors, orders materials, and estimates the project cost. In the construction management phase, the GC schedules the subcontractors, resolves scheduling conflicts to keep the job on time, and inspects the work to make sure the next scheduled work can be done properly.

Another key issue that may affect the decision for an owner to be a GC is the size and scale of a project. For example, a 100-cow freestall barn may be considered a small project that could be done in a relatively short time. It is not a particularly large building, and is a simple structure with concrete floors and curbs, minimal utilities and equipment. The dairy owner may only need to work with a few contractors (excavator, building, concrete, plumbing, electrical), and may be able to coordinate all the contractors to get the job done on time and on budget.

Thanks