Hiring a General Contractor vs. Hiring a Construction Manager

Competitive Bidding with Multiple General Contractors
  1. More risk for owner
  2. More risk for contractor
  3. Sets up ADVERSARIAL relationship among contractor, architect/engineer, and owner
  4. Contractor protects self interest
  5. Gets low cost bids
  6. High charges for change orders
  7. No contractor involvement during planning stage
  8. Requires good estimator
  9. Emphasizes price
  10. Makes the assumption that the quality will be the same no matter who works on the project
  11. Price is the deciding factor
  12. Legal costs can be much higher

Negotiating a Contract with a Construction Manager
  1. Less risk for owner
  2. Less risk for construction manager
  3. Sets up TEAM relationship among construction manager, architect/engineer, and owner
  4. Construction manager works for owner
  5. Emphasizes quality
  6. Reasonable charges for change orders
  7. Heavy involvement of construction manager during planning stage
  8. Requires good conceptual estimator
  9. Emphasizes service
  10. Chooses construction manager and subcontractors on the basis of work and track record
  11. Considers experience, quality, reliability, on-time completion, and creativity
  12. Legal costs usually lower

Observation: If competitive bidding is effective, why not take bids from lawyers, and doctors?