DELEGATION OF DUTIES IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

Delegation in the construction industry is the practice of authorizing a team player to carry out a particular task. This is a very important component of project management since is ensure smooth coordination.

Unfortunately for our under-regulated sector, it is taken for granted. Some professionals are in the game of assorting tasks for themselves usually because of the gravity of the reward. This results to conflict of interest as they are actually trespassing into each other’s line of service.

Traditionally this was the duty of the Architect but in the recent trend, it has been taken over by the Project Manager. The Project Manager should come up with the `responsibility matrix` which serves as a guide to what is expected of every consultant including himself and the client. This document confers authority to appointed member on whether to approve only, manage only or bear responsibility or both.

For example, In tender evaluation,

-?????????Client - approves

-?????????Project Manager – facilitate/manage

-?????????Contractor – responsible

Such criteria creates a burden of responsibility since everybody knows what is expected of him or her and in case of a fault, a specific individual(s) can be called out and account for the mess. If the Architect for instance, does a random site visit and orders for a column to be shifted through a written instruction without liaising with the Engineer, then such should be termed as a serious offence.

Such kind of conflicts may result to the project stalling and compromising quality of works. Consequently, there will be additional cost to be borne by the client just by mere recklessness.

Back to our polluted sector; there are different Acts governing the different professions. An example is Cap 525 of the Architect`s and Quantity Surveyor`s Act and Cap 530 of the Engineer`s Act. They offer specifics on the qualification criteria and also scale of fees. Yet again, you will find an Architect preparing bill of quantities or an Engineer drafting an architectural drawing. The Quantity Surveyor together with the Engineer also choose to declare themselves as project managers.

When such happens, the scope of each profession becomes diluted and quality becomes substandard.

That bill of quantities done by the Architect will not come out as perfectly if it were done by the Quantity Surveyor or the architectural design drafted by the Engineer if it were done by the Architect.

All these professions provide specific values in the specific line of work. The Architect takes care of space and function, the Engineer safety and durability, the Quantity Surveyor costing and control, the Project Manager managing risk, time and quality.

We should embrace sticking to our lanes as per the job descriptions. Do what is required of you without necessarily assuming all work to yourself. Once you get a client as a responsible professional, delegate!

There is a reason as to why amount of work always exceeds the workers.

Published by Rickfes Construction.

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