Architects / 12 site supervision steps Why supervision? This is the second article of a series of articles to share and illustrate years of the author’s architectural experience in the supervision field. The experience in supervision of various types of projects and functions like industrial, residential, commercial, recreational, entertainment, and even military projects. Projects I worked on and supervised for example district cooling plant of Abu Dhabi Airport an industrial building that supplies the airport with chilled air. Other projects like Emirates Industrial Bank of a mixed-use function. A privately funded school building including sports facilities.
Why Supervision is an article that shows the experience side of an architect working for more than 25 years in the architecture field. Several reasons make the architect work in the site supervision. Reasons related to personal interest, the architect’s design skills, social factors, economic factors, and future growth.
Architects, like me in certain circumstances, find themselves in the supervision field due to previous involvement in the construction field as supervisor or inspector. Many architects have pre-university training and some special experience in construction that increase their interest in site work.
Architects at the beginning of their career regardless of their geographic location in the world have the training in design skills (university taught). Architects Working in consultancy or architecture firms fall under the hierarchy of organizational work. They must follow the limitations imposed by the firm in the work environment. These limitations include that the architect takes small roles like preparing drawings, 3d work, 2d work till he reaches the senior level. In this situation, even senior level, he will conduct design development, not project design. So, the architect will need more than 10 years to reach the lead architect who designs the project.
In this manner, architects with limited innovative capacities in architecture design will find themselves accepting the long career development process in design. Others prefer to go into challenging fields the site supervision. See Figure 1, complex villas site supervision work for external works.
Architects look into the social and economic factors after getting the degree. In professional life architects coming from low-income social environments tend to go to fields that provide more income. Supporting a family also affects in many cases the architect’s choice in architecture work when it comes to salary.
Architects after graduation select the supervision route because:
Architects with less interest in doing design or innovative design capacity. Site supervision is a challenge in transforming design into physical form, especially with complex design. Countries in the world pass specific times that host the cycle of investment that creates high demand for site supervision work in ongoing projects. In this situation when a high demand exists in site supervision salaries for these types of works become higher and the architect’s interest increases in site supervision. Work on the site leads to positions that lead to the supervision of the construction of large-scale projects that enhance career opportunities.
Doing high-quality supervision work on large-scale projects creates more contacts for future business growth. Architects working on-site supervision for long periods make it easier to define a site construction supervision team when handling a business. Architects gaining more experience in the site work makes it easier for them to define construction companies with high-quality capacity that might make business growth easier.
Many architects opened a business after working in site supervision. Site supervision work makes architects manage architecture firms easily. That is because architects have extensive experience in supervision work. In direct contact and work with contractor’s architects built in-depth views about companies that produce quality work. In daily and weekly meetings in site supervision with all companies in the construction the architects build more experience of quality work produced by professionals on the site and how qualified team members. Supervision takes longer time than design and needs more effort and qualified staff and for that architects’ skills develop faster and they gain in-depth experience. The experience they gain is how to manage people from different backgrounds, professions, and mindsets. Also how to manage time, activity, and execution of complex work during the site supervision. See Figure 2, construction of formwork for pad foundation of villa construction.
When architects think of building for future growth (opening a business) they think of going into the site supervision work in the early stage of their life. In the firm, office work, architects need more than 10 years to reach the lead architect or project manager which allows them to meet clients. In site supervision of every project, even if the architect does not hold a high position, he or she has the opportunity to meet clients either on-site or in site meetings. Architects when working on the site build strong experience as every project takes 1-1.5 years and for that, a relationship with a client becomes stronger every day. In his career of working in site supervision, the architect meets more than 25 clients. These clients enhance the architect’s opportunities for success when opening a business in the future. Every client when he is satisfied will become a marketing agent for the architect in the future. In this way, the architect opening a business after long work in site supervision doubles and triples his chance of getting projects for his firm. In the worst-case scenario, the architect and his firm will get from client’s projects of supervision does not design at the beginning of the firm operations.
In site supervision work architects gain direct communication with contractors and their company owners. In the long range of site supervision, the architect builds a directory of contacts of contractor company owners. This will serve the architect in various ways. First, to select qualified companies for future projects when opening a business. Second, these companies will refer the architecture firm at the very least jobs that bring small benefits like supervision work against a fixed budget amount. And also, large-scale contractors at the end of their career as contractors become developers. The safest way to assign an architecture firm is for the firm owner who have direct relations with the developer. Architects when opening a business after working in site supervision will have more opportunities to get jobs from developers, and previous contractors, that they have worked with in their previous careers.
Site supervision gives the architects working on the site an opportunity to build stronger relationships with suppliers and subcontractors. The companies of these categories will allow the architecture firm to select the professional and successful ones that push the site work to success and completion on time. This will assist clients in selecting the proper materials and the affordable ones to make the architecture design take its high-quality designed form.
To sum up what I have mentioned here architects must select the proper time to work in the site supervision team for several reasons. First, to gain the maximum experience at the beginning of the career. Second, to get the most income from every year of work on the site. Third, learn how to identify professionals from various engineering disciplines. Fourth, how to select the supervision team that makes successful work. In terms of future growth and opening a business the architect will gain contacts faster and more quality communication with clients. Obtaining jobs from clients in the future and turning them into a marketing agency. Gaining strong contact with contractors that have turned to developers and getting small jobs towards future larger-scale jobs. Building relations with contractors to turn them into reference agents to get projects. Building strong relations with suppliers and subcontractors to help them get jobs and help the clients get affordable prices for their projects.
Be First to Comment