Construction Administration

Construction administration: Keep projects running smoothly

Construction administration is vital for staying on top of communications, documentation, compliance, and logistics throughout the lifecycle of a construction project.

Man in orange safety vest in front of computer monitor showing construction diagrams

Construction administration includes handling RFIs, change orders, contracts, and other project documentation.

What is construction administration?

Construction administration involves managing onsite activities, overseeing project progress, and ensuring compliance with plans and regulations after the construction of a building or infrastructure project has begun. It encompasses tasks like scheduling, specifications, budget control, coordinating subcontractors, and addressing any onsite issues that arise during the process.

This ensures seamless communication among stakeholders, serves as an avenue for handling administrative tasks like change orders and requests for information (RFIs), and creates a scalable workflow for quality control and documentation. Ultimately, it aims to execute the construction project efficiently within established parameters while adhering to the project’s objectives, budget, and schedule.

Construction workers at a job trailer meeting

Construction administration often involves coordinating meetings and facilitating communication among project team members and stakeholders.

What are the different functions of construction administration?

In practice, construction administration takes various forms across a project’s lifecycle, such as:

  • RFIs: Managing and responding to RFIs promptly and clarifying project details
  • Model revisions: Tracking revisions in models to maintain accuracy throughout the project
  • Submittal management: Handling the submission and approval process for project materials and ensuring compliance with specifications and standards
  • Document control: Organizing and maintaining project documents to make it easy for other stakeholders to access crucial information
  • Report generation: Creating and distributing progress reports and ensuring that stakeholders are updated on project statuses and potential issues
  • Change order processing: Managing change orders efficiently, ensuring any modifications align with the project’s scope and budget
  • Meeting coordination: Organizing and conducting project meetings for effective communication and decision-making among stakeholders
  • Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC): Implementing QA/QC measures to guarantee the project’s adherence to quality standards

Each task plays a vital role in streamlining project operations, maintaining accuracy, ensuring compliance, and facilitating effective communication among project stakeholders. Construction administration software enables project teams to keep tabs on every stage of the project to ensure the blueprint is being executed as proposed and that the project is on track to be finished on time and within the slated budget.

Construction administration vs. construction management

Construction administration and construction management are distinct yet interconnected aspects of the construction process.

 

Construction administration typically refers to the oversight of day-to-day operations during a project’s execution phase. It involves handling contracts, communicating with stakeholders, managing paperwork, ensuring compliance with regulations, and overseeing the project’s progress. Essentially, it focuses on the administrative and logistical tasks that keep projects running smoothly.

 

Construction management covers a broader scope. It involves planning, coordinating, and controlling all phases of a construction project, from initiation to completion. This includes tasks such as budgeting, scheduling, resource allocation, risk management, quality control, and project supervision. Construction management covers the strategic and operational aspects, ensuring the project aligns with its objectives and is completed successfully.

Benefits of construction administration software

After a contract is sealed and construction kicks off, there are still several ways a project can go wrong without proper oversight. That’s the problem construction administration software aims to solve through:

Efficient communication

Construction administration software facilitates communication among stakeholders which, in turn, minimizes errors and delays.

Centralized documentation

At its core, a construction administration software platform serves as a single source of truth for storing, organizing, and accessing critical project documents and enhances accessibility for every stakeholder involved.

Enhanced collaboration

By enabling multiple parties to work concurrently on designs, plans, and project updates, construction administration software promotes collaboration and fosters a cohesive and synchronized workflow.

Improved risk management

Software helps identify, assess, and mitigate risks by providing insights and analytics, prompting proactive measures to avoid potential issues.

Quality control and compliance

Software-automated checks and audits ensure compliance with regulations and quality, maintaining consistency and adherence to industry-specific protocols.

Cost efficiency

Using construction administration software enables better cost estimation, resource allocation, and financial management, optimizing spending and preventing budget overruns.

Autodesk software for construction administration

BIM Collaborate Pro

Cloud-based design co-authoring, collaboration, and coordination software for architecture, engineering, and construction teams. “Pro” enables anytime, anywhere collaboration in Revit, Civil 3D, and AutoCAD Plant 3D.

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Autodesk Takeoff

Perform accurate 2D takeoffs and generate automated quantities from 3D models in a single online solution.

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Revit

Plan, design, construct, and manage buildings with powerful tools for Building Information Modeling.

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Construction administration stories

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Heratech

BIM at the service of quality engineering

Heratech harnessed Autodesk’s Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Collection and BIM Collaborate Pro for digital transformation, streamlining design and construction for over 200 engineering professionals through standardized models, interdisciplinary collaboration, and reduced planning amendments.

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DPR Construction

Enhancing quantification workflows

Learn how DPR Construction, a California-based general contractor, enhanced their estimating process, worked on 2D and 3D models simultaneously, and collaborated across time zones with Autodesk Takeoff.

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Shanghai Tower Construction & Development

Rising to new heights with BIM

During the construction of China’s Shanghai Tower—one of the world’s tallest and most sustainable buildings—Autodesk’s construction administration features streamlined collaboration, mitigated clashes, and facilitated a 32% reduction in material usage.

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Construction administration resources

Learn how AI and machine learning can help teams of all sizes predict onsite safety and quality risks, provide accurate bids and estimates, reduce administrative overhead, and forecast maintenance requirements.

A masterclass designed to teach in-house construction administrators how to manage RFIs, submittals, sheet sets, reports, and other routine tasks.

Learn the basics of item-based revision tracking, sheet revisions, and best practices for creating RFIs, sketches, addenda, and bulletins inside Autodesk Revit.

Learn how construction administrators can collaborate with other stakeholders to revise models and keep projects on track using Autodesk Revit.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is an example of construction administration?

Construction administration includes auxiliary tasks such as payroll management, inspections, QA, and more, all with the goal of keeping a construction project on track and making sure contract specifications are followed.

What is the difference between construction administration and construction management?

In practical terms, construction management mostly deals with a contractor’s day-to-day workflows for delivering a project, while construction administration has an oversight role ensuring the project is executed according to specifications and keeping the contractor on schedule and within budget.

What is construction contract administration?

Within the AEC context, contract administration keeps construction projects on track by adhering to contract terms and managing change orders, payments, and contract-related communications such as documentation, modifications, and approvals.

Why is construction administration important?

Construction administration ensures that stakeholders across a project’s lifecycle stick to the outlined plans, which guarantees quality (via ongoing site monitoring), helps keep costs down (by closely managing contracts, change orders, and project timelines), and mitigates problems before they arise.

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