Full Outline

Construction Management: Building the Built World — Estimating, Scheduling, Contracts, Safety, and Delivering Projects on Time and Budget

42 chapters · 8 parts · 13 appendices · a complete instructor companion

Each chapter directory contains seven files: the chapter itself (index.md), a one-page key-takeaways reference card, a six-part exercise set, a self-check quiz with hidden answers, two fully worked case studies, and annotated further reading.

The spine: one project, followed all the way through

The book is organized around the Northgate Outpatient Pavilion — a $47,500,000, 132,000 square foot, four-story medical office building delivered under a CM at Risk contract with a guaranteed maximum price and 565 calendar days of contract time. It is followed from the first conceptual estimate through the guaranteed maximum price, the schedule, buyout, a 23-day structural steel delay that costs $10,650 for every day it is not recovered, a change order that got built before it was priced, a scaffold near-miss that reframes the book's treatment of safety, and finally commissioning, punch, turnover, and lessons learned.

Three secondary projects run alongside it so the reader sees the same principles behave differently: a public school hard bid under a lump-sum design-bid-build contract, a highway bridge replacement on a unit-price contract with a state department of transportation, and a 34-lot residential subdivision on a 92-day per-house cycle.

And one project belongs to the reader: the Willow Street Community Center, a $6.8 million municipal building that the reader manages on paper across all 42 chapters, one deliverable at a time, ending with a complete project notebook.

Part I — Foundations: The Industry, Its Contracts, and Its Rules

What the profession is, how the business works, and the three things that decide who pays for what: the delivery method, the contract, and the documents. Part I ends with the two chapters most textbooks skip — how to manage risk deliberately, and how to actually read a set of drawings and specifications.

Chapter 1 — What Is Construction Management? The Profession That Turns Designs into Reality part-01-foundations/chapter-01-what-is-construction-management/

Chapter 2 — The Construction Industry: Players, Project Types, and How the Business Works part-01-foundations/chapter-02-the-construction-industry/

Chapter 3 — Project Delivery Methods: Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, CM at Risk, and IPD part-01-foundations/chapter-03-project-delivery-methods/ Threshold concept: delivery method and contract type are one decision, and that decision is the price.

Chapter 4 — Construction Contracts: Lump Sum, GMP, Cost-Plus, Unit Price, and What Each Means for Risk part-01-foundations/chapter-04-construction-contracts/ Threshold concept: a guaranteed maximum price guarantees the contractor's exposure, not the owner's cost.

Chapter 5 — Construction Law: Liens, Bonds, Insurance, Disputes, and the Legal Framework part-01-foundations/chapter-05-construction-law/

Chapter 6 — Risk Management: Who Owns Which Risk, What It Costs, and How Contingency Actually Works part-01-foundations/chapter-06-risk-management/ Threshold concept: contingency is a priced, owned, drawn-down reserve for identified risk — not padding.

Chapter 7 — Reading the Construction Documents: Drawings, Specifications, CSI MasterFormat, and Order of Precedence part-01-foundations/chapter-07-reading-construction-documents/ Threshold concept: specifications govern quality; drawings govern quantity and location; the contract documents have an order of precedence.

Part II — How Buildings Actually Get Built

Means-and-methods literacy. Not a structures course — the amount of physical understanding a manager needs to estimate the work, schedule it, coordinate it, and know when an inspector is right. Every system is tied to its schedule implication, cost driver, coordination requirement, and characteristic failure mode.

Chapter 8 — Sitework and Structure: Earthwork, Foundations, Concrete, Steel, and Framing part-02-means-and-methods/chapter-08-sitework-and-structure/

Chapter 9 — Enclosure and Interiors: Roofing, Waterproofing, Facades, and Finishing the Building part-02-means-and-methods/chapter-09-enclosure-and-interiors/

Chapter 10 — Building Systems: HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection — and Why MEP Drives the Schedule part-02-means-and-methods/chapter-10-building-systems-mep/ Threshold concept: MEP coordination, not structure, sets the interior schedule.

Part III — Preconstruction: Estimating, Scheduling, and Winning the Work

The project is built twice — once on paper and once in the field — and the first build determines the second. Part III is the paper build: budgeting during design, quantity takeoff, unit costs, the critical path method, the decision to bid, buyout, and everything that must be true before the first truck arrives.

Chapter 11 — Preconstruction Services: Conceptual Estimating, Budgeting, and Value Engineering part-03-preconstruction/chapter-11-preconstruction-services/

Chapter 12 — Estimating Fundamentals: Quantity Takeoffs, Unit Costs, and Building a Bid from Plans and Specs part-03-preconstruction/chapter-12-estimating-fundamentals/ Threshold concept: an estimate is not a prediction — it is a priced bundle of assumptions and risks, each owned by somebody.

Chapter 13 — Detailed Estimating: CSI Divisions, Subcontractor Quotes, Equipment Costs, and the Final Number part-03-preconstruction/chapter-13-detailed-estimating/

Chapter 14 — Scheduling: Critical Path Method, Gantt Charts, and Building a Schedule That Reflects Reality part-03-preconstruction/chapter-14-scheduling-cpm/ Threshold concept: the critical path is a calculated result, not an opinion — and float is a shared, consumable asset the contract assigns to somebody.

Chapter 15 — Bidding and Proposal: How to Win Work (and How to Know When to Walk Away) part-03-preconstruction/chapter-15-bidding-and-proposals/

Chapter 16 — Procurement and Buyout: Subcontracts, Purchase Orders, Long-Lead Items, and the Supply Chain part-03-preconstruction/chapter-16-procurement-and-buyout/

Chapter 17 — Pre-Construction Planning: Permits, Site Logistics, Procurement, and Mobilization part-03-preconstruction/chapter-17-preconstruction-planning/

Part IV — Building It: Field Operations

The work moves from paper to people. Running a site, managing twenty subcontractors who do not work for you, measuring productivity, matching equipment to the work, the temporary structures that hold everything up, quality, and safety.

Chapter 18 — Site Management: Layout, Logistics, Material Handling, and Running an Efficient Job Site part-04-field-operations/chapter-18-site-management/

Chapter 19 — Subcontractor Management: Selection, Coordination, Quality, and Getting 20 Trades to Work Together part-04-field-operations/chapter-19-subcontractor-management/ Threshold concept: you do not manage the work; you manage the people who contracted to do the work.

Chapter 20 — Labor, Productivity, and the Construction Workforce part-04-field-operations/chapter-20-labor-and-productivity/

Chapter 21 — Equipment Management: Cranes, Excavators, Concrete, and Matching Equipment to the Work part-04-field-operations/chapter-21-equipment-management/

Chapter 22 — Temporary Structures: Formwork, Shoring, Scaffolding, and Dewatering part-04-field-operations/chapter-22-temporary-structures/

Chapter 23 — Quality Management: Inspections, Testing, Punch Lists, and Delivering a Product You're Proud Of part-04-field-operations/chapter-23-quality-management/

Chapter 24 — Safety Management: OSHA, Site Safety Plans, Toolbox Talks, and Why Zero Incidents Is the Only Goal part-04-field-operations/chapter-24-safety-management/ Threshold concept: safety is a property of the production system, not a rulebook.

Part V — Running the Project: Communication and the Record

Most project failures are communication failures wearing a technical costume. Submittals and RFIs, the meetings that run the job, the daily record that will decide every future dispute, and the lean planning system that makes work ready before a crew is standing in front of it.

Chapter 25 — Submittals, RFIs, and Document Control: The Paper Trail That Protects the Project part-05-communication-and-documentation/chapter-25-submittals-rfis-document-control/ Threshold concept: the paper trail is the project's memory, and contemporaneous records are worth ten times reconstructed ones.

Chapter 26 — Meetings and Field Documentation: OAC Meetings, Coordination, Daily Reports, and the Project Record part-05-communication-and-documentation/chapter-26-meetings-and-field-documentation/

Chapter 27 — Lean Construction and the Last Planner System: Pull Planning, Flow, and Making Work Ready part-05-communication-and-documentation/chapter-27-lean-construction/ Threshold concept: the schedule tells you what should happen; the constraint log tells you what can.

Part VI — Project Controls: Cost, Time, and Money

Whether you are making money, whether you are going to finish on time, what a change is really worth, how to get paid, what to do when the job goes sideways, and why a profitable contractor can still go broke.

Chapter 28 — Cost Control: Budgets, Cost Codes, Tracking, Forecasting, and Knowing If You're Making Money part-06-project-controls/chapter-28-cost-control/ Threshold concept: cost-to-complete, not cost-to-date, tells you whether you are making money.

Chapter 29 — Schedule Control: Updates, Delays, Acceleration, and Getting Back on Track part-06-project-controls/chapter-29-schedule-control/

Chapter 30 — Earned Value Management for Construction: Measuring Progress in Dollars and Days part-06-project-controls/chapter-30-earned-value-management/

Chapter 31 — Change Order Management: Identifying, Pricing, Negotiating, and Documenting Changes part-06-project-controls/chapter-31-change-order-management/ Threshold concept: the cost of a change is rarely the cost of the work.

Chapter 32 — Progress Payments: Applications for Payment, Retention, Lien Waivers, and Cash Flow part-06-project-controls/chapter-32-progress-payments/ Threshold concept: cash flow is not profit — a profitable contractor can go broke.

Chapter 33 — Claims, Disputes, and Delay Analysis: When the Project Goes Sideways part-06-project-controls/chapter-33-claims-and-delay-analysis/ Threshold concept: entitlement, causation, and damages are three separate proofs, and you must win all three.

Chapter 34 — Construction Finance and Accounting: WIP Schedules, Over/Under Billing, Bonding Capacity, and Why Profitable Contractors Go Broke part-06-project-controls/chapter-34-construction-finance/

Part VII — Specialized Practice and Technology

BIM as a coordination and scheduling instrument rather than a rendering tool; building to an energy code and a sustainability standard; and how the same principles behave differently in housing, in heavy civil, and in a technology stack that is genuinely changing.

Chapter 35 — BIM for Construction: 3D Coordination, 4D Scheduling, 5D Estimating, and Digital Twins part-07-specialized-practice-and-technology/chapter-35-bim-for-construction/

Chapter 36 — Sustainable Construction: LEED, Energy Codes, Green Materials, and Building for the Future part-07-specialized-practice-and-technology/chapter-36-sustainable-construction/

Chapter 37 — Residential Construction Management: The Unique Challenges of Building Homes part-07-specialized-practice-and-technology/chapter-37-residential-construction/

Chapter 38 — Heavy Civil Construction: Roads, Bridges, Utilities, and Infrastructure part-07-specialized-practice-and-technology/chapter-38-heavy-civil-construction/

Chapter 39 — Construction Technology: Drones, Reality Capture, Prefab, Robotics, and What's Coming part-07-specialized-practice-and-technology/chapter-39-construction-technology/

Part VIII — Finishing the Work and Building the Career

Finishing is a discipline of its own, and it is the phase most projects handle worst. Then the two things nobody teaches: how to lead people on a construction site, and how a career in this industry actually gets built.

Chapter 40 — Project Closeout: Commissioning, Punch List, Turnover, Warranties, and Lessons Learned part-08-closeout-and-career/chapter-40-project-closeout/

Chapter 41 — Leading People: Field Leadership, Crews, Conflict, and the Human Side of Construction part-08-closeout-and-career/chapter-41-leading-people/

Chapter 42 — The CM Career: From Field Engineer to Project Executive — Certifications, Skills, and Leadership part-08-closeout-and-career/chapter-42-the-cm-career/

Appendices

Instructor companion

• Four syllabi: a 15-week university course, a two-semester sequence, a 12-week contractor onboarding program, and a self-paced independent study path.
• Chapter notes for all 42 chapters — teaching objectives, the concepts students reliably struggle with, timing, and what to cut when you are behind.
• Discussion guides for all 42 chapters, with facilitation notes.
• Assessments: a midterm, a final, and grading rubrics for the project notebook.
• Common Struggles — the places students reliably get stuck, and how to unstick them.
• Teaching safety without turning it into a rules list.
• Running field simulations and role-plays — bid day, the coordination meeting, the change-order negotiation, and the claim.

The four learning paths