What are the roles and responsibilities of a construction site manager?
Interested in becoming a construction site manager, but unsure whether your skills and experience lend themselves to site management?
To help you determine whether this role is right for you, the team of expert assessors at SB Skills Solutions explore some of the key roles and responsibilities of a site manager.
Alongside explaining the primary site manager roles and responsibilities, we’ll also take a look at what the typical working day looks like for a construction site manager.
What does a site manager do?
In general, a construction site manager oversees the entire team of people working on a construction site or project.
They will be the individual responsible for ensuring the project meets all relevant deadlines and is delivered within budget.
Construction site manager roles and responsibilities
Unlike other construction site workers that might have more focused responsibilities, the roles and responsibilities of a site manager are broader and more varied.
This is because they’re responsible for the overall finances, safety, and progress of the site or project.
Ensure work is being carried out safely
Safety is paramount in all industries, but especially in the construction sector due to the frequent use of vehicles, heavy machinery, airborne materials, moving objects, and electricity.
Site managers should therefore take an active approach to assessing and minimising risks as well as ensuring work is being carried out safely by making sure workers are aware of safety hazards.
The manager should also ensure that statutory health and safety policies, best practices, and site rules are being followed appropriately, and that safety inspections are being conducted where necessary across the site.
Handle the project’s finances
Staying on budget is crucial to keeping clients happy and delivering the project as agreed in a contract without incurring added expense. As a result, negotiating, setting, and sticking to a budget is one of the core site manager roles and responsibilities.
The site manager will also be required to continually monitor build costs as every stage of the process to help prevent unintentional overspending.
Liaise with clients
As the construction site manager should have a strong understanding of the site’s progress and estimated deadline, they’ll often be responsible for setting up regular meetings with the client.
During these meetings, they should update the client with any requested information while also explaining whether there’s been any variations, delays, problems, or other concerns about the site or project.
Supervise site progress
Supervision is one of the main roles and responsibilities of a site manager as this allows them to constantly review construction site progress. To ensure the project remains on track, the site manager should have a clear schedule will lets them know who is working where and why on a daily basis.
If any workers aren’t where they’re supposed to be or aren’t carrying out the work that they’ve been scheduled to complete that day, then it’s up to the construction site manager to find out why and rectify this situation.
Solve any problems that arise
It’s not uncommon for unexpected or uncontrollable problems to arise on construction sites. Such problems can include a shortage of labour, unreliable subcontractors, delayed cash flow, health and safety accidents, as well as issues due to poor or unclear communication.
Not only should the construction site manager be able to solve these unforeseen issues, but in order to prevent these problems from impacting the progress of the project, these issues should be tackled as effectively and quickly as possible.
What makes a good site construction manager?
There are endless skills that can help you to become a better construction site manager. From the possession of many different transferrable skills to an expert grasp of vital construction industry knowledge, effective site management requires the manager to have a wide and varied skillset. This includes:
Strong leadership skills
To ensure every individual involved in the construction project is on-track and performing their work to the required quality and timeline, strong leadership is an essential skill for a construction site manager.
As a result, if you want to be considered a good construction site manager, then you’ll need to work on your core leadership skills. This includes your ability to communicate with workers, delegate tasks, solve problems quickly, negotiate contracts, as well as manage workers with motivation or discipline, where necessary.
An eye for detail and organisation
A calm construction site is a safe and productive construction site. This is why being able to plan, organise, and prioritise tasks is another strong indication of a good construction site manager.
With the right planning and work schedule, no worker should feel pressured or rushed to complete a task, helping to promote both a calmer and safer working environment.
In-depth construction industry knowledge
Naturally, a comprehensive understanding of the construction industry is non-negotiable when it comes to successful site management as the manager oversees the entire site.
An effective manager should therefore know how to maintain a safe working environment and obtain the necessary permits and licenses, have a strong building code knowledge, and a suitable understanding of the construction industry as a whole.
Being good with numbers
If maths isn’t your strong suit, then site management may not be the role for you. This is because ensuring a construction project is delivered within budget is one of the most important roles and responsibilities of a site manager.
As a result, a good construction site manager should have the ability to negotiate and manage finances, which includes monitoring costs relating to the purchase of both materials and labour.
Construction site manager qualifications with SB Skills
Keen to start your journey to becoming a construction site manager?
For professional support achieving your Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Manager card or to learn more about the various roles and responsibilities of a site manager, don’t hesitate to reach out today.
Suitable for aspiring construction site managers already working within the construction industry, our Construction Site Management NVQ Level 6 qualification can help you to boost your earning potential by supplying you with the relevant skills, experience, and knowledge to succeed in this crucial construction role.
At SB Skills Solutions, you’ll be supported by experts as every one of our assessors has at least 10 years of relevant experience alongside their own Level 6 Construction Site manager NVQ, PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) achievement, or Assessor Award.
Regardless of whether you’ve always wanted to become a construction site manager or you’re simply exploring your career options, why not learn more about this sought-after qualification from our knowledgeable team?
You can discuss your qualification goals with a member of the SB Skills Solutions team today by either calling us on 01695 558420 or sending your enquiry via email to info@sbskills.co.uk.
