Owner's Representatives are in the uniquely rewarding and challenging position of having to not only looking out for the best interests of their client, but also that of the overall building project. Oftentimes, this means assisting design professionals in their mission to steer a building to success. When done correctly, this role lubricates all processes to increase a project’s efficiency and profitability for everyone.
An Owner’s Representative's function should be team-centric and should emphasize the value and potential possessed by the team as a collective whole. Describing expectations clearly keeps everyone on-track with respect to design, schedule and budget. Owner’s Representatives are mediators of cost vs. design, providing direct answers and leaving no room for inconsistencies that can cause unnecessary project delays and value engineering after-the-fact.
Some specific benefits Owner’s Representatives offer to the Design Community:
1. Educate Owners
2. Interpret and Save You Time
3. Fair to All
4. Total Accountability
Educate Owners:
An Owner that does not necessarily understand the design process can be a huge cost to the Architect. Whether it is an inability to manage (time or knowledge), incorrect decisions, need for enhanced explanations or misunderstandings, we manage an owner's expectations so you don’t have to. Owner’s Representatives take time with owners to explain industry standards, interpret drawings and provides guidance based on previously completed projects.
Interpret and Save You Time:
As an Architect or Interior Designer, you know time can make or break your profit on a job. Owner’s Representatives use several strategies to help reduce professional’s time on a project. Some of these are educating owners (described above), having “page-turn” sessions to review all aspects of documents, interpreting processes and describing industry standards, increasing efficiencies in communication, and frequenting job sites to provide faster communication between the Design Office and the field.
Fair to All:
Owner’s Representatives should be first and foremost fair to projects. The success of all businesses involved with a project further ensures a successful completion. Everyone should make a profit, everyone should be respected and everyone should be given the time needed to do the best job possible.
Total Accountability:
Owner’s Representatives should expect our professionals to do what they say. We also expect our owners to do what they say. Our processes carefully document commitments, schedules, fess, etc to maintain clear expectations for the entire team, predicting issues before they arise.
Good luck and keep your hard hat tight!
- Jonathan Moore, IVA President