Questions? We Specialize in Answers

Simply put, we manage construction programs. More specifically, we customize our approach to accommodate the needs of each individual project. In every instance, Silverman CPM provides exclusive representation to the Owner in their contractual and management relationships with the project team. While the company’s first responsibility is to act as the Owner’s advocate through the construction program, Silverman CPM is proud of its reputation in the industry for maintaining fair and professional relationships with each team member, including architects, designers, and all contractors.

We are very excited to be celebrating our 20th anniversary this year!

Though we work in many sectors, the vision for Silverman CPM is rooted in community service. In the early 1990s, Arnie Silverman served on the board of a non-profit endeavor to develop Camp Twin Lakes, a special camp for Georgia youth facing illness and other life challenges. That rewarding experience inspired Arnie to build his own business with an eye towards working with partners who want to better their communities and enrich the lives of those around them.

At Silverman CPM, it is our philosophy that long-term relationships are far more important than any short-term profit from a given project. We are tremendously proud of our lasting association with repeat clients for whom we have done multiple projects over the years. We go above and beyond to ensure our programs are conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect for all stakeholders.

Silverman CPM serves as a champion for the Owner, providing exclusive representation for contractual processes and the management of relationships with the entire project team. Using our proprietary program management system, we facilitate all aspects of a project, emphasizing collaboration and a focus on time, cost, and quality management. We work to ensure the Owner’s needs are monitored and addressed through every phase of the project.

We tailor our approach to each individual client, so it is important for us to share details about our services, while also learning more about your project needs. We have found that the simplest approach is to schedule a meeting with members of our team and the Owner, building committee, board members, and other key stakeholders in the project. We provide a PowerPoint presentation that helps explain what exactly you are embarking upon with a construction project. This presentation helps answer many of the questions you most likely have about how to go about a construction program, educates you on the types of services we offer, and provides a chance for us to ask questions and learn more about the needs of your program.

If you are considering a construction program, or simply want more information about Silverman CPM’s process, please contact us. After this preliminary discussion, we can scope out the project and provide an accurate price structure for services.

There are other firms that offer some similar types of services, but Silverman CPM brings a very unique methodology to a broad spectrum of programs. While some management firms specialize only in medical facilities and others handle only higher education programs and similar niches, Silverman CPM works in these areas as well as commercial buildings, streetscapes, parks and recreation centers, religious campuses, and much more.

No firm offers a more highly skilled, professional team to its clients than Silverman CPM. With years of experience in every facet of a construction program, we can offer our clients expert advice and direction from architects, developers, designers, engineers, building contractors, environmental specialists, and more. We analyze your needs so we provide the right project manger and support team for your job.

Perhaps most importantly, Silverman CPM serves exclusively as Owner representative project managers. We do not do construction, design, or development. All we do is represent the Owner, so we can provide a highly qualified, objective viewpoint that is free from conflict of interest. The best outcome for the Owner is our singular objective.

A large construction program has a myriad of moving parts and pieces, and a truly successful program must navigate a very complex and lengthy process. However, there are three primary factors that can create enormous new obstacles and quickly derail a project:

• a poorly conceived budget that lacks detail and fails to address all needs for the project
• lack of adequate advanced planning and a well-considered management plan
• failure to express the mission and expectations in a way that is understood by all team members

There are hundreds of critical components to a construction budget, and we go to great lengths to ensure our clients fully understand the total project budget needs, so all bases are covered and there are no surprises at any point in the process. A construction budget is not just bricks and mortar; furniture, fixtures, and equipment; lights, carpet, and windows. Consultant fees, financing costs, moving expenses, permitting, and other such “soft costs” are often overlooked or inadequately funded during the budgeting phase.

For a project to be a true success, it is imperative to get the highest quality achievable within the budget and time constraints of the Owner. Quality assurance must start at the very beginning of a project, and does not end until one year after the project is occupied and completed – and possibly beyond.

Quality assurance means going to the detail of making sure a client is informed of what they are buying and that every line on the drawing means something. At Silverman CPM, we have a process called ‘page turn’, which involves sitting with a client and going page-by-page through contract documents and drawings so there is a clear understanding of what is there, what is not there, and what it means for their project.

Like so many industries, construction programs have become quite technical and very specialized. A program manager assists the Owner in the selection process for team members, and guides the Owner throughout the entire program so the owner can make informed, intelligent decisions. A program manager provides insight and knowledge about the industry, protecting the Owner from making choices that can lead to such challenges as cost overruns, project delays, inferior quality, and contractual disputes.

There is no perfect project delivery approach; however, depending on certain factors, one may have more pros than cons. In today’s construction environment, a construction management negotiated contract is quickly becoming the preferred option in many cases. This provides the most safeguards for the Owner, mitigates risk, and ensures a greater likelihood of a timely, cost-effective, and well-run construction program.

More traditional design-bid-build and design-build can offer some benefits, but each approach comes with potential negatives, and each can still benefit from the involvement of a construction program manager.

We always state in our proposals that we want to stay involved with the program until we perform an 11-month walk through. This comes only after a building project has been completed and the facility has been occupied for eleven months. We do this in advance of the expiration of industry standard one-year warranties.

This provides an opportunity to revisit the site and see how it is operating. Not only do we check on all things covered by the contract, but it also provides Silverman CPM with an opportunity for “lessons learned”.

Contract documents include the contract, any supplemental or special conditions, the drawings, and the specifications and addendums. It is important to note that there must be a priority order in case there is a conflict amongst the contract documents. The contract itself is at the highest level of importance and supersedes all others; from there, it is a descending hierarchy for all supporting documents. Ultimately, the contract documents define the finished product.

The cost for our services can vary greatly from program to program, but we generally have three different ways of structuring fees:

• Hourly – a more a la carte arrangement for smaller programs and managing certain phases or aspects of a given project
• Monthly – based on a defined scope of services, dependent upon which phase(s) of the project Silverman is managing
• Lump Sum – based on an extremely well defined scope of services and a detailed schedule

Our fees range from 1% to over 7% of the total project cost, and are based upon an analysis of the scope of services and the duration of the project.