The Client Role in Successful Construction Projects

The Client Role in Successful Construction Projects is a practical guide for clients on how to initiate, procure and manage construction projects and developments. This book is written from the perspective of the client initiating a construction project as part of a business venture and differs from most available construction literature which can externalise the client as a risk to be managed by the design team. The book provides a practical framework for new and novice clients undertaking construction, giving them a voice and enabling them to:

• Understand the challenges that they and the project are likely to face.
• Communicate and interact effectively with key stakeholders and professionals within the industry.
• Understand in straightforward terms where they can have a positive impact on the project.
• Put in place a client-side due diligence process.
• Reduce their institutional risk and the risk of project failure.
• Discover how their standard models are able to co-exist and even transfer to a common client-side procedure for managing a construction project.

Written by clients, for clients, this book is highly recommended not only for clients, but for construction industry professionals who want to develop their own skills and enhance their working relationship with their clients. A supporting website for the book will be available, which will give practical examples of the points illustrated in the book and practical advice from specialists in the field.

Jason Challender has acquired nearly 30 years’ client-side experience in the UK construction industry and procured numerous successful major construction programmes during this time. He is Director of Estates and Facilities at the University of Salford, a member of its Senior Leadership Team and is responsible for overseeing a large department of approximately 350 estates and construction related staff. He is also a construction researcher with ten published academic journal and conference papers in recent years, all of which have been dedicated to his studies around trust and collaborative procurement in the construction industry. Furthermore, he has previously participated as a book reviewer for Wiley. He has also attended many national construction and institutional conferences as a guest speaker over the years and is a Fellow and Board Director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Russell Whitaker is a Chartered Surveyor, an engineer and construction purchasing specialist and runs his own practice in Guildford. Russell was a senior executive and former Vice Principal in many public and private organisations with over 30 years’ managing complex multi-faceted development and construction projects and facilities staff before starting his own property consultancy. He has advised many prestigious clients including Southbank Arts Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and currently the Royal Automobile Club on project initiation, pre-development and procurement. Russell has strong academic links as a Visiting Lecturer and Course Leader for over 20 years in Building Project Management and Procurement and Professional Project Management at the Sir John Cass Business School, City University. He is a conference speaker specialising in the client role in managing 'front-end' project risk.