Construction Management Agreement

A construction management agreement engages a manager to coordinate design, procurement, schedule, cost, and site administration for a project.

A useful document turns the parties' actual arrangement into measurable duties, approvals, timing, remedies, and a reliable execution record. Its terms should be reconciled to the transaction rather than copied from an unrelated form.

• An owner appoints an agency construction manager
• A developer procures a manager at risk before final design
• A public project needs coordinated cost and schedule controls

The document name alone does not determine the right structure. Consider a different instrument or qualified legal review when any of these conditions applies:

• Do not call an at-risk general contractor an agency manager without matching liability and trade-contract structure.
• Do not use it instead of the architect and trade contracts it must coordinate.

Record exact facts before clauses are written. Names, authority, dates, amounts, defined terms, dependencies, and incorporated materials should be verifiable and consistent.

• Project scope, design stage and site
• Agency versus at-risk delivery model
• Budget, contingency and schedule
• Procurement, change authority and reporting

These decisions shape the allocation of responsibility and should not be left for boilerplate to decide:

• Who contracts with and pays trades
• Who controls contingency and change orders
• Who bears delay and cost overrun risk
• Who handles safety and defective work

• Role, authority and relationship to contractors
• Preconstruction estimates and procurement
• Schedule, cost reporting and change orders
• Site safety, quality and document control
• Fees, insurance, claims and closeout

Every provision should use the same parties, dates, standards, defined terms, and document hierarchy. A clause that is reasonable by itself can still create a conflict when it is not reconciled with payment, default, termination, or another exhibit.

1. 01Describe the intended result and the relationship in plain language.
2. 02Confirm parties, authority, governing jurisdiction, dates, money, property, services, and approvals.
3. 03Resolve the key decisions and identify every schedule, exhibit, disclosure, consent, or filing.
4. 04Draft the provisions as one consistent system, then review the complete execution set before signature.

Blurred agency and at-risk roles can leave contractor defaults, safety duties, and cost overruns unallocated.

The main agreement may establish the framework while schedules, exhibits, disclosures, consents, or operational records supply transaction-specific details.

• Project drawings and specifications
• Budget and baseline schedule
• Procurement and responsibility matrix

Each incorporated document should be identified precisely, use the same names and effective date, and follow a stated order of precedence if terms conflict.

Approve the delivery model and authority matrix, attach baseline scope and budget, and coordinate insurance and closeout documents.

• Confirm legal names, roles, capacity, addresses, and signing authority
• Reconcile dates, amounts, definitions, cross-references, schedules, and exhibits
• Confirm that duties, deadlines, approvals, acceptance standards, and payment triggers are measurable
• Check that default, termination, remedies, and surviving obligations work together
• Complete jurisdiction-specific forms, notices, witnesses, notarization, filings, or professional review when applicable
• Deliver and preserve the complete signed package with its incorporated documents

These sources provide federal, state-resource, regulatory, or institutional context. They do not replace checking the law and required forms applicable to the parties, transaction, and governing jurisdiction.

1. Source 1

   Multi-Employer Citation Policy

   Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Official OSHA policy explaining controlling-employer duties and actual supervisory authority.

2. Source 2

   Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in Construction

   Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Official construction coordination and safety-program guidance.

3. Source 3

   Determining the controlling employer with construction management role

   Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Official OSHA interpretation of construction-manager authority and controlling-employer status.