Once construction begins, the delivery structure affects how the owner sees progress, manages schedule decisions and validates what is being paid for.
Originally published February 2023. Updated September 2026 to reflect current owner-side project delivery practices.
By the time construction begins, the owner has selected the construction team, negotiated the contract and approved a schedule.
Now the question becomes:
“How will I know whether the project is actually performing?”
Whether the project uses a Construction Manager (CM) or General Contractor (GC), the owner still needs visibility into three things:
What has been built?
Where does the schedule stand?
What are we paying for?
The delivery structure may change how that information reaches the owner, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for owner-side oversight.
The Schedule Needs to Explain More Than the Finish Date
A construction schedule should show more than when the project is supposed to finish.
The owner needs to understand the activities driving that date.
That includes procurement, approvals, trade sequencing, inspections, owner decisions, commissioning and other milestones that can affect completion.
When the schedule moves, ask:
What changed?
Why did it change?
What is now driving completion?
What can still be recovered?
A schedule is most useful as a management tool, not simply as a monthly reporting attachment.
Early Packages Can Accelerate the Project
Some delivery structures allow procurement or construction packages to be released while later portions of the design are still developing.
That can help protect a demanding schedule, particularly when long-lead equipment or early site work is involved.
But starting sooner does not automatically mean finishing sooner.
Early packages require the owner and design team to make certain decisions earlier. Changes made after procurement or construction has begun may be more difficult and expensive to accommodate.
The schedule benefit needs to be weighed against the decisions being accelerated.
Understand How the Work Is Being Managed
During construction, the owner should understand who is coordinating the trades, maintaining the schedule, managing field issues and reporting project status.
The exact responsibilities depend on the delivery model and contract.
What matters to the owner is clarity.
Who owns the master schedule?
Who coordinates the subcontractors?
Who tracks long-lead materials?
Who identifies emerging delays?
Who brings decisions to the owner—and how quickly?
Those responsibilities should be clear before the project is under pressure.
Payment Applications Need Validation
A monthly payment application isn’t simply an invoice.
It represents the contractor’s request for payment based on the value of work performed, materials stored and other amounts permitted by the contract.
The owner should have a defined process for reviewing it.
That typically includes confirming progress against the schedule of values, reviewing supporting documentation, accounting for approved changes, and verifying retainage and other contractual requirements.
The objective isn’t to delay legitimate payment.
It’s to make sure the project’s financial reporting reflects the work actually performed and the contract terms.
Changes Affect Both Cost and Schedule
A change order is rarely just a price.
A design revision, unforeseen condition or owner-directed change may affect procurement, sequencing, labor and the completion date.
When evaluating a proposed change, the owner should understand both:
What does this cost?
and
What does this do to the schedule?
Those impacts should be considered together rather than allowing the cost discussion to occur separately from the schedule discussion.
CM or GC Doesn’t Replace Owner Oversight
Different delivery structures can give the owner different levels of visibility into trade procurement, cost, scheduling and field coordination.
But neither structure removes the owner’s responsibility to govern the project.
The owner still needs reliable reporting, clear decision authority and a process for validating progress.
The construction team manages construction.
The owner needs to know whether construction is delivering the project it approved.
Leadership takeaway: During construction, don’t manage only the completion date or the monthly payment. Understand what is driving the schedule, what progress supports the payment, and how today’s decisions affect both.
Previous – Part 4 – Contract, Design & Cost
Next – Part 6 – Logistics, Owner/Vendor Coordination
About the Author: Richard Neuman advises organizations on capital planning, project governance, and complex capital programs. He has overseen more than $2 billion in capital investments across commercial real estate, healthcare, utilities, industrial, broadcast, and development projects.
He writes candidly from an owner-side perspective about the executive decisions and organizational dynamics that shape capital project outcomes.
Leading a major capital program or facing a complex capital decision?
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