Professionals in the Kenyan Construction Industry

Introduction

The construction industry of any economy is propped up by various players. These vary from financiers of the construction process, developers of real estate, construction professionals and craftsmen. In this post, I will explore the different professionals you are likely to encounter in the Kenyan construction scene and the duties they perform.

For starters, by construction professionals, I mean individuals who possess expertise and knowledge in the field of construction and are actively involved in various aspects of the construction industry. Construction professionals play a crucial role in ensuring construction projects are completed successfully, safely and in compliance with all relevant regulations and standards. This article explores some of the professionals involved in the construction process, and industry at large. The roles these professionals play varies depending on the scope, complexity and specific needs of the construction project.

A typical list of construction professionals would comprise: Construction project managers, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, environmental design consultants, urban planners and contractors. All or some of these professionals may be recruited depending on the nature and scope of the construction works. Construction professionals help clients develop and actualize your ideas. They all play different roles in the construction process as described in this article.

Construction Project Managers

Construction project managers are professionals who are trained to be lead consultants in construction process. They supervise the construction process right from inception all the way to completion. They help you manage all the other construction personnel and oversee the entire construction process on your behalf. In addition to their duties, they ensure the scope, schedule and costs of the project are reasonable and achievable.

Typically, these professionals are trained in construction management. However, it is not uncommon, to have any other competent professional, usually the first professional contact of the developer, appointed as a construction manager.

Architects

Architects are construction professionals who are trained to develop spatial building plans. They capture your idea, develop it further to ensure it is functional and aesthetically pleasing. Thereafter, they present it in a format that makes it useable to other professionals and relevant authorities. They prepare conceptual designs of your intended project and upon approval proceed to prepare detailed designs. These are used in generating contract drawings, schedules for the project and material specifications which are useful to all other professionals in the construction process.

Engineers

Engineers, in the context of building construction, can be classified into two major categories: structural engineers and service engineers. Structural engineers are trained to develop structural plans for buildings. These plans ensure that a building designed by the architect will be structurally safe, that is, it will perform its functions as intended without the risk of failure or collapse. Service engineers are those who come up with plans for the utilities that will be offered in the building. Such services include electricity for which you will work with an electrical engineer and lifts for which you will require the services of a mechanical engineer.

Quantity Surveyors

Quantity Surveyors are construction professionals trained to prepare cost estimates of your intended construction project. They are the cost administrators of your construction project and will prepare bills of quantities which capture the total costs of materials, labour and equipment needed for the execution of the works. In some cases, quantity surveyors may perform life cycle costing for your construction project which is a calculation of all costs you are likely to incur on the project measured against all the benefits you are likely to accrue from it. This is a useful statistic that ensures the project you want to undertake will be economically sustainable in the long run.

Urban Planners

Urban Planners are usually involved in big projects such as housing estate developments or city developments. They develop master plans for the entire project in collaboration with the architects. They ensure different land uses in your project are well laid out and are not in conflict with each other or neighbouring land uses. They also help with the process of acquiring planning permits from the relevant authorities.

Environmental Design Consultants

Environmental Design Consultants are professionals who assess proposed construction designs to ensure that their carbon footprint on the environment is as small as possible. They perform Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for your project. Additionally, they come up with proposals that ensure that the entire process is done sustainably and in a manner that conserves the ecosystem.

Contractors

Contractors/Builders are professionals who undertake the actual construction work. They translate designs, working drawings, schedules and specifications into a physical building. They manage construction crews, subcontractors, and construction equipment to ensure work is carried out efficiently and safely. Additionally, they may conduct buildability and maintainability analyses. They will also prepare production management documents.

Goldberry Investments Ltd

After going through the entire blog-post, you may be wondering which services Goldberry Investments Ltd can offer you. Well, Goldberry being a design-build company works with its partners to ensure that it offers its clients end-to-end solutions; from architectural design, engineering, quantity surveying, construction project management and contractor services. That effectively means we operate primarily as construction managers and contractors.
To get started on your next construction project, you can get in touch with us using any of the contact details in the footer below.