What is an owner's project representative?

An Owner’s Representative (OR) advocates on behalf of the Buyer of an architectural construction project (also referred to as Owner) the Buyer’s interests while overseeing the Project on the Owner’s behalf during each phase, from before the Owner engages any other entities to deliver the Project until the end when the last warranty has ended. Usually, this covers the following:

Assist the Owner with defining the Owner’s needs and internal structure for reviewing, discussing and making decisions related to the Project.
Oversee a due-diligence process involving numerous expert disciplines hired by the Owner with the OR’s assistance.
Review with the Owner the probable project Budget and funding sources.
Assisting with evaluating proposed professional services as indicated by the Owner’s needs. Based on the Owner’s expressed needs, develop the Project’s scope to contain functional, budgetary and aesthetic goals.
Assist the Owner in determining the appropriate delivery method for the proposed project. Examples are: Design/Bid/Build, Design-Build, Cost Plus Fee with a Guaranteed Maximum Price, etc.
Assist the Owner with selecting the appropriate design professionals through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposals (RFP) process that are based on Project Scope.
Assist the Owner in presenting to Owner’s Legal Counsel the contracts between the Owner and Contracted services such as Design Professionals and Construction Contractor(s) for services to be performed.
Assist the Owner’s Counsel in Review of the appropriate insurance limits and coverages of appropriate Contractors.
Review Construction Cost Estimates prepared by contracted Architects and Contractors to assist in determining if amounts are realistic and within Owner’s available funds, so that the budget is maintained throughout the Project. without compromising the quality or integrity of the project.
Monitor all fees, profit, overhead, contingencies, etc. to establish that they are within industry standards.
Review plans and specifications in general for suitability for the Project Scope and Owner’s use, expected quality, appearance, maintainability, and budgetary compliance. This is not to relieve or waive the responsibility of any-and-all Design Professionals and Contractors/Subcontractors to perform their contractual responsibilities.
Prepare and monitor a process for assuring that all Parties performing construction work are required by contract to be following the Owners accounting requirements and all applicable regulations of governmental units having jurisdiction.
Perform general on-site observations, in addition to those required to be performed by the Contracted Design Professionals, for informing the Owner of compliance, project schedule vs progress, and overall progress of the Project; frequency determined by construction status.
Attend construction meetings with Design Professional, Contractors and other project persons. These meetings could include discussions of potential or pending change orders, problems, schedule, budget and any other areas of interest.
Report to the Owner on the progress and status of the Project.
Monitor materials testing to determine is the testing process is following specifications. Examples are soils, compaction, concrete, welds and other required tests.
Assist Owner in resolving disputes or claims that may occur.
Review progress billings, and when necessary negotiate revisions.
Review at the end of the Project that all lien/claim releases are executed with all progress and final payments.
Assist Owner with handling construction warranty matters until warranties end.

This description reflects common items generally provided. There may be tasks not in this description that are necessary due to changes in Project Scope or when unforeseen or concealed matters occur.