Site meeting v technical meeting

[edit] Introduction

Meetings are essential for the successful completion of the construction projects. Whether, it is a railway, building, road or tunnel, meetings will pray a crucial role in developing relations between members of the project team and promoting awareness of objectives and hence building a consensus.

Meeting can be about a range of subjects, such as; variations, safety, sustainability and so on.

Construction project meetings can involve all the whole project team, including the client.

The following are common members of the meeting in normal meeting

1. Project manager
2. Project Architect
3. Structural Engineer
4. Site Engineer
5. Site Agent
6. Services Engineer
7. Material Suppliers
8. Contractor’s representative
9. Client Representative
10. Sub-Contractor Representatives

[edit] Technical meeting

Technical meetings are held on regular basis during the project and may involve just the technical team; excluding the client and anyone else who is not technical personnel.

Typically, they are not long, and are straight forward, aiming to resolve the technical ambiguities arising out of the project.

The chairman of the meeting is often the project manager who typically starts the meeting by reading the agenda; then asking the contractor’s representative or site agent to lead a site inspection. During site inspection, technical problems are observed and discussed, and instructions issued to correct them. It is also during this time that team members may agree to change certain aspects of the construction to make them more easy to build and economical.

After, completing the site inspection the technical team assembles in a meeting room, confirming the meeting minutes of the previous meeting, followed by signing the minutes sheets.

Thereafter, follows critical discussion on all the issues raised during site inspection in which decisions are made with the agreement from all the parties, instructions are issued and advice is given to members of the team depending on the situation and the raised matters.

After thorough discussion, the chairman calls for any matters from contractors, allowing them to present proposals or objections.

Then, consultants discuss whether they are satisfied with the works or whether they are not satisfied proposing an alternative approach to the project manager.

Finally the project manager calls for Any Other Business (AOB) from any party, here anyone can raise his objections, calling for corrections of defects, advise on any behaviour/relation that is not working amongst the members of the team and so on.

[edit] Site meeting

A site meeting differs from a technical meeting in that, it involves all the project technical team and client or client representative and other none professional members of the project team.

Here, the client raise issues about the progress of the project, explain choices of materials, set out budget limitations, resolve issues regarding the quality of the works and so on.

As in the technical meeting the site meeting is typically headed by the project manager. Starting with the opening, site inspection, confirming the minutes of the previous site meeting, discussing the issues arising during the site inspection, presenting contractors matters, rising consultant matters, then discussing any other matter that might be raised and finally; closing up the meeting and setting the date for the next site meeting.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Construction progress meeting.
• Construction progress report.
• Construction site inspection.
• Safety briefing for construction workers.
• Site induction.
• Site meeting.
• Toolbox talk for construction workers.