What is Landscape Construction Management?
The process of creating a landscape has developed into an industry with a number of specializations. Different professionals may plan and maintain garden spaces, and a different specialist may install it. This last field is run by landscape construction managers who make all the arrangements to bring a garden to fruition.
The process of creating a landscape has developed into an industry with a number of specializations. Different professionals may plan and maintain garden spaces and a different specialist may install it. This last field is run by landscape construction managers who make all the arrangements to bring a garden to fruition.
Landscape construction management involves planning and carrying out the installation process that brings a garden space to life. It includes fulfilling regulatory requirements, pricing and acquiring materials, obtaining and maintaining equipment, recruiting staff with the right skills to do the job and supervising their efforts to the satisfaction of the property owner. Landscape construction management can be a profession, dealing with large installations like parks and golf courses, or it can be the activities of one homeowner figuring out how to do it himself.
Materials
Landscaping materials are expensive. Everything from pavers to plants, from wood or concrete to build benches to the components of the lighting and sound systems must be purchased. Efficiency in this area involves knowing the best suppliers, figuring actual costs including shipping, taxes and discounts. A competent manager will also arrange for materials to arrive before they are needed, but not so soon that they are in the way during other phases of construction.
Equipment
It takes a great deal of equipment to install a landscape. From grading to filling to building and paving, every process requires a specialized tool. Even planting tools will vary depending on the plant material being used. Landscape construction managers must know whether it is more economical to buy and store a given piece of equipment or to rent it when needed, and they have to know this for each tool required for a given installation.
People
Putting in a garden space requires more than just digging holes. If there is grading and filling involved, it must be accomplished by someone who knows how to operate heavy equipment. Paving requires applying several layers of different material to achieve the desired finish. Electrical and irrigation systems should be installed by competent craftsmen, and carpenters and masons may be needed to build structures. Even plant installation requires a certain degree of know how. Professionals will contract almost all of this, but the homeowner will accomplish as much as possible in person. Either practice will require careful management.
At the commercial level, a landscape is like any other product. It must be produced at the lowest cost possible and sold for a profit, and it must satisfy the customer to ensure repeat business. Except for sales, the same needs motivate the DIY specialist: he wants the most for his money, and he wants his efforts to please those who use the space. Proper landscape construction management practices will help both accomplish their goals.