What the construction and projects team does
Planning engineers break the project into activities, build the schedule in Primavera or MS Project, and track progress against it every week. Site engineers and supervisors execute the work: setting out, checking reinforcement before a pour, supervising subcontractor gangs, and recording daily progress and labour counts. Quantity surveyors and billing engineers measure work done, prepare client bills and certify subcontractor bills. QA and QC engineers test materials and check workmanship. The safety team runs inductions, permits and daily checks. Stores and site admin receive material, run the site office, labour camp and security, and send daily reports to the head office.
Projects at 50, 500 and 5,000 employees
A 50-person contractor or developer usually runs two or three sites, each with a site engineer and a supervisor, while the owner acts as project manager and a single office engineer handles billing and drawings. With 500 employees, there is a projects head with project managers for each large site, site engineers for civil, MEP and finishing, a planning engineer, a quantity surveyor, a QA/QC engineer, a safety officer and a site stores team, with a central office for tendering and contracts.
A construction or infrastructure company of 5,000 people is organized by business unit, such as buildings, roads or industrial projects, each under a business unit head. Projects are grouped into clusters under cluster heads, and every major project has a project director or manager with construction managers, section in-charges, planning, billing, QA/QC, safety, stores, HR and admin on site. The head office runs tendering, design coordination, procurement and plant and machinery for all projects.
How the site team works with the head office
The site depends on the head office for drawings, material and money, and the head office depends on the site for progress and bills. Design and engineering issue good-for-construction drawings, and the site raises queries when something does not fit. Procurement buys major material such as cement, steel and lifts centrally, while the site buys small items within a petty cash limit. Finance releases subcontractor payments against certified bills and chases client payments against raised ones. HR handles site staff transfers, site allowances and attendance at remote locations, where a mobile app punch limited to the site's check-in spot works better than a paper register.
Site approvals and reporting lines
Supervisors and foremen report to site engineers, who report to the construction manager or project manager, then the cluster head or projects head, who answers to the COO or managing director. Planning, QS, QA/QC and safety staff on site report to the project manager for daily work and to their functional heads at the head office for standards. Subcontractor bills are measured by the site engineer, checked by the QS and approved by the project manager, with amounts above a limit, for example ₹10 lakh, going to the projects head. Extra items and variations need the client's written approval before work starts.
Typical construction and projects team structure
Construction and Projects designation hierarchy
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What is the hierarchy on a construction site?
On site, workers and gang leaders answer to foremen and site supervisors, who answer to junior and site engineers, then section in-charges or construction managers, and finally the project manager. Planning, billing, QA/QC, safety and stores staff on site support the project manager, who reports to a cluster head or projects head at the head office.
What does a site engineer do?
A site engineer executes work on site as per drawings and specifications. They set out the work, supervise subcontractor gangs, check formwork and reinforcement before concreting, record daily progress and labour, raise material requirements, coordinate with the QA/QC and safety teams, and measure completed work for billing. They report to the project or construction manager.
What is the difference between a project manager and a construction manager?
The project manager owns the whole project: scope, schedule, cost, client relationship, billing and team. The construction manager focuses on execution on site: sequencing work, managing engineers, supervisors and subcontractors, and delivering quality and safety every day. On smaller projects one person holds both roles; large projects have a construction manager reporting to the project manager.
How is attendance managed for construction site staff?
Site staff often work far from any office, so companies record attendance at the site itself: a biometric device at the site office, a kiosk tablet at the gate, or mobile app punches limited to the site's check-in spot. The site in-charge approves corrections and leave before HR. Subcontractor workers are usually tracked separately through the contractor's own muster.