How a construction company is structured

Org chart

The project branch is shown in depth, from the projects head to a project manager and the site engineers, supervisors and foremen. Planning, procurement, design, safety, HR and accounts are drawn one level down. Each site repeats the same engineer and foreman pattern.

Levels and designations

Approval chains

How the structure works

Work is organized by project, not by department. When the company wins a project, a project manager is given a site team drawn from engineering, planning and stores. Site engineers run the technical work for civil, structural and finishing, supervisors run the day-to-day, and foremen lead the labour gangs. The head office supports every site: planning and quantity surveying track cost and progress, procurement buys material, design gives drawings, and a safety function watches site conditions. Because a site closes when the project ends, staff and labour move to the next site, and the reporting manager on record is the project manager of the current site.

How it changes with size

A small contractor may be an owner with a site engineer, a supervisor and contract labour. A mid-sized builder runs several sites at once, a planning and quantity surveying desk, and a procurement team. A large developer adds a projects director over clusters of sites, a contracts and tendering team, a dedicated safety department, and a customer relations team for property buyers. Labour is almost always through contractors and gang leaders, so the structure must track direct staff and contract labour separately while keeping site attendance and safety records complete for everyone on site.

Common problems

Contract labour is the central structural question. Most workers come through a labour contractor, sit outside the direct hierarchy, and change from site to site, yet their attendance, wages and safety must still be recorded. Sites are spread out with no office biometric, so attendance is taken on site or on a phone. Overtime and night pours push hours up. Staff transfers between sites break reporting lines. The way through is site or app-based attendance, one project manager as reporting manager per staff member, and clear records for contract labour alongside direct staff.

• Direct staff and contract labour tracked separately but completely
• Site or app-based attendance where there is no office biometric
• Reporting lines reset when staff move to a new site
• Overtime and night pour hours approved against clear rules

Set up this structure in ZeniaHR

1. Add each project site and the head office as a branch, and create departments like Projects, Planning, Procurement, Design, Safety, HR and Accounts.
2. Create designations such as Foreman, Site Supervisor, Site Engineer, Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager, and use grades to hold pay bands.
3. Give every staff member one reporting manager, usually the project manager on the current site, and an HR partner, so leave and corrections route correctly.
4. Use the org chart to fix broken reporting lines when staff transfer between sites, and confirm no one is left without a manager.
5. Set up site or mobile app punches with a check-in spot per site, since spread-out sites have no shared office biometric.
6. Keep leave, corrections and overtime on the reporting manager then HR route, and add the projects head as a hiring approver above project managers.

Frequently asked questions