Our services
Design management in Cardiff & Newport
One person holding the drawings, the consultants, the trades and the programme together, so the site builds from current information and the decisions get made in time.
The job between the drawing and the site
One person holding the drawings, the trades and the programme together.
On a project with several parties — architect, structural engineer, kitchen supplier, building control — someone has to keep the information moving. That is design management: making sure the drawings are current, the decisions are made in time and the trades are all building from the same set of details.
We run this as part of our design & build work, and we can take it on for projects that are already designed. It is the difference between a programme that holds and a site that waits.
- Coordinating consultants
- Drawing control
- Trade sequencing
- Material lead times
- Budget & change control
What design management covers
Four jobs that usually belong to nobody in particular, which is why they are the ones that go wrong.
Coordinating consultants
Architect, engineer, suppliers and building control each hold part of the picture. We make sure the parts agree before they reach the site.
Drawing control
One current set of drawings, issued to everyone who needs it, with superseded versions taken out of circulation.
Trade sequencing
The order of work planned around the details and the lead times, so no trade arrives to find the one before it unfinished.
Budget & change control
Every change priced and agreed before it is built, so the final account holds no surprises for anyone.
Step by step
How we manage a project
The earlier we are involved the more we can prevent, but we can pick a project up at any of these stages.
Review
We go through the drawings, the specifications and the consultants’ information, and list what is missing, unclear or in conflict.
Resolve
Each gap goes back to whoever owns it — architect, engineer or supplier — and is closed before it can stop work on site.
Programme
A sequence for the build that accounts for lead times, inspections and the decisions you still have to make, with dates against each.
Run
Regular checks on site that the work matches the current drawings, with queries answered quickly so the trades keep moving.
Close out
Inspections signed off, final drawings and certificates gathered, and a record of what was actually built handed over.
Handled by us
The threads that have to be held by one person if the project is to run to programme.
- Architect liaison
- Structural engineer liaison
- Building control
- Supplier coordination
- Drawing control
- Trade sequencing
- Material lead times
- Programme
- Budget & change control
Managed on site
Design management shows in the middle of a job, when the structure, the trades and the deliveries all arrive in the right order.
Scaffold up, glazing delivered and fitted 
Blockwork shell, ready for the next trade 
Roof structure opened up to plan
FAQs
Design management: your questions
Anything else you want to know, call 029 2264 2498 and ask — we would rather have the conversation than have you guess.
It is the work of keeping a project’s information straight: making sure the drawings are current, the consultants’ details agree with each other, decisions are made in time and every trade is building from the same set of information.
An architect designs the building. Design management makes sure that design, the engineer’s calculations, the suppliers’ details and the builder’s programme all line up. On a small job the builder does this without anyone naming it; on a larger one, with more parties, it needs to be somebody’s job.
Yes. We run design management as part of our own design & build work, and we can take it on for projects that are already designed by someone else.
For a straightforward extension, design management is simply part of how we build and you will not see it as a separate item. It becomes a service in its own right on projects with several consultants, bespoke elements or a tight programme.
Mostly by preventing waiting and rework: trades standing idle because a decision has not been made, or work taken down because it was built from an old drawing. Changes are also priced and agreed before they are built, not argued about afterwards.
Absolutely. Our design and build service ensures a seamless process from the initial design phase through to project completion, all managed under one roof.
Free, no-obligation quote
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