How important is the relevant discipline technical knowledge required for the project manager for engineering projects?

Construction Organizational Project Management Portfolio Management

KAUSHAL VAISHNAV PROJECT MANAGER| CLP POWER HONGKONG LIMITED Hongkong, Hongkong, Hong Kong

It is true that project manager 's job is to use the project management skills,techniques,tools and knowledge in managing their projects.But how important his relevant knowledge & expertise important in successful delivery of the project? .In engineering projects,is it ok for an electrical background project manager to handle civil project & vice a versa...?

In short ,Is project management 's role needs to be confined to his field of expertise?

Let me have your perspective..!!

Posted: Aug 25, 2017 11:06 PM

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MARK A ANNUNZIATA, Sr VP/EXPERT CONSULTANCY TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY| ROMAN STRUCTURES, INC WELLINGTON FL Dammam, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Mr. KV-
I agree with Mr. Adrian from Australia wholeheartedly. I suspect he is also an execution PM in the same Construction Industry as I am.
My vast experience (yes, I am an old guy) has proven to me that it is not optional, but ESSENTIAL that the PM have the technical skills to oversee all aspects of the Construction Project. On all my Projects(200 Mil USD and above) I assemble teams of Subject Matter Experts hand picked by me, along with support staff. It has been my experience -particularly acting on behalf of the owner- that upon issuing and signing responses to RFI's and Technical Queries I have discovered oversights, errors, or careless responses from my "Experts" that required revision. This applies to all of my staff- Architects, Electrical Engineers, HVAC Engineers, Plumbing Engineers, Underground Utilities, Structural, Finishes- all have received commentary and debate/input from me.
Please note gentlemen, the negative responses above seem to be submitted by individuals who have NEVER Managed a successful Construction Project.
Mr. Adrian is 100% correct.
This is my opinion from the trenches...............

Thanks,
M

Posted: Jan 9, 2018 5:07 AM

MARK A ANNUNZIATA, Sr VP/EXPERT CONSULTANCY TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY| ROMAN STRUCTURES, INC WELLINGTON FL Dammam, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Mr. KV-
One other very important point on this topic:

In order to be a great Construction Industry Project Manager you MUST be an Expert on both Contracts and Safety. This is an absolute! Our success depends on fulfilling that Contract exactly, and Promoting Safety as our primary consideration. Any failures in these departments will damage the Company's reputation and your reputation as a PM!!

M

Posted: Jan 9, 2018 7:08 AM

Daniel Nyakwabe Laurence Project Achitect| Shafa construções mozambique lda Mozambique

Aug 26, 2017 6:27 AM

Replying to Sergio Luis Conte

...

There is not need to be an expert. Knowledge is required but not to be an expert. And I can affirm and sustain it based on my personal experience working on the field and the experience for other people.But when you read job request posted along the world most of them search for people which are experts in a domain. It happens because those job post are searching for a domain expert that will work as project manager too which is not recommendable.

I am very happy with the discussion, as i am in construction industry i can also argue for this, construction/engineering field it is the best way that the project manager should has at least technical knowledge/ experience on a related field, because the success of the project(result) will depend with the numbers of changes pouring from the project team through his functional manager who mostly like to be project technical assistance, and also most of the changes likely to affect the result (product). The project manager has a great role of analyzing the changes and evaluating the technical impacts of the changes. my suggestion is its better for the related specific path to be assigned by the specific Project manager. Note. This is not for the all fields. Also i understand that our project management Guidelines give us The general principles and ways of managing any kind of the the project.

Posted: Jan 9, 2018 8:03 AM

Daniel Nyakwabe Laurence Project Achitect| Shafa construções mozambique lda Mozambique

Aug 26, 2017 11:27 AM

Replying to KAUSHAL VAISHNAV

...

Thank you all for the insight and healthy debate..!!.. I am also handling a portfolio of engineering projects ( some are strategic & some are small routine engineering upgrades) and some time due to lack of resources, we may have to deal with projects which are out of project manager's technical expertise .But what we do in such case is ,either we involve the functional technical expert for technical support or we hire a relevant expert technical consultant to manage the technical nitty grity of the projects. I feel that project manager will able to get ample information ,knowledge & support from all this sources to resolve technical matters and take right decisions keeping all stake holder's into confidence...!! Yes, decision process will be fast & project manager can handle it with more confidence if he/she itself is the technical expert..and is most preferred but it seems it is a necessary condition but not sufficient condition for executing his job....!!
But question still remains is then why the recruiters ask for project manager who are expert in his domain as one of the pre-requisite..?? simply to ensure that project gets delivered with required quality...??

This one might works helpful. Though in real world it may result delay of the project schedule due to the numbers of changes waiting of an approval from the consultants side and Unnecessary meetings. which will impact direct the execution side. So still recommended for good, the project manager on the Construction/engineering side at least to have knowledge on the related field/ technical experience

Posted: Jan 9, 2018 8:25 AM

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How important is the relevant discipline technical knowledge required for the project manager for engineering projects?

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