A delivery method in which a construction manager joins during design as an adviser, then takes on the risk of building the project for a guaranteed maximum price.
Construction manager at risk (CM at risk, or CMAR) is a delivery method, common in North America, in which the owner hires a construction manager while the design is still being developed. The construction manager first advises on cost, sequence and buildability; then, once the design is far enough along, agrees a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and takes on the risk of delivering the work within it, usually by letting trade packages.
The construction manager's early involvement is where BIM pays off: quantities from the design model support each cost plan, 4D sequences test phasing, and constructability reviews in the model find problems while they are still cheap to fix. The GMP is usually set from a design that is not yet complete, so the model at that milestone and its stated level of information need matter: what is not in the model at GMP becomes an allowance or a later change.
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