Construction Deck Flashcards
Tell Me About Yourself
I am Project Manager for AMI, we are an interior construction company. I manage the crews, I create and manage the budgets for the projects, I communicate with the owner and design team. I interface and communicate all project matters with the owner. I field verify conditions and preform scheduling for several concurrent projects. Before this I was a Project Engineer for a Heavy Civil Company. Before that I graduated on the Deans List with a Degree in Construction Management from Virginia Tech. I like jiujitsu gardening and soccer, skiing, and coding
What Kind of projects do you manage?
Interior renovations and rehabs for multifamily, commercial, and single family homes. We work for a lot of banks and asset management companies.
What scope are these projects in size?
$10,000-200,000
What does your company do?
We self perform all of the plumbing and electrical work. We self preform painting and other things depending on how busy. We subcontract most other items.
Who are your subcontractors?
Kamil, SK Home Design, JRM, AMCO,
How do you prepare a budget and what is your profit margin
I use and excel spreadsheet with formulas, subbed out work is usually a 20-50% profit. I calculate how many crew hours to see roughly our profitability
What is a typical day like for you?
I answer several emails and calls in the morning about scheduling and other matters. I will go out to sites and check on whats going on. I may need to estimates items while I am there. Some days Ill spend the entire day in the office or at home writing estimates, working on budgets or etc.
How do you stay organized
We have a project management software that keeps track of each job. I have file folders on my computer for each project where I store budgets, plans, specifications, and anything relevant to the project. I keep a todo list on the project management soft ware, and our office team has a todo list on there so I never ask people to do things on email as it gets lost in the shuffle. We have an office todo list and a personal todo list in the project management software.
Have you managed the schedules for the projects you’ve worked on? What scheduling software did you use?
I do not currently use P6 although I have in my previous role. I use a excel gantt chart I send our clients. Our projects are typically pretty short timelines of 3-6 months usually.
Can you describe your management style?
I do not like to micromanage. I like to trust people to get things done. I will make sure to check in and make sure they have important tasks sorted. I do check in on important things to make sure they are getting done.
What is your approach to difficult stakeholders.
I try to communicate as honestly as possible and use my communication skills to keep clients calm and explain why there are additional costs or delays. Keeping calm and staying customer focused. Everyone is different I use my emotional intelligence to create a relationship with each stake holder and understand where they are coming from.
If a project is behind schedule, what would you do to ensure your team completes it by the deadline?
If a project falls behind schedule or is looking to get behind. I will brainstorm ways to expedite crews and subcontractors. If we have to delay another job I will switch the crews, we may look at weekend work. For subcontractors I will express my concerns and see if something can be done. Frequently materials may be on delay, I will try to pay to expedite shipping scour other suppliers for the materials and do the best I can do move things forward.
Can you tell us about a time something went wrong in a project you were managing, and what you did to overcome it? / OR / Describe a challenging project
you’ve had, and what you did to overcome difficulties.
Constantly we have issues with subcontractors schedule. I have to always be on top of subcontractors. In the event they cannot meet deadlines I have to be on top of it. Additionally another problem we have often is material orders are behind or delayed. We have to communicate with clients as early as possible and do our best to expedite materials.
How would others who you’ve worked with in the past describe you?
Organized, Professional, Hardworking, Fast Learner
Do you facilitate an environment of collaboration on your team? If so, how?
When I go to a job site and there is a field condition problem. I usually always ask for the crews input on the situation. If there is a large installation that is difficult I am usually always there to show my support and help in any way I can.
What skills or strengths do you have that you believe make you an excellent project manager?
I have 10 years of construction project management experience. I have excellent communication skills, I am very organized, I like learning new things, and I work very hard.
Describe a recent project and how you contributed to its success
I recently completed a large multifamily renovation. From the beginning I was able to do the buyout of subcontractors and immediately make sure we made good money on the job. Throughout the entire job I was in constant communication with the subcontractors to make sure they met deadlines. I visited the site frequently to field verify their work. We were able to have a very successful project due to a lot of communication and oversight.
Have you managed the budgets for previous projects you’ve worked on? What tools or software did you use?
yes I have budgets for each job I manage. I have a template I use. I have the scope there. I also keep track of out of scope items on this budget. I input subcontractor costs, and I track our crews hours.
What are your weakness
Where do you see yourself in five years
Managing a team of project managers, in ten years maybe running a business operation
What do you know about our company
provide turnkey energy solutions like design engineering and installation of energy solutions and lighting
Describe a failure
I have made mistakes estimating. I cant think of any specific examples
What do you like most about your job and what would you change
I love that the company is small and I have the ability to work flexibly. I am getting tired of the projects I am working on, I am looking to work on more complex projects and get into sub station and electric utility project management
Tell me about a conflict at work you faced and how you dealt with it
Elios van
When you get a new project how do you prepare things?
The first thing I do is a buyout process with our subcontractors to make sure we make a good profit at the beginning of the job. I then make sure to get commitments from our subcontractors to make sure they can meet the timelines we have set. I make sure to order any specific materials ahead of time.
It shows you are a part owner on your resume, can you explain that?`
I own ten percent of the company. I worked very hard and made the company a lot of money. I sometimes wear a lot of hats like reviewing the business financials, hiring and firing and etc
Tell me about a successful project you have recently worked on
Englewood: We recently completed a multifamily renovation project in Englewood. It was a multi unit renovation for an asset management company. I was in charge of the project. I bought out the subcontractor to make an immediate profit for the job. Subsequently, I made sure to visit the site often to field verify the subcontractors progress. Apartment building, multiple units, $200,000. Asset management company yale kent
Montvale: We had a multifamily project in Montvale
4 questions (2 pertaining to the Client, and 2 specifically about the position/project you are interviewing for)
What do you see the first three months looking like for me?
What does success look like in my role?
What policies and procedures have you implemented to improve work flows
I helped the company update to a new project management software. I created a budget template that we use on most jobs. I create project plans for crews on work orders so they know what scope they need to do. For anything repetetive I have to write I have templates, like sending updates to clients and etc.
tell me about the most challenging job you had and how did you approach it
I have had a lot of tough jobs. Most of the issues come down to managing subcontractors its important to communicate expectations with them and try get ahead problems and be proactive instead of reactive
What general metrics do you use to make sure a project is on track
verifying the schedule from beginning to current seeing if it meets expectations, seeing if things are started to get over budget
How would you resolve conflict in your team?
Having a sit down and understanding everyones point of view. Where everyone is coming from.
What is INF Associates
INF Associates is a turnkey energy solutions firm – we perform complete design, equipment supply, and installation of projects including electric vehicle (EV), charging solutions, LED lighting upgrades, and mechanical system retrofits.
What projects are you working on right now?
I have a few different projects. Three interior renovations, a electrical system upgrade, and I have been doing a lot of estimates lately.
What are you proud of at AMI
I am proud of the money I have been able to generate for the company. I am proud of the efficiencies I have created by helping us upgrade our project management soft ware and other technologies.
Tell me about your current projects.
We have a renovation project in brick, it is a full renovation. Cleaning, flooring, painting, some repairs to the electrical and mechanical system. The electrical project is installing to sub panels of the main panel for an multifamily home.
Tell me about what you do at AMI
I manage several concurrent projects as well as estimate new projects. I manage the whole life cycle of my project from estimating to writing a budget to hiring the sub contractors to coordinating our internal crews. I am a partner so I wear a lot of different hats.
Tell me about the hats you wear.
I will jump into the accounting system to make sure they have invoiced my jobs correctly. I will run business reports to check on the health of the business. I will run ageing report to see which clients owe us money and let clients know they need to pay. I take part in hiring and HR matters. I have helped set up a email marketing system.
