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Design-build services
Project & Construction Management in Greater Montréal
Construction project management — also called construction management — means planning, coordinating and controlling a project from kickoff to acceptance of the work: the schedule, the budget, the contracts, the trades, the permits and the quality. It's for the owner or property manager who wants a single accountable lead for the whole project, rather than coordinating the designer, the bidders and the subcontractors themselves.
Project management or construction management: the same mandate
“Construction project management” and “construction management” describe, in common practice, the same role: the person or firm running delivery on the owner's behalf. The difference is mostly about contracts — a construction manager may hold the contracts with specialty contractors and take on execution; acting as the owner's representative, they coordinate while the owner keeps the contracts. Either way the core work is the same: aligning the drawings and specifications, the budget, the schedule and the trades toward a handover without unpleasant surprises.
What the mandate covers
The mandate covers new construction as well as the renovation and reconfiguration of existing premises, often while they stay occupied, where coordinating the trades makes the difference between a controlled site and a string of surprises.
- Defining and locking the scope from the drawings and specifications
- Tendering, bid analysis and award to specialty contractors
- Budget, contingency and change orders
- Master schedule, trade sequencing and long-lead procurement
- Site coordination, quality control and Quebec Construction Code compliance
- Closeout: deficiency list, acceptance of the work and release of the holdback
The Quebec regulatory framework
Managing a project in Quebec is anything but generic. Construction work must be carried out by firms holding a Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) licence in the appropriate subcategories; checking that every bidder holds a valid, unrestricted licence, through the RBQ's public registry, is part of the mandate. IN Design & Construction carries out its projects under its own RBQ licence.
On most commercial and institutional sites, labour is governed by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ): wages, hours, overtime and the definition of the trades are set by sector collective agreements, and workers must hold a competency certificate. A construction site must also have a designated principal contractor (maître d'œuvre) responsible to the CNESST for health and safety on site.
Permits and sequencing in Montréal
In Montréal, the order of approvals matters. Depending on the borough and the work, a design review (PIIA) may come before the building permit is issued, and a separate occupancy certificate authorizes the use before opening. Good project management builds those timelines into the schedule from the start rather than discovering them along the way.
When the design must be directed by an architect
Some buildings must have their design directed by an OAQ-member architect, whatever the delivery model. Determining which side of that line your project falls on before work starts avoids costly rework.
Project management under design-build
In the traditional model (design-bid-build), the owner first hires a designer, tenders the finished drawings, then hires a contractor; the manager coordinates parties with separate interests, and cost or constructability problems often only surface at bid time, once the drawings are fixed. In design-build, design and construction sit under one contract: cost and constructability inform decisions while the design is drawn, phases overlap (permits and procurement can start before the final drawings), and there's no gap between designer and builder in which to pass responsibility back and forth. The trade-off is that oversight of execution isn't provided by a party independent of the builder: a deliberate compromise, in exchange for single-point responsibility and a shorter schedule.
Communication and reporting
A project rarely goes off track all at once; it drifts through small, unrecorded decisions. The mandate includes a clear cadence: regular site meetings with minutes, close budget tracking (committed, invoiced, contingency remaining), a log of decisions and change orders, and a single point of contact accountable to you.
Project management or general contracting?
Choose project management when you want expert coordination of the whole — schedule, budget, contracts, trades, quality — whether you hold some contracts yourself or want one lead for the entire project. Choose general contracting when the design is settled and you want a single firm that holds the construction contract and delivers the built work. The line is about contracts: when we hold the construction contract, we act as general contractor.
Project management or turnkey?
A turnkey mandate includes project management but starts earlier and goes further: design, drawings and specifications, permits, procurement and construction under single-point responsibility, through to a move-in-ready space. Choose project management on its own when the design is already under way or you want to keep control of some parts; choose turnkey when you want to hand off everything, from concept to keys.
Where we do this work
We run projects across Greater Montréal — Montréal and its boroughs, Laval, the North Shore, the South Shore, the West Island and Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The framework described here (RBQ, CCQ, CNESST) is provincial and applies across Quebec; our work is concentrated in the metropolitan region.
The in-house difference
The plan being managed is the real one
Because the team managing the project also designed it, the schedule and budget being managed are the real ones — not a plan handed to an outside manager who has to reverse-engineer the designer's intent.
Frequently asked
Project & Construction Management — your questions, answered.
What's the difference between project management, construction management and a general contractor?
Project management and construction management describe the same mandate: running the project on the owner's behalf, covering schedule, budget, trades and quality. A general contractor holds the construction contract and carries the cost, schedule and quality risk. The line is who holds the contracts and the risk; on our Greater Montréal projects the same team handles both the management and the site.
Do you manage renovation projects?
Yes. The mandate covers new construction as well as the renovation and reconfiguration of existing commercial premises, often while they stay occupied. Coordinating the trades, sequencing the work and meeting the Quebec Construction Code matter even more when the space remains in use during construction.
What does the project manager actually handle, from kickoff to handover?
Schedule, budget and communication: coordinating the design, permits and RBQ-licensed trades, managing procurement, tracking costs, processing change orders, enforcing safety (CNESST) and Quebec Construction Code compliance, then closeout — inspections, correcting deficiencies and acceptance of the work. One point of contact for the whole project.
How is a construction manager paid?
A construction manager is usually paid a management fee — often a percentage of the project's total cost — rather than a lump-sum price with built-in profit and overhead, which gives owners more transparency into trade costs. The basis varies by scope and project size, and the exact model (fixed fee, percentage, or cost-plus) is defined in the contract before work begins — we'll tell you which applies to yours up front, so you see the management cost separately from construction.
Who manages the subcontractors and site quality?
The construction manager schedules and sequences the trades, coordinates their work, and oversees quality and safety on the job site. Under Quebec's Building Act, any party organizing or coordinating construction work must hold a valid RBQ licence. Managing multiple trades under one coordinator keeps the schedule aligned and gives the owner a single point of contact during construction.
How are change orders and the contingency handled?
Every change in scope is priced and approved in writing before the work is done, rather than discovered on the invoice. The budget carries a contingency for unforeseen conditions, and its use is reported as the project goes, so you can see what has been committed, invoiced and what remains.
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Direct
(514) 697-1742info@indesignconstruction.caService area
- Montréal
- South Shore / Rive-Sud
- North Shore / Rive-Nord
- Laval
- Vaudreuil-Soulanges
- West Island