What does a site manager do?
You run a site where eight different trades all need the same space on the same day, and you are the person who can stop any of them.
Also called: site agent, construction manager, general foreman.
A day looks like
- 1You walk the site at seven before anybody starts, and you see what last night actually left behind.
- 2You sequence the day — who is where, and which two trades you have to keep apart.
- 3You stop something. Every day there is one thing that is not safe enough to carry on.
- 4You write it down, because a site diary is the only account of what happened when somebody asks in a year.
Hardest part
You are accountable for people who do not work for you. Subcontractors have their own bosses and their own bonuses, and you have to stop them anyway.
Best part
A programme that holds, a site with nobody hurt on it, and a building that goes up in the order you planned.
How you actually become a site manager
- At schoolA trade, or a construction management degree — both routes are normal and both are respected.
- TrainingSite safety certification, first aid and management training; often a degree or HNC alongside.
- How longSeveral years as a trades supervisor, or a degree plus two or three years as an assistant.
- Your first jobAssistant site manager or trades foreman.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a site manager need to have been a tradesperson?
- Not necessarily — many come through construction management degrees. But they need to understand the trades well enough to know when a programme is fantasy and when somebody is cutting a corner.
- Can a site manager really stop a subcontractor?
- Yes, and it is a legal duty rather than a courtesy. The principal contractor is responsible for safety on site regardless of who employs the individual, which is exactly why the authority exists.
- Why does inspection have to happen before concrete is poured?
- Because afterwards the reinforcement is invisible forever. There is no test that recovers what was or was not in there, so the inspection window is genuinely one-way.
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