Lawson Projects Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Our perspective on FAQ’s in Project Management

FAQ Finding the Right Project Manager

Look for experts that ask good questions, not just people who just give good answers. Experience matters, but so does fit. You want a partner who actually listens, communicates with you and takes the time to truly think through your project. Experience and credentials matter, but we think relationships matter too.

Qualifications and certifications are good, but the first thing you should look for is experience. How long have they been doing this? Have they done similar projects or worked for similar clients? What is their reputation? 

Are they independent and only have the client’s needs as the priority? There are lots of Project Managers out there, but who do they work for? We only work for the client and make the client’s needs and priorities our number 1 priority. 

 

That depends. Do you want to spend your days chasing people, wrestling schedules and putting out fires? Or would you prefer to focus on the big picture while someone else handles the details and the complexity? If it’s the latter, yeah, you probably need one.

Do you want to manage a project, or just have it done right?

An Owner’s Representative is your project manager. Not the contractor’s. Not the consultant’s. Yours.

We sit on your side of the table and look after your best interests from day one to closeout.

That means:

  • Making sure the scope, budget and schedule actually work for you
  • Coordinating consultants, contractors and stakeholders so you don’t have to
  • Catching issues early—before they turn into change orders or delays
  • Translating the technical information into decisions you can confidently make
  • Keeping everything moving without you chasing people down

Contractors build. Designers design.
We make sure it all comes together the way it should—on your terms.

If you’ve got the time, experience and appetite to manage all of that yourself, you might not need one. If not, that’s exactly where we step in.

FAQ Costs in Project Management

That depends on whether you want to manage a person or just get the project done.

A full-time senior project manager isn’t cheap; it could easily cost over $100,000, but then you have to factor in bonuses, benefits and the time it takes to manage them. That’s if you can find one. Good people in Alberta are hard to come by right now.

Alternatively, you could partner with a firm that’s already got the team in place. You get experienced leadership without the recruitment headaches, the payroll taxes, or the empty desk when someone takes a vacation. Just expertise that shows up when you need it and disappears when you don’t. Also, when the project is complete and you need us for a follow-up or warranty work or the next project, we’ll be there when you need us, but you don’t need to keep one on payroll once the project is complete. 

We can work on a fixed fee or hourly, whatever suits your needs.

Every project’s different, so the real answer is: we should talk about yours.

That depends on what you actually need and what you don’t want to deal with.

A full-time hire makes sense if you’ve got years of back-to-back projects lined up. But you’ll also take on the recruiting, the payroll taxes, the benefits and the risk if the work dries up or pauses.

A solo contractor is lighter lift, but you’re still betting on one person. If they get sick, get busy, or move on mid-project, you’re back to square one.

A project management company gives you a team behind the scenes. You get experienced leadership without managing a headcount. Continuity without the single point of failure. And when your project wraps there’s no empty desk or awkward conversations to handle. If it’s a one-off project or you just want the expertise without the overhead, reach out, let’s grab coffee. 

A good project manager pays for themselves. We catch the problems you don’t see that could end up being costly, navigate the permits you don’t have time for and keep the schedule from slipping. In Alberta, where timelines and budgets are tight, the cost of not having one is usually a lot higher. A better question is, what’s the cost of not hiring a good project manager

FAQ Skills and Qualifications

The short answer: people skills and project sense.

The longer answer: a good project manager knows how to build a schedule, protect a budget and spot risks before they turn into problems. But that’s table stakes. What actually matters is whether they can communicate clearly, lead without ego and adapt to unforeseen issues, because they are there on every project. 

Soft skills aren’t soft. They’re the whole game. We assemble the right team for you that listens, negotiates, translates between trades and owners and keeps the team motivated through delays. Anyone can learn software. Not everyone can read a room.

Document control is also key: we record and document all meetings to keep the team accountable, track and record all changes (contractual or design), store all project documents from submittals, photos, drawings and correspondence. Ensure all the commissioning warranty documents are received and stored. If it goes through us, we track and store it.

We’ll assemble the right team for you.

There’s no shortage of certifications out there—PMP, Gold Seal, Engineering, Technologist, and PQS—but they all point to the same thing: experience matters.

Certifications can show that someone understands process, terminology and best practices. That’s valuable. But construction and development projects don’t follow a textbook. They involve real constraints, real people and real problems that don’t show up in a course.

What you’re really looking for is someone who has:

  • Worked on projects similar to yours
  • Managed consultants, contractors and stakeholders through challenges
  • Seen projects go off track—and knows how to bring them back
  • Navigated Alberta’s permitting and regulatory environment

The strongest project managers typically have a mix of both: formal training and real-world experience. The certification supports the work, but it’s the track record that delivers the result.

At the end of the day, letters after a name don’t run your project. People do.

Necessary? No. Helpful? Yes

But we’ve worked alongside plenty of excellent project managers who never chased the letters. What matters more is whether they’ve seen enough projects to know where problems like to hide. The certification is nice. The track record is better. Ideally, both. All of our Project Managers either have their PMP certificate or are trained in the PMI processes.

Yes. Both. Or at least understand when each fits.

Agile is iterative and flexible, great when requirements will evolve or feedback matters fast. Waterfall is linear and structured, better when the work needs to follow a strict sequence and changes are expensive.

Construction tends to lean Waterfall for structural work because dependencies are hard and rework costs real money. But even on a build, there are pieces that benefit from Agile thinking, interior finishes, sequencing decisions, working through site surprises .

The best project managers know both. They know when to use which.

Enough to have made mistakes. And learned from them.

A junior PM might have 3–5 years under their belt and handle straightforward projects well. A Jr PM is good in the area where they have experience.  For something complex, say a public building or a multi-phase development you want someone with a decade or more of seeing how things actually play out on the ground, experience from multiple different project types and teams.

But years are just numbers. What you’re really looking for is someone who’s been through enough winters to know where the leaks show up. Someone who’s seen permits get rejected, budgets get squeezed and timelines get pushed and still delivered something the client was proud of.

FAQ Project Management / Industry Fit

I don’t know what a general project manager is? A construction project manager typically works for a contractor. 

We are typically called an Owner’s Rep (Representative) Project Managers or Development Project Managers. 

Do you have the capacity to manage the project yourself, if not, then you need an owner’s representative to manage the project on your behalf. Our perspective… 

We’re looking after your best interest, versus a project manager that works for the contractor or designer that does not have an independent perspective. If you don’t know what you need or have more questions, feel free to contact us.

Oil and gas is its own world. A project manager in this space needs to know: Safety first, always. H2S alive, CSTS, ground disturbance these aren’t checkboxes. They’re how people go home at the end of the day .

Regulatory muscle. Approvals don’t come easy in this industry. You need someone who knows the boards, the paperwork and how to keep projects moving without getting tangled.

Camp life and remote work. Many sites mean rotations, camp accommodations and teams that aren’t in the same time zone. A good PM makes that look seamless.

Capital project chops. Multi-million dollar budgets, EPC contractors, and timelines that don’t flex .

We’ve got fifty years of this under our belt. We know the territory.

Housing is different. You’re not just building units, you’re building where people live.

A good housing PM understands: the approvals dance. Land use amendments, development permits, community consultations, especially in Calgary and Edmonton. One misstep and you’re months behind.

Budget reality. Affordable housing, market housing, mixed-use, each comes with different funding strings attached. Municipal, provincial, federal, philanthropic. A PM who knows the difference is worth their weight.

Modern methods. Modular, prefab, panelized these aren’t trends anymore. They’re how housing gets built faster. Your PM should know how they affect schedules, approvals, and coordination.

People factor. These are homes. Neighbors have opinions. Community meetings happen. A PM who can read a room matters as much as one who can read a blueprint.

We’ve partnered on housing across this province for decades. Schools, non-profits, market builds, we’ve been there.

FAQ Deliverables and Expectations

The goal of project management isn’t checking boxes, it’s delivering a project you’re truly proud of and taking the stress off your shoulders throughout the build.

Here’s what that looks like:
 • A clear plan with scope, schedule and milestones you actually understand
 • A budget we track like it’s our own
 • Risks spotted before they become your problem
 • Updates that tell you what matters, not just what fills a report

– Recommendations based on solid research and experience.
 • Quality work that matches what we promised
 • Clean closeout with no loose ends

Bottom line? On time, on budget and built around what matters most to you.

Results you can feel good about. 

Not checkboxes. Not reports that sit on a shelf. A project you’re genuinely proud of and the peace of mind that comes with it.

That means:

  • A clear plan you actually understand
  • A budget we guard like our own
  • Problems spotted before they become your problem
  • Updates that tell you what matters, not just what fills a report
  • A clean finish. No loose ends.

On time, on budget, and built around what matters most to you.

The goal of project management isn’t checking boxes, it’s tracking progress that delivers a project you’re truly proud of and taking the stress off your shoulders throughout the build.

Here’s what that a standard process looks like:
• A clear plan with scope, schedule and milestones you actually understand
• A budget we track like it’s our own
• Risks spotted before they become your problem
• Updates that tell you what matters, not just what fills a report
• Quality work that matches what we promised
• Clean closeout with no loose ends

Bottom line? On time, on budget and built around what matters most to you

Short answer:

  • Everything that would otherwise land on your plate.

Long answer:

  • Building and sticking to a realistic schedule
  • Protecting your budget like it’s our own
  • Navigating permits so you don’t have to
  • Spotting problems before they need your attention
  • Keeping everyone moving in the same direction
  • Giving you updates that actually matter
  • Assembling the right teams

You bring the vision. We’ll handle the rest.

Honestly, however you want us to.

Some clients want weekly calls and detailed reports. Others want a quick text and a “we’re on track.” We adapt to you, not the other way around.

The point isn’t the tool or the template. It’s important to us that you always know where things stand, without ever having to chase us down.

Let's talk about what you're building.

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