【正文】 s on producing a viable project, financially and functionally, in pliance with quality standards, costs and implementation deadlines agreed upon. Project management involves setting of benchmarks according to which there shall be established guidelines to be followed, observing the progress in achieving the correct execution of tasks and projects, according to the differences observed between the actual and the planned benchmarks. In order to realize a construction project there must be involved 2 various entities: beneficiary, investor, funding bodies, builder, draftsman, consultants, suppliers of materials and equipment, etc.., which requires focus on coordinating and adjusting all the necessary inputs. Thus, the project manager must work predominantly with people from other organizations than the one he belongs to. In such circumstances, his authority is conferred by contract terms and is less direct than that of a regular manager. Project management is conducted, in most cases, by staff belonging to different organizations, closely cooperating to achieve different objectives, often contradictory, of the parties involved. Responsibility for the project management lies, as mentioned, to different organizations, depending on customer’s preferences and petences and on the nature of the contractual terms between parties. Whether project management is exercised by the client, the designer, the builder or by a specialized independent organization, relevant managerial procedures are largely the same. In order to have an unitary point of view, management methods presented in this work will be approached from the general contractor’s perspective. 2. Construction Project The main subject in the construction projects management is the construction project. The construction project is an entity with limited time of action, designed for achievement, rehabilitation or demolition of a building objective, executing variable and nonstandard works in a given period, with a certain budget and in pliance with the agreed quality specifications. A construction project has the following characteristics: ? it requires the construction of a selforganizational work: the project team。 ? it is temporary, the achievement terms being indicated by contractual provisions。 ? its result is a building objective (consisting of one or more construction objects)。 ? it requires major and diversified financial, material and human resources。 ? it describes all the peculiarities of the construction process and production. Realizing a construction project means going through several phases 3 that make up the life cycle of the project. In the specialized literature there are various approaches of this matter. Thus, within the methodology . for the development of feasibility studies, the life cycle of the project includes the following phases: I. Preinvestment phases: ? Identification studies of investment’s needs and opportunities ? Previous feasibility studies ? Feasibility studies ? Evaluation and decision studies II. Investment ? Negotiation and contracting ? Design ? Building ? Putting in service III. Operational An other reputable specialist Ronald Mc Caffer (1995) presents the life cycle of the project using the following scheme: PHASE ACTIVITY ACTIVITIES SUCCESSION Initiation Product identification Definition of the need Preliminary Feasibility studies， Decision to realize the study strategic and financial planning General design Design and costs estimation Decision to carry out the project Detailed design Detailed design Starting auction organization or negotiations Contracting Negotiation or auction – Conclusion of contracts offering and contracting Building Building Final reception of the works Finalizing Works finalizing and Designed parameters final reception achievement Operation and Operation and Maintenance Maintenance 4 Genesis of a construction project prises the following steps: A. Definition After the owner (investor, author, client, beneficiary) has identified the need to realize the construction, he should define requirements and budgetary constraints. Defining the project includes establishing its general characteristics such as: location, size, configuration, performance criteria, equipment needed etc.. In this phase the general project is carried out of the future objective, this work being the responsibility of the owner, but he may use a designer. Figure 1. Genesis of a construction project Source: Mc Caffer, Harris, 1995 B. Design This phase consists in carrying out previous feasibility studies and feasibility studies, ending, should the beneficiary take the decision to realize the project, with the technical drafting. In practice, if certain types of contractual arrangements, design, supply and construction overlap, the construction being realized as the design progresses. The design can be achieved by the beneficiary, but, as in most cases, 5 he is not a specialist in the field, a specialized designer or consultants are needed (for previous feasibility studies and feasibility studies). C. Contracting This phase consists in concluding the construction contract. D. Supply and Construction Supply refers to ordering and receiving equipment and key materials needed for the project, particularly those having long intervals between order’s launching and receipt. Supply may be done by the general contractor, by the customer or by a specialized pany hired by the customer