How can one prevent construction project pitfalls? What should owner developers do to mitigate a disaster if one does strike? John R. Manning draws on his extensive experience to provide insight answers into these questions in his new book. Manning has chosen Jenkins Group to help him produce Prevent and Turn Around the Troubled Construction Project: A Guide for Owner Developers. 
After spending forty years in real estate development, Manning is well equipped offer wisdom based on his experiences. He has managed projects with values ranging from under one million to three billion. He has protected construction projects’ investment dollars amidst challenges and has turned around troubled projects.
“John R. Manning has done a masterful job of capturing the broad concepts as well as the essential details you need to achieve successful project completion,” says Claramargaret H. Groover of Becker & Poliakoff. “This important volume is destined to be on every project management employee’s desk for ready reference.”
Manning’s book reflects his experience as founder and partner of KMI International. He relays that after embracing a particularly difficult construction project, he founded this company “…so that I could apply the lessons we learned to help real estate owners develop a project in a way that keeps them on track for success, or, if the project is already in trouble, turn the project around”.1 In Manning’s new book, he details the successes and challenges he’s faced, as well as the processes he’s developed as a leader of this company.
Manning believes this book is especially important to the construction industry at this point in time because of a productivity decrease. He states, “Statistics in the industry indicate that 70% to 90% of projects exceed the original plan costs, with overruns commonly between 50 and 100% of the budget”.2 He attributes these “late and over-budget finishes” to “waste and inefficiency”.3
Manning offers his own experience and solutions in effort to help owners’ representatives combat these productivity issues. He encourages owners’ representatives to have a strong understanding of each project’s “design evolution”.4 He also believes they should have a thorough knowledge of the project’s contracts and a level of experience that meets the demands of the project.
Jenkins Group is pleased to help John R. Manning produce this useful and innovative book for the construction industry.
About KMI International: “KMI International is a global project management and construction consulting firm that offers industry-leading levels of talent, resources, and experience along with the added benefit of a personal, hands-on, custom-tailored approach to each project.” Learn more at www.kmiintl.com/
1. John R. Manning, Prevent and Turn Around the Troubled Construction Project: A Guide for Owner Developers (Orlando: Kraus-Manning, Inc., 2019), xvii.
2. Ibid., xx
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
