CM at-Risk Services
CM at-risk gives you a builder's input during design and a guaranteed maximum price before construction. It also creates a relationship in which your construction manager is simultaneously your advisor and your counterparty.
We represent the owner in that relationship: validating the GMP, auditing the open book, and managing the contingency rules that determine who keeps the savings.
Getting the GMP right is the whole exercise
Under CM at-risk, a construction manager is engaged during design to provide preconstruction input, then converts to a construction contract with a guaranteed maximum price. The owner gets early builder involvement, price certainty before completion of documents, and a single construction entity.
The tension is structural. During preconstruction the CM is advising you. At GMP, the CM becomes the party whose margin depends on that number. Owners who do not maintain independent cost capability during this transition frequently accept a GMP that includes contingency they are paying for twice.
Independent GMP validation
We produce an owner side estimate at the same design stage as the proposed GMP and reconcile the two line by line. The reconciliation typically surfaces three categories: genuine scope differences, differences in productivity or pricing assumptions, and contingency or allowance stacking. Each gets resolved before you sign.
Open book cost control
CM at-risk contracts are cost reimbursable up to the guaranteed maximum. That only protects the owner if the books are actually open and someone is reading them. We audit self performed work, review subcontract buyout against the GMP basis, verify general conditions against the staffing plan, and track allowance reconciliation.
Contingency and savings
Two contingencies exist on most CM at-risk projects: the CM's construction contingency and the owner's contingency. The rules governing what each may be spent on, who authorizes it, and what happens to unspent funds at completion are among the most consequential terms in the agreement. We negotiate them before award, not after.
- Define what the CM contingency may and may not cover in the agreement itself
- Require written notice and owner visibility for each contingency draw
- Establish the shared savings formula and the date it is calculated
- Distinguish scope changes from means and methods before they become claims
- Set the buyout reconciliation requirement and its timing
CM selection
We support qualifications based selection: prequalification criteria, request for proposals development, preconstruction fee and general conditions comparison, fee structure evaluation, key personnel assessment, and interview facilitation. Comparing CM at-risk proposals is genuinely difficult because the numbers are not parallel. We normalize them.
CM at-risk scope
- Delivery method suitability analysis
- CM prequalification and selection support
- Fee, general conditions, and contingency structure evaluation
- Contract term negotiation support
- Preconstruction deliverable review
- Independent estimate at each design milestone
- GMP validation and line by line reconciliation
- Allowance and contingency structure review
- Subcontract buyout monitoring
- Open book cost audit
- Change order entitlement analysis
- Final reconciliation and shared savings verification
What you receive
Every engagement is scoped in writing before it begins, so you know exactly what is being produced and when.
CM selection package
Prequalification criteria, request for proposals, normalized proposal comparison, and a documented selection recommendation.
Independent milestone estimates
Owner side estimates at each design stage, produced in parallel with the CM's numbers rather than derived from them.
GMP reconciliation report
Line by line comparison of the proposed guaranteed maximum price against our independent estimate, with each variance categorized and resolved.
Contract term recommendations
Specific language recommendations on contingency, allowances, savings, self performed work, general conditions, and change order pricing.
Buyout tracking
Subcontract awards tracked against the GMP basis, showing where the CM is running ahead of or behind the guaranteed number.
Final reconciliation
Verification of actual cost against the guaranteed maximum, contingency usage, and any shared savings due to the owner.
Questions owners ask about this service
Should we use CM at-risk or design-build?
CM at-risk keeps the owner in a direct contract with the designer, which preserves design control, and is well suited to projects where scope evolves but the budget must be capped. Design-build transfers design responsibility and generally compresses schedule further. We analyze both against your specific project before you commit.
Is the guaranteed maximum price really guaranteed?
It is guaranteed against the scope defined at the time it is set. Any change to that scope adjusts the guarantee. This is why the documentation of GMP basis, including the specific drawings, specifications, assumptions, allowances, and clarifications it relies on, is the most important attachment to the contract.
What is a normal CM at-risk fee?
It varies by project size, complexity, and market conditions, and it is only meaningful alongside the general conditions and contingency structure. A low fee with rich general conditions can cost more than a higher fee with lean ones. We compare total CM cost, not fee percentage.
Can you audit an open book we have already signed?
Yes. Mid project cost audits are a regular assignment. We review actual cost documentation against the contract requirements, verify self performed work pricing, examine general conditions against the approved staffing plan, and reconcile allowances and contingency draws.
Talk to us about CM at-Risk Services
Send us the project details and we will tell you what a defensible scope of work looks like and what it would cost. Initial consultations carry no fee.
Send us the project
Tell us the site, the scope, and the deadline. Initial consultations carry no fee and no obligation.