Rapid growth or obsolete facilities can cause an education institution to pursue more construction and renovation projects than ever before. How does a school know if it would be beneficial to hire an owner's representative? And how does an institution choose a firm that truly represents its point of view?

Generally, when an education institution has so much construction or remodeling that it has to add staff to manage the projects, it should consider hiring an owner's representative. Most staff members already have jobs that require at least 40 hours a week. If hiring an owner's representative will allow the school's president, superintendent or facilities manager to focus on his or her main job, it probably is worth the investment. Or, if it would be helpful to have a project supervision team hit the ground running without adding permanent overhead, an owner's representative can provide instant staffing and instant knowledge. When the projects are over, the owner's representative staff is gone and off the payroll.

This is not to say that existing staff won't spend any time on the construction or renovation project by using an owner's representative; they still will have ultimate responsibility.