Managing Your Project – the Job Captain

In our use of the term ‘Job Captain’, the Job Captain is seen as being below the Project Architect in terms of responsibility and hierarchy in traditional design firms. Whereas some would view the Job Captain as in charge of the project, we understand his scope to be less than overall project management and administration and more oriented toward production of the actual job at hand.

The Job Captain is responsible for overseeing the actual drafting of the project and takes directions from the Project Manager, the Project Architect, and / or the Architect of Record.

Keeping details straight while ensuring that the drafter does his or her job correctly is the critical function of the Job Captain. Of any project, the Job Captain is used for about 13% of the entire project time.

The Job Captain is the person who actual ensures that either the draftsmen carry out instructions or, if through an unfortunate oversight the draftsman misses information, the Job Captain will perform and complete outstanding items or tasks that remain to be accomplished should the drafter fail to perform.

The skills and experience that the Architectural Job Captain must have vary from firm to firm. However, the primary requirement is skill in understanding ‘how’ a building is put together, as well as a keen understanding of the process required to document the building for the Planning and the Building & Safety Departments.

More Specific Skillset:

The Job Captain should have a skillset above the ordinary drafter:

• He is aware of the Firm’s budget and the number of hours required to complete the overall project as well as the specific constituent parts that comprise it.
• He aspires to become a Project Manager and has a project management awareness regarding deadlines.
• He understands the specific milestones toward achieving the project’s goals.
• He displays a definite understanding of the Architectural Firm’s implementation of its own graphic standards in a set of drawings and can hold drafters accountable for reaching those goals.
• He knows the way the drafting / production software works and what is required to overcome common obstacles in its implementation.
• The buck stops with him in terms of the final production of the tasks that the Project Architect gives to him. He answers directly to the Project Architect or Project Manager (whichever is present at the firm).
• He is aware of the time required to complete various tasks.
• He understands the personalities of the drafters and divides tasks among them in a way that ensures project completion within milestones.
• He checks and rechecks work prior to it being handed off to the Project Architect / Project Manager. When it leaves his hands, it is realized at the drafting standard and quality level that he himself would perform.

Some Job Captains do have the educational requisites of a bachelor’s degree in drafting or in architecture. However, the bottom line as a Job Captain is, “Can you get the project done?”

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