Technical Supervision vs. Works Direction: What’s the Difference?

In any case, the most important thing when tackling a project, whether a refurbishment or a new build, is that everyone is clear about what they have to do and how to do it, especially those who set the guidelines for everyone else. That is precisely the case for both the technical supervisor(s) and the director of works.

To ensure cohesion and coordination between the different parties involved in a project, including the technical supervision team (which encompasses works direction), it can be very useful to have a Project Manager. This role acts as the link between the technical supervision team and the developers, public authorities or end client, among others.

What does technical supervision of a construction project involve?

Among the matters covered by Spain’s Building Act, Law 38/1999 (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, LOE), are the duties of the technical supervision of a construction project.

First of all, it is important to note that, when describing these duties, the Law distinguishes between works direction and construction execution direction. So, in hierarchical terms, technical supervision sits above these two roles: both the person acting as director of works and the person acting as execution director are part of the project’s technical supervision team.

Technical supervision is defined as “the competent technician or technicians appointed by the developer, responsible for directing and controlling the execution of the works”. The Law also sets out a series of obligations for the technical supervision team, which we summarise in the following points:

• Coordinate the application of the general principles of prevention and safety during the execution phase, and make technical and organisational decisions to plan the works and estimate their duration.
• Coordinate activities so that self-employed workers, contractors and subcontractors apply the principles of preventive action.
• Review and approve or amend the health and safety plan drawn up by the contractor.
• Coordinate business activities.
• Coordinate the correct application of working methods and ensure that only authorised persons access the site.
• Manage the incident log, which is provided by the professional association of the member of the technical supervision team responsible for the health and safety plan.
• If incidents occur, send a copy to the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate (within 24 hours). In addition, if health and safety regulations are breached, the person in charge must warn the contractor and keep a record of it.

The duties of technical supervision and those of the Project Manager can be confused. The key is that technical supervision covers the technicians who direct and oversee the execution of the works, and the people in charge are usually the architect and the building engineer (aparejador). The Project Manager role emerged from the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of construction projects, and is also present in the phases before and after the works are carried out.

Technical supervision vs. works direction

Even when a single person is primarily responsible for technical supervision, in practice this role includes several professionals. One of them is the director of works. Therefore, the main difference between technical supervision and works direction is that one encompasses the other.

Every construction project, including remodels and extensions, must have a design drawn up by the architect. As a result, there are generally three key roles:

• Project designer.
• Director of works.
• Construction execution director.

Both the director of works and the execution director are part of the technical supervision team, which is appointed by the project developer.

Difference between works direction and construction execution direction

Normally, the project designer and the director of works are the same architect or engineer, while construction execution direction is usually handled by a technical architect or technical engineer who may sometimes even belong to an external contractor.

That said, the qualifications required for each role vary depending on the type of works and, above all, on the intended use of the building. In fact, a single technician can sometimes take on both roles. Even so, works direction and execution direction must be kept separate in new-build projects, in full interventions on existing buildings, and in partial interventions that involve an essential change to the building’s composition or to any part listed as protected.

In principle, works direction is responsible for directing the progress of the works so that they comply with the approved design and the agreed contract, with the technical and planning requirements set by regulations, and with the type of building permit. Execution direction, on the other hand, directs the physical execution of the works and controls what is built and its quality.

At TALAT, we can take on projects end to end, as we did at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where in the second phase we handled the entire technical supervision, covering both works direction and execution direction, including coordination of the health and safety plan.

We specialise in adapting to each project and adding value from start to finish. Tell us about your idea by phone or email, and together we will find the best way to bring it to life.