Timeless Business and Building Strategies

Owner’s Reps, Real Results

• Tony Johnson

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We explore how an owner’s rep transforms complex builds by aligning mission, scope, and team from day one. Joe Meringolo walks through bid leveling, requisitions, VDC and AI, and the practical systems that keep luxury residential and commercial projects on track.

• starting as a tradesman to owner’s rep
• defining mission, ROI, and scope early
• leveling bids and writing clean RFPs
• funding flow, requisitions, and cash certainty
• schedule control and holding teams accountable
• VDC, BIM, and AI for clash reduction
• multi‑city networks and pre‑vetted partners
• templates, repositories, and platform fluency
• referrals, repeat work, and team success
• how to contact JSM Project Management

Email: Joe@projectmgt.com
Instagram: @JSMProjectMGMT


To learn more about Tony Johnson and Timeless visit us at:
https://timelessci.com/
https://timelessco.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonytimeless/


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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to another episode of Timeless Building and Business Strategies. This is Tony Johnson. Today we have Joe Marangolo with us. Joe, thanks so much for joining us today, sir.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate this. This is great.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, sir. So let so what you are is primarily an owner's rep, a construction management firm. Could you tell us how you got involved in construction management and how long you've been doing it?

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, you know, my career kind of started when I was maybe 13 or so. I mean, I grew up as a carpenter, um, a foreman, you know, a superintendent, a project manager, um, and sort of getting to the crux of your question. One of the things I realized as a as a PM and as a super is that the project takes, you know, X number of months or years in its full life cycle. And I really saw that I was coming in in the last 30 or 40 percent, which is where the construction really kind of starts. So much happens in the in the in the beginning. And I found myself really going backwards a lot with our clients and having to sort of connect a lot of what was done before the design, the sequencing, you know, certainly value engineering is a is it ends up being a big part of it. I I found that I really enjoyed that as much as anything else. And that was sort of the impossible impetus for starting this this firm, that we would get in with our clients in the very beginning. And and really what's what's been fun is is I really identified that need to connect that the first you know 50 to 60 percent of the project to the construction. But what I really found is that we're also able to build teams to understand you know the mission of the project. We talk a lot about mission building, you know, within the project goals. And uh we find that the influence there really sort of helps define the kind of architects, engineers, you know, vendors, designers, and even GCs that we can bring to the project. So it was all of that that that really kind of got us to start this firm and and go to that that that other side of the project and influence it from the beginning. And we find that it really does sort of connect the the entire project timeline much more um, you know, safely, securely, and um, and when you're really keeping risk management in mind.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so you know, for anyone who doesn't quite uh hasn't worked um with a construction management firm, could you kind of go through what what's the whole empath emphasis or whatever you would call that? Sorry, yeah, of what's the antithesis of everything together? What is driving and what's the purpose of what you're doing?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, I think I think really my role has has been something that has increased quite a bit in and you know, my competitors and and people like this. This role has really sort of taken a hold. Um, and and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that that owners and clients are just less inclined to run the projects themselves. And you know, they they need to understand how to build, how how to pick an architect, how to how to understand what the engineer's role is, how to choose a GC, and how to do it in a way that they that they feel safe with their selections, knowing they're gonna get what they want for you know within the agreements set forth. Um my my my role right off the bat is to understand what the goals of the project is is the goal ROI, is the goal a change of life, um, you know, do a drastic, you know, redo on a on an interior space. Is it is it a move and and uh you know and a higher investment in what somebody wants to build and or uh utilize? You know, understanding that is something that I think was missing a lot on the owner's side of the table. And that's where my 35 years, my business, my you know, my business partner has 30 years experience, my my senior project director has 25 years' experience, and we all kind of have very different um experiences within the within the industry. And so bringing that to a client's side of the table so that they can understand very clearly what the project is gonna be, what are the real expectations. We're not starting construction tomorrow as everybody wants to do. You know, we're we're gonna put together a proper team and a proper process. Um, and I think that's that's something that has been, you know, it it's almost hard to calculate that value because we're saving time, we're we're controlling budgets, and we're really sort of making sure we understand and set the expectations for quality and scope as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. And so breaking down what you're saying there a little bit, Joe, is you know, what Joe is coming in and doing is dealing with whether it's an educated owner or an uneducated owner having a project wanting to get done. There are multiple um owners that we deal with that have large companies do tons of projects. And you would say, Oh, why would someone like that need a construction management firm? And to speak to what Joe's saying is because, you know, though that though they're experienced and understand the construction side of things, Joe and his team would be able to go in, they're going to really be able to dig in on when contractors are looking at a project to really level the bid, level the playing field, make sure everything is right, make sure the scope is written up to cover the project. So an owner, though he might be knowledgeable, they might not know how to write up a scope of work to make sure that these contractors are bidding everything to eliminate the necessary change orders that would come along if an owner just wrote up a scope of work and left it open or would get completely different bids when he's getting from a contractor. Then holding the contractor accountable to meeting timeline given and knowing when, uh, you know, as opposed to an owner that might not have the time to keep up and maintain with that schedule and the schedule updates, Joe's gonna be right on top. So he's gonna be able to notify that owner, hey, there is no way this contractor is finishing on time or this contractor, the scope of work is written up this way. He's giving you this. This is not what was drawn on the drawings that you might miss because we're gonna catch it, right? So you're gonna make sure they're gonna get what they're paying for, the project's gonna stay on schedule. If not, they're you're gonna be right on top of it. So those are some of the big key advantages on the owner side. And, you know, on the contractor side, there's advantages for us as well. Because the owner, when you have a biggie, uh, a big league owner, he's busy, he doesn't have time to take my calls. I got questions, I got things, I need answers. He, you know, you need that intermediary to answer questions to keep the projects on track. So it's beneficial on both sides, right? So, you know, I I love the idea of it, and it is becoming more prevalent in jobs these days. Um, so could you give me an idea of what type of projects do you guys align with the most?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, most of our projects are are large-scale luxury residential uh projects. We have, you know, we have a project that's essentially a five-building residential estate in upstate New York. We've got, you know, an apartment that's that's almost 12,000 square feet with some extremely high complexity. Uh, we've got um, you know, we also have uh on the commercial side where we know we've done we're doing some restaurants right now. We have buildings that are going through either capital improvement, you know, or you know, actual, you know, severe, you know, structural issues that that they bring us in to make sure and manage and and and you know mitigate that risk as fast as possible, bring in the right people, understand timelines, you know, still utilize a proposal process so we know we're we're spending our money wisely, but we're also bringing in experts. I think the the really the fun thing that you mentioned there is that where because I come from the GC side, the G we actually do get referred uh by GCs to clients for the exact reason you mentioned. I know exactly what a GC needs. A, we know they need to be funded. So understanding how to go through the requisition process, understanding the requisition itself, working together and collaborating so that I can go back to the client and say, here's where we are, here's everything I've we've discussed, and here's the money that's owed. And and we can go ahead and approve this right now. So understand funding is is is really that that gas that we pour into the project for the contractors to keep going. To your other point, understanding timelines and and and getting questions answered, getting selections, completing the design process in time, that's it's it's so critical to maintaining our schedule. You know, not letting a you know what I find is good contractors don't want to delay the job, they don't want change orders. They they they just they want to get in, do the job, and and they're and they're client to say, wow, this was this was way easier than I thought it was gonna be. And that's and then this is this is the goal of every project is to try to mitigate all of these issues and to make sure that not only are we feeding the contractors what they need, but we're also setting an expectation with the client to of as to what to expect from the contractors. And it's it's been really sort of um a pleasant surprise to see a contractor refer us to a project and say, we know that we're gonna get what we need if if you're on the project and and that and you you understand the process, you understand not just what we need from you, but you know, what what we can make sure we can agree to and and really sort of set an expectation and then meet or beat it. And that's that's always the goal for all of us. You know, my success is tied to the success of everybody else as well. And I think that's a pretty good relationship to have in a project team.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And you know, the good thing is with any business, right? So when you do a great job, that owner is going to keep you on. And typically, you know, that's the only way you survive in this business is you need to find some type of repeat business. So obviously, uh that's great. Uh, so you you said you have a partner in this, and so how did you two get aligned?

SPEAKER_00:

We we worked on a couple of projects when I first started this firm, and he was part of a GC. Um, and we did some, we did some uh some residential projects together and just hit it off and and thought to ourselves we we have really aligned interests, aligned ethics, aligned values, and really an aligned vision. And so we we joined forces. Um, and and he came on uh with clients of his own as well. And the two of us just have um, I mean, the last you know, last five to six years and in particular have have been massive growth years for us. We've we've hired PMs, we've you know, we've we've taken on more and more projects. And you know, we have this thing we we say our clients are our sales force because you know what we do, we can't really be out there. There's not really a a a good direct sell to some of these clients. And so our our our you know our projects are are all referral-based. Uh and so so every project we do is is somewhat precious to us. Oh, absolutely. And and we know we've got to make sure a client can look back at us and say, I could not have done this without you. And that's a really important part of how we start the project, knowing how we want to end the project.

SPEAKER_01:

That's fantastic. Now, we like to talk a lot about you know, not only building, but business strategies. So saying, you know, when we talk about this partner, you know, and you so do you guys run on EOS or do you use any type of operating system that you run on? How is your business structured?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you know, it's funny, project to project, you know, we've got our own, you know, so we use Microsoft OneDrive as our repository. Um, we do um, you know, use Autodesk uh within our project management side. Um the fun, the funny thing is that you know our GCs generally have their own project management software. And this is where this is where sort of the all the experience that we have comes into it because I'm I'm quite experienced in Co-Construct and Pro Core, certainly Autodesk and Building Connected and things like that. So we end up being having our sort of hands in every system. Um, but for us in our organization, our our repository is is all through OneDrive, um, which which gives us a lot of flexibility in applications and in all the different things that we can do. And and I'm sure everyone here kind of knows that that you know, you're it's either OneDrive or it's or you know, Gmail or something like that for repositories. But Auto Desk is where we house drawings and process and things like that, where we capture communication um and we try to do as much as we can to integrate it with our project uh partners as well. Um but we do know we we we have to kind of toggle that a little bit so that we also get into our GC system. We can you know we can help approve submittals and you know see RFIs and and and you know go through that process with them as well. So we do sort of wear what we wear we wear a good bit of technology around our uh you know around our our our our office here.

SPEAKER_01:

Speaking of the technology, have you guys incorporated or are you working to incorporate any AI to um automate uh any processes or have you guys delved much into AI? I know it's really building a lot of steam these days.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I know I shouldn't say it out loud, but my first uh my first foray into AI was was Chat GPT, helping my email sound uh a bit a bit less like a 12-year-old and more and more professional. Uh my you know, I'm growing up as a carpenter and a superintendent, my my typing skills were uh um, you know, we're fine. And certainly coming out of college, that was fine as well. But uh, you know, we're using uh, you know, where we're using AI the most at the moment is uh interestingly is through the VDC programs that we put together. You know, we are working uh with and we're working VDC on two different projects right now for two very different um end goals. Um and that AI is is actually filling in a lot of blanks for the engineer um as we sort of go through clash detection. And we actually do a we're doing full a full build-out on a hotel. Um, and we're we're doing it all within an environment right now. Um I'm literally placing, you know, threaded rod anchors and and and hangers and things like that in the in these ceilings and stairwells and and around the trusses so that we can, you know, our goal is to be at about 92% of zero clashes by the time we start construction. And it's it's it's been an incredible process. And I've I've had to learn a lot about the AI process that that is used there. Um I've got a really great engineer that that sort of is that is is is running it. Um, but we've been able to jump in and go through the constructibility, the feasibility side of it. The other, you know, the other side of it, and this is really where I think AI has has helped us a bit, you know, we've got a luxury residential project here that, you know, for example, we've got three mill workers in different countries. We have uh a stone contractor that they are themselves in two different countries. And so us being able to provide a 3D environment that's accurate to within an you know less than an eighth of an inch, so that everyone actually can go into this environment and measure. We update our our scans every month, and we're able to everyone is able to really pull from the exact same dimensions throughout the entire project. And in doing so, you know, this thing is sort of learning itself where things are gonna go and how it can how it can help just distribute the information to all the different people that are that are pulling from this. Um it's a it's a it's a complex process to me. Uh because you know, I I still go back to you know 30 years ago of using a water level. You know, I mean this these are these are you know, I don't know who in your audience is gonna recognize water level, but but you know, I certainly I certainly use it for you know when I was when I was younger. Um and and so now to be able to walk into a a virtual 3D environment and have this thing learn around you and and be able to distribute information, decipher what everyone is trying to do at the same time and uh and put it all together, we can we can send it in BIM and Revit and AutoCAD as well as a 2D, um, you know, just a 2D drawing as well. And it's it's been it's been a process that has saved a massive amount of time and money because we're not flying all over the place. I can send this to my my one mill worker in Germany. I've got another mill worker in London, the finisher is in Italy, the the stone contractor is in um is in Austria. So, you know, I can send this to everybody and they can be putting this together at least to a relative, you know, well within our shop drawing, you know, tolerances, right? Um, as we put it all together, and nobody has to fly anywhere. And it's it saves a massive amount of time and money.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I I mean there are so many benefits. I think we're you know, if people are just now starting to realize a couple little tangible benefits, and it's moving so quickly, it's it's hard. You learn you learn one aspect of it, and then there's five new ones coming your way. So, you know, I'm interested to see where everything is going to be in the next five to six years. I do, you know, a lot of industries are going to get wiped out. Uh, I think this being, you know, more service-based and manual is is beneficial to our industry, um, you know, because it will take longer. And when you have to have row, you know, robotics, which obviously that is not near as simple as some of the things you can do right across the internet and then technology. Um, but you know, I do have a lot of architects and engineers are a little bit worried. They're nervous for sure. I would say that, yeah, when you can just have these uh renderings come up in five seconds, but you still need the human element. Um, you know, that's without question. Successful, you know. I think what, but uh the intelligence level, the value of intelligence of human intelligence is is going down at a rapid pace, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I I still like the on-site meetings where everyone shows up and we look at our problems and we solve them. And you know, it and and perhaps that's a bit old school. I you know, we are looking at ways in which we've just got to, you know, you know, and again, we we are utilizing AI, we're utilizing the things that are coming in, but where where I really sort of value experience and I and I value you know education and I value and I value intelligence, I I really still utilize the on-site meetings where we're where we're we can you know look and touch and feel the problem and and solve it because that's you know ultimately that's our job is to make sure we can keep keep moving through this thing. And uh I I value our architects and engineers highly um in these scenarios. And I I I'm curious where it goes. And I know they're worried, but I I still have a high value and I and uh and uh and a high respect for that you know that human intelligence that that we utilize on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. So what when you guys look forward for your business, what is where are you guys trying to take uh your management company in the coming years? And I'm I'm sorry, it's JSM Project Management, correct? Yes, yep so JSM project management. I don't know if that mentioned that in the beginning. Want to make sure I get that out there and we'll have it in the show notes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, perfect. I mean, so we're we're primarily based in New York City. We've got some some clients that have taken us out west. You know, we've got a project um in Los Angeles. Uh we have a project kind of coming in Barbados. Uh, I might selfishly take that one on myself, obviously. Um, uh I'll let you know if I need some help, Tony. We'll we'll uh thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

I will uh yeah, I will be waiting for that phone call. So walk walk us through how how would how is your set to manage that? You have to obviously have systems in place to handle something that far away. So, how is that going to be different from one at home and how will you handle it?

SPEAKER_00:

So, you know, fortunately, I I've worked in in quite a few cities. I've worked in Los Angeles, I've worked in you know in DC and Miami and New York. Um, I luckily don't have to really cold interview anyone yet. I've I've I've got enough of a network to be able to bring people on board uh as soon as I'm ready to go. Um, and so um I've really been able to find, you know, within my network people that have, again, those shared visions, the shared process. Um, one thing I did in the very beginning was was I wrote process. And and I said, you know, look, I would love to tell you, and I would love to try a lot, even tell you I invented all this project management process. We all know I did it. Um, you know, I was P and P certified when I worked for a government contractor there in DC. Um, so funny enough, the government cares about the certification, but not necessarily the actual process. Our industry doesn't care about the certification, but the process is invaluable.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

And this is really the funniest thing about it. Um, but we've we've got our systems in place, we've got our templates in place. We, you know, we're able to to really sort of kick up and going pretty quickly, especially in these areas that we've already worked. Uh, we've already we already know the the you know the local um you know DOB, we already know the the codes and requirements. We we have our network of architects and engineers and even GCs. And I think that's that's kind of that that's really a value that we bring to our clients, is that we can we can eliminate the the initial scare of who do I call? How do I know what contractor to call? Who what friends am I going to ask? Is that contractor right for the kind of work that we do? Well, that's something we can we can eliminate that that concern and say, you know, here's a list of of who we would recommend here for the bidding process. Let's start with this, let's pair it down to this, and then let's make our selection. Again, a very sort of buttoned up and streamlined process. Our vendors and our and then those those in our networks are architects, our engineers, our GCs, they really do appreciate that because when we bring them in, they know they're going to get a proper RFP with proper drawings and they're gonna have uh they're gonna have uh an ability to really meet an expectation. And that's that's the that's the the the give and take, you know, above and below what we do is to be able to

SPEAKER_01:

bring people in pre-vetted they know what they're going to get when they when they come into one of our projects and they know they're going to have an opportunity to succeed i mean let's you know they're they're in business to do to to you know execute a project you know earn their reasonable profit and move on to the next project and and that's really it it it it is a goal the project to make sure that everybody is successful because if if the GC is successful I mean likely the the the owner's gonna be very very happy right absolutely yeah well fantastic Joe thank you so much man I really appreciate you coming on today and walking through this with us now if somebody wants to get in touch with you and uh potentially work with you what's the best way to reach out to you uh you can email me at Joe at projectmgt.com you can go to our website there's a contact page there um I'm pretty sure there's Instagram I'm not gonna lie to you I we have some that does Instagram because um that's that's something I have not uh figured out yet yeah you don't have to tell me I'm the same way but yes sir so we will we will make sure we have all that in the show notes it's at JSM Project M GMT is their Instagram handle if you guys want to check them out.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey Joe thank you so much for jumping on today we've really enjoyed the chat sir thank you very much for having me on and I appreciate what you're doing to highlight uh the business is like mine as well so I really appreciate what you're what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks so much sir. Have a great afternoon.

SPEAKER_00:

You too thank you