Aiming at the problems related to the transformation from engineering supervision enterprises to engineering project management, this paper expounds the connection and difference between engineering supervision and engineering project management, and puts forward some opinions on some problems in the transformation from engineering supervision enterprises to engineering project management.

Keywords: project supervision; Project management; Discussion on the transformation problem

China has carried out the construction supervision system for more than ten years, which has achieved remarkable results, played an important role in controlling project quality, investment and progress, won wide recognition from the society, and promoted the improvement of project construction management level in China. A large number of national key projects and large and medium-sized projects, such as Three Gorges Project, Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Power Transmission from West to East, Power Transmission from West to East and South-to-North Water Transfer, have fully proved that the role of project supervision is becoming increasingly obvious [I]. However, we should also be soberly aware that with the integration of the world economy and China's entry into WTO, the continuous maturity and development of market economy and the continuous evolution of project management methods, the purpose of construction projects is huge and complex, which will bring severe challenges to the project supervision cause in China, which is still in its development stage. The development trend of supervision enterprises is a common concern in the industry.

The Guiding Opinions on Cultivating and Developing Engineering General Contracting and Project Management Enterprises issued by the Ministry of Construction (hereinafter referred to as the Guiding Opinions) encourages qualified engineering supervision enterprises to develop in the direction of project management, further expand their business scope and provide more comprehensive technical and consulting services for engineering construction. Engineering project management is not only the expansion of engineering supervision business, but also the extension of related business of other engineering construction management units. Compared with engineering supervision, the service object, service content and service stage of engineering project management are more extensive, and the requirements for the competitive strength, business ability and management level of engineering project management enterprises are higher. Not all engineering supervision enterprises are suitable to develop in the direction of engineering project management. However, some supervision enterprises unilaterally believe that only the direction of project management is the direction of enterprises' efforts can they develop and grow, otherwise there is no way out. Some three-level supervision enterprises established at the county and town level changed their names to "so-and-so project management company" without knowing what project management is. This kind of eager pursuit of success and blind pursuit of the wind cannot but attract the attention of the industry.

The Guiding Opinions issued by the Ministry of Construction and the Trial Measures for Construction Project Management define the construction project management as "the professional management and service activities of the whole process or stage of the construction project entrusted by the project owner". In my opinion, this formulation of singling out the service objects of project management and excluding the management subject blurs the boundary between project management and project supervision, which is easy to cause misunderstanding and lead to the marginalization of project supervision, which is debatable.

From the perspective of engineering project management theory and international engineering practice, engineering project management is a broad concept, and foreign engineering consulting institutions serve a wide range of customers, not just owners or builders. What is the relationship between project supervision and project management? How do engineering supervision enterprises consider developing in the direction of project management? This is a problem that should be seriously considered to promote the healthy development of engineering supervision in China, and it is also a topic that the author wants to discuss with colleagues in the industry.

1 the relationship between project supervision and project management

The work of project supervision can be summarized as "three controls (quality, investment and progress), three controls (contract, safety and information) and one coordination", and project management can also provide similar services to customers. There is an inclusive relationship between project management and project supervision. In a certain sense, project supervision can also be regarded as the basic business content of project management. From the perspective of China's engineering management system, there are many similarities between engineering supervision and project management, but they are not completely equivalent concepts, and the fundamental boundaries between them cannot be confused, let alone confused. It is considered that engineering project management is engineering supervision.

First of all, the legal status of project supervision and project management is different. Although both project supervision and project management are related management activities to control project objectives, their legal status is different. Engineering supervision, as one of the basic systems implemented in China's construction field, is not only clearly stipulated in the Building Law, but also must be implemented in some specific construction projects, such as national key construction projects, large and medium-sized public utilities projects, and residential quarters developed in pieces. This is a statutory management system enforced by the state. However, project management is different. It is a project management method advocated by the state, not a statutory management system. Whether to entrust others with project management and how to implement project management are independent market behaviors of project owners or construction units, and there are no restrictions in laws and regulations.

Secondly, the implementation subjects of project supervision and project management are different. According to China's engineering supervision system, engineering supervision can only be carried out by supervision or consulting enterprises with engineering supervision qualifications, and the management carried out by units without engineering supervision qualifications does not belong to the project. Engineering supervision is the agreed management service provided by the supervision unit entrusted by the project owner or builder, and its essence belongs to the category of construction project management. Engineering project management is divided into construction project management, design project management, daily management of construction project and daily management of supply project according to its management subject. In the process of project implementation, all parties involved in project construction, design, construction and supply will one day carry out related management activities around specific Japanese standards. It can be seen that project management is a management activity that any implementation unit related to project construction should and must carry out. Not only does the construction unit need to implement project management, but project management is not the exclusive business field of project supervision or engineering consulting unit.

Third, project supervision and project management have different service objects. The service object of engineering supervision in China can only be the construction unit or the project owner, and the engineering management and consulting services provided by engineering project management belong to the category of engineering consulting in the international engineering market. According to international practice, engineering consulting institutions can provide services for owners or builders, design institutions and construction units, financial, insurance and guarantee institutions, and can also conduct general contracting management or even jointly contract projects. Because of the different clients, the project management unit represents different interests in project management, and the principles, ways and methods of dealing with problems are also different. Project supervision is only the representative of the construction unit, and only represents the construction party in project supervision. Although different projects have different specific requirements, the principles, ways and methods of dealing with problems are the same.

Fourth, the business scope of project supervision and project management is different. At present, the main implementation stage of engineering supervision in China is construction supervision, which is only a special case in the early stage of supervision implementation. According to the design concept of China's engineering supervision system, the business scope of engineering supervision should cover different stages such as project establishment, preliminary design, engineering design, construction bidding, engineering trial operation and engineering warranty, which is called whole process supervision. Obviously, the business scope of project supervision is around the overall goal of construction project management. Project daily management can be carried out around the business of investment, construction, design, construction, supply, finance, insurance and other units. Its business scope not only covers the scope of supervision, but also includes project bidding, design management, construction management, general contracting management, construction claim, resource management, supply management, risk management, project daily evaluation and many other business contents. Therefore, the daily management business scope of the project is carried out around all aspects of project construction management, including the management business of the constructor, the management business of the contractor (including exploration, design and construction) and the management business of other service providers such as funds, materials, equipment, finance, insurance and guarantee.

Fifth, project supervision and project management have different attributes of similar business. China's engineering supervision system stipulates that the main body of engineering supervision is the supervision unit, the service object is the project owner and the construction unit, and the object of engineering supervision is the contractor. When the supervision unit accepts the entrustment of the construction unit to provide the agreed project management services, all the management behaviors of the contractor's construction activities belong to the project supervision behavior, and other service activities belong to the technical services to the owner. For the project management unit, if it does not have the qualification of project supervision, even if it provides similar services equivalent to project supervision for the owner, this service behavior does not belong to D' R process supervision. Therefore, the Guiding Opinions stipulates that "if the project management industry without corresponding supervision qualification is entrusted by the owner to carry out project management, the owner shall entrust supervision".

Sixth, the qualification requirements of project supervision and project management are different. Units engaged in engineering supervision business must obtain a supervision business license, which is usually called supervision qualification. From the perspective of personnel conditions, there must be a specified number of registered supervision engineers engaged in engineering supervision business. Although registered personnel of other construction types can also register and practice in engineering supervision units, they cannot engage in engineering supervision business, let alone practice in the name of registered supervision engineers. Project management units often have multiple business scopes, which should be the integration of engineering survey, design, construction, supervision, consultation, bidding agency and other qualifications. In addition to the registered supervisor, you should also have a number of registered practitioners such as urban planners, architects, engineers, builders, appraisers, appraisers, cost engineers and consultants who meet the requirements, and you must obtain a number of business qualifications, otherwise you can't carry out business activities.

From the above aspects, project management and project supervision have some similarities and differences. They are not exactly the same concept and cannot be confused.