When the Project Is No Longer Yours: A Reflection on Subcontracting Culture.

Recently, I’ve observed a growing trend—particularly here in the Middle East, and perhaps globally—where main contractors are increasingly handing over their projects to specialized subcontractors by dividing them into work packages. The approach is often driven by financial logic: minimize overhead, transfer the risk, and maximize profit.

Who can judge? At the end of the day, it’s business.

But for those of us in project control, the impact is real—and personal.

I spent my early career working with a contractor who relied on in-house teams. Back then, I had full control over the project schedule. All the resources were under one umbrella, and any change, adjustment, or optimization was a decision away. It was challenging, yes—but it was my schedule, built from the ground up and owned by the team.

Today, things are different.

Now, building a schedule means organizing dozens of coordination meetings with subcontractors. Even a minor adjustment in a logic relationship can require layers of negotiation. Instead of solving problems, I now spend more time chasing updates and syncing scopes between fragmented teams.

The schedule is no longer mine—it’s owned by everyone, and by no one. Every issue adds time. Every gap adds cost.

I’ve sat through meetings where business owners begged contractor managers to act—bring more resources, propose alternatives, accelerate progress. And time after time, I’ve heard every excuse except the one that really matters: the project was outsourced the moment the LOA was signed, and control was handed away with it.

This isn’t a rant against subcontracting—it has its place. But let’s not ignore what we give up in the process: ownership, control, and accountability.