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"By using a systematic approach, we identify 80% of the cost determinants through 15% of the design process"
Management Plan
Management & Control begins with a detailed understanding of the project scope and constraints. We identify a critical path schedule, establish milestones, and include tasks to be accomplished by the Client, our staff and the Consulting Engineers.
The majority of our work is accommodating agencies with inflexible schedules and limited budgets. We understand the importance of meeting deadlines, obtaining approvals at each step of the project developement, and the need for reaching a consensus. Our specific steps for schedule control include:
Developing work plans sorted by responsibility.
Alerting the Client when approvals or information will be required.
Monitoring the design process and entitlement process.
Developing Bid packages appropriate to the bidders pool.
Establishing recovery sub schedules if milestones are not met or approvals withheld.
Developing project closeout schedules.
Establishing a file transfer site for the project
Our Project Manager is able to 'front load' the design process, using B.I.M. and Revit software to identify and resolve potential conflicts within the building design before they become cost and constructability issues.
Cost control is tied to schedule control. Meeting cost limits requires the time to work through realistic options for resolving the building process. Issues of material durability, life cycle costs or adequate square footage are not resolved during one meeting. The Client needs to be informed of the cost consequences of the various options that will be presented.
The formula that allows an understanding of construction cost is Q1 + Q2 = COST. Q1 = Quantity and Q2 = Quality.
If cost is fixed, the design challenge is to adjust the levels of Quantity and Quality to match the Cost
We have sophisticated estimating systems and cost data bases from our previous projects. We employ 3rd party cost consultants for our cost estimating. They have been within 2% and 3% of the low bid proposals for our last public projects.
We are concerned with building systems and have the software to identify conflicts early in the design process and, periodically, receive estimates from our consultants, we have limited the ground to cover if value engineering is required. By continually breaking the project down into systems components, costs are understood, adjusted and made to conform to project limitations. Our track record is enviable and, statistically, at the top of our profession in meeting standards of care.
Major factors to guard against to prevent cost suprises are:
Scope Creep: Letting minor program enhancements creep into the design process.
Misunderstanding of the RFI process during construction: The rules for the Construction Contract are that: 'The bidder warrants they have included everything needed for a complete project'. Flurries of RFI's from the Contractor, once the contract is awarded, can indicate a lack of understanding of the project requirements more than any inadequacies in the drawings.
A typical project schedule using Microsoft Project:
Management Plan
Management & Control begins with a detailed understanding of the project scope and constraints. We identify a critical path schedule, establish milestones, and include tasks to be accomplished by the Client, our staff and the Consulting Engineers.
The majority of our work is accommodating agencies with inflexible schedules and limited budgets. We understand the importance of meeting deadlines, obtaining approvals at each step of the project developement, and the need for reaching a consensus. Our specific steps for schedule control include:
Our Project Manager is able to 'front load' the design process, using B.I.M. and Revit software to identify and resolve potential conflicts within the building design before they become cost and constructability issues.
Cost control is tied to schedule control. Meeting cost limits requires the time to work through realistic options for resolving the building process. Issues of material durability, life cycle costs or adequate square footage are not resolved during one meeting. The Client needs to be informed of the cost consequences of the various options that will be presented.
We are concerned with building systems and have the software to identify conflicts early in the design process and, periodically, receive estimates from our consultants, we have limited the ground to cover if value engineering is required. By continually breaking the project down into systems components, costs are understood, adjusted and made to conform to project limitations. Our track record is enviable and, statistically, at the top of our profession in meeting standards of care.
Major factors to guard against to prevent cost suprises are: