When looking to construct, renovate or expand a building, one of the first questions to address should be which project process to utilize. Consideration of potential design, estimation of costs, opportunities for cost savings (value engineering), along with realistic project and permitting timelines are vital to meeting budget requirements, project expectations and providing a successful experience. The two processes to take into consideration are Team Build and Design-Bid-Build.

TEAM BUILD

The Team Build process transforms the relationship of Architects, Engineers and contractors, by bringing them together right from the start. This method fosters collaboration and teamwork, while also providing a unified flow of work from design through project completion. Not only can this result in less changes as the project gets underway, but the cost of unforeseen issues can be minimized and the project schedule is less likely to be impacted. The results — projects built on time and under budget

DESIGN-BID-BUILD

The Design-Bid Build process creates three separate distinct steps, the actual design process, bidding out the project and construction. This is the most utilized process in public projects (state, city, county, etc.). The design process involves working with a chosen architect/engineer to design a feasible plan, which will be taken to contractors during the bidding process.

The bidding process takes the drawings and specifications produced through the design phase and provides those documents to contractors for their review and pricing. The amount of the project often times comes in higher than projected by the designers due to contractors’ experience seeing potential items or changes needed, which may have not been realized during the design phase. Depending on how far off from the budget the bids may be, this could start the construction phase, or it could result in sending the designers back to the drawing board to refigure budgets, redraw plans and more than likely go through the bidding process again.

Why We Recommend Team Build.

• EXPERIENCE — Our ongoing project experience affords us the knowledge to provide current and actual costs, which allows design parameters to be adjusted during the design phase helping to meet client budget goals.

• CONSTRUCTABILITY — While the Architect / Engineer typically designs to meet codes and permitting requirements, it is the General Contractor who brings the knowledge of realistic constructability. This affords the opportunity for changes to be made prior to jurisdiction reviews, in turn saving potential additional review fees.

• QUALITY — Our experience on a variety of projects, including occupied sites, ensures the client we will meet performance needs, commit to the project schedule and keep vigilant attention to cost.

• TIME IS MONEY — The Team Build process saves time, and in turn, costs. Without a General Contractor providing real time and current costs at the offset, the potential for unexpected numbers on bids exists. Due to redesign, edits, changes to drawings and eventually another bid, the project timeline regresses substantially, which adds to project length and professional fees for designers.

• EFFICIENCY — With all the design team and contractors having open communication from the beginning, most of the processes and tasks are streamlined, resulting in high efficiency and costs saved.