Trust… But Verify (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this post, we covered a short (and definitely NOT comprehensive!) list of items that should be considered during the pre-construction phase of your project. Now, let’s turn our attention to items that should be on your radar once your General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) starts work.
Scheduling
As part of the on-boarding process, your GC/CM should provide you with a detailed schedule of the work, showing start dates for various trades, expected duration of their work,milestones/critical path, and the substantial completion/completion dates of the project. This gives you a roadmap for tracking the work as it progresses and allows you to assess whether you are on or behind schedule. You may have contracted separately for work that was not included in the GC/CM scope – for example, IT/AV installations, landscaping, fencing, or a pool installation. All of this work should be integrated into a master schedule that is updated at least monthly, giving you an overview of the entire project timeline. Your Owner’s Representative will track the schedule in Microsoft Project or similar format and provide you with a comprehensive schedule document at regular intervals, making it easy for you to see the big picture of when each element is scheduled to begin and finish, and if there are any elements that are in danger of negatively impacting the schedule.
Major milestones, such as closing in the structure, completing the mechanical systems, or beginning finish work (the ‘critical path’), should be included in the comprehensive schedule so that you can benchmark progress towards completion. Milestones are defined as elements that, if not completed timely, will push the project completion date seriously off-track. Construction projects are ‘cascading’, meaning that many trades are relying on the timely completion of another trade’s work to begin. Painting cannot begin until the drywall is hung. Drywall cannot be hung until the structure is closed in. The structure cannot be closed in until the roofing is finished. A minor slip in completing a milestone can have major implications for the entire project schedule, as the delay cascades through all the trades that follow the missed milestone.
Sometimes, in spite of everyone’s best effort, schedules slip anyway. Bad weather, materials delays outside the control of a tradesperson, or work stoppages enforced by a regulatory agency can all push back schedules. Without proper management of reworked schedules, chaos can ensue. An Owner’s Representative can adjust schedules based on the anticipated duration of the delays and ensure that the GC/CM and all of the subcontractors, as well as all entities with work outside the GC/CM’s scope are working from the revised schedule and milestones.
Progress Meetings
Weekly meetings should be held, preferably ‘in the field’ with the GC/CM, the Design Professionals, and any 3rd party consultants, such as expeditors, as required at that stage of the work. These meetings provide a ‘snapshot’ of the current state of the job and should include the following documentation:
- Schedule. Your GC/CM should be required to submit a two or three week ‘look-ahead’ at each weekly meeting, outlining exactly what will be accomplished in the coming weeks. Your Owner’s Representative will evaluate the provided look-ahead against the master schedule to ensure that your GC/CM is held accountable for clear, measurable progress towards the milestones and completion.
- Requests for Information (RFIs). Questions come up, ‘unknown unknowns’ are uncovered, and field conditions may be different than assumed – especially those that were not visible during the pre-construction phase. RFIs from your GC/CM, subcontractors, and other entities should be formally managed and documented, with questions and answers submitted in writing. Documenting these issues as they arise, along with the solutions provided by your Design Professionals, avoids any disagreements later, especially when the solution is accompanied by a Change Order that increases costs or prolongs the schedule.
- Change Order Logs. Change orders happen on every job – it is unavoidable. Hopefully, you included a ‘contingency’ fund in your budget planning to cover the unexpected costs that arise from a variety of sources, whether it is a solution to an RFI resulting in a change order or simply you changing your mind about something after work has already begun. A log of all change orders, whether potential, submitted for approval, or complete, should be maintained and a summary presented at each weekly meeting. The status of all change orders should be discussed at every meeting.
- Reports on all ‘Long-Lead’ Items. Long-lead items are materials that must be ordered weeks or months in advance of delivery. The items could be anything from steel or parts of the mechanical systems to specialty paints, finishes, or flooring. The status of each of these items should be tracked and updated at each meeting. Your Owner’s Representative will call the supplier on a regular basis to ensure that fabrication and delivery are tracking with the original delivery dates presented when the items were ordered. Delays in the delivery of long-lead items can create significant problems in meeting project milestones – if there will be delays, they must be anticipated and the schedule reworked insofar as possible to minimize the impact.
- Submittal/Approval Logs. Every item used on your project must be verified for correctness and suitability by your Design Professionals, by you, or both. From the tiniest details, such as the type of hangers or screws used in mounting your HVAC system, to major structural issues, such as materials used in load-bearing elements – the specifications for each of these items must be submitted to your Design Professionals and approved for use before proceeding. All finish submittals must be accompanied by a sample of the product that will be used (paint swatches, flooring samples, etc), which must be routed to both you and your Design Professionals for evaluation. Your Owner’s Representative can manage the flow of information and samples and ensure that only approved materials are used on your project.
Managing submittals is crucial to ensuring that your project stays on schedule and delivers on your quality and cost expectations. The time to discover that poor quality or incorrect materials were used in the construction of your project is not after they have been installed! The Submittal/Approval process ensures that the materials used in your project meet or exceed the quality specified by you and your Design Professionals. Your Owner’s Representative will work with your GC/CM to ensure that all submittals are presented timely and any comments or concerns expressed by your Design Professionals are relayed back to the GC/CM (or other vendor, as appropriate) and corrected quickly. A log of every item that has been submitted and either approved or rejected, should be part of every meeting, including discussion of all upcoming submittals and their timeframe for submission.
Trust. But Verify!
When your Owner’s Representative walks through your project site, they are not only assessing the quality and timeliness of the work – they are protecting your interests by ensuring – insofar as possible – that the project site is clean and the work is being completed safely. Cleanliness and safety go hand-in-hand – keeping the work area tidy ensures there are no trip hazards or other hidden dangers that could cause personal injury. It is imperative that the use of proper fall protection and other safety equipment (appropriate footwear, safety goggles, etc) is enforced on the work site in order to avoid a lawsuit if a worker is injured. Improper use of ladders is one of the leading causes of construction site accidents and claims almost always follow. Ensuring your GC/CM has adequate insurance to indemnify you (as discussed in Part 1 of this post) is critical – but just as important is a culture of every-day safety enforced by your GC/CM. Your Owner’s Representative can monitor the conditions on your work site and document any issues or concerns that have been addressed with your GC/CM. This documentation may seem like overkill – until there is an accident on your project site and your insurance company (who will be working with your GC/CMs insurance company to determine fault…) wants an ‘incident report’ that explains why the unsafe condition had been left unaddressed.
Other tasks your Owner’s Representative will take care of while on the project site include checking on the condition of any stored materials and suggesting alternative storage arrangements for any at risk of being damaged before installation. Some materials have ‘long leads’, while others must be purchased immediately and stored for later use. Materials like flooring or cabinetry are easily damaged by improper storage – avoid having to fight with your GC/CM over who will pay to replace damaged materials by monitoring the conditions and location of all stored materials on a regular basis.
As your project nears substantial completion, it’s time to develop a ‘punchlist’ of items that are missing, incomplete, or unacceptable. Your Owner’s Representative will flag items during regular walk-throughs and keep tabs on them to ensure that they are addressed. As the project nears completion, your Design Professionals should also be developing a list of items that require attention. You should ‘walk’ the site as well, preferably with your Owner’s Representative, who will note any items causing you concern. All of these items should be consolidated into a master punchlist that is closely monitored as close-out approaches.
Other tasks that must be managed during close-out include gathering all warranties, technical documentation, and other information related to the materials used in your project into a single package, which is delivered to you electronically, in print, or both. ‘ Attic stock’ or leftover material – whether that is flooring, tile, paint, or any other material that you have paid for and which belongs to you for future use – must be rounded up and stored in a location of your choosing. Start-up procedures for installed systems often include inspections and sign-offs that must be scheduled and monitored. Permits must be closed out with building department authorities and any final tasks to ready your space for occupancy must be completed. Your Owner’s Representative can manage the entire close-out process and ensure that as your project sprints to the finish line, there are no oversights that leave you unable to occupy the space on the date promised.
Often, our clients are not full-time residents of the St. Petersburg/TampaBay area, making self-management of their project difficult, if not impossible. As your Owner’s Representative, Venn Group’s goal is to remove the need for you to ‘self-manage’. We act on your behalf in your absence and zealously protect your interests during every phase of the project. We are here for you before, during, AND after construction, no matter where you are! We can work with you to arrange any relocation and moving services needed to get you into your new space, oversee deliveries and installation of ‘post-construction’ items such as technology/AV components, furniture, or landscaping materials, and assist you in locating any needed services required to make your move-in painless and worry -free. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss how we can give you peace of mind before, during, and after your upcoming construction project.
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