Pre-Construction: A Modern Approach to the Design-Bid-Build Method

---

A Modern Approach to the Design-Bid-Build Method

Pre-construction services help clients make sure their project is feasible and on budget. This includes looking at some potential cost-effective options to meet the client’s vision for the construction site.

The design-bid-build method is one of the most common methods for project delivery. The process starts with designing and ends in construction completion, known as bid submission. Finally bids are received by subcontractors to complete the job at hand on time without any cost overrun or delays that could damage reputations among clients due to unfinished projects per contract agreements between both parties involved in a particular agreement set up before beginning such work.

When designing a new building, the original cost estimates are created to help with decision making. These early estimates are supported by schematic designs and previous jobs of similar scope. Following this stage is design development followed finally by construction documents being drafted up before breaking ground on the project.

The construction bidding process was an intense and arduous task, often taking weeks to complete. The owner of the project would request for bids from successful bidders who then got to build the project. A cost estimate is formed by estimators on the team before they prepare a bid which sometimes could take up to several weeks due time constraints in this design-bid-build system.

Pre-construction is more industry integrated than construction cost estimating. It involves the owner throughout planning, allowing contractors to create a plan that meets their needs.

What are Pre-Construction Services?

Pre-construction services provide more than just the estimated cost of a project. These include an initial client meeting, plans and schedules, studies to determine value engineering options for land acquisition. Let’s take a look at several different pre-construction services.

Initial Meeting and Follow Ups

The contractor and their team will first meet with the client to go over what they’re trying to accomplish. During this initial meeting, it’s essential for them both to understand each other’s goals as well as how much money is available for cost of construction. The two parties need to schedule several more meetings throughout pre-construction process so that everyone on board can be on top of progress and make changes necessary if needed.

At the pre-construction meetings, much of what will be discussed is a result from how well each team works together.

An overall Evaluation of the Project

The pre-construction process begins with an overview of the project. This is when a contractor and client meet to discuss broad elements like budget, timeline, and target audience for the final product. The initial evaluation lays out what will be discussed in future meetings between clients and contractors as well as during construction itself.

With all parties involved in the project, like the client and contractor, having a clear understanding of each other’s needs and expectations along with finalizing appearance choices such as material for construction. The basic floor plans will be emphasized production process flows including design consultants to pick from which include inspectors.

Creating an Initial Schematic Design

One of the first steps in pre-construction services is creating a schematic design for the project. This will give clients their first visual on what it may look like when completed, but since this process just provides an initial outline, they are able to provide feedback as needed before reaching a final product.

This step can be crucial to landing bids from potential projects because companies often won’t award contracts if there isn’t clarity about how the proposed building should turn out at its end state or during construction.

Initial Budget Estimates

The pre-construction process is an important part of finding suitable cost savings for a construction project. There are several components that go into estimating the budget, including materials and subcontractors. It’s likely multiple estimates will be provided as different options are presented with the client to find what works best within their budget limitations.

Selecting Materials and Equipment

Designing a building with sustainable materials can have many benefits, but mostly makes the client happy.

There are often cost savings opportunities when choosing these types of materials and equipment for jobs as well. The contractor will evaluate if there are any LEED or “green” design options to help further satisfy clients’ demands for more environmentally friendly homes/buildings.

Value Engineering

This pre-construction service allows contractors to determine if the budget will be enough for them to complete the job. They look for other areas where they can save money by using their experiences with certain materials on projects of a similar scope. The contractor then conducts life-cycle cost analysis and provides alternative solutions based off this information given by clients about their budgets that are important in completing construction jobs successfully while also saving time, effort, and energy.

Site Analysis

The contractor will visit the construction site and look into its feasibility. They’ll check to see if it’s a good fit for project requirements, predict any future issues or costs that may be encountered, and determine how important these are in relation to other factors involved with the job.

Before a contractor can break ground on a construction site, they need to create an overall plan for what will go where. This ensures that the project is feasible and ready for foundation work. The soil needs to have suitable building material in order for everything else going forward so contractors must be sure of its quality too! Furthermore, infrastructure such as utilities may also impact how much money goes into this whole process but all options should still always remain open until further notice from engineers after digging deep into the data.

Getting the Proper Approvals

Getting the proper building permits and site plan approvals during pre-construction is crucial for any construction project. This includes getting necessary permissions from utility providers to ensure that everything will go smoothly throughout all stages of your development.

Your contractor should know which permits are required before beginning work on a specific job or subproject, so you can have peace of mind knowing that he has already acquired them before starting construction.

Thorough Review of Design Documents

That schematic that was created earlier? It’s just the roughest of rough drafts. Your contractor will scrutinize this set of documents to make sure it reflects what your client is asking for, because there are high-priced contingencies if something goes wrong during bidding.

The materials can be reconsidered, the systems and product delivery in place will be targeted, areas of concern are being considered by everyone on the team. The project won’t move forward until a consensus is achieved that everything has been carefully thought over from multiple perspectives to ensure nothing was missed or overlooked.

Set a Preliminary Schedule

A vital part of pre-construction information is creating an initial schedule. This preliminary schedule will identify key milestones and set everything in the entire project, from start to finish. It helps organize the whole process that’s about to happen so it has a clear outline for making it all come together nicely at its conclusion.

In order to get everyone’s input on the project schedule, a baseline will be formed from which the entire process can run. From there, subcontractors and clients alike will have their say in what that final product looks like.

Establishing a Final Budget

A pre-construction meeting will likely lead to a budget, but it won’t happen easily. Cost control measures by the contractor may play a role in how this is created.

The contractor will take one last look at the scope and cost of the project before finalizing it. They’ll do this through various ways such as looking over their models for estimating costs, getting feedback from subcontractors about market conditions, managing cash flow on a daily basis to achieve financial goals and objectives while also going through all other pre-construction checklists in order to create an accurate budget.

Procurement Management

To avoid senseless delays, lead times must be planned ahead of time. Lead items are those that need to be procured in order for the project schedule to meet deadlines; they may take a long time depending on what needs to get done. If you plan well enough and consider all factors before starting construction, there will not only be no unnecessary waiting but also less stress overall because everything is taken care of without any problems along the way.

Bid Packaging

Now is the time to bid on all of the work that needs to be done for this project. While bidding will open up projects, bidders who have prepared pre-construction plans might have an advantage because they know how things are made and can close loopholes in their bids.

The owner, architect and subcontractors will all be involved in evaluating the scope of work. Once they have completed this task a detailed schedule with an outline of how to complete each aspect within that time frame is created. There may or may not be several qualified bidders but regardless there should always be one final bid before anything else can begin working on the project.

Safety Considerations

Lastly, safety should always be a focus during pre-construction services. Beyond adhering to local and federal regulations, every person on site must feel safe at all times as well. Every worker and situation must be evaluated so that everyone is kept safe as possible.

A specific plan for this job will need to take into account the unique situations of particular workers or visitors in addition to subcontractors; no blanket safety procedure can cover them all.

SUMMARY

Pre-construction services should always include a focus on safety. Beyond adhering to local, state and federal regulations every person on site must be kept safe as well. Every worker and situation needs to be evaluated at all times in order for everyone’s wellbeing to remain intact throughout the entire construction process because there are unique situations that no blanket safety procedure can cover this goes for subcontractors too.