Construction Administration

Construction Administration

Pre-construction Cost Estimating

In our experience, when a budget is created without the assistance of a qualified design professional, it is often found to be insufficient for the final designed product. This fact usually does not mean that projects are over-designed but, in addition to adequately valuing the scope and desired aesthetics, there are various contingencies that must be accounted for when establishing a budget.

Specifically, contingencies for “scope creep” and unknown conditions are a crucial part of BBS’s projects and budgets. The firm has a long track record of keeping projects on-time and in-budget, which is accomplished by consistently following several rules:

  • Reviewing project budget against recent comparable projects to determine initial adequacy.
  • Re-estimating at each project phase to confirm compliance with overall budget and project requirements.
  • Designing additive or deductive bid alternates to contain costs.

Pre-Construction Project Scheduling

A realistic project schedule can help mitigate many risks that may arise during construction. The main goal of project scheduling is to improve the allocation of materials and resources to a project in time. In that way, potential delays can be avoided and/or construction activity “bottle-necks” identified early. BBS-created construction schedules offer a clear overview of a construction project in time, represent the distribution of labor and material resources, and provide an accurate calculation of timelines.

The majority of BBS’s work requires the same type of attentive approach to coordinating various construction trades with existing building operations. Specifically, schools and educational facilities in general, require that construction trade schedules and sequencing plans accommodate school year calendars, hours of building operation (day/night, weekend programs, recess), and an overall security and convenience to children, students, faculty and building personnel.

Public Bidding + Procurement Assistance

With the final construction documents and cost estimates completed, the project enters the bidding / award phase, and BBS construction administrators are here to assist. On behalf of our clients, we coordinate with all potential bidders and schedule pre-bid meetings to answer all contractors’ questions. If needed, our construction administrators will issue construction document addenda to address any questions and issues raised in the pre-bid period.

After the bidding period, our construction administration personnel attend the bid opening and along with the client, meticulously record and thoroughly review submitted bids for completeness and accuracy – while also checking contractors’ references and qualifications. Ultimately, we provide a bid review letter to the client so the award of the construction contract can be made to the most qualified, lowest bidder.

In addition to traditional design-bid-build procurement approach that aims to secure the best price for a given construction project, BBS Project Managers are well-versed and experienced in other construction procurement models such as “Fast-Track” which focuses on minimizing the time between starting a procurement and awarding the contract, or “Guaranteed Maximum Price” (GMP) for situations where the contractor is compensated for actual costs incurred plus a fixed fee subject to a ceiling price, and other models.

Owner’s Representation

As a full-service architectural and engineering firm, BBS provides comprehensive project services during construction which include Owner’s Representation and periodical on-site observations. BBS Construction Administrators review contractors’ work to ensure proper construction procedures, use of pre-approved materials and equipment, and employing of experienced personnel throughout the duration of the project. On behalf of the client, BBS also monitors construction progress and the contractor’s overall compliance with the approved construction drawings and specifications. In addition, BBS keeps a close attention to a contractor’s sequence of construction activities and progress schedules to ensure success for the project, and its in-budget and timely completion.

The majority of our construction projects is performed and constructed with support of client-appointed Construction Management (CM) firms. CM’s act as “stewards” to the client/owner and are responsible for almost all phases of the building construction process starting with bid solicitation, construction implementation, job management, scheduling, trade coordination, project accounting, etc.

Construction Administration

BBS construction administration professionals are a group of hands-on, construction-tested engineers, architects, and building inspectors, some of whom came directly to BBS from working in construction industry. These are your true “in-the-field people,” who are well-respected in their particular disciplines. They are often called upon by construction contractors themselves to solve miscellaneous on-site issues and provide technical design interpretations. Our construction administration team is available to you day and night, during the construction as well as in emergencies and weather-related events.

Construction Close-out Services

To us it is just as important to have an expedient construction punch-list and project close-out as it is to our valued clients. To achieve this, we essentially begin “punch-listing” from day one of construction with the utilization of our “UNC-List”.

The UNC-List is a constant record of unacceptable and non-conforming work identified by BBS construction administrators in field during construction. This is a living, on-going list of items that are reviewed continuously and transmitted to the construction contractor. The list tracks and requires remediation of unacceptable items at their appropriate times, before they are concealed. With the implementation of this quality control procedure, field issues are remedied early as opposed to being postponed and collected at the end of construction.