Most people associate “construction” with time delays and cost overruns. So many construction projects go poorly that time delays and cost overruns may seem unavoidable.
The reality is that construction projects can be completed on time and on budget. At Right Construction we’ve seen that the secret to making this happen is to use pre-construction consulting, planning and engineering to ensure everything is set up correctly before construction begins.
What does pre-construction consulting, planning & engineering entail?
- Pre-construction consulting – This is all about getting a clear understanding of your needs and vision. At this point, based on our knowledge, education and years of experience, we can often make suggestions or point out potential challenges that need to be addressed.
- Pre-construction planning – Next we lay out the entire project from “A to Z,” addressing everything from subcontractors, vendors and materials to documentation, permits, timelines, work conditions and more. All aspects of the project are thought through so the job can proceed smoothly and efficiently.
- Pre-construction engineering – Engineering ensures that the project can and will be built to code, and that all documents (including architectural, structural, electrical and plumbing plans) are ready to be submitted to the city for permitting purposes. Sometimes even small projects require engineering, depending on the nature of the work to be done.
What happens if you try to skip the consulting and planning steps?
If the consulting and planning work is not done up front, you are likely to end up with time delays, cost overruns and the headaches associated with having a poorly-run project.
For example, we recently worked on a hotel construction project in Laguna Beach, serving as the electrical subcontractors and also helping with engineering for the fire alarm and elevator systems. Before we got started we realized that pre-construction consulting and planning had not been done, so we met with the project engineers and laid out the plan for our portions of the project. In the end, we were the first subcontractor to finish, and we did so on time and on budget. Things did not go as well for the subcontractors who skipped those steps.
At the end of the day, our goal is to achieve a good result. By taking the time to do proper pre-construction consulting, planning and engineering we are able to meet this goal, ultimately saving our clients both time and money.