The Bay Dimension - Edition 14

the newsletter of tbd consultants - edition 14, 2nd qtr 2009

Printable PDF version
Subscribe to our newsletter
In this Edition
2009 Market Forecast
Constructability Reviews
Vista Second Edition

Construction Management Specialists
111 Pine Street, Suite 1315
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 981-9430
806 West Pennsylvania Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 550-1187
www.TBDconsultants.com

2009 Market Forecast
Tony Vallance

Tony shares the lessons he has learned from past recessions and passes on his views of the current recession and its affects on the construction industry. He also makes some interesting predictions as to when the market will start recovering, and gives his reasons for these conclusions.

Constructability Reviews

This article was written by Jason G. Smith, Construction Analysis & Planning, LLC, in conjunction with Brian Tolland, TBD Consultants.

Including time and resources within a project’s schedule, and budget for performing a thorough constructability review of the construction contract documents is proving to be more than just a good idea. In these times of economic distress it is becoming essential. As competition among contractors and subcontractors increase due to a diminishing market, bidding can be expected to become tighter with more aggressive strategies being employed during the bidding process in order to secure projects. This in turn puts pressure on the contractor’s project team to deliver the final product within their budget. It is only natural that added scrutiny will be focused on the contract documents as a result.

TBD, together with our consultants, offer constructability review as a professional service and have a successful record in producing detailed reports and marked up construction drawings that ultimately assist the Owners and design teams in producing a more accurate set of documents.

Below are some fundamental rules that we employ when carrying out a constructability review:

Build the project; do not focus solely on the problems. Only by taking the time to walk through the construction process step by tedious step will the problems be discovered. Avoid viewing a constructability review as an exercise in flipping through the construction documents with a focus on finding the problems, as the problems will not jump out by themselves.

Review the interface of various systems. Whether it be interior, exterior, structural or MEP, problems are not discovered nearly as frequently within the body of a system as they are at the perimeter of a system where it interfaces with the various adjacent systems and trades.

Keep the review of preliminary documents constructive. When performing a constructability review on 50%, 75% or even 90% documents be cognizant that the design documents are not complete and avoid providing the design team with an exhaustive list of things they already know are not complete. Preliminary reviews should focus on general design approaches, correcting items that have been completed and identifying the obscure, easy to miss, details.

Stay focused on the important items. Before making a comment to the design team, ask yourself two questions. First, “will this impact the cost, time or quality of the project?” and secondly, “will the contractor, or subcontractors, require an answer to this question in order to perform their work?” If the answer to either of these questions is yes, include the comment. Otherwise, do not, since including superfluous comments will consume the design team’s time that could be better spent directed to other issues.

Take the time to complete a thorough review. A thorough constructability review could take weeks, even months, but for every hour spent planning a project the hours saved down the road are exponential. Thorough reviews cannot always be complete and incorporated into the design documents in time for bid, but it is nonetheless important to address the problems early in the project.

Geoff's IT Gems
Vista Second Edition

Windows Vista did not exactly meet with universal acclaim when it was released, and now its follow-up is getting ready to hit the market. What's new, what's changed? Here we take a first look at the beta release of Windows 7, soon to come to a desktop near you.

Design consultant: Katie Levine of Vallance, Inc.



the newsletter of tbd consultants - edition 14, 2nd qtr 2009


		Printable PDF version Subscribe to our newsletter In this Edition 2009 Market Forecast Constructability Reviews Vista Second Edition
	Construction Management Specialists 111 Pine Street, Suite 1315 San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 981-9430 806 West Pennsylvania Ave. San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 550-1187 www.TBDconsultants.com


	2009 Market Forecast Tony Vallance Tony shares the lessons he has learned from past recessions and passes on his views of the current recession and its affects on the construction industry. He also makes some interesting predictions as to when the market will start recovering, and gives his reasons for these conclusions.




	Constructability Reviews This article was written by Jason G. Smith, Construction Analysis & Planning, LLC, in conjunction with Brian Tolland, TBD Consultants. Including time and resources within a project’s schedule, and budget for performing a thorough constructability review of the construction contract documents is proving to be more than just a good idea. In these times of economic distress it is becoming essential. As competition among contractors and subcontractors increase due to a diminishing market, bidding can be expected to become tighter with more aggressive strategies being employed during the bidding process in order to secure projects. This in turn puts pressure on the contractor’s project team to deliver the final product within their budget. It is only natural that added scrutiny will be focused on the contract documents as a result. TBD, together with our consultants, offer constructability review as a professional service and have a successful record in producing detailed reports and marked up construction drawings that ultimately assist the Owners and design teams in producing a more accurate set of documents. Below are some fundamental rules that we employ when carrying out a constructability review: Build the project; do not focus solely on the problems. Only by taking the time to walk through the construction process step by tedious step will the problems be discovered. Avoid viewing a constructability review as an exercise in flipping through the construction documents with a focus on finding the problems, as the problems will not jump out by themselves. Review the interface of various systems. Whether it be interior, exterior, structural or MEP, problems are not discovered nearly as frequently within the body of a system as they are at the perimeter of a system where it interfaces with the various adjacent systems and trades. Keep the review of preliminary documents constructive. When performing a constructability review on 50%, 75% or even 90% documents be cognizant that the design documents are not complete and avoid providing the design team with an exhaustive list of things they already know are not complete. Preliminary reviews should focus on general design approaches, correcting items that have been completed and identifying the obscure, easy to miss, details. Stay focused on the important items. Before making a comment to the design team, ask yourself two questions. First, “will this impact the cost, time or quality of the project?” and secondly, “will the contractor, or subcontractors, require an answer to this question in order to perform their work?” If the answer to either of these questions is yes, include the comment. Otherwise, do not, since including superfluous comments will consume the design team’s time that could be better spent directed to other issues. Take the time to complete a thorough review. A thorough constructability review could take weeks, even months, but for every hour spent planning a project the hours saved down the road are exponential. Thorough reviews cannot always be complete and incorporated into the design documents in time for bid, but it is nonetheless important to address the problems early in the project.




	Geoff's IT Gems Vista Second Edition Windows Vista did not exactly meet with universal acclaim when it was released, and now its follow-up is getting ready to hit the market. What's new, what's changed? Here we take a first look at the beta release of Windows 7, soon to come to a desktop near you.




	Design consultant: Katie Levine of Vallance, Inc.