It’s All About Information, Design and Decision Making

The Planning phase of your construction project – also known as Design and Preconstruction Services – involves making a number of decisions critical to maximizing your return on investment.

We advise our customers on their options on a Project Execution Plan prior to beginning this phase. Whether Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build or Construction Management, we tailor our approach to meet your requirements and risk strategies.

Once the approach to project execution is decided, the Architectural and Engineering Services commence. Our pre-construction services generally organize these activities as our objective is to further define the Basis of Design established at Project Feasibility.

All Projects Have Options

The earlier we define and quantify the benefit vs cost of the options, the better for the overall project.  There can be large variations in costs in what we may define as an optimal scope for your business ROI (Fit for Purpose) and what the project team all desires. We encourage you to explore these early and make early decisions and lock in the scope.

All Projects Have Uncertainties that Need to Be Mitigated

The industry is increasingly changing. You have multiple agencies dictating project requirements, whether DOT, Municipalities, Zoning, Utility Companies, Covenants, DHEC, Land Use Boards … to name a few.  Every project is different and presents unique challenges.

Our objective in feasibility planning was to define who the stakeholders are and what we believe their requirements will be. Early in the Design Phase, we must work with all of them to understand what is really required and challenge what they would like to have. All these must be worked into the Scope of Work and clearly assigned roles and responsibilities into the project team.

You the owner, are integral in this work. There may be opportunities for incentives and credits; our team will assist in these connections.

Depending on the urgency of the projects, we typically recommend completing preliminary design, then pausing the project for a few weeks to reconfirm the estimate. For fast track projects, we use our in-house estimating data to continuously trend the costs against the Basis of Design established at feasibility.

With either approach, we want you to have information on costs to make informed decisions on scope. Our objective is no surprises.

We have over 400 relationships with suppliers and subcontractors. Our expertise is bringing together this team of subcontractors in a competitive environment to deliver on your business objectives with respect to costs and scheduling.

Construction documents and the Contract for Construction are the final deliverables of this phase. At the conclusion of the phase, our objective is to have a completed design, in for permit, with accurate costs and timelines based on a projected Construction Start.

When you select the Design-Build approach or Construction Management, you have been integral in the process for months. You understand the scope and have seen the transparency in our process and costs.  With confidence you now fully fund the project and start the BUILD phase.