Services
Due diligence
Entitlements
Preconstruction management
Estimating
Request for Proposals to consultants and contractors
Design coordination
Value engineering
Constructability
Scheduling
Bid packages
Construction management
Change order review
Billing/Invoice review
Cost and schedule tracking
Critical issue tracking and resolution
Project Types
Commercial
Agricultural
Retail
Hospitality
Food Service/Grocery
Medical
Amusement park
Single Family Residential
Multi-unit Residential
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Qualifications
35+ years in the construction industry
25+ years in construction project management
Over $500 million worth of projects completed
Over 2,500,000 SF of projects completed
Public and private sector experience
LEED™ Accredited Professional
Lean Construction Champion
California General Building Contractor’s License #954633
Planned Project Delivery
PRECONSTRUCTION
Project Scoping
The first step in any design/construction process is identifying your company’s needs. The need for a project may be dictated by several variables:
Speculative project – developers looking for their next project can analyze the needs of the market to determine the type of project in demand, or they may have existing relationships with tenants requesting new facilities.
More space – growing companies hiring additional employees may outgrow their existing facilities.
Changing space needs – perhaps the company’s growth or direction leads to changing their processes, equipment, or needs of their employee’s workspace.
Geographics – the client may determine that its employee’s or customer’s demographics are such that relocating to a different area may be beneficial to company operations.
Refresh – it may be that the client’s existing facility is perfectly suitable in terms of space and layout but just needs a refresh of its finishes and/or infrastructure.
There are a number of other variables that may dictate the need for a project. Blue Water Construction can assist in determining the type of need and how that need can be satisfied through the design and construction process. The diligence taken in this first step of project delivery goes a long way to determining the ultimate success of the finished project.
Master Budgeting & Scheduling
Once a client determines the need for a project, the attention will then be focused on what the available resources are to complete the project. Resources typically fall in to two large categories; money
and time.
Money – the client will need to determine what financial resources are available. This may determine the extent of the project.
Time – In some cases, time is of the essence to fulfilling the client’s project needs. If an expedited timeframe is required, this could affect the finances for the project.
Blue Water Construction can help the client determine an overall global budget and timeline for the project based on the financial and time resources identified during this step. These two tools will guide the direction and success of the process moving forward.
Due Diligence
Armed with the knowledge of need, budget, and timeline, the client can now begin a search for a facility that satisfies these three factors. The facility can be the client’s existing facility, a different existing facility, construction of a new facility, or perhaps a combination of the above. Typically, the client’s real estate broker can help facilitate any type of property transaction that may be required. Blue Water Construction can perform a third party review of any existing facility or property to assist in determining its adequacy for the client’s need. Identifying the facility or property marks an important and triumphant milestone in the project process.
Design Phase
Once the client has selected a facility or property and has identified a budget and timeline, the next step in the process is putting “pen to paper”. If the architect has not been brought on board yet, Blue Water Construction can assist with the selection. An RFP can be issued specifying in detail the client’s project needs, budget, and timeline. The response to this RFP will determine selection of the most suitable architect. The architect and Blue Water Construction will then lead the design team through the design process.
The design process can be broken in to three different phases with appropriate action to be taken at each phase.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction Phase
Blue Water Construction can assist the client to ensure they have all the tools necessary to manage the project to completion. These tools include:
Construction documents – the approved, vetted set of plans and specifications provides the construction team with a road map to successful completion of the project.
Global budget – Blue Water Construction has defined and refined the global budget throughout the delivery process. The focus of the budget now includes finalizing the design costs (construction administration is ongoing) and tracking the construction budget to include approved change orders and contingency draws.
Timeline – with the design portion of the timeline complete, tracking of the construction schedule becomes paramount. Blue Water Construction works with the general contractor to provide weekly updates to ensure the project stays on schedule.
Documentation – Blue Water Construction requires weekly, or as deemed necessary, meetings to provide for continual updates on the status of construction and maintain constant communication with all members of the project team. The following documentation ensures the project stays on track during construction:
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Meeting minutes - from the inception of the project, Blue Water Construction conducts regular meetings to ensure critical issues, whether affecting safety, budget, schedule, quality, or operational concerns, will be documented and pursued to satisfactory completion.
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Pay requests – Blue Water Construction reviews pay requests from consultants, vendors, and contractors and recommends action based on the general project situation and requirements. Also, we confirm all proper lien releases have been issued and are current.
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Insurance – Blue Water Construction ensures that all contracted parties submit and maintain proper insurance coverages to protect the Owner during the Project.
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Review – Blue Water Construction requests appropriate logs from the construction and design team (i.e. RFI, submittals, ASK, Change Order, etc.) to ensure completeness and review for any cost or schedule impacts to the Project.
Use of these management tools will ensure the project stays on budget and on schedule throughout the duration of construction.
Closeout
Once construction is substantially complete, several steps need to occur for the client to occupy the facility and consider the project 100% complete.
Schematic Design – the architect translates the client’s need on to paper (AKA “programming”). The client, and the client’s end-user and stakeholders, should be highly involved in this process. The architect, client, and Blue Water Construction use the Schematic Design as a tool to:
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Illustrate and demonstrate satisfaction of the company’s needs to the project’s end-users and stakeholders.
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Establish a draft design and construction budget as part of the overall global budget.
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Include with an RFP to select other members of the design team (civil, structural, landscape, etc).
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Submit to the City or County for initial planning, architectural, and site approvals.
Once the above steps have been completed, Blue Water Construction can prepare the team for the next step in the design process.
Design Development – Now that the remainder of the design team have been brought on board, design can proceed to the next level of detail. The members of the design team can now work in conjunction with Blue Water Construction and the architect to add their disciplines to the plan set of drawings. The client and Blue Water Construction use this combined set of design development drawings to:
Include with an RFP to select a design/build general contractor based on fee, general conditions, and GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) format. With the general contractor on board, constructability, budget, and schedule reviews can be completed as the drawings become more defined. The design/build general contractor will typically select the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc design/build subcontractors based on a similar bid process.
Allow the client to gain further clarity in terms of satisfaction of company need, budget, and schedule. The company’s end-users can now review infrastructure and utility systems associated with the new project and provide input as necessary.
Construction Documents – The final definition of the project’s requirements occur during this process. All elements of the project space, infrastructure, utilities, and finishes are defined. Blue Water Construction and the design and construction team members work closely to coordinate their drawings to ensure adequate, clear and concise information is recorded. This set of documents will be used for several important milestones:
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Allows the client to sign off and approve of the document’s ability to satisfy company need, budget, and timeline.
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Used to submit for final City or County approvals, including
the Building Permit. -
Allows the general contractor to bid the drawings out to the subcontractor community and contract with the entire construction team. This important step allows Blue Water Construction to solidify the final construction budget
and timeline.
Jurisdictional Approvals
Before construction can begin, the construction documents are required to be submitted to the proper jurisdiction, whether City or County, for final approvals and building permit. Depending on the jurisdiction, this can be a time-consuming and onerous process. It may benefit the project to have Blue Water Construction, the client, architect, and general contractor involvement in the permit submittal process. At least one round, if not more, of plan check comments can be expected. The quicker jurisdictional issues and concerns can be addressed, the quicker the approvals for building permit can occur. Once the building permit milestone is achieved, construction can begin.
Punch list – Before the construction team is considered 100% complete, with guidance from Blue Water Construction designated members of the design, construction, and client team will compile a punch list of items remaining to be completed. This list will be tracked and signed-off for final completion.
Commissioning – The building systems, utilities, and infrastructure require a thorough commissioning process whereby the systems go through a start-up and verification phase to ensure all systems are operating at optimal efficiency. Blue Water Construction will oversee this process.
Training – the client’s end-users will require training on proper operation and maintenance of the facilities. This could include operation of the HVAC, electrical, alarm systems, etc. The training will be documented and include back-up such as Owner & Maintenance manuals.
Closeout documents – The construction and design team will be responsible for submitting the proper final documentation to Blue Water Construction and the client including:
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As-built drawings – the general contractor and appropriate subcontractors maintain and submit an accurate record of any changes to the construction documents that occurred during construction including detail and dimensional changes.
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Warranties and lien releases – the general contractor and any subcontractor who supplied material for the project will owe a warranty for that product. Warranties will vary depending on specifications and type of material but at a minimum include a one-year warranty to repair or replace defective materials.
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Attic stock – attic stock are any extra materials specified or otherwise left over from construction that can be used for future repairs by the client.
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Final jurisdictional approvals – the general contractor will maintain and submit original copies of any jurisdictional approvals including Certificate of Occupancy, all final permit sign-offs, and any “design holds” from the jurisdiction.
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Final cost accounting – the global budget will be reconciled with actual final costs to give the client an accurate record of the overall cost of the project.
Once the closeout process is complete, the client can now occupy the building and get back to running their business in a facility that meets their needs with a project that came in on-time and within budget.
Summary
Despite the fact that no two projects are alike, Blue Water Construction’s planned project delivery method results in repeatable and continuous success. Regardless of the client or facility, the process will ensure a smooth, financially efficient, and timely project completion.