Keeping project on track

Both you and the architect can take specific steps to help meet your quality, time, and budget goals.

Design and construction are team activities. Many individuals and firms come together to do a project. They usually will not have worked together before and may not work together again. They collaborate to
produce a complex and often unique result on a specific site. As the project unfolds, hundreds of individual design decisions and commitments are made. Needs and conditions change, and work is modified. A strong and healthy relationship between owner and architect is essential to keep the project on track.

*Recognizing the Owner's Responsibilities*
The owner-architect agreement and general conditions of the contract for construction provide clear guidance on what is expected of the owner. UAP Document 301 (General Conditions) outline several responsibilities. Your architect will assist you in clarifying them.

The owner must provide:

* Design objectives, constraints, and criteria, including space requirements and relationships, flexibility, expandability, special equipment, and site requirements.
* Budget (including contingencies for bidding, changes in the work during construction, and other costs that are the owner's responsibility) and a statement of available funds for the project.
* A legal description and survey of the site (including available services and utilities) as well as soils-engineering services and professional recommendations (including test borings or pits, soil-bearing values, percolation tests, air- and water-pollution tests, and ground-water levels).
* Necessary services during construction, including testing services and (on some projects) an on-site project representative.
* Timely information, services, decisions, and approvals.
* Prompt notification of any observed faults or defects in the project or nonconformance with the contract documents governing the project.
* Legal, accounting, auditing, and insurance counseling services needed for the project.

*Recognizing Some of the Fundamental Realities of Building*
Every year substantial amounts are spent for new construction and renovation. Architects and their clients continually have the opportunity to gain some collective wisdom from these projects-wisdom that may be of value to you in project planning and follow-through.

Project scope, quality, and cost are inextricably related. Any two of these variables can be fixed and controlled in design; the marketplace takes cares of the third. You will need to establish priorities among
them and set acceptable ranges for each one.

A good architect challenges the program, schedule, and budget. Even when these have been developed through painstaking effort, it is in the client's best interest to encourage this challenge. In this way, the
architect comes to understand project requirements. The analysis may also reveal existing or potential problem areas.

As design proceeds, important issues will surface. The architect's services bring increased client understanding of the project and the project changes as a result. Each milestone, usually marked by the
end-of-phase submissions written into the owner-architect agreement, should be used to assure continuing consensus on project scope, levels of quality, construction cost, and budget. It may also be necessary to adjust the services required from the architect at these points.

The secret to successful projects is effective project management by both owner and architect. A summary of what the owner can do to keep the project running smoothly through design and construction is presented below.

/Project Plan / Insist on a project work plan, preferably as part of the process of negotiating the project agreements. Ask that the plan be updated on a regular basis and after any major change in scope,
services, or schedule.

/Team member / Be part of the project-planning process and all project meetings. Be sure that your own deadlines, as well as your own decision processes, are reflected by that plan.

/Client Representative / Identify a single person to represent you and to speak for you at planning sessions and project meetings. The scope of the client representative's authority should be understood by all involved.

/Internal Coordination / If yours is an organization where several people or departments must be involved in the project work, make it clear that the client representative speaks as the boss. Conflicting advice or
requirements will inevitably cause problems later.

/Meetings / Plan on regular meetings of the project team and participate in them. Meetings should have clear agendas. Persons with assigned tasks should have them done in time for the meetings. Be sure that the architect prepares minutes that clearly identify what was decided, what shop now require a decision, and who is responsible for the next steps. Minutes should be circulated to all team members.

/Documentation /Require that contacts between architect and client (for example, phone conversations and data-gathering sessions) be documented, and the results shared with appropriate members of the project team. This system keeps everyone informed of what's being discussed and decided outside of formal project meetings and presentations.

/Phases / The UAP standard forms of agreement designate three major design phases and submissions by the architect: schematic design, design development, and construction documents. You may wish to include additional submissions, recognizing that each adds time and cost to the project. Use these milestones to review what has been done and approve it as the basis for moving forward.

/Decision Process /Be sure that both you and your architect understand the process by which you will make decisions: Who requires what information, whose approval is required, how much time should be
allocated for review of submissions? Diagram the process if you are unsure.

/Decisions / Make decisions when they are called for. Keeping the project on hold while the team awaits your decision increases the possibility of changes in conditions that may upset the delicate balance
between project time, cost, and quality.

/Agreement Modifications / Keep the owner-architect agreement up-to-date. Modify it when project scope or services are changed.

/Questions /When you have questions, ask them. Pay particular attention to design submissions, since the work of each phase is further developed in the next phase. All questions should be resolved before the
construction contract documents phase begins, as changes beyond this point will most likely result in increased time and cost.

/Problems /Address problems when they arise and before small ones become large ones. Regular project meetings provide a natural opportunity.

*Bringing the Builders on Board*
At some point, the project team must be expanded to include the firm or firms that will build the project. There are two basic approaches:

The owner may select the contractor or contractors based on the construction contract documents prepared by the architect. Public entities generally must engage in an open competitive bidding process.
Other owners may choose open competitive bidding, competitive bidding by a few invited firms, or negotiation with a single selected contractor or builder.

The owner may choose to include the contractor as a member of the design team. The contractor may be paid a fee for consultation during design. A method of compensation for the construction work is negotiated when the design has progressed in sufficient detail to serve as a basis for a cost proposal.

However and whenever contractors are selected, it is likely that the architect will assist in preparing the bidding documents and the owner-contractor agreement forms as part of the construction contract
documents. It is sound practice to engage the architect's assistance in the bidding or negotiation process and recommending of construction contractors.

*Maintaining the Professional Relationship*
The architect's services should not end with the award of construction contracts. It is highly advisable to retain the architect to: Observe the construction work, evaluate it for compliance with the contract documents and help to determine that the project is being built as designed. This service is especially important. The contractor's failure to construct what has been designed can have major consequences
for the owner. Review shop drawings (detailed drawings of specific building components) and product and material samples to confirm the contractor's understanding of the design intent. Make design changes that result from owner decisions, design refinements, or unexpected conditions in the field. Provide a variety of other important services for the owner-checking contractor payment requisitions against the progress of the work, providing final inspections and certifications for the owner, and assisting with building start-up and user education. Keep an eye on your bottom line. As the team member who has been involved with your project from the outset, your architect is capable of helping you control your construction budget throughout construction and initial occupancy of the project.

So we arrive at the bottom line-the need to complete projects that respond to owner needs and aspirations, are accomplished within schedule and budget, and contribute to the quality of our communities and our lives within them.

 

Please feel free to get in touch with us for further concerns regarding the above topics or any queries that you may have.