As with any large-scale commercial construction project, you may encounter obstacles along the way toward achieving your final vision. Luckily, you and your builder or design-build team can take steps to prevent or eliminate these issues.
Before you can bypass these hurdles, the first step, of course, is identifying what those trouble spots are. To help you on your way, we’ve pulled together a list of the most common obstacles encountered in commercial construction as well as suggestions for how to avoid them completely or deal with them strategically when they crop up.
Construction Delays for Your Commercial Construction Project
You want it when?! If only commercial construction projects always went as planned. Unfortunately, encountering challenges that can cause delays are common. But you don’t have to fall victim to delays; by selecting the right team, you’ll increase your chances of hitting that all-important deadline. When you select a design-build construction team as your partner in commercial construction, you’ll notice a difference in how smoothly projects progress. When the entire team from start to finish is on the same page, delays are virtually eliminated. And because everyone’s working together, project phases can run concurrently. With design-build, your team has control over the most common factors that contribute to construction delays.
Of course, if challenges arise that threaten delays, ask your design-build construction team to engage in efforts to eliminate and/or minimize delays. Your design-builders’ ability to leverage collaboration between design, project management, and on-site construction personnel can oftentimes be effective in eliminating and/or minimizing delays.
Old Blueprints of Your Commercial Construction That Won’t Go Away
If you’re working with subcontractors, there’s always a risk that an old set of blueprints will somehow get into their hands. The result can be a nightmare. One of the best ways to prevent this from happening is to make sure all drawings, addendums, and bulletins are dated & understand the process the builder you select utilizes to prevent this obstacle. We utilize state-of-the-art technology to ensure all subcontractors utilize the latest set of plans.
Everything from the site plan, to punch lists and RFIs, to detailed call-outs are part of construction drawings—the lifeblood of the project. Maxx Builders utilizes cloud-based technology to manage construction drawings that are organized into one master set and automatically named and numbered. Keeping drawings in a cloud-based management system eliminates many costly mistakes by keeping your entire team up to date with real-time drawings. Project teams can not only review sheets, but also mark up drawings, approve changes, and distribute updated plan sets out to the entire project team in a matter of minutes.
Unforeseen Expenses in Your Commercial Construction
From sudden increases in the cost of materials during construction to environmental and structural issues like unsuitable soil, infestations, hazardous conditions, or other issues discovered along the way, unwelcome surprises during the construction process can increase your expenses and threaten your completion date. Due diligence activities at the front end of the design phase, such as a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, a Geotechnical Site Investigation, and on-site builder inspections can identify potential issues early in your project so they can be dealt with proactively from a budget and schedule standpoint. Engaging a design-build team to manage these due diligence items is an effective means of managing risk for your project.
Construction Errors by Workers with the Best of Intentions
You know how you want your commercial construction to be, and your architect and/or design-builder will provide plans and specifications for construction crews to turn your vision into a reality in the field. How do you ensure that construction crews in the field don’t come up with shortcuts, or improvements they are sure you’ll love, that in the end, you don’t? First, hire a builder that intends to commit an experienced, on-site project superintendent that will monitor quality as work is completed to ensure the work complies with the plans and specifications. An experienced on-site project superintendent will ensure that errors are addressed proactively. Also, set the expectation that ideas for varying in the plans and specifications be discussed among the owner, architect, and builder to discuss advantages and disadvantages related to schedule, budget, quality, and/or functionality.
