- The construction phase begins with the initiation of the project; the budget, design and the ultimate goal of the project directly affects the work of the contractor.
- Always confer with your legal consultant for review of contracts and the front end of the specifications.
- Know your project budget and add 10% to the Purchase Order per contract for contingencies
- Know the District’s policy for Change Orders
- Know the District’s timeline to process progress payments
- Architect’s design
- If it is a duplicate de
- Include any District’s standards of materials and systems, i.e. locks, energy management systems
- Make sure the District’s maintenance person has reviewed and signed off on the design
- Specifications
- Include special site conditions, such as relocation of utilities, extreme dust control
- District approval of Superintendent and Project Manager
- Require a two warranty period, longer on equipment
- Bidding Process
- Wide public advertisement, not just in your area
- Place documents in Plan Rooms
- Determine who should get plans for a deposit
- Determine bid date, check other projects bidding and allow 4 weeks for a bid period
- General Contractor Requirement
- Minimum one complete new school in the last five years of similar size
- Minimum of one school modernization in the last three years of similar complexity
- Selection of Contractor
- Review and interview the three low bidders
- Review their projects for the last 3-5 years
- Contact the previous project Architect, District Rep, and District Maintenance person
- DOCUMENT ALL RESPONSES
- Start of Construction
- Start a project binder to contain correspondence, meeting minutes and notes
- All correspondence must go through the Architect
- If there are major problems send copies to your legal consultant, now
- Resolve problems at the lowest level and at the earliest time
- Pre-Construction Meeting
- At the meeting have YOUR TEAM, the architect, contractor, DSA inspector, testing agency, major subs, principal (if known)
- Architect is interpreter of documents
- Set weekly meeting day and time; you must be there to know what’s going on!!
- Determine day for review of progress payments, this is the contractor’s life line
- Indicate District’s policy on Change Orders
- Indicate the policy on visits by Labor groups
- Time of construction required by City
- Who responds to neighbor complaints
- Inspection of work prior to covering
- No non-approved materials on site
- No import of non-approved soil
- Weekly Meetings
- Architect records minutes of the meeting
- Identify a response person and date for each item
- There will be changes to the design!!!
- There will be work installed incorrectly!!!
- The District will make changes!!!
- There will be unforeseen conditions!!!
- Play nicely, lose the egos
- Progress Payments
- As-built drawings and specifications must be up to date
- Architect, Inspector and Owner must ALL agree on percentage complete
- Process payment in a timely manner!!
- Require waivers when necessary
- Review Escrow Account monthly
- Project Close-Out
- Archives, all as-built drawings (CAD) and specifications, shop drawings, samples manuals, etc.
- Maintenance department makes final inspection
- Determine maintenance schedule of equipment
- Final waivers
- List of service providers for equipment
- Post Completion Inspection
- At the end of the first year of operation, have the architect and maintenance inspect the project
- Provide a list of design concerns
- Provide a list of warranty items
- Architect to interview the educational staff and provide a report
- Major Problems
- Architect, if they cannot respond timely
- Contractor, if they cannot respond timely
- Deal with the problems and don’t be afraid to fire a consultant or contractor
- Resolve the problems at the lowest level and at the earliest time