If you’re planning construction projects this year, you understand the importance of assembling the right team to design and build your new facilities. What you may not have considered is the importance of hiring an owner’s representative to oversee those projects.
If you haven’t considered hiring an owner’s rep, or are on the fence about whether to hire one, here are five signs you probably should.
One: You Don’t Have an Internal Construction Oversight Team
Unless construction is your business or your organization continually builds new facilities, the odds are good that you do not have an internal construction oversight team. This means that managing your upcoming projects will require you to either pull internal resources away from their core responsibilities or hire someone to handle it. In most cases, it doesn’t make sense to add on-staff headcount. You have a vision of what your new building will look like, and how it will perform, but you don’t have the internal resources to ensure that your vision will be achieved. Hiring an experienced external resource, who understands how to manage all the day to day details of your project ensures your team can stay focused on your core business, assured that your vision will become a reality.
Two: Your Architect Won’t Hang Out On The Job Site
Many architectural contracts specify that your architect will perform construction “administration” of the project during construction. Some owners expect construction administration to take the place of owner’s rep services, but that’s a mistake. Construction administration does not typically obligate your architect to be on the job site every few days, checking the quality and progress of the work, observing construction activities before they get covered up, looking for issues before they become problems, managing submittals, responding to all contractor requests for information (RFIs), and ensuring the project timeline stays on track. A lot can happen on a job site in a few days, and an owner’s rep will be there walking the site and managing the process so you can rest assured everything is going as it should.
Three: You Need Up-To-Date Hands-On Construction Expertise
Unless you’re in the business of construction on a daily basis, it’s impossible to keep up with fluctuations in the labor and materials market, innovations in means and methods, new regulations and code requirements, and all the details of a constantly changing industry. A good owner’s rep will provide that expertise and use it to keep a finger on the pulse of the project. They’ll recognize if costs or timelines are too high or low, oversee appropriate draw schedules, and ensure that the project meets its timeline targets, owner requirements, and all code and regulatory requirements.
Four: You Can’t Afford Delays
A lot can happen on a job site in a few days. One mistake and an entire schedule can be set back as work crews stand around waiting for the mistake to be fixed. “Small” issues like delays in receiving a response to an RFI, unapproved change orders, and incorrect installations cause cascading effects that ultimately impact your ability to open your doors on time. An owner’s rep manages the construction process, ensuring that RFIs and change orders are responded to in a timely fashion, submittals are promptly reviewed, and mistakes are identified in construction before they become problems, all of which helps ensure the project is completed on schedule.
Five: You Can’t Afford Cost Overruns
A subcontractor installs a pipe in the wrong location and sets the schedule back for electrical work while the pipe is relocated. A drywall contractor puts up walls before the mechanical work is complete. Material deliveries are delayed, causing crews to stand around waiting. These and many other mishaps on the job site cause delays and unnecessary spending that lead to cost overruns. An owner’s rep oversees every aspect of the construction process to ensure work is done in a timely and workmanlike manner, that materials are delivered on time, and that any issues are addressed quickly and effectively to prevent unnecessary cost overruns.
If your plans this year include constructing new facilities, hiring an owner’s rep can help you control costs and mitigate risk. We’d love to talk to you about our highly rated owner’s rep services today.
