Any project, be it commercial construction or residential, requires intricate planning and budget allocation, called value engineering. A lot of details are needed in planning your perfect project. You and your team need to decide on various things like the type of toilet and restroom accessories to be used, flooring, cabinets, lightbulbs, etc. Not to mention, you have to consider your clients’ budget, planning can seem to be a daunting, if not impossible, task.
Saving money and sticking to the budget is crucial in all stages of your construction project – from beginning to end. Here are some tips to help you in value engineering.
Beginning
Is it a want or a need?
Be realistic. Not every item on the list can come from high end brands if you’re trying to maintain a budget. Do your research and try to find similar items at a fraction of the cost. There’s a huge chance that you’ll find items with the same look and feel as the expensive ones that will help you stay on budget without compromising quality.
Changing Project Duration
Cutting down construction duration is a definite positive to consider. The sooner your clients can open doors for their customers, the sooner they start bringing in profit. It might be worth spending a little extra to set the opening at an earlier date. Look at ways to stack stubs, expedite shipping on load lead items, among others. These can help shave off some days or weeks to your schedule.
Consider Pre-Fabrication
There is some misconception about pre-fabs being ‘unoriginal’ and ‘looks like all others’. This is not true. Pre-fabrication has re-emerged in the industry due to BIM (Building Information Modeling) and sustainable building.
Today, pre-fabrication demonstrates how technology and manufacturing can work together not only to improve the industry but also produce unique and visually appealing structures.
Middle
Think Twice Before Changing Orders
Always be reasonable with requests and expectations. Do not ask for things that are out of budget. If you feel like you need to change something, ask yourself: will this make money? Is this going to add time to the project duration? If so, how much? Is it a want or a need? These are the things you need to clarify before moving forward.
Plan and Schedule
Make subcontractors accountable for their time. Hand out notices so that they are aware when they are expected at the job site. Follow up on their progress to ensure that no one is falling behind schedule.
Understand your project roadmap and plan needed manpower in advance. Schedules can change fast and more often than you expect. You need to keep your eyes and ears open to your surroundings and stay on top of the progress of your construction project.
End
Payouts
Pay your subcontractors and vendors on time as this is crucial to the success of your projects both current and in the future.
Do not Change Orders the Last Minute
Last minute changes can mean disaster to your project and can also be a waste of money and time. Do your due diligence before your project starts so you can avoid scrambling at the end.
At Vulcan Construction, we strive to make changes that reduce costs while maintaining the design intent of the project intact. Our extensive value engineering experience with a wide variety of building types and materials enables us to bring forth new and innovative ideas that have a direct impact on the performance and cost of building.
