How to Prevent Delays in Commercial Construction Projects
December 5, 2022 Commercial Construction, Preconstruction Planning, Value Engineering5 Best Practices to Avoid Commercial Construction Delays
When you’ve invested your profits into creating a new building for your business, understanding how to avoid delays in commercial construction can be very important in terms of protecting that investment. Delays can strain resources and cause a loss of revenue.
In this article, you’ll learn five best practices for keeping your commercial project on track and progressing smoothly.
Prioritize Pre-Construction Planning
When commercial contractors and site owners (or their project managers) insist on prioritizing pre-construction planning, their commercial building project will see fewer delays during the construction phase.
During this planning phase, these parties, and the architects and engineers, will conduct a thorough review of project goals and scope, and review all pertinent documents, including:
- Building Plans and Specifications
- Schedules and Timelines
- Quality Control Hold Points
- Submittal Data
Prioritizing these elements will go a long way to ensuring that your project steers clear of troublesome delays.
Pre-Approve Alternate Products/Vendors
This step has never been more important. The pandemic created severe supply chain issues that continue to linger. Deciding ahead of time on alternate vendors and products for your build will help keep the project moving forward. Changes will still be communicated, but having the alternates pre-approved will save time on sourcing materials mid-build.
Anticipate and Forestall Permitting Pitfalls
Researching all of the building codes and restrictions ahead of time will help your project avoid common pitfalls. Local, experienced contractors know how to reduce delays in construction projects by leveraging their knowledge of local restrictions and permitting office cycles.
They will usually have an insider read on things such as:
- What days or times of year the city’s building department tends to respond more slowly
- Current wait times for inspections
- When there has been a change in requirements, such as sprinklers or setbacks
In addition, experienced contractors will have a good grasp of various potential problems that can arise in the permitting process.
Determine Subcontractor and Vendor Lead Times
A commercial building project relies on the availability of building materials, equipment, and subcontractors. A common hold-up in construction can simply be waiting for a crucial part. Skyscraper construction can be grounded to a halt for the lack of a specific bolt. Those subcontractors may then jump to other jobs, while they’re waiting, and might not be ready to return to your project at a day’s notice when the part finally arrives.
Everything is interdependent. Though timelines and availability should be ascertained during the pre-construction phase, these timelines can change, so checking back in along the way is always worth the additional effort to avoid a disastrous delay.
Hire a Design-Build Contractor with Value Engineering Expertise
One of the biggest boosts you can give to your project, with respect to avoiding delays, is hiring a design-build firm, as opposed to going with the traditional bid-out model. A design-build team will consist of industry professionals, such as architects, engineers, and builders, all of whom collaborate to optimize every aspect of your project, including budgeting and timelines, to provide you with accurate cost and scheduling estimates.
The design-build process is managed by either the Contractor or Architect and includes pre-construction planning, design, construction, and post-construction management. With a design-build contractor, you have a single point of contact throughout the entire process and the team will handle all of the permitting and inspection requirements.
In addition to keeping unnecessary delays at bay, hiring a design-build firm has many other benefits, including streamlined communication and a closely monitored budget.
To really stay on track budget-wise, choose a design-build contractor that practices value engineering. With value engineering, your build-design team is dedicated to your project’s success, while emphasizing economic efficiency.
Trust FDC with Your Commercial Construction Project for the Best Outcome and Fewest Delays
As a leader in the industry, Facility Development Company has 40 years of hands-on experience in design-build commercial construction and value engineering. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality services as we partner with you to bring your project to life.
We invite you to browse our portfolio of past projects and to contact us online about our design-build construction services. You can also reach us by phone at (707) 523-1722.