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Construction today — and the role of pre-construction

The growing importance of pre-construction

Against this backdrop of challenging conditions, the construction sector has never been more acutely aware of the need to streamline, optimise and economise. A key area where significant gains can be made is pre-construction. The figurative foundations of any construction project, the pre-construction phase is a critical opportunity to ensure that every detail is planned to the last degree. By so doing, miscommunication, delays and unforeseen problems can be minimised or eliminated altogether.

It’s crucial to mitigate the vast array of challenges by promoting relationship-based supply chain management, together with enhanced risk analysis and schedule management to delivering cost and programme certainty.
Steve Blenkinsop, Pre Construction Director — Deconstruct

By formalising scope, cost and schedule parameters, effective pre-construction provides a robust and resilient framework for the delivery of a project — on time, on budget and on point. Early planning of this nature confers a number of significant benefits:

  • budgetary control — the change in cost between project phases is a significant consideration
  • efficiencies through forward planning

As well as enabling multiple teams to work simultaneously, effective pre-construction planning helps to identify and anticipate potential issues and thereby reduce or eliminate delays. Far from adding cost, it has been proven to deliver measurable efficiencies. Research by the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology revealed that companies spending more time on pre-construction actually reduced time and cost on the more expensive construction phase of projects.

Assessing feasibility at the earliest juncture, pre-construction also helps align stakeholders by establishing a clean, shared project vision.

 

 

Pre-construction services delivered by Deconstruct

Pre-construction encompasses multiple aspects of any given project, including:

1- existing condition analysis
Every project is impacted by its own unique range of pre-existing conditions. With potentially far-reaching impacts on the design and structural integrity of the finished scheme, these conditions must therefore be fully assessed and their impacts mitigated at the outset. Significantly reducing the risk of expensive surprises once demolition or building has commenced, existing condition analysis facilitates the preparation of a comprehensive bid package.

2- building Information Modelling (BIM)
A 3D model enables stakeholders to understand far more than what the finished project will look like. Building Information Modelling performs a key function in every stage of the project, from planning and design through to building and operational phases. Potential issues and problem areas can be identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity so they don’t present costly challenges and delays during the building phase.

3- constructability analysis
In construction, there is often a disconnect between theory and practice. On-screen or on paper, a design may look great — the reality can often be very different. Deconstruct’s specialist teams bring a wealth of experience to constructability analysis, identifying potential issues and bottlenecks at an early stage to minimise the danger of overruns and missed deadlines during construction.

4- cost estimating and control
Materials, labour, equipment, subcontractors, permits… the list goes on. Every project has a myriad of costs to assess and anticipate in advance. Deconstruct’s team of experienced estimators consider every aspect of a project to produce a total cost estimate that can be relied upon. In this way, all stakeholders will have a clear picture at the outset of how much a project will cost to complete to the agreed specifications.

5- scheduling, phasing and logistics
Without exception, construction schemes are complex, multi-faceted projects, encompassing a wide range of elements that must be accounted for, from meetings, estimating, bid releases and permits to storage, deliveries, inspections and sub-contractors. Establishing a concise schedule with clearly defined landmarks and milestones is fundamental to the coordination of the seamless and timely delivery of each phase of the project.

6- bid packaging
In order to accurately ascertain the full scope of works required, every relevant construction document must be secured from all subcontractors and vendors for collation and packaging together into the bid.

7- cashflow analysis
From labour and materials to services and suppliers, multiple costs will continue to be incurred at every stage of the project. An accurate cashflow analysis is fundamental to establishing a clearly defined payment schedule for all parties, enabling project owners, supply chain, contractors and subcontractors to operate with appropriate funding at all times.

8- materials procurement
A thorough and dynamic understanding of market prices enables the most cost-effective materials to use for each phase of the project, thereby ensuring that materials and construction across the board meet all specifications and remain compliant.

9- risk assessment
From start to finish of every project, the safety of the workforce and all stakeholders is of paramount importance. Hazards must be identified and risks reduced on a continuous basis, not only to meet stringent site safety standards and to protect all personnel but also to avoid fines or litigation for non-compliance.

10- subcontractor pre-qualification and selection
At Deconstruct, we work closely with a trusted and strictly vetted network of highly qualified contractors and professional service providers. Bringing strong, proven track records of past performance, these pre-qualified partners add quality standards that are fully aligned with our own.

 

 

Avoiding nasty surprises

Pre-construction identifies and heads off potential issues before they become real problems. Unexpected delays and unforeseen costs can quickly throw projects off-schedule and off-budget, which is why working with a proven pre-construction partner like Deconstruct gives clients the peace of mind of a smoother, more certain build programme — with no nasty surprises.

Stay compliant

Whether one contractor or multiple contractors are involved, it is a requirement of the 2015 Construction (Design & Management) Regulations that every designer and contractor considered or appointed for a project is provided with full pre-construction information on time. As experts in this field, with a long and proven track record, Deconstruct are partners of choice for effective, accurate and timely pre-construction documentation.

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