Pre-construction Services: Closing Gaps in the Communication Loop

Updated On 5 June 2023.

If you think that industrial construction or major commercial construction projects are completed in one go, think again. All such projects are impossible to become a reality without preconstruction services.

Every project has its challenges, strengths, and nuances, requiring precise and comprehensive planning right from the beginning. This is to make sure that paramount value is provided at optimal cost and on time.

In this blog, we will discuss how effective preconstruction services can bridge the communication gaps between various construction professionals, paving the way for the smooth execution of a commercial project.

Understanding Communication Gap

A communication gap develops when an employee receiving instructions from their manager misinterprets the provided information or vice versa.

In commercial construction, a communication gap unfolds when the project manager has executed a change order on-site, however, that order didn’t reach the general contractor and now it remains unbilled.

Another example would be an architect sending design specifications to the structural engineer without clearly defining the nuances. The engineer, as a result, misunderstood the specified work and wrongly built the structure which later incurred expensive losses. There are several reasons for communication gaps among project participants that arise during the preconstruction stage.

5 Factors Leading to the Communication Gap

• Lack of Coordination – A construction project involves owners, contractors, designers, engineers, and subcontractors each party having their terminologies and priorities. Poor coordination between different parties if not addressed by a project manager, may lead to insufficient work instructions to employees, lack of proper distribution of necessary information between stakeholders, and disputes among all parties.
• Vague Project Specifications – One fundamental reason behind communication gaps is the lack of clarity in project requirements. Inadequate documentation, incomplete plans, and ambiguous specifications can create confusion and misinterpretation among project participants which can result in errors, rework, and delays. According to a recent survey, 29% of project professionals blamed unclear goals for their failures.
• Absence of Communication Mediums – Today’s construction projects require advanced communication tools, a variety of communication methods, technical skills, infrastructure, and the availability of construction technology. Absence of these can greatly affect the effectiveness of team communication.
• Organizational Faults – Organizational problems such as inadequate project leadership, level of trust, clarity in documentation, barriers due to organizational structure, rank in the hierarchy, and stakeholders can create construction communication gaps.
• Cultural Differences – A construction project team is an amalgamation of a diverse workforce belonging to different cultural backgrounds, language skills, accents, body languages, beliefs, and hence, any misunderstanding can further widen the communication gaps.

Gaps in the communication system of a project team can lead to reworks, delays, disputes, and costly repairs, hindering the success of commercial construction.

Pre-construction Services

Pre-construction services involve a comprehensive evaluation of the commercial project in building a robust foundation for the project’s successful completion. Pre-construction service is a communication-intensive and highly collaborative affair that requires a pre-construction team containing planners, designers, project managers, estimators, and of course, the client to come together, address and discuss all the issues before starting with the construction.

At this stage, essential goals are created, budgets get evaluated and validated, and schedules are made so that the highest value is received while attaining budget and design goals. Pre-construction services are essential because every project is unique, and every client has special project design goals with a limited budget. So, it is almost impossible to implement a fixed menu for everyone; hence a different set of rules applies to every project.

Communications Making Pre-construction Services Effective

Although pre-construction services have many benefits, there is something valuable behind this service also that makes it a success. Yes, you thought it right – Communication. Better communication helps in understanding the project requirements. There is a saying that “communication is the reason behind every successful relationship.” This is true for personal relationships and equally true for work relationships. You need to communicate with your contractor because only then will your requirements be correctly understood, and the desired result will be obtained.

Some of the key tips to making sure that your project runs smoothly are as follows:

• The contractor should be allowed to present their opinion.
• The property owner should thoroughly listen to the contractor.
• The contractor often knows more than the property owner. So, they should be given the deserved respect.
• Be honest, fair, and consistent.

Pre-construction Services Bridge the Communication Gap

In the above section, it has been discussed that communication makes pre-construction services effective. However, the opposite of this is also true. Pre-construction services close gaps in the communication loop. It has been observed that people in the construction industry often ignore the gravity of preconstruction activities. This brings communication-related problems to construction management companies.

When a construction company bags a pre-construction project, all the people related to the project get a chance to collaborate before finally starting the project. Whoever is having any project-related doubt in their mind can get it resolved during the preconstruction phase before the project commencement. Moreover, employees involved in the project learn about the working style of their peers. This prevents any kind of misunderstanding when they are actually working on the final project. This way, pre-construction services bridge the communication gap.

Tasks Involved in Pre-construction Services

Pre-construction services are a host of tasks usually performed by construction companies or a general contractor before starting the project. Some of the common tasks involved in preconstruction services are:

Site Analysis: During site analysis, the focus is on finding out whether the construction site will fulfill all the project requirements without any extra cost and future surprises. A complete master plan of the site is created, which includes guaranteed parking and traffic circulation. With the help of consultants, the soil is reviewed, and it is made sure that the foundation design is relevant.

Assistance with Approval Requiring Agencies: Pre-construction service providers are usually commercial construction contractors, industrial general contractors, or any construction company. The common quality most of them possess is the relationship they have with approval-requiring agencies. They help with the presentation and design approval of the architectural control committee. They help in getting the building permits and site plan approval.

Value Engineering: Value engineering determines whether the scope of work is within the budget or not. Then suggestions about cost savings are provided. As part of preconstruction services, a comprehensive conceptual estimate of the project is prepared, and this conceptual estimate is then analyzed and reviewed if it satisfies the budget requirements or not. If the conceptual estimate does not meet budget requirements, then alternative solutions are provided, which include quality impact, schedule, and cost.

Constructability Review: Through this task, preconstruction service providers make sure that everything designed is precisely reflected in the plan. Moreover, all the details are simplified and clarified in the following industry practices. This prevents the bidders from filling the bids with intensely priced contingencies. The design documents are reviewed for any oversights, thoroughness, and inaccuracies. If something inappropriate is found during the review, alternative solutions are provided.

Cost Control: During this task, the scope and costs are finally looked upon to ensure that everything is within the budget. Then the design is finalized, the cost models are refined, and the lump-sum cost of the project is developed. Then, with the executives’ and the design team’s help, the cost estimate is reviewed in detail. If any addition needs to be involved or something needs to be corrected, it is done in this preconstruction process following the market conditions. Then the final cost estimate of the project is prepared.

Scheduling: Preconstruction services also entail scheduling the whole project from beginning to end. Key milestones that will drive the project toward completion in a predetermined and organized manner are identified. Firstly, all construction and design activities are defined. Then, introductory and concluding schedules are prepared, and a sequencing plan for the project is developed.

Safety: The industry acknowledged safety programs offer mental peace to the property owner. The safety program should comply with local, state, and federal regulations. The preconstruction services team designs a safety plan specifically for the project to be executed, and this plan is further communicated to site visitors and subcontractors. For best practices, consistent monitoring of the safety programs is required.

There are many other tasks involved in pre-construction services, but the above-discussed ones are always included in pre-construction services.

Anticipated Results of Pre-Construction Services

The foremost result of pre-construction can present the extent, plan & expected cost of the project. Possessing all of these details carefully drafted provides the client with certain expectations before the construction begins. This pre-construction approach also assists in being assured that the project is possible before problems are confronted along with its execution. As anticipation, a post-construction phase is generally adopted, which also guarantees problems are taken care of following the pre-construction and building phases.

Advantages of Pre-Construction Services

Pre Construction gives many advantages to the clients as well as the contractors.

How Clients Benefit:

• Pre-construction can eliminate many hidden variables for the clients and give them clarity on how the project will appear, how the work will be executed, and when the project will get completed.
• The contractor also offers possible opportunities for additional savings, which becomes a significant benefit for the clients.
• As part of preconstruction services, commercial contractors help clients get site approvals and building permits before construction starts. This ensures that the project is in accordance with federal, state, and local compliances and regulations.
• Since the clients can analyze all the probable situations at the very beginning, this makes clients trust and be confident in their contractor.
• The clients can rest assured that the commercial contractor knows their job and have the confidence that they are capable of solving all the unexpected problems during the execution of the project.
• Because of the preconstruction, clients can choose to skip the bidding process, instead, agree on a negotiated contract that they and the commercial contractor work out together. This saves time and creates an efficient workflow process.

How Commercial Contractors Benefit:

• During the pre-construction stage, stakeholders communicate their project standards, expectations for budget and schedule, sustainability goals, and other unique objectives to the commercial contractor. This gives contractors clear, feasible, and measurable goals for the construction project.
• As clients want to know about the construction budget, pre-construction planning helps commercial general contractors determine the feasibility of the project design and their associated costs. They can provide accurate estimates of material prices/quantity, labor rates, equipment costs, and other indirect expenses. Additionally, they establish reasonable deadlines for the completion of all the tasks.
• By carefully assessing the project’s requirements during the preconstruction process, general contractors are able to identify potential issues and plan necessary solutions.
• Preconstruction offers commercial contractors the opportunity to detect and eliminate maximum design errors in the blueprints, BIM models, and drawings which reduces the number of RFIs (requests for information) and rework during the actual construction.
• An effective pre-construction stage leads to the smooth execution of the construction project. This increases a commercial builder’s return on investment (ROI) on their business in the form of satisfied clients, enhanced competitiveness, motivated construction workers, reduced waste, etc.

How Much Do Pre-Construction Services Cost?

Firstly, the pre-construction cost is not included in the construction cost as it comes before the contractor submits his proposal for the project. Ideally, preconstruction services fees won’t exceed 3% of the actual project cost, which is value for your money as it saves your overall project cost and even leaves no room for uncertainty.

Conclusion

Quick and effective team communication is the key to a successful construction project, and preconstruction stage is where it lays its foundation. It establishes various communication channels among stakeholders and construction professionals which prevents conflicts during the construction phase when the design discrepancies are discovered. Thus, preconstruction services close gaps in the communication loop through proper pre-construction planning and addressing conflicts early on, saving clients from unpleasant surprises in the future.

For quality preconstruction services, contact our team at Constructive Solutions, Inc. today.

FAQs

What are the activities involved in the pre-construction phase?

Preconstruction services include site analysis, design development, budget and schedule estimation, permitting, risk management, and other critical processes. Check out the complete preconstruction checklist here.

How to ensure all team members in a construction project are on the same page?

Conduct preconstruction meetings based on set agendas with all project participants to review building’s specifications, assign team roles and functions, discuss risk mitigation plans, and other requirements, so that everyone stays on the same page.

Who is involved in the preconstruction process?

Typically, the preconstruction stage of a commercial construction project involves owners, architects, designers, general contractors, suppliers, various types of engineers and subcontractors, as well as government officials.

Relevant Resources:

5 Key Benefits of Pre-construction Planning Services

Evaluating the Benefits of Pre-construction Services