Project Management

Services provided by Integrated Building Solutions

1. Initial meeting with the client to get a firm understanding of the desired outcome, scope and cost of a project – to selecting contractors and sub-contractors that will complete the project. At the onset of every project, we work with the client to establish an overall strategy. This strategy will encompass the client’s program requirements while establishing a framework for the overall project schedule and desired occupancy date.

2. For each project, we create a budget that includes anticipated costs for design, municipal fees, construction, project management, and other items expected to be a part of the overall scope of work. Throughout the process, we will update the budget on a regular basis and actively manage it to make sure the project stays consistent with the overall strategic plan and established costs.

3. We create an elemental bill of quantities for each element of the works incorporating the main contractor and each sub-contractor. We will manage the tender process and provide assessment on the offers considering a range of factors including pricing, ability to complete the works, prior projects etc. If desired, we will also schedule and conduct Firm interviews. Upon final selection of a contractor / sub-contractors , we will negotiate and finalize the contract with the selected firm.

4. Assembling the right team for a project is vital to its success and Integrated Building Solutions will participate in this process if required.

5. We will review the overall project schedule with the design team, ensuring each team member clearly understands the time frames that must be adhered to and obtain each team member’s full commitment to these time frames.

6. Upon completion of the design, we conduct a final review of the project documents with the client and make sure that their requirements are met. We also conduct a constructability review of the final documents to ensure they are complete and acceptable for issuance to the general contractor for bidding and construction. Some of the points considered in the documentation process – work information, starting, completion, mode of payments, disputes, insurance, termination and ensure these are compatible with the overall project objectives.

7. Once construction has commenced, we schedule and manage regular on-site construction meetings between the architect, ourselves as the client’s representative, the general contractor and the client (if desired). Regular meetings will include site inspections to monitor the quality of work and adherence to the project schedule. This allows for issues to be identified and resolved weekly by the team in the field.
Weekly meeting minutes and action items will be created and issued to the team. These meeting minutes provide the framework for documenting decisions as well as providing weekly action items for the team to complete. Monthly reports will be generated which include progress photos, a recap of field progress, critical issues, variation orders, as well as a summary of the project schedule and budget. In addition to site inspections and weekly meetings, we will conduct detailed reviews of potential change orders, negotiate final costs with the general contractor and sub-contractors if applicable, including making final recommendations to our client with regards to approval or rejection. We also closely monitor the project progress against the established project schedule. Should issues arise or the contractor fall behind schedule, we work with the general contractor to negotiate and orchestrate a recovery plan and then closely monitor the recovery progress until the project is back on schedule.

8. We will evaluate completed work and create payment certificates for the main contractor / sub-contractors and submit to the client for payment.

9. Projects require extensive documentation to protect the various parties in terms of contracts, meeting minutes and general email records of change orders, discussions on site etc. Municipalities also have a broad spectrum of requirements that require documentation, follow up and communication. Information flow between the various team members is also critical in terms of updated drawings, specifications, engineering requirements. All documentation systems are put in place to prevent delays of work flow and making sure all parties have the required documents. During the construction process we monitor the project communication and ensure that information is flowing properly and judiciously between the architect, engineers and general contractor. Requests for Information (RFI’s), submittals and changes are monitored on a regular basis and documented within project logs. We review these project logs regularly to confirm that all parties are responding to the required information in a timely fashion, ensuring that the project proceeds on schedule.

10. Upon completion of construction, with the assistance of the project architect, we will conduct a project snag list walk-through to identify any items that need further attention. We will then monitor the completion of all snag list items, ensuring that the general contractor and/or sub-contractors are working in a timely fashion to complete all items.

11. We will receive, process and track all project team member invoices on an invoice management spreadsheet. We check every invoice against each vendor’s contract amount and work completed, ensuring invoices are in compliance with the contract terms, conditions and work completed.

12. For each project, we create a schedule that includes anticipated time frames for due diligence, schematic design, final design, municipal approval, construction and completion of the project. We update this schedule on a regular basis, actively managing it to make sure the project stays within the expected time frame.

13. We will work with the general contractor and the design team to identify all documents that are required as part of the project closeout. Upon completion of the project, we will receive and review all closeout documentation to ensure that they meet the project requirements. We will then forward these closeout documents to the client for their records and future use. In addition, we work with the client and general contractor to schedule training for each of the new systems installed.