Our firm is a small business with 28 years of experience in performing Construction Management as Advisor duties for our governmental clients through our offices in Kansas City and Chicago. We have a professional staff of 45 architects, engineers, and construction managers, with degrees in Engineering, Construction Management, Safety/Industrial Management and Architecture. Professional registration is held in 40 states.
Our project experience includes renovation and new construction projects ranging in size from 10,000 sf to 1,500,000 sf. We have an excellent understanding of the entire delivery process from Solicitation for Offer through design, bidding, construction and project closeout. This knowledge allows us to be proactive members of an owner’s project team, enabling the owner to make sound schedule, design and financial decisions.
Since 1993 our firm has served the GSA PBS on significant projects under the Design Excellence Program and IDIQ contracts. We have provided these services on government owned facilities and leased build-to-suit facilities developed for the government. We have a thorough understanding of governmental procedures and processes. Our construction management as advisor service to the GSA includes in excess of $1 billion in construction value, both completed and currently under construction.
Our client relationships include the GSA PBS, US Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Labor, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Social Security Administration, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Archives and Records Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) by the General Services Administration (GSA) - Public Buildings Service (PBS) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The BPA contract is for Construction Management as Advisor services (Under Multiple Award Schedule SIN 817-7) for Region 4 Southeast, Region 5 Great Lakes, Region 6 Heartland and Region 7 Greater Southwest. The dark blue in the map below is the geographical zone in which we have the contract. We will be performing these services from our team offices in Kansas City, Chicago, Fort Worth, Houston and Tampa.
Services we will perform under this contract include Project Management, Construction Management during the Design, Procurement and Construction phases, Commissioning Agent, Testing, Claims Resolution and Post Occupancy Evaluation. The contract (GS10F-09-LP-A-0009) runs from 2009-2014.
Overview: Agencies utilize construction managers as their principal agent to advise on or manage the process over the project regardless of the project delivery method used. The Construction Manager assumes the position of professional adviser or as an extension of Agency staff. The Construction Manager frequently helps the customer agency identify which delivery method is the best for the project. The construction management approach utilizes a firm (or team of firms) with construction, design and management expertise to temporarily expand the customer agency's capabilities, so that they can successfully accomplish their program or project. The Construction Manager also provides expert advice in support of the customer agency's decisions in the implementation of the project.
Project Design Phase Services: Our competency and capacity include the ability to execute design technical reviews; code compliance reviews; constructability reviews; analysis of Value Engineering proposals; preparation of cost estimates (including independent government estimates); energy studies; utility studies; site investigations; site surveys; scheduling; review of design scope changes (including analysis of schedule impact); scheduling/conducting/documenting design related meetings; and performing market studies (material availability, contractor interest, etc.).
Project Procurement Phase Services: Includes providing assistance to the Contracting Officer in contract procurement; answering bid/RFP questions; participating in site visits; participating in pre-bid conferences; preparing and issuing solicitation amendments for review and approval by the Government Contracting Officer; and performing cost/bid/proposal analysis.
Project Construction Phase Services: We can execute the full complement of capabilities from backroom support to onsite management that enables us to serve an Agency from groundbreaking to grand opening. Our capabilities include establishing temporary field offices; setting up job files and record keeping systems; maintaining organized construction files; scheduling and conducting preconstruction meetings; documenting actions taken and decisions made; monitoring the submittal review process; review and monitoring of project schedules for construction progress with emphasis on milestone completion dates, phasing requirements, work flow, material deliveries; assisting in problem resolution; maintaining marked up sets of project plans and specifications for future as-built drawings; performing routine inspections of construction as work proceeds, taking action to identify work that does not conform to the contract requirements, and notifying the contractors when work requires correction; compiling, through site inspections, lists of defects and omissions related to the work performed and providing these lists to the contractor for correction; review of construction contractor payment requests (including preparation of necessary forms for payment processing); monitoring project financial data and budgetary cost accounting; administration of construction contract change orders (issuing proposal requests, preparing cost estimates, reviewing cost proposals, assisting agency in negotiations, preparing change order packages for processing); scheduling, conducting, and documenting regular progress meetings to review project status, discuss problems, and resolve issues; scheduling, conducting, and documenting (prepare minutes, etc. for distribution) construction related project meetings; monitoring construction contractor compliance with established safety standards (note and report unsafe working conditions, failures to adhere to safety plan required by construction contract); monitoring construction contractor's compliance with contract labor standards; coordination of construction activities with customer Managers and occupying agency personnel; monitoring the design and construction clarification process and, when appropriate, reminding the A/E and other parties involved of the need for timely actions; participating in all "Partnering" activities during construction (workshops, meetings, etc.); preparing special reports and regular project status reports; providing for progress and/or final photographs of project work; provide assistance in obtaining permits; perform hazardous material assessments and monitoring of hazardous material abatement work; and provide cost estimating assistance.
Commissioning Services: Critical to contract administration and efficient operations, we are well-versed in systems commissioning services. These services may include providing professional and technical expertise for start-up, calibration, and/or certification of a facility or operating systems within a facility. The CM must be able to provide any level of commissioning need from total support to specialty services. Commissioning services may require start-up planning, forecasting start-up duration, estimating start-up costs, determining start-up objectives, organizing start-up teams and team assignments, testing building system components, conducting performance tests.
Testing Services: Government projects often require exacting standards. We have the capability, capacity and experience to ensure adherence to exacting requirements including: independent testing agency/laboratory to perform quality control testing and inspection services such as testing/inspection of soils, concrete, precast concrete connections, steel, steel decking, applied fireproofing, roofing, curtain walls/glazing, and elevator installations.
Claims Services: Any project requires multiple trades attacking multiple challenges in compressed time and often budget. Invariably conflict arises. Our firm has the ability to review disputes and claims from the A&E and/or construction contractor(s) and render all assistance that the Government may require such as: Furnishing reports with supporting information necessary to resolve disputes or defend against the claims; preparation and assembly of appeal files; participation in meetings or negotiations with claimants; appearance in legal proceedings; preparation of cost estimates for use in claims negotiations; preparation of risk assessments/analyses relative to claim exposures; preparation of findings of fact and any other documentation required by the Government.
Post Construction Services: Critical to client and tenant satisfaction is the closeout or punch-list. Our firm is adept at performing Post Occupancy Evaluations; assisting Agency in the formulation of lessons learned; providing occupancy planning including development of move schedules, cost estimates, inventory lists; providing move coordination, relocation assistance, and/or furniture coordination; providing telecommunication and computer coordination.
