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Construction Tip: 12 Terms to Familiarize Yourself With

As with any industry, the commercial construction industry has its own set of acronyms and key terms. What’s the difference between a contingency and an allowance? When do OAC meetings start? Having a general understanding of these key terms helps alleviate confusion between an owner and the general contractor and/or designer. We believe specificity and clear communication are keys to providing our clients with a great construction experience.

12 Common Commercial Construction Terms

  1. Contingency: Money, often a percentage of the total project cost, reserved to cover unexpected project costs that arise during a project. For example, a contractor starts excavating a site and hits bedrock. To remove it, different equipment needs to be brought in and the excavation takes longer than originally estimated. Contingency funds would be used to pay for this unexpected cost.
  2. Allowance: Funds set aside to cover a known cost of an unknown amount. For example, an owner wants to use tile flooring in their front entryway so the contractor budgets for a standard tile material that costs $5 per sq/ft.  The owner ultimately selects an $8 per sq/ft option and agrees to pay the $3 per sq/ft amount by which the actual tile exceeded the allowance.
  3. Consequential Damages: Damages to an owner’s business indirectly resulting from a breach of contract and which are generally foreseeable but not defined at the start of a project. For example, delays in the completion of a project for a manufacturing company result in the company’s inability to complete contracts for its customers.
  4. Liquidated Damages: A sum of money the contractor agrees to pay the owner, typically for each day the contractor completes the project late. For example, a contractor pays the owner of an office building $1,000 per day for every day the office building is completed after the contractual completion date.  The amount cannot be so great that it would be considered a penalty.  Liquidated Damages are typically accompanied by an equal and opposite Early Completion Bonus.
  5. Punchlist: A list of scope items that must be completed before a construction project is declared complete. Examples might include: replacing a damaged ceiling tile, touching up paint or ensuring dirt in light fixtures is cleaned.
  6. Substantial Completion Date: The date an owner can occupy the building for its intended use. For example, if there’s a long lead time on carpet that isn’t available to install in a conference room, the lack of carpet in that room doesn’t prevent the office building from being used.
  7. Final Completion: The date the project is fully and satisfactorily complete, Including the completion of all punchlist items.   The contractor can receive final payment upon final completion.
  8. OAC (Owner, Architect, Contractor) Meetings: Periodic meetings between the owner, architect and contractor to discuss the progress of a project.
  9. Change Request: A contractor’s request of the owner to compensate for something that needs to be modified on the project.  For instance, the owner may be considering adding a door to a room. This change is made to the design documents and sent to the contractor for pricing. The contractor issues a Change Request for the additional door.
  10. Change Order: A formal change in a project’s scope, often also impacting construction costs and completion dates. In the Change Request example above, when the owner approves the Change Request for the additional door, a Change Order is issued which formally adds the door to the project for the agreed price and (if applicable) a completion date extension.
  11. RFP (Request for Proposal): A document created by a property owner that announces, describes and solicits cost proposals from qualified contractors for a specified project.  It’s common for public entities like schools or other government agencies to issue RFPs.
  12. RFI (Request for Information): A means to clarify ambiguities or fill in gaps in information that appear in the plans or specifications. For example, a concrete subcontractor needs more detail on rebar placement than was shown on the plans, so they submit an RFI to the contractor who either responds to the RFI or forwards it to the architect/engineer for a response.

Meet the Team | Leslie Wells, Senior Project Coordinator

Leslie pictured with her husband, Mike, and son, Graham.

If you’ve worked with Leslie you know that one of her many strengths is providing clear and concise communication. Her high-energy, organized, and go-getter personality makes her a valuable asset to all of her project teams.

Leslie has been one of Bush Construction’s biggest cheerleaders, from leading our daily stretch and flex to assisting in any number of our philanthropic efforts. She joined the team in 2016 as a project coordinator and was recently promoted to a senior project coordinator.

What do you do at Bush Construction? 

I am the Senior Project Coordinator and am responsible for:

  • issuing and tracking contracts.
  • spinning up projects in our project management software.
  • leading the closeout process for projects that I am the PC on.
  • managing team members’ schedules.
  • assisting with cost tracking (create/issue/track sub and owner change orders).
  • managing our project coordinator/preconstruction coordinator department.
  • collaborating across multiple project teams to ensure successful project outcomes.

What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on?

I am currently working on studying for the Construction Industry Technician course through NAWIC.

What’s your go-to productivity trick?

I first prioritize my day then knock out tasks that will take the least amount of time first, and go from there.  Headphones – they are also necessary some days!

What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re proud of?

I am proud to say that before coming to work for Bush Construction I had minimal knowledge of the construction industry. I have been able to be successful and gain so much knowledge working here thanks to a team that welcomes diverse opinions and provides opportunities for growth.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I don’t have a lot of spare time, but when I do I enjoy being outside and anything that involves being with our friends, family, and their kids.

Where do you live?

My husband, Mike, and our son, Graham, currently live in Davenport where we are both from. We recently purchased a property in Blue Grass, Iowa, and are in the beginning stages of building our forever home!

 

Foundational Principles for Quality Construction

At Bush Construction, our experience over the years and across industries continues to demonstrate the importance of quality construction played out each day on actual projects. In fact, we manage each project from inception to completion on the principle that quality comes first. We base our approach to excellence on specific foundations of quality construction.

Five Pillars of Quality Construction

1. Experienced Project Management and Support Team

Industry experience is vital for quality construction. That starts with a highly trained and knowledgeable project management team. Our leadership understands how to best build a support team designed to successfully execute the project design plan to ensure quality construction, including proper schedule management. Without the foundation of a confident and informed team, the project risks a lack of overall quality.

2. Clear and Consistent Communication

Whether we are communicating internally with our team or externally with our clients, we strive for clear and consistent communication. We allow time for questions and discussions to ensure all parties understand the direction and details for each step in the project. We encourage each team member to speak up if problems arise to avoid quality issues down the line. We also consistently communicate the standards and expectations of our entire company to instill trust that when you work with Bush Construction at any level, you can expect quality.

3. Detailed Design Plan Implemented with Job Site Quality Control

While our overarching quality standards add value on a macro level, true quality construction comes through strong detail management. We implement each detailed design plan with specific job site quality controls. For every project, each stakeholder approves the final design plan before construction starts. In addition, every person on the project knows exactly what’s required to do their job right. Quality control checks are in place for completed tasks to identify problems early in the process.

4. Established and Trusted Relationships with Suppliers

Arguably, the most important foundation for quality construction is the quality of the supplies used for the project. We value our established and trusted relationships with our subcontractors and suppliers. And because of our excellent relationships within our local subcontractor and supplier market, we are consistently able to offer competitive pricing.

5. Investment in Industry-Leading Technology

Technology matters in quality construction. From 3-D design tools to advanced scheduling applications, the right technology ensures each construction project adheres to the best design and schedule standards. In addition, technology provides added layers of protection for quality construction, including accuracy and safety.

Quality Construction Based on the Best Knowledge, Experience and Resources

At Bush Construction, we prioritize quality construction based on a foundation of integrity. Across all our companies, quality is paramount with each project and customer interaction. We employ standards for training, operations, and project management to ensure consistent quality. In addition, the breadth of our resources allows more control over the quality of component parts and processes.

Contact Bush Construction to discuss how we can apply our standards for quality construction to your next project.

 

Author: Jerod Engler | Vice President of Construction | Bush Construction

Five Ways to Increase Project Efficiency

One of the most important aspects of construction management is creating and maintaining an effective schedule. Construction operations, big and small, include troves of interconnected elements that must work cohesively and sequentially to maintain the project schedule.

From inception to completion, each of these details contributes to the overall success of the job. However, without effective schedule management, the project can easily experience delays. Avoid the chaos by implementing these five practices.

1. Develop a Complete Project Plan

A detailed and complete project plan is essential to developing a master schedule. If available to the project, use 3-D modeling technology, like BIM (Building Information Modeling) to develop a coordinated plan established to identify design conflicts, reduce waste, and eliminate problems.

Once completed, involve all decision-makers in the final approval of the project plan to reduce the need for changes later that may delay the schedule or lead to rework. The foundation of schedule management ties directly to the quality of the design and plan.

2. Create a Master Schedule

A solid and realistic master schedule provides the backbone for the total project execution. When developing the master schedule, divide out each part of the project by phase while ensuring the accurate sequence of the tasks. It is best to never have an activity that extends beyond 15 days.  Also, after finalizing the master schedule, communicate clear expectations to all parties.

3. Manage Supply and Supplier Schedules

The master schedule only works with accurate order processing and delivery of project supplies. Select trusted suppliers with a reputation for quality and reliability. Then, communicate the schedule and project expectations to each supplier. Define the roles for order management, including responsibilities for tasks and proper communication channels.

4. Identify Pitfalls and Challenges

Scheduling challenges can occur with any construction project, no matter the scale. However, the larger the project, the more likely delays, and issues become. World events, like we are experiencing now with COVID-19, lead to disruption. In addition, labor shortages continue as an issue in the industry.

Major weather events, supply chain problems, changes to the project plan and other issues may impact the project flow. Build in time for unexpected delays and develop a contingency plan from the start so that each person understands their role in the face of challenges.

5.  Monitor and Report Progress Daily

Daily reporting is vital for successful and effective schedule management. Without proper communication and reporting, issues may go unaddressed. In addition, pay attention to times where the project falls behind or moves ahead. This is accomplished by creating detailed three week look aheads for each trade contractor to better communicate the project expectations on a daily in a much more detailed fashion than the overall master schedule. Correct and update the schedule based on changes or delays. Ensure effective and consistent communication occurs with all decision-makers and managers on the progress of the project.

 

Effective Schedule Management Based on Experience and Excellence

At Bush Construction, we offer professional solutions based on years of experience in the construction industry. We prioritize relationships with our clients, our team and our suppliers. Trust and quality matter to us. Effective and accurate schedule management is a vital part of building trust. We manage each project to stay on schedule and on budget.

Contact us with questions regarding our construction schedule management solutions.

 

Author: Jerod Engler | Vice President of Construction | Bush Construction

Cement Soil Stabilization

Why Cement Stabilization?

Cement stabilization is required when the soil on a construction site needs to be amended. This process allows the installation of the building pad on-site before the cold temperatures and ground freezing of winter sets in.

At one of our new construction sites, Lujack Hiline – a high-end car dealership in Davenport, Iowa, a geotechnical engineer recommended we proceed with cement stabilization. It was no surprise – we could not drive our vehicles on the site without sinking. We were aware, after a very wet September, that we were going to be facing poor soil conditions. Unfortunately, there was no way for the soil to self-correct on this site since as we would not have been able to get the soil to compact before winter began. The ground just wasn’t hard enough.

While this predicament is fairly common for this portion of Scott County, we don’t have to use this method often. In this area, we generally hit moisture at 6-7 feet down. On many job sites, we may hit pockets of poor soil, but on the Lujack’s site, the entire 4-5 acres were moist. The site was much too large to core out and fill with rock-like we can on smaller jobs. Together with the owner, we made the decision to move forward with cement stabilization over the Thanksgiving weekend.

What is Cement Stabilization?

Soil stabilization can sometimes be done with lime, but since the temperatures were not warm enough for a long enough duration, this was not an option for this situation. Cement would need to be the cure.

Cement stabilization is the improvement of soil material through the addition of a cement binder. The goal of stabilization is to improve soil for construction purposes. The most common method involves the incorporation of small quantities of binders (cement) to the aggregate.

On the St. Vincent Athletic Complex football field project, we ran into a similar situation and were able to amend with lime. Lime is laid layer by layer and you can see the difference in color. We rototilled the lime in and then rolled it over. The process took two days for each football field. The lime was brought in from our sister company, Linwood Mining; truck after truck. Just like at Lujack’s, the ground wasn’t stable, and we couldn’t guarantee the fields without stabilizing the soil.

At Lujack’s we chose the cement process as it was recommended by the geotechnical engineer, it was weather appropriate and it was the most cost-effective option. Cement stabilization requires only one layer, but the air temperature is key. The temperature must be 40 degrees or higher for the stabilization to set appropriately.

How does Cement Stabilization Work?

Since we do not have a local company that performs cement stabilization, we hired McCleary from Decatur, Illinois. They set 200 lbs. of cement every three feet. The machine itself costs $800,000. Also, on-site was a tiller and two trucks. The two trucks each weighed over 15,000 lbs. McCleary remediated 170,000 SF in two 12-hour days. If we had decided to core out and fill the site with rock, it would have taken at least two weeks and we would have needed to find a place for 1,000 truckloads of spoils.

The cost to stabilize the soil ran approximately $200,000. If we had filled with rock, the cost would have been around $300,000. A savings of nearly 33%.

The cement stabilization was a success and construction is in full swing.

 

Location: Lujack’s HiLine – Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen

Kevin Mericle | Superintendent | Bush Construction

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