Strategies to control costs on your construction project
3 Simple Ways to Control Costs On Your Next Construction Project
Construction costs spiraling out of control? Here’s how to handle it.
As project managers, it’s our job to make sure our client’s office build-out is completed on time and within budget. We frequently partner with startups and companies who are growing rapidly and have a strict budget with little room for the costly overruns that can become an insidious part of the construction process. As a result, we’ve fine-tuned our ability to get our clients the best value for their money.
Here are three strategies Construction Managers, Facility Managers and Operations Teams can employ to keep costs low while ensuring that your new space meets your needs.
1. Bring in a contractor early
By hiring a general contractor early in the project, you can price the plans at various stages during the design process. Then, your team can conduct value engineering exercises as they design and prevent costly surprises once the construction documents are complete.
2. Find opportunities to cut costs
A general contractor can also identify where the costs are coming in high and make suggestions for places you can cut back. Ideally, your project management firm will work closely with the design team and general contractor at this stage to ensure sure they’re reducing costs without sacrificing quality.
3. Utilize cost comparisons
Skyline Construction created a tool called the Bay Area Cost Comparison to help guide you towards a less expensive project. This white paper will give you an idea of what an average project might cost in your area, what factors drive escalation, and what cost saving measures to look for.
We brought all these strategies together during our recent work for RocketSpace, a San Francisco based co-working space. Our team partnered with Skyline Construction, while we were still finalizing the fit plan so they were contracted and ready to price at the end of the schematic design phase. We conducted a second round of pricing after the design development phase and then, of course, at the end of construction documentation.
Our partnership with Skyline Construction helped us discover several ways to save on construction project costs. Project savings included; re-working the mechanical design, selecting less expensive light fixtures, re-thinking the door selection to each office space and finding a less expensive finish for the millwork. It would have been disastrous if we had discovered these expenses after our construction documents were complete, since it would have delayed the project and led to change orders from our design team. As it was, our team was able to make these decisions while the plans were coming together, which resulted in construction costs meeting our budget and staying on track with our timeline.
We’re not afraid of a small construction project budget. Find out how we can help with your next project or discuss some costs savings alternatives. Contact us now for your free project consultation.
