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An inside look at East & Westbrook's construction planning process.
You’re planning, considering or dreaming of a new construction build. Maybe it’s a warehouse or distribution center. Maybe your company needs a new equipment foundation. Whatever your project is, you know it’s going to be a complex undertaking. Or will it? What if we could simplify the whole process for you? What would our planning and scheduling look like? We’ll share with you how we go about removing the surprises that can come with a multimillion-dollar build—one that you may see in your future.
Your East & Westbrook project comes with your own project executive. Think of this person as your concierge, confidant, and mover and shaker. From conception to completion, your project executive stays involved with every little detail.
As the project advances through its various stages—design, pricing, pre-construction and construction—additional management team members may come onboard. These could include a project manager, a regional Safety Health & Quality manager, a site superintendent and an accountant. Each of these assignments is made based on a variety of factors, including the project’s scope, location, and personnel availability.
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Our subcontractors are critical to the success of our construction projects. That’s why we welcome them by fostering a team approach to what we do. And just like everyone who’s on our team, we hold our subcontractors to a high standard. In fact, we require pre-qualification of subcontractors based on their safety program and record, as well as their financials and ability to perform the scope of work.
Our design process is partially dependent on the project and its timeline. For example, if we’re chosen for a fast-track project, there’s less opportunity for multiple renderings and review sessions. That means the original design needs to be close to correct from the beginning.
To make this happen, we complete a dependencies review and a project requirements checklist with you. However, the original design may still vary given the following factors:
Assuming we know the site, we’ll use class, occupancy requirements and a design narrative to create an initial layout, visual rendering and 3-D model of the proposed design for you to review. At this point, we ask for specific feedback about every aspect of the design inclusions and any gaps in project requirements. This process helps us dot (then re-dot) our i's and cross (then re-cross) our t’s.
The next move is to issue for-review drawings, including Civil plans, Structural plans, Architectural details and mechanical, electrical and plumbing design-build. These drawings are the basis for the initial Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for the project, so it’s extremely important they meet your expectations.
Once review drawings and GMP are complete, we fine-tune to align budget, schedule and design from three concentric concepts into one achievable target. Because we seek out your feedback at every stage of this process, there are no surprises once we issue for-construction drawings and the project commences. Our emphasis on planning and scheduling also means there are fewer hands-on decisions required of you. With the extra time you’ll have, you can focus on other important aspects of your business.
Once your project has the green light, we have a pre-construction department that makes complete lists of all submittals required of us, the managers and every tradeperson working on the project. These submittals are prioritized by both lead time and sequence in the construction process. For example, steel is often a long lead-time item but comes earlier in the construction sequencing than, say, the floor covering selection.
Additional details about each submittal requirement are also included, such as the following:
Whether it’s a checklist creation, initial submittal or final approval—our pre-construction managers document when each step has been completed. To ensure accuracy, we use internal project management software for document control. More importantly, we go out of our way to include you in the process so that you see what’s completed and what’s left to do.
When you’re talking about a months-long, multimillion-dollar build, things come up. For instance, you may want a different design element or change the size or feature of the structure. If this happens, we price the change as we priced the original project, add our predetermined fee to the change and modify the schedule accordingly. All of this helps reduce any setbacks.
For large projects, we set parameters with you on what small discretionary changes we manage, and what larger changes we complete only with your approval. Either way, we strongly feel the project is a partnership between you, us, the design consultants, and the trade contractors.
At the end of the day, everyone has the same goal: successful completion of the project with the highest regard for safety, quality, performance, scheduling and, of course, budget. Change management is carefully handled so we can achieve full success.
To get started on your new build, request a quote today.
We’ve shown you some of the steps we take to help you simplify your next construction project. Our process—perfected over many decades—has worked for us and our clients time and time again. Now, it’s time to experience it for yourself.
East & Westbrook Construction Co. Inc. has worked with commercial and industrial clients since 1977 to solve their most challenging construction problems. Through strategic partnership and calculated growth, we now offer our clients a wide variety of construction services both regionally and nationally. Today, 80% of our projects come from repeat customers. Our foundation is built on safety, quality, and performance. Lastly, East & Westbrook was awarded by Louisville Business First the Best Place to Work Award. For more information about starting your next project or joining our team, call 502-222-0303.
