Tri-Bay Benefits – Page 4 – Tri Bay Construction

22Aug

Good Enough is Not Enough

roganmarketing Tri-Bay Benefits, Design-Build, Solid Advice

As each project progresses, we continue to learn valuable lessons that will make the next experience more efficient in this rapidly changing environment. We will continue to set ourselves apart from other General Contractors and not “do what other GC’s do” because it is “good enough” or because “everyone does it that way.”

If you utter the words “that’s good enough,” you will not work with us for long unless you are willing to change that mindset. Going the extra mile for our clients and subcontractors is our brand. Maintaining integrity will always be our first priority.

The day when we know everything there is to know about construction is the day we hang up our toolbelts. There is always a better, more efficient, cleaner, quieter, more innovative way to do what we have done for many years. We will strive to find ways it will benefit you, the client. Willingness without action is fantasy.

Our current state of society, particularly the construction industry, can be seen as a negative environment, or we can have another perspective and see it as the motivation to work differently and to utilize different tools and methods; to overcome new challenges. We can use it as motivation to be:

Creative

Imaginative

Innovative

Let’s not lose that human trait that many of us have, and that is to help one another. The Tri-Bay difference is to help others’ dreams be achieved and to support- one another through each of those experiences no matter what is happening around us.

As the fourth quarter of 2022 is upon us, ask yourselves, “Am I a component of a strong foundation that is holding together the whole? Or, am I an island that is operating separately from the whole and contributing to its ultimate deterioration. When you take from its strength without giving anything in return you are adding to the weakness of the project.

Where do you fit in this equation?

22Aug

Developing a Collaborative Team

roganmarketing Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

We would like to continue our discussion about the relationship between the Owner and the General Contractor (GC) and take it a step further. While each individual relationship is equally important:

GC/Owner;
GC/Subcontractors;
GC/Suppliers/Design Team

We hope to develop a collaborative team relationship between all parties involved in a construction project from beginning to end:

Owner/GC/Design Team/Plan Review
Inspections Jurisdiction/Lenders if applicable/Building Owners in the case of tenant build-out space/subcontractors/suppliers.

While all team members may not have individual contact with each another, it is imperative, for a smooth project, that all members understand that each member plays an equal and timely part in the completion of each project. A successful outcome is accomplished by communicating concerns or needs to the proper entity and getting all to the finish line more efficiently and with less interruption. The more team members understand each other’s roles, the more collaborative the effort becomes. We operate from the standpoint that no one entity in a construction project is an “island.”

Efficiency depends upon the understanding that anything any single entity does will affect all the other subsequent members. Visualize a construction project as a giant wagon wheel with a hub in the center, where the GC’s role in a project is the hub. When information does not go through the hub and multiple spokes do not receive the same information, the wheel is knocked out of balance and begins to wobble. The importance of the hub cannot be overemphasized. The Field or Project Superintendent, who is on the site daily, can be considered the center of that hub.

What cannot be seen and is so often a source of field issues are the ball bearings (administrative support team) that surround the project superintendent and assist them in keeping the wheel turning smoothly.

The hub members play a two-fold role; one without the other can be disastrous for all the other spokes in the wheel. If the Project Superintendent is not utilizing their support team, what can occur are gaps in deliveries, missing subcontractors, missed inspections, etc., resulting in unnecessary schedule delays.

If the support team is not up to speed on the projects’s progress, and providing the Superintendent with what they need while anticipating what comes next, similar issues can occur.

Equally important as the communication within the hub is the communication from each spoke of the wheel to the hub. For example, if the Owner desires a change and speaks directly with a worker when it is time to get paid, there will be conflict. When it is time for inspection, there will be conflict. When it is time to move forward, there will be delays. For example, suppose the framers, while performing their portion of the work, do not consider all components and associated subcontractors of the project that come after framing. In that case, their work may have to be removed and built again.

Let’s face it, our world is very distracting, and despite many methods of communication, the interaction between individuals on a personal level is disintegrating. We receive snippets of information from the media via text messaging; unfortunately, many get used to this environment. Snippets of information, incomplete sentences, and non-interaction between all members of the team (spokes of the wheel) on a construction project create expensive and time-consuming problems that are avoidable in almost every case.

These are just some of the more glaring challenges making the construction industry a contentious environment right now. Delayed projects create an atmosphere of frustration and often animosity between all parties involved. Finding a viable solution, somewhat palatable to all parties, is an arduous task at best. Today, signing a contract with a liquidated damages clause for project delay could be suicide for a small company.

We strive to bring each team together, create a collaborative environment from beginning to end by communicating often and precisely, and keep the wheel turning with minimal wobble and the hub well-greased. At the project’s completion, the Inspection team is satisfied that everything was built with public safety in mind and that the following occurred:

the owner received what they contracted;
the owner is satisfied with the value they received for the money spent;
the subcontractors are satisfied and able to put their name to the project and hopefully have established working relationships with other trade members;
the GC is satisfied that everyone performed up to expectations and their reputation can be proudly attached to the project;
and the most significant and valuable result for all is that, relationships bolstered, no one was hurt in the course of work and money was made. And every team member would be willing to work together again on the next project. The best reward for this GC is to hear, "We can't wait to work with you again on our next project."

27May

Owner and General Contractor Relationship

TBC Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

Our last issue brought together the concept of the close link between collaboration, trust, and integrity. We talked about teamwork and the ability to admit mistakes, integrate each part into the whole, and find collective solutions to the challenges that inevitably arise on a construction project.

In this blog, we would like to focus on the Owner and the General Contractor (or Design-Builder) relationship and how important transparency, trust, and honesty are in that relationship. This relationship is often the foundation on which a successful project is built.

Today’s economic climate demands an acceptance of reality and a willingness to work within that reality and compromise. Until our supply chain issues are resolved or at least brought to some sort of normalcy, knowing when a product or material will actually arrive has become a mystery making finite schedules, definite completion dates, and liquidated damages clauses in contracts a desire ( a wish) more than a possibility or a reality.

This environment is treacherous for both the Owners and the General Contractors/Design-Builder. Owners lease space that must be occupied by a specific time or there are financial consequences; lenders want to know a finite cost and a finite date to structure their loans. General Contractors MUST minimize overhead costs on every project as the profit margins are small in such a competitive industry.

Today, the reality is that subcontractors and suppliers are putting very short limits on their cost proposals, some as little as seven days. Some suppliers are less transparent and will provide a cost proposal, and then when the product arrives, they announce a cost increase and will not deliver until the material is paid in full.

Others include several month lead times for materials, often longer than the project’s duration. These are just some of the challenges we all face in the construction industry and the shortages of skilled labor and rising wages for some of the skilled labor in highest demand; one example is Block Masons.

These are just some of the more glaring challenges making the construction industry a contentious environment right now. Delayed projects create an atmosphere of frustration and often animosity between all parties involved. Finding a viable solution, somewhat palatable to all parties, is an arduous task at best. Today, signing a contract with a liquidated damages clause for project delay could be suicide for a small company.

Especially when there is no way to know:

when materials might arrive
if the entity supplying the material is telling the truth (they may not even know!)

But giving a contractor an open calendar for completing a project could be suicide for the Owners. The solution must come in:

communication
mutual understanding,
and a very carefully phrased compromise regarding scheduling in the Owner/Builder contract.

Since every construction project is unique, requiring various types and quantities of materials, it is challenging to compose a one size fits all scheduling clause. This is also true of material escalation clauses, and there is no standard escalation clause that can be used for all contracts on all projects.

In the past, a GC was often able to absorb a small percentage increase in one or two items throughout the project’s duration without any impact on the Owner or subcontractors. In our current climate, 10-15% increases have been commonplace in multiple disciplines, from project conception to actual material delivery. A GC cannot absorb all those unexpected costs and remain in business. An owner, however, can recoup those costs over time through the business that will operate in the new facility or from lease income. If a GC absorbs those costs, they will never be recovered, as the GC does not have a stake in future business revenue for that property.

Our hope at Tri-Bay Construction is that our relationships are based on a mutual understanding that we are all in business for a profit and cannot work solely for the benefit of others, receiving nothing for our efforts.

A mutual agreement about realities, compromises on both sides, and open, transparent communication throughout the process are mandatory for a construction project to go smoothly (with the usual bumps in the road) from Owner to GC, to Subcontractors, and to material suppliers.

Subcontractors often bear the brunt of our current climate. Unfortunately, they are usually in the middle, between the suppliers who cannot guarantee cost or delivery dates and the General Contractors who demand production. The ripple effect has amplified what has always existed in construction when a defined scope was not ready for the next trade. Instead of losing two or three days because of rescheduling one subcontractor, the losses are now often two to three weeks.

Doing what you say you will do is even more critical and increasingly valuable. The balance for subcontractors in juggling workers for multiple projects has become ever more complicated and delicate because there is so much work and not enough workers. The tendency is to schedule very tightly, sometimes too tightly, so when there is a delay in one project, it can cause a delay in multiple projects. Established relationships with subcontractors have become even more valuable to General Contractors. In today’s climate, this costs a little bit more.

It is on the onus of Owners and General Contractors to understand each other’s concerns, challenges, and reasons for particular demands or requirements and then try to work together to meet the needs of both parties. In the words of our attorney, there will never be a perfect contract that covers everything, but we do our best to cover as much as possible.

If both parties are more educated about the other’s business needs, the more likely a compromise can be reached. From earlier learning, a written contract exists solely for the event that something goes dreadfully wrong, then each party will know what to do next. If the parties are willing to see the boat from both sides, the contract will never be looked at again after it is signed.

The contract’s purpose becomes the “boundary of integrity” for both sides if the following happens:

Reach a compromise,
both parties agree to sign the contract
and then place their signatures on the paperwork (agreement).

If there is integrity in the individuals who signed the contract, there can be confidence and trust in the relationship.

Trust should be established early in a relationship. The more open and transparent two people are with one another, especially in business, the stronger that relationship grows. While every relationship has inherent risks, the stronger the foundation, the less likely the contract is ever needed after the initial execution.

Today we wonder if our Steel, Aluminum, Copper wire, Windows, or Doors (to name just a few) are coming on a specific date or will they be delayed again for some contrived reason or just an “I don’t know” from the supplier. Today we have no idea how long Plan Review might take in any given jurisdiction, so we are hiring third-party plan reviewers (at a cost to the Owners) in an effort to expedite the process. We do not know if a cost escalation between the time we estimate a project and the issuing of the permit will cause the Owner to cancel the project.

The number of phone calls and emails to assemble a complete estimate has doubled. The time it takes to collect all the proposals required to produce an estimate has also doubled because subcontractors and suppliers are extremely busy. Estimate requests or Requests for Proposals (RFPs) often sit unanswered for weeks unless followed up regularly. These and many other factors have significantly increased Commercial and Residential Construction costs. There are no exceptions to rising costs in our current economy.

The end-user (us) has had to bear the rising costs of food, fuel to get the food to us, Grocery worker’s wages, farmworker shortages, and farmer’s costs to run the farms. GCs also must bear the rising costs of materials, labor, fuel, equipment, and the cost of money itself to run our business.

An Owner should never go to sleep at night wondering how his General Contractor is “getting over on him,” and a Design-Builder/GC should never go to sleep at night wondering if the Owner he signed a contract with is going to pay him according to the agreement.

Are you ready to talk about your next project where we promise a relationship built on mutual respect and transparency? Let’s talk.

02Sep

Make Informed Decisions About Design, Permitting & Construction

TBC Pre-Construction, Commercial Construction, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

No matter what kind of construction project you are planning, be it residential, commercial, industrial, alteration, or new, you can count on us to provide you with the proper information to make an informed decision about Design, permitting, and construction. In today’s world, the cost is an important factor in most of our decisions.

It is not always the most important one. Small business owners, especially start-ups, are cash flow dependent. Before embarking on a construction project, it is imperative to have as much accurate cost information as possible. That is sometimes a tall order. How much is a permit? How much does an Architect cost?

Do I also need Engineers? Usually, the first question people ask is how much will it cost to alter this space or build a 30,000SF warehouse?

Many contractors will throw a cost based on square footage out there without any knowledge of the contents of the new warehouse, what its use will be, where it is located, how many people will occupy it, etc. While that number might be close to being accurate nine times out of ten, it is not.

We believe that if the following questions and answers are discussed before, a more accurate cost and time line will emerge and fewer surprises will arise in the process.

Where is the building (or land) located, and who’s jurisdiction is it? (Some jurisdictions take longer than others for permitting)
Have you asked the Planning & Zoning Department in that jurisdiction if that type of building/business is allowed in that location?
Who provides the utilities for that location? Are they already in place? Are additional services required for your business?
Do you have an Architect? MEP and Structural Engineer? Do I need a Civil Engineer?
What is your desired timeline to occupy the space?
What kind of business previously occupied the space (if not a new building)
Do your design team and contractor have experience with this type of construction or business?
Do you have a conceptual idea of how you want your space/building to look?
Do you have a budget in mind, and where did you find your projected costs?

All of these questions and others are the ones that best launch a successful construction project. These questions will all play a role in the final projected construction costs.

Are you “thinking about” an idea for a business or new building? We will walk through this process with you from beginning to end and assist in developing the idea or at the least provide you with enough accurate information to make an educated decision.

Tri-Bay Construction is ready to help make your business dreams come true!

Learn More About Tri-Bay

02Sep

The Value of Upfront Consultations with Experts

TBC Pre-Construction, Commercial Construction, Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

As promised in our last issue, this month’s discussion explores the value of consultations with experts and the myriad of problems that can occur when work is performed without proper permits. Let’s first define “Authority Having Jurisdiction.” Simply put, these are the entities that make the rules for a geographic area.

Following the rules is a far more involved (some say complicated) process than some choose to go through. One of the difficulties is that the rules for following the procedures in place for any given area may differ significantly from an adjacent geographic area. There is a myriad of reasons for the differences, which are not always clear to the public.

Like most rules for any organization, they can be based on:

Past experiences
Financial reasons
Demographics
Logistics

The spatial organization of the jurisdiction
And a host of other variables that contribute to the uniqueness of that area.

Above all, most of the regulations are put in place to protect the general public from the contractor’s errors and prevent the contractor from making errors that may be dangerous to the public.

The Division of Building Safety and the Fire Marshall’s office are often seen as entities that cost business owners and homeowners money. Quite the opposite is true. While some disagree with how the rules are interpreted, derived, and even implemented, that is fodder for another discussion. Today, we deal with following the rules in place and why following the rules is less costly in the long run.

Let’s look at one case scenario for a commercial building. A business owner occupies part of a warehouse-type building.

The business is rapidly growing, and the remainder of the building becomes available for lease. The business owner and building owner strike a deal and sign a lease for the business owner to take over the rest of the building. Without permits the business owner makes “improvements” to his added space to include new equipment for his operations, structures for new equipment, openings in the walls between the units, even a new overhead door in the building structure. A friend who is an electrician adds another circuit breaker to the electrical service and the business has grown so much that the business owner has hired ten new employees. All of these improvements “had to be done” but hiring an Architect, Structural Engineer, Electrical Engineer, obtaining plans, hiring a contractor, getting inspections on the new work would “cost too much” and “take up valuable time.”

The business owner is now operating at double his capacity and everything seems to be fine. Then the Fire Inspector comes to the building to perform an annual inspection. The fire inspector notices several items that require correction. The building owner doesn’t take care of these items right away so when the fire inspector returns (standard operating procedure) and sees that the corrections were not made, the Building Department is notified, and a building inspector visits the building. The building inspector observes some “improvements” that do not meet current building codes and are potentially unsafe. He makes a note of the items and upon searching the building’s records, sees that permits have not been obtained for much of the observed new work. Here is where the situation grows exponentially worse.

Because of the code violations, the Fire Marshall and the Building Inspectors perform a more thorough inspection. This produces a much more extensive list of violations that are now recorded. Some are new and some may have existed before this business owner leased the space. A timeline is given to the business owner to correct the violations. The business owner will now be required to submit a Permit application with signed, sealed plans drawn by a licensed architect and appropriate Engineers or risk closing the operation entirely.

Some additional time lapses because the building owner cannot find the time to address these issues, which he knows will interrupt his business and likely cost money that has not been budgeted. The Building Official and Fire Marshall return to the building, observe that the requested corrections have not been made, and some additional work has been performed without a permit since the last visit. The Building Official and the Fire Marshall decide (rightfully so) that there are enough unsafe conditions that they shut the business down completely.

While this is an extreme case scenario, what was likely a few thousand-dollar problem, has now become a tens of thousands of dollars problem, including:

The loss of work for dozens of employees
Loss of revenue for the business

Interruption for all the other companies that counted on the goods and services from this business.

Even if the building was not declared unsafe by the authorities having jurisdiction, the unsafe conditions might have eventually caused a severe preventable injury to one of the employees, which cannot be “fixed” with money.

While this may be an extreme case, many examples of the unexpected cost of doing work without permits or licensed contractors exist every day. We cannot put a dollar value on someone’s life and well-being, be it an employee or the general public. Once an injury or death occurs, it cannot be reversed. Architects and Engineers are educated and licensed to design buildings and workspaces that are safe for all. Building Codes and Permitting regulations are in place for the safety and well-being of employees and the public.

Contractors are licensed to work with these Architects, Engineers, building officials, and Fire Departments and are responsible (morally, ethically, and financially) to provide safe work and living spaces for all. While saving a few dollars and some time may appear to be the best route to take and may provide a short-term benefit, the long-term consequence could mean the loss of life and less importantly, exponentially more expensive to correct the problem. Unlicensed work and unpermitted work are always more expensive (figuratively and literally) in the long run.

If you are unsure of whether or not you need a permit, consult a licensed professional.