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Tale of Two Libraries: CMGC vs. Hard Bid V1.2

On the Green Valley Ranch Library (our DBB project), we have just officially finalized the contract with the General Contractor (GC). Now the “rubber meets the road”, and we get to see how the GC will deliver the project for the amount bid. It should be noted that the contract amount came in roughly 30% below the budget and the low bid contractor has seen the other bid totals. At this time the two pros listed in our previous blog regarding DBB have been realized: The process provided a lower price for the Owner The process allowed more contractors to bid the project The design team incorporated many alternates into the bid documents with the hope of accepting at least a few of them at the time of bidding, as stated, the market netted bids well below the estimate provided by the design team. All of the alternates

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Social Media in the AEC Industry

Blogs and Social Media Social Media continues to gain significant momentum and, like many, we are challenged to understand the full meaning and impact of LinkedIn, Face Book, Twitter, and blogging. Our use of these tools has increased and, like anything, the more you use it the more you understand the value. What we do know is that the AEC is relationship based and with the increased competition and turnover in the workplace your network and relationships with clients are more important than ever. LinkedIn is a tool that we are using heavily from posting job ads to finding consultants. Recently we were searching for a consultant to assist on a marketing endeavor. By using the search features we discovered that one of our employees was connected to a local professional that was a great match. We easily could determine who some of the marketing consultants clients were,

Tale of Two Libraries: CMGC vs. Hard Bid V1.1

In the year ahead, we will be in the fortunate position of project managing the design and construction of two new libraries of very similar program (needs, size, and budget)for the Denver Public Library – one located in Green Valley Ranch and one in the Stapleton neighborhood. This will put us in a unique position as Green Valley Ranch is being delivered via the design-bid-build method and Stapleton by the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) method. This scenario will allow a side-by-side comparison of these two delivery methods, and a great way to contrast them “real-time”. We’re calling it “The Tale of Two Libraries”. For context, and to set the stage for our future blogs on this subject, the status of each project is as follows: Green Valley Ranch – the project has been fully designed, and we are in the final stages of contractor selection; construction will likely

Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Program V1.2

Wember Inc. attended the board meeting on February 16, 2010 held at the Department of Education office located at 1200 Grant Street in Denver. The meeting was well attended by submitting agencies, Owner's Representatives, design professionals, and contractors. The meeting started with a follow up to the discussion of North Routt Charter School who was recently denied the grant funds due to a failure to meet the requirements of the matching funds. North Routt requested that the committee to prioritize their projects at the time the match funds are produced. The committee decided to put approved projects like Mapleton and North Routt at the top of the list for consideration but would not agree to prioritize the projects. Much time was spent discussing the programs intention and future. At this meeting it was presented that the sources that fund the BEST program including the Colorado Lottery and Land

Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Program V1.1

The Colorado Department of Education continues to develop and refine the program that was Established in 2008 with the signing of HB08-1335, BEST provides an annual amount of funding, in the form of competitive grants, to school districts, charter schools, institute charter schools, boards of cooperative educational services and the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind. BEST funds can be used for the construction of new schools as well as general construction and renovation of existing school facility systems and structures. The program is celebrating some successes and working through unique challenges. Wember Inc. attended the January 26, 2010 Board Meeting along with many others from the design and construction industry. The meeting was standing room only with the board members and BEST staff compressed in the center of the room. The meeting began with typical housekeeping and then went into of the North Routt Community