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I Wish Owner’s Reps Would _______.

At a recent meeting with a design team, we performed a market-survey of sorts. We wanted to gain insight into what we as Owner’s Reps should be mindful of in providing services. We covered many topics from writing better RFP’s to project frustrations. At the end of our discussions, we asked each participant to fill-in-the-blank: “I wish owner’s representatives would ______.” Below are some of the responses. 1. Generate better RFP’s by asking more relevant questions. All too often RFP’s are copied from one project to another resulting in a document that sets all kinds of technical requirements but don’t seek to find the best fit. Rules and formatting requirements can force the submitting companies into boxes; it doesn’t take long for the teams to all look so similar that all that is left to differentiate is a quantitative scoring (how many similar projects have you completed). Although

Hard Bid and Air Travel

My father was a pilot for United for 36 years and I benefited from his job by being able to travel standby all the way through college. When I started flying, 50% of Americans had flown on a plane compared to nearly 80% today. Airplanes had class segregation via a solid curtain. First-class had an open bar and real silverware, including knives. Then came the race for low fares spearheaded by the Southwest Airlines' hub-and-spoke model in lieu of larger airlines’ less efficient network system. Wrap it in a bow called the internet and you have what the construction industry has dealt with for years, hard bid. Last week my wife purchased her round trip ticket to Chicago for $209, note that when we moved to Denver 14 years ago a round trip ticket cost $200. She was thrilled with the price and made it safely to her

I Wish My Design Team Would _________.

We recently had a team meeting to discuss many topics, from writing better RFP’s to project frustrations. The design team that joined us ended the meeting by asking each of our team members to fill in the blank “I wish my design team (architect and engineers) would ______.” Below were some of the responses from our diverse team of professionals. Be more up front As Owners Representatives we are put in the position of gathering information and providing updates to the stakeholders. It’s not unheard of for us to propose a schedule to the team, discuss it and agree to it only to find out later that the design team (architect or engineer) didn’t have the horsepower to meet the schedule. We feel betrayed as we made the effort to work together to define the goal and it look as if we are not effectively working together. Things happen

Top Five Indicators You Should Not Submit a Proposal

Remember the old cartoons when the character’s head would turn into a big sucker? Ever feel that way after getting left off the shortlist or when being notified who the project was awarded to? Here are some things to look for when deciding to submit a proposal in response to a request for proposal. Short proposal timeframe - If an owner has given you less than two weeks from the time the RFP is advertised to the date you are required to submit, they may be hoping you won’t find the RFP, and, if you do, that you won’t have enough time to respond. Hidden advertisement - Public agencies are required to advertise RFPs but often there is no requirement where they do so. If you locate the announcement in an obscure journal, take pause. RFP asks you to define your scope of services - Some owners don’t have an

My DD’s Don’t Look Like Your DD’s

Your client is confused and confusion leads to frustration. You have presented an AIA agreement to them calling out multiple project phases including Programming, Schematic Design, Design Development and so on. Respect that many of these terms are new to clients and they don’t understand why you are making this so complicated, why not go to 0 to 100% complete? Design teams often state that critical sign offs are needed during the process. These industry standards are in place to protect the design team and require them to make sure the client is getting what they want. Read that last sentence again and check your heartbeat if it didn’t make you cringe. Why on earth do we need a process that would require the service provider to confirm the client is happy? The truth is, that’s a hard sell. The reality is these phases protect the design team

Mullets and Drawing Phases

My father-in-law was a barber for nearly 40 years and he had his process dialed in. He was able to deliver a great haircut and evolved a method that allowed his customers to be engaged and informed while signing off on critical phases. I found some similarities to architectural design phases and thought I would share. Concept Design – When I sit in the chair he confirms what I would like done, this changes based on the time of year (summer/winter) or if there is an event coming up, maybe I want a mullet for the upcoming carnival. I share with him pictures of previous haircuts that I liked or a picture of the latest celebrity style that I want to emulate. We agree and I “sign off” on the Concept Design. Schematic Design – Before cutting anything he asks me numerous questions such as do I like my neck tapered, how

This LEED Tastes Like Crow

As mentioned in our last blog post, we recently conducted a study of a portfolio of our projects pertaining to LEED and energy performance. After analyzing energy consumption and cost over 20 buildings of similar size, type, and region over a wide range of year built and LEED status components we found some interesting results. This blog will cover one area of our findings, LEED vs LEED light. I have not always been a big proponent of LEED due to the increases costs, point system and paperwork. But after my study on our projects performance I have to change my opinion as upon reviewing the data and talking with facility managers it became clear that making a true commitment to LEED increased performance versus projects that did not commit to LEED. We liken the results of someone training to run a 6 minute mile versus running fast. Per

LEED is Half the Battle

We recently conducted a study on a portfolio of our projects pertaining to LEED and energy performance. After analyzing energy consumption and cost over 20 buildings of similar size, type, and region over a wide range of year built and LEED status components we found some interesting results. This blog will cover one area of our findings, the human component. When we finished one of our first buildings designed to LEED standards we, of course, went through owner training. When the training started the first comment from the facility manager was “oh no, a computer”, not good. We had given the client a relatively sophisticated system but nothing out of the ordinary for a modern building, the problem was the manager hadn’t worked in a modern facility. Training took place but it wasn’t long before the person was demoted and a new manager with the needed experience was

Bad Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Ideas

The LEED scorecard is a tool pretty much standard on projects in the United States and seeing immense growth overseas. But like any tool it’s not perfect and we thought we would share a couple of situation where LEED may lead you to an improper design solution. Raised floor mechanical system in a Detention Center. Showers in grade school facility. (Sure they may have a lot more bike riders but isn’t it more sustainable not to shower anyway?) Additional Bike Racks at a Senior Center. Dual flush in the men’s toilet stall (you may have to ponder this one for a minute) White roofs in Alaska. Solotubes in a movie theater As professionals I’m sure errors of this magnitude wouldn’t be encountered but the point is think about how to approach your project for what is right for you and your client, not the guideline. What other LEED

ConsensusDOCS vs. AIA Construction Forms

It has long been a contention in the construction industry that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Construction forms have been biased towards design professionals and they place too heavy a burden of liability on the shoulders of contractors and owners. To that end, in 2007, a new set of construction and design forms were developed called ConsensusDOCS. While AIA Construction Forms and ConsensusDOCS share many more similarities than differences, there are some key differentiating factors that your firm should be aware of before you choose one over the other. It’s a common perception in the engineering, design and construction realms that AIA Construction forms favor architects, and to some degree, this is true. It lacks a specific definition of the relationship between the design professional and the owner and it places less responsibility on the architect/engineer with regards to the interpretation of the architectural plans during construction.