All too often in today's industry, the term "preconstruction" is defined as something synonymous with estimating. In reality, preconstruction is the evolution of estimating services. Estimating is a reporting exercise. Architects and Engineers draw, and then Estimators tell them how much their drawings will cost. The quality of the estimate is often defined by the quality of the drawings.

There have been many studies which demonstrate that the decisions made by Designers and Owners at the front end of a project have the greatest impact on the project as a whole. That impact may be cost related, schedule related, quality related or functionally related. As a result, the value of insightful collaboration between the Owner-Designer-Contractor team at the front end cannot be over-stated.

Despite this recognition, the opportunities to add value are often lost as the result of firms who choose to estimate rather than provide true Preconstruction Services.

Preconstruction Services require that the Contractor and the Design Team work in collaboration, not work back and forth. We have the experience and commitment to do just that.As a result, you can expect the following activities during preconstruction:

Consistently, when asked to identify those traits which are most important in their construction professionals, Owners list trustworthiness, the willingness to communicate openly and maintaining a proactive mindset with regard to problem identification and resolution. Each of these is a reflection of a firm's approach to serving clients and our methods are based on this understanding. As a consequence, a comprehensive, Client centered, approach requires:

We serve our clients in many different ways and with a wide variety of varying scopes of work. Over the past few years, we have been asked to act as Owner's Agent, Owner's Representative, and/or Owner's Project Manager, charged with the responsibility to manage and coordinate the efforts of the design team, construction team, Owner's stakeholders, and the various authorities having jurisdiction over the project. From our standpoint, this role is very consistent with our typical approach to shepherding the various vested parties towards solutions that serve the best interest of the project. Samples of some of our current Project Management assignments include:

The Vineyards - responsible for managing the land purchase process, annexation, entitlement, design and construction of a 100-acre land parcel in Colorado Springs.

Colusa Indian Community - responsible for managing the entitlement, design and construction of a waste water treatment plant, water treatment plant, cogeneration plant, reservation-wide utility infrastructure corridor, highway interchange, casino addition, food and beverage venue and new hotel in northern California. Also involved in staff recruiting and development.

SAIC - responsible for managing the site selection process, design and construction of a multi-site expansion for a defense contractor throughout Colorado.

St. Dominic's Catholic Church - responsible for development of program plan, design and facilitation of architectural selection process, development of preliminary funding model, and preconstruction and construction services.