Project & Construction Management

Project & Construction Management

D’Huy Engineering, Inc.’s project and construction management services adopt a client-driven approach that ensures and implements the best solution possible for every project. The entire project management process is based on keeping the client informed and in control at all times. The DEI team’s superior technical expertise and decades of practical experience provides a unique combination of personnel that are trained to manage and guide preliminary conceptual planning, schematic design, budget preparation, final design, and construction of projects.

Our attention to detail provides Owners with a system based value engineering approach that delivers best value to the project. The attention to detail and focus on providing complete documentation results in reduced liability and clear, concise, complete bidding documents which translate into project savings beginning with the competitive bidding process.

The integration of our experienced construction experts and the involvement of design professionals in the value engineering and constructability review process during the design and construction phase results in successful projects.

There are six main priorities that we focus on to facilitate the success of your project:

Six Priorities

1. Owner Criteria & Program Requirements

Truly understanding your goals, aspirations and constraints is crucial for a successful project. DEI will invest the time up front to fully develop your program requirements and then apply our expertise to deliver a project that exceeds your expectations. As we say, we begin with the end in mind. Throughout the project, DEI will engage stakeholders and revisit the program requirements to determine how well the established criteria are being met and whether any adjustments need to be made.

2. Budget Requirements & Best Value

Adhering to budgets and delivering value are hallmarks of best-in-class project management.  DEI will prepare system by system budgets based on our experience to create realistic expectations and establish budget accountability. Throughout the project we will apply our Value Engineering approach to identify and implement solutions that provide the best value for each building system.

3. Quality

To be effective, quality must be achieved in both the design and construction phases of a project.  Led by our systematic constructability reviews, DEI has developed a methodical process to guide quality control throughout the delivery of every capital project. This process provides each Owner with durable, maintainable and energy-efficient solutions that meet construction budget and life-cycle cost requirements.

4. Safety

A goal for every construction project must be getting everyone home safe to their family every day.  Especially for renovations, our approach is to treat every site as an occupied facility first and construction site second. Critical to this approach is the preparation of detailed phasing plans to identify the separation of construction zones and provide step-by-step sequencing with milestone dates for accountability.

5. Schedule

DEI will drive the project by developing an integrated, comprehensive and realistic project schedule for design and construction. The schedule will clearly define responsibilities, action items and milestones, assigning them to specific team members.  In construction, we will develop milestone schedules that integrate the project phasing plan so that each contractor has enforceable, contractual obligations for key site and building activities.

6. Risk & Liability Reduction

DEI continually manages risk and liability reduction by ensuring clear documentation, preparing sound front end specifications, defining project responsibilities and schedule milestones and then pro-actively monitoring the work. By reducing conflicts and ambiguities we reduce the potential for change orders during construction. The result is a set of bid documents that attracts bidding competition and achieves project savings.

Project Planning and Budget Preparation

Project planning is as much a process of guiding, educating and professional persuasion as it is utilizing our leadership skill, knowledge, expertise, and persistence. Our senior level staff has the passion and knowledge to provide the leadership necessary in planning a project.

D’Huy Engineering Inc. has a philosophy of “planning the work and working the plan”. We know that our “beginning with the end in mind” approach ensures that the Owner’s criteria will be met. The proper planning of any project begins with the preparation of milestone and critical path methodology scheduling, detailed systems budgets, ongoing value engineering and constructability reviews. Our staff’s diligent management of these tools is what leads to the success of any size project that we undertake.

Project budgeting is performed by breaking the project down into individual building systems early on. The systems are then budgeted by verifying current pricing and comparing them against our database. This detailed system budget allows the designers and clients to prioritize items that may impact the budget and to develop value engineering strategies during the early stages of the project.

At DEI, budgeting is a continuous process of refining, educating all team members and validating project costs throughout all phases of the project. Our track record in meeting project budgets substantiates that there is no substitute for the experience DEI brings to the table.

We understand the complexities involved with timely project completion, while maintaining a high degree of quality and value for our clients. Our Project Planning and Budget Preparation services ensure the project is completed on time and on budget. Equally as important is that it meets the Owner’s parameters and criteria, maximizes operational efficiencies, and maximizes the principles of cost versus quantity and quality through a detailed value engineering process.

Design & Value Engineering

Our professional staff of Value Specialists recognize that value engineering is project specific and in its purest form, is the ability to provide strategies, designs or solutions that provide a better product for the same or less cost. With this as the basis for our value engineering, we provide opportunities for savings that reduce the overall building life cycle cost without changing the building’s function or design while staying within client’s budget.

D’Huy Engineering Inc. believes that the planning and early design phases provide the greatest opportunities to positively affect the outcome of a project. The key to meeting the Owner’s project budget comes from our experienced value specialists performing constructability reviews, holding value engineering workshops and providing continuous design and cost reviews. This information is recorded and shared with the Owner and design team to ensure its proper implementation. We continuously focus on the project schedule and cost estimate to make certain the project goals are achievable.

Our processes ensure that the design documents are clear and provide the Owner with the desired project features and quality, at a reasonable cost.

Contract Preparation & Bidding Oversight

D’Huy Engineering Inc. employs experts in virtually every project discipline. Our Certified Construction Specifiers and Certified Construction Contract Administrators are knowledgeable regarding all facets of AIA, CSI, and EJCDC documents and contracts. Contracts are individually tailored to the needs and features of each project, and the selected contracting methodology. The integration of project specific bidding requirements, project specifications and general conditions, along with our project bidding oversight ensures that the most qualified consultants and contractors are obtained to undertake the project at the lowest cost.

The purpose of customizing bidding and contract documents to the Owner’s and project’s needs is critical to protecting the Owner’s interests and reducing liability. Bidding management, strategies and oversight help engage a qualified pool of contractors that will deliver the most reliable and accurate bids, while building the project within the project parameters.

Resident Project Engineering Services (RPE)

DEI’s Resident Project Engineering services involve comprehensive oversight of pre-design, design, construction, and project close-out. Our management philosophy is to staff each project with a team that embraces the integrated design team approach. The same team that starts the project, implements it, therefore providing continuity, efficiency, and accountability for all phases of the project. In the construction phase, we staff each project with highly skilled project managers who work on the construction site full-time to document and facilitate all job site activities.

The purpose of this service is to ensure the project is being properly executed not just between contractors, but between all stakeholders. Our site personnel act as the “eyes and ears” of the Owner and are responsible for daily management of construction activities including contract administration and document control, construction quality assurance, cost and schedule tracking, and post construction close-out. In addition, this service provides a complete and concise project record including as-built drawings, daily logs, shop drawings, correspondence, and training.

The Owner benefits from this service by having a single point of contact for the project and an active communications source between all project personnel including design professionals, contractors, testing agencies and local municipalities. It provides an added level of confidence that the Owner’s best interests are being championed on a full-time, first hand basis. Finally, it ensures that the Owner is getting their project on-time and on-budget with no surprises.

Construction Claims Analysis

DEI’s extensive experience and success in evaluating and analyzing construction claims is based on our reputation for integrity and sound documentation. Such evaluations are highlighted by our commitment to assess the details accurately and fairly in areas such as: project schedule analysis, expert testimony, surety claims, coordination of work, construction claims, quality of materials, and scope of work.

Our communication, accountability and documentation processes have proved invaluable in supporting expert testimony of construction claim issues. Our technical expertise, experience, reputation and passion for meeting or exceeding a client’s expectations are at the heart of our ability to provide excellent litigation support when needed.

LEED Commissioning and Consulting

D’Huy Engineering, Inc., a member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), has LEED registered professionals on staff and a complement of professionals including Certified Energy Managers and Mechanical Engineers that have the expertise to provide an integrated design process and project delivery. The unique skills provided by DEI’s design, management, value engineering, and cost estimating divisions offer a total solution to implementing a more efficient, reliable and functional project based on the client’s budget.

Project Commissioning

DEI guides the designers, contractors and testing professionals to understand that commissioning is not an event, but rather a process. This integrated process, directed by DEI, delivers to the client a project that performs reliably and efficiently.

DEI’s knowledge of building systems, experience as facility engineers and forensic engineering expertise provides us with a unique combination of skills suited to ensure that the building or system performs in accordance with the design intent and the Owner’s operational needs.

Web-based Project Management

D’Huy Engineering Inc. utilizes a collaborative web-based project management database to document and organize an entire project from the design phase through the construction and closeout process for many clients. The database and management tool allows design consultants and the Owner to collaborate on-line during the design process, exchange information, discuss topics, and create actions lists. Similarly, using this management tool during construction, our project managers collaborate with contractors to process shop drawings, respond to questions and improve the efficiency of construction. This results in increased control, accessible documentation and information sharing, prompt responses and accountability from team members.

The project database is available to all stakeholders with internet access and is archived to a CD at the end of the project for the Owner. This collaborative database increases the quality and timeliness of communication and documentation, and holds all stakeholders accountable thereby improving and delivering project success.

This web-based project management system is an important and valuable resource for our clients. It provides them with a source of historical and archived information for future reference.

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