CREJ

December 2018 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 15 Commercial Construction Facility Renovations Federal Construction Multi-family Housing b rya n c o n s t ru c t i o n . c om | 8 5 5 . 3 9 1 . 5 3 5 5 Colorado Springs | Fort Collins | Denver | Istanbul Building with PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE Every. Time. Bal Seal Engineering Since our teams had been deeply aligned even before construction began, we had es- tablished a sense of trust and collaboration. We openly discussed costs, schedules and ideas to troubleshoot the issue. Together the solution we came up with brought the cost back in line, shortened the delivery time, maintained the schedule, and also managed to preserve the design. These stories are not unique. In talking with fellow architects and contractors, there are countless examples where a cohesive building team has benefitted a project. The key is bringing the construction team on board early on and then really including them in the process. It sparks better ideas and approaches. It lowers miscommunica- tion and dramatically improves both pricing and pre-ordering of long-lead items. It is a no-brainer. Of course, full transparency of labor and material costs is critical. However, the best way to reduce costs is shorten construction schedules, identify materials that best satis- fy project needs, and coordinate the way proj- ects are built. We might not be able to give contractors the much-deserved rest they need or all of a sudden find a surplus of qualified laborers, but by work- ing together closely and soliciting meaningful input, we stand a much better chance of combating high construc- tion costs. \\ Bridging the Gap A reception desk is being carved in Italy.