Design and construction are the greatest team-building projects, which require collaboration from every department. It will also require collaboration with many outside consultants working under your direction—attorneys, insurers, architects, engineers, builders, agencies, and community groups, to name a few. As the proprietor of your business, the team you have is accountable for the achievement of your venture. There are many who could be enlisted to assist you with the entire process to ensure an opening day that is successful.
Take a look at your business and strategic plans to get direction before embarking on any project that requires capital. Are you sure that building improvements are an element of your plan? Are budgets and schedules developed in conjunction with the plans? Every department, as well as your employees and customers, will be affected by your plan. Your neighbors could be affected too. Making sure that your decisions are in line with the requirements of the other parties affected must be managed with care. Most decisions should be taken by the Board of Directors with the help of the CEO or President or another designated leader.
If your Board is certain that capital improvements should be contemplated, your CEO, President, or other designated leader needs to establish the project team and identify the following key players:
A project manager within the company who is responsible for the project, and reports to the leader you have designated
A Facilities Group is that is responsible for setting your work program and communicating with the manager of your project
o Departmental spokespeople who are responsible for the evaluation of departmental needs and report to the Facilities group.
The project manager in your internal or facilities group is accountable for the management of consultants. The legal and insurance department must create and review contracts for consultants. The number of consultants required by the consultant team will be determined by the project you plan to finish and will be involved at different phases during the course of your project.
FEASIBILITY STUDY PHASE
Engineers and architects typically are the first experts chosen. They’ve been educated and certified to specialize in listening to the needs of clients while refining and confirming the client’s desires through collaboration, interpreting and suggesting needs for spatial and image, as well as generating plans that meet your budget and timeframe. The engineer and architect meet with your facility group and department spokespersons to create the scope of work. The engineer and architect will also provide information to help in the selection of a site (in cases of new construction), as well as opinions regarding the likely costs and timeframes.
If the report is accepted and approved by your facility group and your facilities group, the suggestions should be passed on to your project manager within your organization. The project manager within your organization determines whether the proposed program is in line with the guidelines set by the President, CEO, or the designated leader. If it is, the suggestions of the project manager must be discussed with the leader before being presented to your Board to approve. If your Board accepts the proposal, it could move to the site acquisition or design/governmental reviewing phase of the agency.
SITE ACQUISITION
If a site for new development is being contemplated, the Board must authorize your facilities team to employ the assistance of environmental and real estate specialists in consultation with your engineer and architect. It is also recommended to have your engineer and project manager start talks with the utility company about agreements. Agencies must also be discussed with your facilities committee and your internal project manager in the event that the environmental impact justifies such an interaction. The final decision on site acquisition is the sole responsibility of your Board and is based on recommendations from the project management team.
SCHEMATIC DESIGN / GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY REVIEWS:
This stage involves teams of people that must be carefully overseen by your project manager within the company. The creation of the schematic is overseen by your engineer and architect in accordance with the agreed scope of work that was identified by the feasibility report. The schematic design communicates the core of the concept through drawings detailing the scope of the work, which can be easily understood by all people involved. Once schematic designs have been approved by your facilities committee or project manager, designated leader, and Board, it’s time to sit down with government officials to discuss and understand the requirements of their regulatory agencies. If planning and zoning meetings are necessary, the legal counsel of your organization must guide this process with help from your engineer, architect, and your internal project manager. This involves public presentations that communicate your project’s scope to those who are interested. Your presentation and responses to questions need to be carefully managed by your project manager within the organization and assisted by your legal counsel in order to minimize potential issues with public relations. Your team should be prepared to compromise when making concessions or changes to the design. Planning and Zoning boards will consider your proposal following public hearings. If your lawyer indicates that your project has received approval, Your Board will determine whether to proceed in the direction of the proposed project.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Document for Construction Phase:
After you get the Board’s approves of your proposal, the project manager and facilities team must authorize the engineer and architect to move forward with plans according to the scope of work approved by the Board. It is important to note that the scope should not significantly differ from the scope of work approved, or you might have to submit changes to the planning and zoning boards that approved the initial project for approval.
A multitude of decisions must be made by your facilities team and your internal project manager. The facilities manager and your internal manager for projects are accountable to approve ALL issues related to design given before them by architects or engineers, including shapes, sizes, and colors, as well as textures products, materials furniture, equipment lighting, and environmental conditions. The process is usually overseen by your engineer and architect; however, it is the facility group’s responsibility to make this decision. The Facilities Group is often be expected to provide details of the project to the project manager and the designated leader to decide on the general guidelines for these choices.
CONSTRUCTION Phase:
If the estimate of likely cost and schedule has been verified and are in line with your goals, bids from suppliers will be evaluated on behalf of you with the help of your architect. He or she will suggest an award for the Board and assist in preparing contracts with lawyers from your firm. The internal project manager will likely be the sole person responsible for the project in the near future in conjunction with your engineer and architect. The contractors will be accountable to your internal project manager. However, your engineer and architect are able to assist in all projects’ decisions and communication. Your consultants are on hand and accountable for supporting you throughout every phase.
