BUILDERS LEVERAGE TECH TOOLS, SOFT SKILLS TO DRIVE EFFICIENCIES BUILDERS from page 1 tainment venues, multifamily, indus-trial and healthcare. once all of the decisions and materials selections have been made.” Pricing can still escalate between the original estimate and the final or-dering date. In those instances, Mosa-ic informs clients on various options so they can make educated decisions based on costs and lead times. “We try to find alternative solutions to main-tain the budget as much as possible when price escalation threatens the overall project cost,” says Singer. Mosaic also includes language in proposals about how long pricing can be held. “The faster a client can make decisions and approve orders, the more likely the project will remain within budget,” explains Singer. Mosaic is currently constructing five franchised veterinary clinics in the Midwest and Central Plains, and is nearing completion on several canna-bis dispensaries in Illinois for opera-tors such as Ascend Wellness. The firm also recently completed a coworking space for Expansive Coworking in Milwaukee. Expansive Coworking aims to repurpose vacant, tired floor plans into micro-office spaces built to attract small businesses. Justin Brown, president and CEO of Chicago-based Skender, says that lean construction practices are the driving force behind his firm’s ability to lessen the impact of rising construction costs. Lean construction adopts the five lean manufacturing principles and prac-tices for the design and construction process. Skender analyzes the material mix, integrates project scheduling, pro-cures materials earlier and establish-es strategic budget reserves, states Brown. “We mix and match solutions to maximize speed and optimize cost for our clients.” While materials pricing and supply The earlier, the better As of mid-July, the Producer Price Index for material and service inputs to new nonresidential construction decreased 3.8 percent year over year, according to the Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics. Supply chain issues are less widespread, and the lead times for many common building materials have begun to decrease. Still, there are significant delivery delays on critical mechanical, elec-trical and plumbing systems such as generators, switch gear and mechani-cal equipment, according to Bretz. “Bringing a construction manager or general contractor on board early defi-nitely helps.” Bretz emphasizes that preconstruc-tion is more important than ever since heightened costs and budget issues have caused some project delays or cancellations. “Being involved early in a project’s design and providing predictable, cost-effective solutions through a sound preconstruction process is cru-cial to managing rising construction costs,” he explains. “Our experts in preconstruction project management collaborate with our customers and designers to pro-vide solutions that meet budgets be-fore any significant design takes place — saving time, frustration and mon-ey,” adds Bretz. Singer says his firm has imple-mented a two-phased approach to ad-dress price escalation of materials and equipment. “First, we provide pre-liminary budget range estimates dur-ing early planning stages to assist the client in underwriting the project. We then provide project-specific bidding This image shows building information modeling (BIM) for concrete pours. Tarlton used this method on a project at the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute in Peoria, Illinois. chain woes have eased somewhat, the industry continues to grapple with labor shortages and a battle for tal-ent. There were 396,000 job openings in construction at the end of May, the second-highest May total since the Associated General Contractors of America began tracking the figure in 2000. The all-time May high was last year’s 433,000 openings. “The lack of skilled labor and the lack of focus on building a new skilled labor force is a tremendous threat,” says Andy Gutman, president of Southfield, Michigan-based Hun-tington Construction Co. “There was a time when construction jobs were coveted, and we need to reinvigorate the workforce into seeing the oppor-tunities.” Huntington, an affiliate of Farbman Group, recently expanded its offer-ings beyond the Great Lakes State to the Chicago market. The firm hired a local construction management expert to lead the company’s efforts in Chi-cago. Rely on tech for accuracy Skender recently completed an expansive renovation of THE MART office building in Chicago. This image shows the new private tenant lounge, which totals 2,000 square feet. Today, contractors are relying more on technology and virtual modeling in their work. “Technology gives us a more accurate picture of existing con-ditions, helps us plan work and lets us build virtually before building physi-cally, which eliminates errors and re-work,” says Bretz. Tarlton — which specializes in healthcare, higher education, power and energy, water and wastewater, life sciences, cultural and government institution, and nonprofit work — uses virtual modeling that typically includes input from mechanical, elec-trical and plumbing and fire protec-tion subcontractors to resolve system clashes. Meanwhile, the concrete division uses building information modeling (BIM) to plan pier foundations and pours. Other examples include laser scanning, which gets extremely ac-curate building measurements, and drones, which are helpful in areas of buildings that are hard to reach. Tarlton used BIM for concrete pours at a project completed at the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute in Peo-ria, Illinois, last year. The team also used BIM to check for constructability, communicate requests for informa-tion, establish quality assurance and quality control, and coordinate field layout. Some of the projects currently under construction for Tarlton include acces-sibility improvements to the National Park Service’s Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis; concrete for the First Bank new headquarters in Creve Coeur, Missouri; Logan University science and administration renova-tions in Chesterfield, Missouri; SSM Health outpatient center in O’Fallon, Missouri; and the renovation of the 16 • August 2023 • Heartland Real Estate Business www.REBusinessOnline.com
Heartland Real Estate Business August 2023: 16
