Pre-construction – Working as a Team
We have been involved in truly groundbreaking projects that set the bar for commercial construction companies. Projects like Timber SR housing in Newark, CA, Pacific Station Redevelopment Project in Santa Cruz, CA, and Santa Palmia at Palm Valley in San Jose, CA bring new life to their communities and make them the “hot” place to be.
What do these outstanding projects have in common? Quality pre-construction. Quality pre-construction prevents surprises and creates the best buildings possible at the best cost. We oversee integrated project delivery, which coordinates visionaries, designers, engineers, and builders. We transform unique talents into seamless project execution.
Our pre-construction philosophies:
- Professionals working as a team create truly astonishing things
- Sharing information keeps projects on budget and on time
- “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit” (Harry S Truman)
The benefits of a robust pre-construction team are many and you’ll see below how with our detailed approach.
Design+Build
We provide full life-cycle project development, including design development, documentation, subcontracting, scheduling, and project management.
From our experience, this approach has several benefits:
- A single source of responsibility creates accountability
- In-house collaboration reduces communication friction
- Established teams can leverage each other’s strengths
- Single-source responsibility facilitates overlap of design and build stages
- Supplier and subcontractor costs are known at design stage, meaning fewer surprises down the road
Design+Assist
We assist designers in producing the best possible outcomes for projects. This includes reviewing designs, supplying cost-effective material information, feasibility confirmation, subcontractor coordination, scheduling, and project management.
The benefits of Design+Assist include:
- Working with design teams to create contractor-friendly documentation
- Design recommendations for more cost-effective construction
- Creating a shared language that enables efficient communications
- Incorporating Value Engineering into design assistance
BIM
Echelon believes in the power of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to construct your building right from the start.
BIM uses 3D digital technology to model your project before starting to build in real life – so we can actually “build” your building before breaking ground. We develop it on the computer from beginning to end, and then we build it in the field. The digital model minimizes expenses, saves time, reduces risk, and increases quality.
Some of the benefits of BIM:
- Allows scale identification quickly which enable systems and facilities to be integrated correctly
- Sub-contractors can weigh in using a true-to-life model that surfaces conflicts and dependencies
- Pre-fabrication and pre-assembly can be modeled beforehand to reduce rework.
- Allows for detailed coordination among design, architectural, structural, and construction teams
- Creates quick insight into parts of the building that may integrate incorrectly.
- Identifies resource collision at the beginning, allowing for better holistic project management
While the construction industry has been typically slow to adopt changes, Echelcon is one of the early adopters of BIM, and it plays a crucial role in our project construction process.
Document Review
Echelcon reviews all documentation for precision and accuracy. We make sure the specifications and drawings contain all relevant information and are defendable and biddable.
We will:
- Confirm details are correct and non-conflicting
- Review differences between specifications and drawings
- Reduce the number of Requests for Information (RFI)
- Ensure a multidisciplinary team review (Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, etc.)
- Minimize the number of change requests
- Perform in depth value engineering and cost evaluation models
Constructability Review
Echelcon carefully reviews project documentation from a contractor’s perspective. We may visit the site and cross-reference the on-the-ground reality with the design documentation to observe obstacles to executing the plans. Documents to be reviewed can include design documents, schematic designs, drawings, and construction plans.
We will also utilize value engineering to:
- Reduce dependency and sequencing obstacles
- Reduce builder Requests for Information (RFI)
- Turn unproven specifications into buildable documentation
- Confirm drawings and specifications can be built as provided
Schedule Development
Echelcon Construction creates an efficient schedule that lets you sleep at night knowing your project is on track with a realistic, cost-effective plan. We utilize our 50+ years of combined experience to map out lead times as well as project constraints that can cost money and hurt published schedules.
Our scheduling discipline means:
- Reviewing schedules and details to prevent future headaches
- Coordinating among construction operations, subcontractors, clients, and staff
- Optimizing work sequencing to ensure the most productive installation
- Ordering materials and equipment with good lead times, so delays are avoided
- Making sure all documentation and drawings have the proper deliverable dates and reviews
- Achieving the highest level of productivity to complete the project on time and on budget
Estimating
Project estimating is a critical component of all stages of a high-density project. We document the scope, deliverables, and specifications to ensure accurate estimates for grants, construction initiation, and project accounting at all stages of the project.
Our approach to estimating:
- Provide an accurate starting point for budgeting and cost accounting
- Make informed decisions about the feasibility and profitability of the project
- Determine the best build choices; including design options, project specifications, and material selection
Echelcon is involved in permitting, performance standards, logistics, and estimating at all phases of projects. To provide the absolute best options for projects, Echelcon Construction offers the following:
- Design management
- Scheduling
- Phasing plans
- Estimating
- Budget/cost modeling
- Pre-development financing
- Financing leasing
- Site evaluation feasibility analysis
- Budget development
- Building information modeling
- Regulatory investigation
- Zoning and code compliance
- Green building planning/education
- Bid packaging
- Value engineering
- Subcontractor pre-qualification
- Owner-controlled insurance program
- Pro-forma review
- Land acquisition
- Feasibility studies
- LEED-certification analysis / Value Engineering
- Constructability review
- Logistical planning
Echelcon, Inc.
Building a Sustainable Future
