Expert Advocacy: 10 Advantages of Having a Construction Manager Negotiate for You
As an Owner, one of the very first decisions you face when starting a construction project is selecting a project delivery method. In a nutshell, this is your game plan for turning a list of needs and wants into an actual facility. It determines how you get pricing, how you hire a team, and how you all work together. While the traditional hard bid method was once the standard, a negotiated approach has surged in popularity for many reasons. At HKC Construction, we specialize in construction management of all scales and have seen firsthand how this collaborative method delivers superior results for our clients. By acting as your partner and advocate, we negotiate on your behalf to ensure your project's success.
Here are 10 key advantages of the negotiated approach that we bring to your project.
1. The Power of Choice
When you elect to negotiate your project, you get to choose who you work with based on qualifications and competitiveness, not just price alone. You have the right to meet and interview the specific people who will work on your project. This is vital because while a firm's reputation matters, it’s the knowledge, experience, and commitment of the individuals on your team that truly make the difference.
2. A Foundation of Partnership
In a negotiated delivery, your contractor is an integral part of your team. From the beginning, the objectives of the Owner, Architect, and Contractor are perfectly aligned. This collaborative environment stands in stark contrast to the hard bid format, which can create adversarial relationships where the contractor must prioritize their own bottom line.
3. Smarter Cost Savings
Managing your budget begins the moment design decisions are made. Bringing our construction team on board early allows us to provide critical cost input, maximizing value before ground is even broken. We can also lock in lower prices by purchasing major equipment early. Crucially, under a negotiated format, any savings we find are returned to you, whereas in a hard bid, the contractor keeps 100% of those savings.
4. Accelerated Schedules
Managing your project’s schedule also begins during the design phase. Including your construction manager in these preliminary steps enables us to fast-track your project and start construction sooner. This gives the entire team more time to plan, analyze the most efficient means and methods, and identify any potential disruptions to your operations and plan for them accordingly.
5. Uncompromising Quality
A significant advantage of bringing the construction team on board early is that quality control can begin in the design phase and continue through construction and warranty. As the Owner, you benefit when your contractor provides input into the best possible materials and methods for life-cycle costs. When working as a partnership, our reputation is on the line, ensuring we deliver the highest quality work to earn your recommendation and future business.
6. Minimizing Costly Changes
What’s the easiest way to minimize changes during construction? Involve your construction team during the design phase. Under a negotiated delivery, your contractor provides invaluable preconstruction services, like reviewing drawings for potential errors ahead of time. Fewer changes mean significant savings and uninterrupted progress on your project.
7. Full Transparency
The negotiated approach is built on a foundation of trust. You get to see exactly how your money is being spent with detailed cost transactions, not just a high-level summary. This transparency in the preconstruction phase is especially powerful, as it enables you to see and decide where you are going to spend your money before construction begins.
8. Truly Competitive Pricing
There is a common misconception that negotiating a project is more expensive. The truth is that only the contractor’s fees are negotiated, and these fees are a small fraction of the overall project cost. All subcontractor and supplier work is procured competitively. The advantage of the negotiated approach is that we can manage risk on your behalf by prequalifying subcontractors, ensuring you get the best of both worlds: competitive pricing and minimized risk.
9. Better Information, Better Decisions
The collaborative process of negotiating allows you to be much more informed about your project. You are engaged from the very beginning, telling the team what you value most. You get more information about how your money is being spent and the value you are receiving, empowering you to make the best decisions at every stage.
10. Delivering Your Definition of Value
Everyone has a unique definition of value. When you negotiate your project, you gain the ability to tell your construction team what’s most valuable to you from day one. This empowers the team to provide you with the most value on your project from start to finish and that is priceless.
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