Why Preconstruction is Suddenly So Important
Date Posted: September 12, 2023
Posted In: Discussion,
From Construction Dive: Lump sum. Bid and buy. Read and rip. These were the terms that dominated preconstruction before the pandemic.
“Our industry historically has been driven by the traditional construction manager at risk model, where the owner will start with the architect and begin design before bringing the GC onboard,” said Nathan Lingard, director of design phase at Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction. “This planning and design phase of the project is a period of time where there is high uncertainty.”
Informed largely by siloed partners and a disjointed handoff, that approach to preconstruction — measured roughly as the period from a project’s initial concept to its groundbreaking — was always fraught with discord and miscommunication between project stakeholders.
But industry watchers say that all changed when COVID-19 hit.
As projects shuttered amidst shelter-in-place restrictions and global supply chains collapsed, designers, owners and GCs found themselves collectively back at the drawing board, having tough but ultimately fruitful conversations on how to get things done.
“The pandemic helped to slow things down in a way where we could focus resources and attention on things that were challenging projects,” said Eric Orquiola, director of preconstruction at Denver-based PCL Construction.