Blog: Procurement

Having a knowledgeable and experienced person perform value engineering on a proposed construction project is a great benefit and can save time and money for the facility owner. 

This week's blog post is authored by Justin Olson, Account Manager in the Southeast region. Everyone knows and can relate to the importance of a strong relationship, especially a working relationship. In the construction industry a strong working relationship typically yields a great product.  Let’s talk about yielding a great product for a minute. One of the best analogies that comes to mind is the correlation between a strong working relationship and the importance of all ingredients in concrete, a product that has been used and improved for centuries.  Concrete isn’t just something you can find and use. Concrete has ingredients, all of different substances or materials.  

Anyone reading over a Job Order Contracting Price Proposal should walk away with a clear understanding of the work that will be completed. The Price Proposal should be a reflection of the Detailed Scope of Work, and include all tasks required to complete the project. Sometimes, items that need to be included are inadvertently left off of Price Proposals. Here are 4 items commonly left off Price Proposals that need to be included: Mobilization for rental equipment, such as pavers, rollers, cranes, etc. Minimum set up charges for tasks, such as core drilling, saw cutting, cutouts, etc.

Do you keep boxes upon boxes of fluorescent lamps and ballasts in storage for your facilities? Does your maintenance staff invest hours upon hours troubleshooting fluorescent fixtures? Does your HVAC system need a break from competing with heat emitting ballasts? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes may be a fit for your facility and your maintenance/operating budget.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Well, that adage may hold true for some things, but that certainly isn’t the case for water infrastructure. A better one may be Murphy’s Law: “What can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible time.”  This past winter was a classic example of fully functioning water infrastructure systems that function great half of the year and fail the other half. Out of sight and out of mind really plays a role here as well.