Futuristic Building Trends

By Gordian / January 21, 2016

Technology resides in a perpetual state of evolution. The most up-to-date technology of the now will inevitably be surpassed, if not tomorrow, then soon. Below is a list of some current technologies that may seem pulled from the pages of science fiction but are in fact very real.

5 Trends in Public Procurement

By Gordian / August 6, 2015

In the recent webinar Procurement Secrets of High-Performing Local Governments, David Yarkin discussed five trends he's seen in public procurement.

Cooperative Purchasing Saves Time, Adds Value

By Gordian / June 25, 2015

In recent years, cooperative purchasing has rapidly gained adoption as a go-to procurement method for state and local governments and educational institutions. One of the greatest benefits of cooperative purchasing is the tremendous time savings for procurement organizations.

JOC: More Control Than a Time & Materials Contract

By Gordian / June 18, 2015

Often, when exact tasks and quantities required to complete a project are unknown, facility and infrastructure owners turn to a Time & Materials contract to get work completed. But there is another option, Job Order Contracting (JOC)—a fast and flexible construction procurement process. Here are three ways in which owners retain more control by using JOC.

Just Trust Me: Building Trust in a Competitive Construction Market

By Gordian / June 11, 2015

For contractors and those of us working with contractors this issue of TRUST is very relevant, particularly in the current competitive market. There are also current contracts, like Job Order Contracting, that have a strong partnering component that thrive when founded in TRUST. When the TRUST fades, so does the contract!

Facility Life Cycle Costs with RSMeans Part 2

By Gordian / May 21, 2015

Comparison Of Buildings

To illustrate a comparison of buildings, the publicly available dataset was again used to develop 5 life cycle cost models that were created in a similar manner as previously described.

Facility Life Cycle Costs with RSMeans Part 1

By Gordian / May 14, 2015

Life cycle cost analysis is the act of considering the initial, sustainment, and the cost of replacement or disposal over the lifespan of the facility. It is the full measure of a facility’s cost and is instrumental in the comparison of multiple facilities. So how can you estimate, plan, and prepare for a facility’s life cycle costs? How can you easily compare multiple facility’s life cycle costs against each other? What does the geolocation of facility life cycle costs look like and what are the advantages? This article attempts to answer these questions and more using cost data by RSMeans and external resources.

Mark It Up! Getting to a Realistic Bottom Line When Budgetary Estimating

By Gordian / April 30, 2015

“What are the “appropriate” markups for overhead, profit and contingency when budgeting facilities construction projects?”

I get this question a lot from my architect friends when helping them budget their projects through the design process. The answer can get messy considering all the factors that can impact the bottom line. There are many variables to consider. With this blog post I will answer the “markup” question for an average facilities project and try to keep it simple but still useful.

Costing Construction

By Gordian / October 9, 2014

Let’s start with a little bit of sarcasm. Imagine an advertisement for the latest construction estimating software; “…With click and drag speed you can choose from thousands of line items of unit cost national average data and build accurate cost estimates…blah, blah, blah! ”

Boosting the Value in Value Engineering

By Gordian / September 4, 2014

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.

Blog: Trends And Insights

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