EXPERTISE
Design-Build
The design-build process provides the best overall value for an owner. As a design-builder, Three Way Builders becomes solely responsible for the outcome of the project. In a turn-key design-build project we ensure that all aspects of construction are handled for our clients. This includes coordination of the consultants and engineers, sub-contractors, suppliers and project team. The design-build approach creates a positive atmosphere of collaboration where the team works collectively to meet the owner’s needs instead of working in isolation ensuring their own interests are protected. The result is shorter design times, improved budget management, realistic construction schedules and peace of mind for the owner.
A key differentiator with Three Way Builders is our in house design team which enables us to respond quickly to clients particularly at the preliminary design stage allowing our clients to make early design decisions resulting in more projects that meet our clients dreams AND budgets.
General Contracting
General Contracting is normally associated with design-bid-build or tendered projects. In this project delivery method the client will hire a consultant to design a building for them and then get multiple bid prices from contractors for the project normally selecting the low bid from the group. The owner then enters into a fixed price (usually a CCDC2) contract with the contractor and construction begins. Owner and Governments often feel compelled to use this method in order to provide the illusion of best price through a “fair” tendering process.
The drawbacks to this method are that the project needs to be designed completely before it can be priced. This often results in long design cycles and projects coming in over budget as there is a disconnect between the design and the cost. We always say that the designer controls the cost of the project. This method also often leads to an adversarial construction process as any errors or omissions in the design trigger change orders that often do not result in the best value, which the client has no choice but to pay. Also often times GC and trades realize they missed something and are now forced to find ways to make up the lost profit by either hiding costs or taking short cuts. This results in lost value for the client and is often what gives the construction industry a bad reputation.
Construction Management
Construction Management is a hybrid of design-build and design-bid-build. In construction management the construction firm is selected during the initial design phase of the project to provide more accurate budgets and provide feedback on constructability of the design. Construction management can operate as a cost-plus contract in which all of the project costs are shown in an open book and the construction managers fee is charged on all costs. Construction management can also flip into a CCDC2 fixed price contract once the final budget is agreed upon. This provides the owner with the ability to get the project in budget with all of the bids and costs provided and then proceed into construction with a fixed price. At this point the project becomes very similar to a tendered project and much of the collaboration is lost. Construction management is certainly an improvement over tendering but still in our opinion does not deliver as much value as design-build.
LEAN Construction
Lean construction seeks to apply the benefits of Lean manufacturing to the construction industry. At its core, Lean Construction seeks to identify and eliminate waste in all forms in construction. This is accomplished through team efforts and continuous improvement loops that seek to identify areas of waste, how certain aspects of the building process can be improved and then implementing them. Lean construction impacts the scheduling, trade interactions and even job site layout to minimize waste and maximize value for the client. Three Way Builders is a member of the Lean Construction Institute of Canada and have already begun training and implementing lean practises on our job sites.
LEED Construction
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an ecology-oriented building certification program run under the auspices of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED concentrates its efforts on improving performance across five key areas of environmental and human health: energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, materials selection, sustainable site development and water savings. In Manitoba the adoption of the 2010 National Energy Code in 2015 raised the minimum energy efficiency standards which has reduced some of the benefits of LEED. Three Way Builders has successfully completed multiple LEED construction projects. Check out our project references for more information.
Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings
Pre-engineered steel buildings are a cost effective steel building solution which utilizes a standard and consistent steel structure. Pre-engineered buildings arrive on site ready to assemble which leads to very fast construction times. Pre-engineered buildings have many uses including warehouses, industrial plants, strip malls and even office buildings. In fact many pre-engineered steel buildings don’t even look like a “typical” steel building. Along with pre-engineered steel buildings come all the benefits of steel including longer spans for wide open spaces, durability and water resistance for exception lifespan and strength allowing for higher walls and flexible design options. Three Way Builders has been an authorized Robertson Building Systems dealer since 1990 which gives us access to factory direct pricing on the building systems including insulated metal panels. You can see some of the buildings in our project references.
DESIGN-BUILD VS.
BID APPROACH
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= Costs EstablishedDELIVERY COMPARISON
| *Notes | Design Build | Construction Management | Tendered/General Contracting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower risk to owner | 1 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Collaborative team approach throughout project | 2 | ♦♦♦ | - | - |
| Collaboration during pre-construction | 3 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ (GC only) | - |
| Owner has input into trades and suppliers | ♦♦♦ | ♦♦ | ♦ (pre-qual & specs) | |
| Initial real-world budgets for better cost control | 4 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Faster project delivery | 5 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Reduced Change Orders | 6 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Works with Lean Construction | 7 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Subtrade and supplier involvement during design | 8 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - (limited and not wholistic) |
| Focus on client satisfaction vs project | 9 | ♦♦♦ | - | - |
| Trades provide feedback on gaps and errors before construction | 10 | ♦♦♦ | - | - |
| Single point of responsibility | ♦♦♦ | - | - | |
| Continuity - less chance for things to fall through the cracks | 11 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| Value Engineering | 12 | ♦♦♦ | ♦ | - |
| ♦ = Rating |
*Notes:
- CM can reduce risk to the owner, however in a pure CM role their owner loses cost saving incentive, in CM converted to fixed price the gaps in the tendering documents result in the same issues and change orders as a tendered contract.
- CM to CCDC2 creates the same adversarial environment as tendered work.
- Typically trades and suppliers are not fully engaged in CM pre-construction.
- Major sub trades are not committed to during CM budgeting so their pricing involvement is still limited. Budgets are more complete than tendered work however.
- Both DB and CM have the opportunity to speed up project delivery by starting construction without complete plans, however CM struggles to get past the foundation work.
- The idea behind CM is to reduce change orders, in practice this has shown to have as much impact as it should have.
- Lean construction is at it's core about collaboration and teamwork which is a shared trait of DB.
- In tendered budgets suppliers and trades are often consulted about product costs with very limited information about where the product is going or how it will affect the rest of the building. The focus is on getting the product specified for tendering purposes.
- DB work requires trust at all levels, therefore client satisfaction is critical as to maintain trust.
- In DB sub trades are focused on providing value and completeness, instead of seeing what is missing and not including it at tender time then claiming extras afterwards at inflated prices.
- Since major trades and the builder are working with the client from the start design intent is maintained even with incomplete plans.
- In DB all parties work to value engineer the project with the client and reduce potential overlap. In CM value engineering is often limited to individual systems as there are rarely trades at the table. In tendered work value engineering is limited to cost savings when the price exceeds the budget and then the value returned is often a fraction of the actual value.