Preconstruction Services

Successful project delivery requires a significant amount of planning before construction can begin. Our experienced construction professionals provide programming & planning, site consulting, design coordination, budget/cost analysis, estimating, scheduling, bidding/bid packages and value engineering. We handle all of the necessary legwork to ensure that your project meets your requirements for cost, schedule, quality and more.

Our pre-construction professionals can guide you through many important issues, including:

• Local, state, regional and federal economic incentives
• Utilities
• Soil evaluations & constructability
• Access to transportation
• Consultation on environmental regulations & permits
• More…

Our team has knowledge of the local, regional and federal regulations, and also has the experience to ask all the right questions.

The value engineering process identifies opportunities to remove unnecessary costs while ensuring that quality, reliability, performance, and other critical factors will meet or exceed the client`s requirements. Value Engineering is a rigorous, systematic effort which can dramatically improve the value and reduce the life cycle cost of a facility, while maintaining the clients` program.

Maximum value engineering effectiveness is achieved when the owner, designer and constructor are involved early in the design process. This early collaboration allows identification of cost-savings opportunities to be incorporated into design, and prevents re-design delays and the associated costs. It also allows these cost-savings opportunities to be incorporated into the master project schedule to coordinate with long-lead orders. Our value engineering capabilities are among the best in the industry. Rudolph/Libbe constantly searches for the most cost-effective construction materials and methods.

One of the most critical components of the pre-construction phase of a project is the budget/cost analysis. Take advantage of our experience analyzing thousands of projects to determine the accuracy and feasibility of your project budget. During the budget/cost analysis phase, our pre-construction professionals typically take the following actions:

• Prepare an initial budget estimate based on a survey of conceptual plans and specifications. Refine the initial budget estimate as the development of the plans and specifications proceed.
• Evaluate the feasibility and construction cost impact of alternate construction materials or techniques.
• Evaluate the life cycle cost impact of alternate construction materials or techniques.
• Prepare a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) once the drawings and specifications are sufficiently defined.

Rudolph/Libbe has a highly trained staff of pre-construction experts with the tools and technology to accurately estimate any project. The estimating phase of the project requires specialized knowledge and involves the following steps:

• Review plans and specs with the A/E to eliminate areas of conflict and potential overlap of various subcontracts
• Advise on the pre-packaging of the drawings and specs to facilitate fast-track or phased construction
• Recommend for early bidding and purchase, those materials and/or pieces of equipment that are subject to extreme price escalation or that require long lead-time
• Solicit, review and evaluate competitive bids from subcontractors and suppliers
• With the owner`s approval, award contracts to subcontractors and suppliers

Rudolph/Libbe uses Timberline`s Precision Estimating system, a state-of-the-art software program that combines a spreadsheet with a customizable item database. This brings efficiency, accuracy and a more detailed level of reporting to estimating a project, with the end result of saving clients money. The estimating spreadsheet is backed by a detailed item-cost database, which contains everything required to build an estimate. It can be customized to reflect project needs by adding items, formulas, productivity and conversion factors. The database was developed by Rudolph/Libbe staff, and is based on historical experience from thousands of Rudolph/Libbe projects.

The proper planning and precise coordination of material deliveries and construction activities can save our clients time and money. The project team utilizes the critical path method (CPM) to graphically schedule the project plan through a schematic diagram. This diagram illustrates the sequence and relationships of the individual project activities and allows the Project Manager to determine the most efficient approach before construction begins.

The Project Manager is responsible for preparing the original schedule and all subsequent updates. The Project Controls Department also maintains historical records on productivity and schedule durations for a wide variety of project activities. This historical data is used to build future project schedules.

The schedule for each project establishes design, approvals, procurement activities, and construction milestones that must be met to preserve the anticipated completion date. In addition to the design phase activity data provided by the architect/engineer, input from the Owner`s management and facility staff will be gathered for essential refinement of the preliminary schedule. All information that may affect completion of the project is included in the schedule in order to ensure full coordination with the appropriate parties. This includes activities not directly under the contractor`s control – such as delivery of owner-purchased/furnished equipment.

When all parties have agreed to the project schedule, it is distributed and reviewed with the entire project team. This master project schedule becomes the target schedule against which progress is measured.

Rudolph/Libbe has extensive experience finding the area`s best subcontractors and suppliers in order to streamline the bid and award process. This helps our clients get underway without a hitch. In addition, we can check bids against our database of historical labor and materials cost data to ensure that our clients receive the best prices available. Due to our large annual volume of work, our buying power helps us to purchase materials and equipment directly, which further reduces overall project costs.