Bristlecone

How many times have design teams and ownership groups been surprised at the pricing received by General Contractors after the Construction Documents are issued? For the design team and owner to make educated decisions regarding system selections and finishes, real time cost feedback early on is crucial in the process. We have an effective process establishing budgets at the beginning of each project and using a trend log to track design changes in between the major drawing sets (Schematic, Design Development and Construction Documents). We then verify these trends and overall pricing at each major design milestone, keeping the team on track. We provide extensive value engineering throughout the process to be sure the design build team is making the best value decisions..

At each major milestone we will perform a constructability review of the documents to solve any issues that would impact design or cost. Our constructability reviews take into account the current state of the documents, focusing on any conflicts rather than “incomplete” areas.

Involvement from experts in every field is imperative during the design process. Whether it is a steel erector reviewing complicated connection details, an elevator provider helping with hoist way sizing, or a mechanical contractor assisting on the life cycle costs of major systems, we utilize our large bank of subcontractor resources to make these experts available to the design team at the appropriate times.

Bristlecone Construction Corp takes the lead on BIM Coordination and clash detection (as warranted by the project). BIM is often used as a marketing slogan rather than an actual benefit to the final project and often times BIM is abandoned or half completed becoming un useful. When all team members are fully committed, BIM is proven to yield large benefits. In order to get the best return on investment, BIM must be used during preconstruction and updated as field conditions change and carried through the entire project.

We will quickly identify the long lead and critical items that need to be ordered while the project is still in the design phase so the materials and equipment arrive on time. Our role is to guide and educate the owner and design team in order to meet deadlines and keep the project running smoothly.

One of the biggest problems with quality and schedule are selections or submittals are not completed in time for the product to arrive onsite by the scheduled date. Although submittals can seem like a simple process, it is only through a diligent submittal log that we can ensure that the right product arrives when it is supposed to.

We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to accidents. We believe every accident can be avoided through training and field compliance. This is a large part of our subcontractor selection process and is ingrained in our management as something they need to look for every time they walk in the field.

The Superintendent’s most important role is on site, coordinating work on a daily basis accounting for quality, safety, and scheduling. We structure our office in a way to maximize our superintendent’s time in the field. He will distribute 3 week schedules weekly, the CPM is updated monthly and run foreman’s meetings to make sure that schedules, changes and updated drawings are consistently being transferred to the foreman on the jobsite doing the work.

We are a systems driven company that believes in project administration, organizing all of the project communication, imperative to a successful project. Our engineers and project coordinators efficiently and systematically manage the flow of information from RFI’s, submittals, changes, OAC meetings, etc. to get the information to the field. Our project administration team has one motto: “Feed the Field.” This means our field staff has the answers and products it needs to complete the project on time with the highest quality.