Four tools you can use to control the risks

Specialist evaluations by a project management professional are cost-effective strategies for increasing value during design. Use of these tools during construction will deliver significant savings by reducing changes, delays and claims.

Problem One: Risk

A powerful tool for monitoring risk is simply keeping and updating Top 10 Risks List for the project and using it to proactively manage risks.

Risks exist on all projects. The only question is whether you want to explicitly consider risks in advance. If you do not, your only option is crisis management. Risk analysis is a systematic and structured method to identify and analyze potential risks. It includes planning to prevent problems from happening, developing solutions for typical problems, and creating strategies to minimize the effect of problems when they do happen. Risk analysis addresses the project schedule, site conditions, design, technology and all resources.

Problem Two: Mistakes in Bid Documents

From the moment bidders receive your documents, they will explore opportunities for extra charges and claims. Every loophole, mistake and omission can put your budget and schedule at risk.

Instead of trusting that the bid documents are "right", owners should give serious consideration to contracting a bid document review first. MHPM offers a review service for tender documents, employing independent construction professionals, not associated with potential bidders, who will review your documents from a contractor's point of view.

Problem Three: Can It Be Built?

Those plans look good, but can they be built? Within the allotted time and budget? Constructability reviews answer these questions. A multidisciplinary team of professionals organized by the project manager will review the specifications, drawings and schedules from the constructor’s standpoint, not the designer's standpoint. Experienced project managers with construction expertise offer a "fresh set of eyes" trained to identify potential construction problems, inefficiencies or even impossibilities in the design. Ways to improve competitiveness of bids can be identified up front, reducing final project costs.

Problem Four: Value

Is your project delivering the best value for money? Project managers can implement value engineering studies to address this central question. Like other reviews, the value engineering study is conducted by a multidisciplinary team whose members have no vested interest in the project.