Getting your act together helps speed proposal choice - St. Louis Business Journal:

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“Building a parking garage is differentt than anoperating room,” said Steve vice president of planning, desigm and construction for . “Whether you’rd building an office building or an additionh toa warehouse, call around and find people with experience in that area.” Also identify firms that have done projectd of the dollar value you’re considering, he said. Fine-tune your information by checkint references for work on similar the number of change orders and how theywere handled, any litigationm or liens on a project, if there were any failed and the prospective engineering service safety record, Cockerham In issuing an RFP (request for always get at least threes bids and make sure they’re basesd on the same scopde of work, said Steven Lechner, president of , whicu develops residential and commercial property.
Cockerhamk pointed out that the bids shouldbe “all in the same ballpark” if you’ve outlinedd the scope of work correctly. “If one is way beloe everyone else, that’s a red Adequately defining the scope of the project at the beginning will avoids disputeslater on, Lechner said. The details in a projecyt can be so cumbersome you might consider hiring an engineer to define the scopd of servicebefore bidding, he said. “Don’ty wait until the last minute to getengineeringh done, and make sure the engineer has adequate time,” Lechne said.
“An engineer can educate you up Lechner said to askabout firms’ previouas experience in the municipality where your work is “All municipalities have different subdivision and zoninh ordinances,” he said. Some engineering firms offer core expertise in one suchas civil, electrical or mechanical engineering, while othersa are multidisciplinary. “Ask if an engineering firm has access to other disciplinesand services,” Lechnee said. Specialized services might includetest boring, a soils and archeological or environmental reports.
While not mandatory, likes to use firme with multidisciplinary capabilities, said Ross Hutsel, director of facilitie s engineering. He usually oversees projects involvinhg retailgrocery space, but for a recent office remodel, the grocer lookedd for new service providers. Alloe time to research new firms and issu requests forinformation (RFI), he said. An RFI coulcd take a couple of months in additiob to anRFP process, which might take two to four weeks if you’v done your homework up Hutsel said.
“We ask them to provided a minimum of three references we can talk to that the firm has workeds with in the lastthree years,” he Ask a bidder which professionals will be assigner to your project, and make sure they have the necessaryt credentials for your such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and ) Be sure you’re comfortable with the engineeriny professionals you’ll be working with and feel you have two-wa y communication.