Construction services: Here is what you should know

The term construction services covers a wide spectrum of tasks and responsibilities in the course of the building process. From design to completion, there is a plethora of services and parameters that should be taken care of.

Even after the completion of a project, monitoring the building’s life-cycle is fundamental for its quality and well-being of its residents. For that reason, it is always crucial to keep an accurate and detailed project management plan in place.

In that way, you can be sure that everything processes according to schedule and that there are no harmful operation mistakes or delays. Like that, everything will be completed on budget and time.

In an effort to provide our readers with more clarity over the different types of building and construction services, we present the most important of them below. As you can see, we have divided our construction services list into four distinct parts:

1. Pre-construction services

Everything starts with pre-construction services. As soon as the journey for a new building project begins, there is a number of tasks and questions that the team should look into. Simply put, this is the time where an idea is gradually turning into an actual project and that practical aspects of the vision in discussion are analysed.

It is also a first effort for the team members to acquire a better understanding of the potential project costs and expectations. The earlier in the project the tougher it is to predict the total cost of a new building structure or a renovation project.

That’s why, asking the right questions is essential. For instance, some of the main points that project teams are concerned of during the initial project phase could be the following:

• What’s the first step that I need to focus on?
• What type of building permits will be necessary?
• Is it better to invest in a new construction, renovation or demolition project?
• What could be the total cost of the project?
• How long will the project take?
• What type of challenges might emerge during the building process?

These are only a few of the questions that a project team has to take into serious consideration before the building process begins. With that in mind, developing a detailed plan which can guide you through the whole process is an excellent idea.

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This is the list with some of the most crucial services that you should look into during the pre-construction phase:

• Cost estimation
• Project scheduling
• Design decision-making
• Handling of construction materials
• Building permits
• Traffic studies
• LEED Certification process
• Land purchase

2. Construction project management

Once the project starts progressing, there are many different elements that should be taken into consideration. From project initiation to closure, there should be solid collaboration between the various agents and good team coordination.

It goes without saying that, data plays a substantial role in this process and allow quick and well-analysed decisions. We could roughly divide the construction management phase into three parts:

Planning phase

This is where everything begins, as the project team is coming together to brainstorm and discuss. Furthermore, the team tries their best to resolve any problems that might have emerged. This includes where to better allocate your resources; for instance, if you instead buy used cars for your vehicle fleet, this might significantly reduce costs and allow a bigger allocation of specialised machinery. In that manner, they can be sure that the project proceeds exactly as it should and that everyone stays on budget.

Some of the most noteworthy construction services during this phase are the following:

• Work closely with the engineer and architect in order to develop the project’s design and determine your needs in terms of materials, equipment and building systems.
• Identify the most beneficial option for your project in regard to labor, material and time management.
• Get all the required building permits.
• Take care of all contractual agreements.
• Build an efficient and fully functional schedule for your project.
• Take all the necessary measures in order to acquire LEED certification.
• Find the right people (eg. subcontractors) for the job and take care of the bidding process.

Execution phase

In the execution or construction phase, the plan is put in use. There are two different processes during the execution phase: executing and monitoring/controlling. It’s a demanding stage of your project where project managers and the other members of the team are making sure that your construction project complies with the set specifications and plans.

Here are the most significant construction services during the execution phase:

• Focus on your site’s safety. Make sure that all safety standards are respected.
• Quality control
• Hold regular meetings with project agents (eg. owners, subcontractors, consultants).
• Cost accounting for construction projects.
• Monitor and coordinate all work on site.
• Find the right people for work.
• Take care of project documentation (eg. Submittals, RFI’s).
• Punch list
• Construction site visits
• Stay on top of payments.

Post construction phase

As soon as the construction phase of the project is done, there are a couple of things that still need to be done. Building projects can many times end up being messy. That’s why in the post construction phase the project team should take care of any potential disputes or warranty problems that might emerge.

In short, these are the key areas of concern during the post construction phase:

• Resolving construction disputes.
• Taking care of warranty issues.
• Addressing any type of concerns on site.

3. Design-build

The design-build method has attracted a lot of attention lately. Having the same team providing both the design and construction services can boost your project’s efficiency and minimize risk. Moreover, keeping the design and construction phases connected can help you obtaining a better understanding of the potential challenges that might come along your way during the building process.

Like that, you can be confident that you will make the right choices when it comes to material and equipment selection.  Furthermore, the design-build phase is expected to unlock many opportunities for the construction industry when it comes to sustainable building and innovation.

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In a nutshell, we could summarise the most decisive construction and building services to the following:

• Dealing with project conflicts.
• Taking care of project expenses which by the way can be significantly lower in design-build projects.
• Keeping a close eye on project quality in terms of design, feasibility and complexity.
• Boosting project efficiency and team coordination.
• Coordinating progress meetings and optimising communication between the numerous project sides.

4. Building services

In the first three construction service categories we mainly focused on services that are inextricably connected with design and the project management process. Now, we will turn our attention to more practical tasks and construction services which concern the life-cycle of a building.

The services listed below are conducted in order for buildings to be safe, functional and comfortable:

• Building management systems
• Power supply: electricity, sustainable energy sources, gas, etc.
• Energy allocation
• Fire protection, safety and detection
• Lifts and escalators
• Facade engineering
• Building facade consultancy
• Building ventilation
• Heating and air conditioning
• Water system
• Plumbing systems
• Lighting (both artificial and natural)
• Security
• Alarm systems
• Lightning safety system
• Refrigerant installation
• Drainage
• Sensor installation
• Building connectivity
• Estimation of carbon emissions and ways to reduce them
• Humidity control

It becomes evident that building services can cover a wide range of tasks in order to keep a building in top condition. Regardless of the project’s type (renovation, new construction, addition, rebuilding) a lot of effort and strong coordination is required.

Wrapping it up!

All in all, the coordination and proper execution of the countless construction services can ensure the success of your project. Nevertheless, keeping everything under control isn’t always easy. You need all the help you can get and in that sense a combination of experience colleagues and top quality digital tools can be proved valuable. Only then, you can be sure that your project is heading in the right direction.