Our process for cost control does more than simply report the developing costs of a project. Our "cost model-to-construction" approach emphasizes the crucial importance of the budget. We take an active role in producing cost containment and value-added solutions to address the variances and issues that arise as a project progresses from program and design through construction documents. We then use these tools in active management of the "cost model-to-construction" process, coordinating the resources of the entire project team to produce results that meet your requirements and provide an open forum for discussion and decision-making among all members of the project team.

Some of the key elements in our cost control process include our estimating skills, use of a cost-control report, effective change-order evaluation, and evaluation of contractor pay requests. Our experience enables us to "look ahead" to reduce the unknown factors that can create budget-exceeding cost issues.

The cost control report is updated throughout the project, with emphasis on forecasting the projected final project cost and the projected monthly expenditures. Using this report in concert with our design review process, during the design phase, or with our Request for Information (RFI) and Change Order logs during construction, enables us to take an active role in not only identifying and analyze cost impacts as the project progresses, but also in providing alternative recommendations for keeping costs within your budget.

A meeting with all team members is conducted on a weekly basis, with the minutes being recorded and distributed. These minutes provide an itemization of: topics and issues, current status, date each issue was originally raised, date of expected resolution, and who "owns" the resolution.

The Cost Control Report establishes the overall project budget. The report is used to monitor expenditures of each line item on a monthly basis and against the overall budget. It tracks specific expenditures, lists funds remaining in the budget, and also indicates a cost-per-square foot for budgeting purposes on similar future projects.

The RFI log tracks requests for information including date received from the contractor, date sent to the architect/engineer, date received back from the engineer, date response was returned to the contractor, and current status. In addition, the log specifies when a response is required to be submitted to the contractor. The RFI log is updated weekly and is distributed to all team members as an attachment to the weekly meeting minutes.

We develop the Submittal log prior to the start of construction. It identifies the priorities and dates when submittals are required. Required dates are established in conjunction with the construction schedule and allow for a resubmittal period. The Submittal log is updated weekly and is distributed to all team members as an attachment to the weekly meeting minutes.

The Change Order log tracks any and all changes generated on the project including change orders, change-order requests and proposal requests. The Change Order log is updated weekly and is distributed to all team members as an attachment to the weekly meeting minutes.

The Change Order Exposure log is maintained weekly and issued monthly. It identifies changes to-date, any potential or future changes, and their estimated cost. The total construction contingency amount less total changes is indicated, resulting in an accurate statement of funds available.

This log is issued to the client only. The Master Schedule is updated monthly and is utilized to monitor the overall progress of the project.