We approach every project in partnership, strategically to help determine your needs prior to start of services. We then suggest breadth and depth of services appropriate for your needs.

Strategic Thinking

The process starts with learning about you and your aspirations, vision, goals, and objectives. Strategic thinking then begins with analysis of potential approaches, strategies, tactics, concepts, and plans that are essential for success. The entire project “journey” involves iterative assessments, alternatives analysis, evaluations, and appropriate adjustments during project implementation.

Strategic leaders take a broad, long-range approach to problem-solving and decision-making that involves objective analysis, thinking ahead and planning. That means being able to think in multiple time frames, identifying what is to be accomplished over time: what has to happen now, in six months, in a year, in three years, to get there while thinking systemically.

We then determine with you what is needed and not needed to supplement your capabilities and properly represent you.

OWNER REPRESENTATION

The Importance & Expanding Role of an Owner's Representative (OR)

The role and responsibilities of the Owner’s Representative can vary widely depending on the specific circumstances. The depth and breadth of help needed is determined with you.

Perceptions: More often than not, an owner’s first move after securing funding and some of the necessary approvals on their project, is to retain design firms to continue the pre-construction process. After the documents are completed, the owner will then look to get them to solicit general contractors, receive proposals, and then recommend awarding a contract. Between the design and contracting firms, the owner is nearly complete with the hiring of the project team. In addition, these firms will be more than capable of managing the entire project on the owner’s behalf.

Not so fast………..

The owner’s Representative is an individual or company retained to act as an extension of the owner’s staff to:

protect the client’s interests in a collaborative manner
assemble the needed consultants, design firms, contractors, and vendors and provide the vital and necessary information to the team to conduct an effective and orderly process
coordinate and effectively communicate with the team’s members throughout the project’s life-cycle, from cradle to grave
track budget and schedule

As an owner, why do I need an Owner’s Representative?

Lack of time and/or experience.

A project comes to life due to a need for an organization’s or company’s change, growth and/or transition. Whether building new or moving into an existing space, there is proper planning required that is absolutely necessary for a successful project. It doesn’t matter if you’re moving into a 3,000 sf space or building a new 400,000+ sf facility. As an owner, you have to devote the significant time to your project and team.

The most critical and time consuming phase of any project happens well before starting design or putting a shovel in the ground. The owner, in order to minimize financial and schedule risks, needs to retain ALL of the project team members as early in the process as possible. Thereafter, the members need to be provided with the appropriate information in order to carry out their required tasks. The owner also needs to consistently manage the team during the design and pre-construction phase to monitor progress, budget, design, and construction in concert with the Owner’s goals.

Does an owner have the sufficient amount of time to dedicate to a project, especially during this stage? Typically, no. Owners many times feel they can manage their project while running their full-time business. An Owner’s Representative can oversee, address, and communicate status and progress so owners can focus on their organization.

For example, the lack of experience within the design or construction industry for some owners can be problematic when trying to find the best team for their project. Whether it’s a new commercial venture or an educational facility for a

university, an owner should reach out to firms who compliment their vision, have the experience and capabilities, and most importantly the right staff to deliver the project. An owner’s representative can assist with recommending design firms, contractors, and the balance of the project team that come with the experience and personnel the client is looking for.

In addition to the selection of the right project team, the owner’s representative will be knowledgeable with new materials introduced to the marketplace, technologies, and experience with past projects which ultimately benefits the client.

As an owner, I only have to hire the architect and contractor, maybe a vendor or two, correct?

Some owners are under the impression they are only responsible for the design firms and general contractor, but that is certainly not the case. Depending on the building type, here are some examples of vendors/firms the owner typically retains directly and do not work for the design firms or contractors:

Real Estate Attorney
Cost and/or Scheduling Experts
Testing & Inspections (soils, concrete, steel, roofing)
Furniture
Information Technology
Low voltage (phone & data)
Audio Visual
Security
Acoustical Consultants
Lighting Consultants
Kitchen Consultants
Signage
Moving
Sustainable Design Credentials (LEED)
Green Roof design and code compliance
Commissioning
Other Specialty Consultants

The above represents only a portion of the list, but the bottom line is the owner needs to identify the required firms early in the process, hire, and coordinate to ensure minimal schedule and cost overrun issues AND know when to bring on other appropriate consultants during the project process.

For the firms I have to hire direct as an owner, why should they be hired early on?

A spirit of collaboration among the entire team needs to be initiated early in the process and maintained throughout the duration. The earlier in the design phase these core firms are brought in as part of the project team, the better chance of success. That being said, there are some firms that can’t be hired until some of the design information is identified, such as testing & inspections agencies and signage vendors.

Here are some examples of entities that should be considered to be brought in sooner than later:

Furniture Vendors – there are numerous manufacturers in the marketplace with various products. It is important for the owner to identify furniture types during design in order to ensure furniture dimensions fit with the overall architectural layout. There have been projects where furniture is one of the last things to be addressed, only to find out the client could not procure the furniture they wanted due to dimensional conflicts, lead times, and/or code compliance issues.

Information Technology – one of the first items an owner should address to compliment the architectural layout is the role of IT – Will my server be remote or onsite? If onsite, where in the new space will it be located? Are we going wireless? Who is going to ensure when employees arrive after we move they are ready to work (phones activated, email working, etc.? Some of these questions affect design and need to be identified at that time. It should be noted that many Electrical Engineering firm can also provide this service.

Security/Audio Visual/Low Voltage – these expert vendors should be brought in during design in order to identify items such as power outlet locations, card reader power requirements, and phone/data jack ports. If hired after the construction documents are completed, the electrical contractor will typically ask for additional funds and depending on timing, could affect other subcontractors as well. It should be noted that many Electrical Engineering firm can also provide some of these services.

What are some of the “myths” regarding Owner’s Representatives?

Myth #1 – The Owner’s Representative is an additional, unnecessary expense to my project

The owner’s representative should not increase overall project costs. As on every project, budget management is paramount. The advantage of the owner’s representative’s presence early in the process is, by coordinating the entire project team from design through move-in, overall costs are reduced as a result of close coordination, not to mention Owner’s time needed for other important organizational matters or lack of time that would require hiring additional permanent staff. Avoiding costly errors and delays also contribute to avoiding cost increases or contentious claims

Therefore, the “additional” fee is typically not additional after all, as costs are redistributed with reduced project budgets resulting from a more focused and efficient process.

Myth #2 – The other project team members view the Owner’s Representative as a “roadblock”

The Owner’s Representative is hired for one main reason – Team members rely upon a single contact for the Owner to provide the important information and decisions needed from an Owner while assisting the owner in delivering a project that meets their vision, is within budget and on schedule, while creating a harmonious experience for all of the project team members.

Many of the team members (architects, contractors, consultants, and vendors), have aggressive profit margins, especially in these challenging times. While assembling their proposals, they are also assuming a certain number of hours dedicated to each project. These team members rely on the owner to deliver information to them in a timely manner in order to keep pace with their own internal budgets. Part of the owner’s representative’s role is to assist all of the project team members by extracting this information from the owner, and communicating back to them. With the absence of an owner’s representative, many project team members can lose money if an owner is not on time with responses to inquiries. And at times, claims can be filed.

Myth #3 – I don’t need an Owner’s Representative managing the entire project since I have internal support

The beauty of an Owner’s Representative is they are consultants, i.e. part time help. Depending on the firm, some Owner Representatives are flexible with the client’s needs regarding the project team. Some clients have previous relationships with architects and contractors, have internal IT support, and/or already contracted with various firms prior to bringing in representation. An Owner’s Representative can be hired to coordinate any number of firms and concentrate on specific areas, complementing the client’s requirements.

What are other advantages of an Owner’s Representative?

Owner’s Representatives are hired as part time support; that is, they are billing for the time required to manage the project, thus saving clients with overall company budgets and the hiring of full time employees

With years of experience, they can recommend appropriate design and construction firms to owners
A dedicated, unbiased professional can help avoid expensive mistakes.
When needed, getting into the “weeds” of every project such as assembling bid packages, reviewing proposals, reference checks, design oversight, issuing contracts, requesting lien waivers, and processing payment applications helps ensure management tasks are covered
The Owner’s Representative can effectively translate the objectives of the creative process from the designers to the construction folks, and vice versa, due to their experience and background
Periodic, as-needed, onsite presence on behalf of the owner ensures solutions to construction issues can be addressed quickly
Submitted change orders from project team members can be reviewed with understanding of the project
Potentially a better “Quality of Life” for owners

Is the role of the Owner’s Representative expanding?

In the past 10-15 years, the role has expanded greatly, more firms have been established from construction and design executives entering the field as a result of the economic downturn. This coupled with owners making tough decisions about layoffs in tight economic times or lack of time/talent during busy times has increased the importance of the Owner’s Representative.

After realizing that running project can be more time consuming than originally thought while trying to concentrate on their own organizations, usually is the point where an owner seeks help, if not sooner.

Design and contracting firms are beginning to see the value of an Owner’s Representative as well. Having someone as the focal point of a project allows each of the team members to have a sense of security knowing the project will be closely monitored. This lends to quicker decisions for everyone which translate into higher profit margins.

Final Thoughts…

By no means is Owner Representation rocket science, but it is necessary in many situations. Clients need experts to work on their behalf to bring in-depth project knowledge to the table, be aware of current processes and technologies, and assemble the best project team possible. This will allow delivery of a successful project to the client from a budget and schedule standpoint while meeting expectations.

It should also be noted that the above information is a general summary of the kinds of services Owner’s Representatives can provide. Each project has certain needs in common but there are many more differences in the projects and organization’s needs. Thus, the kinds and levels of services should be determined on a project by project basis. Ideally, they are customized for each endeavor.