Posted by Cory Anderson on Thu, Feb 09, 2012 @ 01:45 PM
There may be a few wacky business owners out there that like surprises and unpredictability. When planning their construction project they don’t care how their new building turns out, how much it costs, or whenever it gets completed. If those business owners exist, we wouldn’t know.
Predictable & Organized
A systemized approach to a construction project is the best way to eliminate surprises and unknowns. The obvious benefit to this systemized construction process is that the look of an un-built building, cost to construct, and project schedule are accurately forecasted and guaranteed before a shovel ever meets the ground.
Additionally, the cost savings of an organized and well planned construction project is passed on to the customer. Even though it is enticing for some business owners to gamble by hiring the lowest bidder and hoping for the best, it often happens that important elements are missed in the bid, which ends up costing an owner more money to complete a project. The only change orders that should occur are due to an owner changing their mind or unforeseen conditions during a project and not because we missed something.
The Wolgast Way
Over ten years ago, Wolgast adopted a systemized approach to apply to their construction delivery methods. We’ve established over 200 documented systems to make tasks uniform and decision making easy for our employee-owners and, most importantly, reduce the risk to our customers.
Regardless of General Construction, Design/Build, Construction Management or Leaseback project delivery, there is a documented system that our employee-owners follow to get each unique project completed without surprises. Every step has been scrutinized and we have applied our 60+ years of best practices.
If you think that this approach will work well for your next building project, contact Dr. Michael Shepard at 800-965-4278. If you're one of those wacky business owners, we'd like to hear from you too.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 @ 11:19 AM
General Construction for a long time was the primary method of delivering construction. Even Wolgast in the early years was a one-trick pony with General Construction being our only option. That is, until the 1970’s when we were the first to bring Design/Build to what’s now known as the Great Lakes Bay Region.
The needs of busy business people who didn’t have much knowledge about construction drove the creation of the Design/Build delivery method. They were educated people who knew a lot about their line of business, but never had an opportunity to learn about construction practices. They needed guidance and, really, someone to be their advocate as they went through the process.
What is Design/Build
In a nutshell, The Design/Build method is classified by the architect and contractor being on the same team. The company that’s responsible for designing the building is also responsible for making sure it’s constructed on time and within budget. It’s a true collaboration throughout the project between the client, architect and contractor from concept to completion. Through three phases, the contractor reviews the progress drawings with the architect to ensure that the project is still within budget and can be completed by the deadline. Potential challenges can be flagged early and discussed to be mitigated.
Two Important Benefits of Design/Build
1 - You get an accurate estimate earlier – when using the General Construction delivery method, you have to wait for plans to be completed by the architect to hand over to the contractor for bidding. You won’t have a cost estimate until you already have plans for your dream building set. With the Design/Build method, you get a preliminary budget, roughly, a month or so after meeting with the architect. You’ll then have enough information to know if financing is needed and, if so, documentation to take to the bank to get your loan approval. Additionally, you’ll have easily and cost effectively made design adjustments to create a dream building within your budget.
2 – You’re able to find the best price from local bidders – when a general construction project is put out to bid, there’s normally limited time for general contractors to solicit subcontractors for their trade bids by the deadline, which means that you only get a couple of easily solicited bids for each trade. When a construction project is delivered through the Design/Build method, the Design/Builder has the opportunity to set their own deadline and get bids from all local subcontractors (or any that you may request), which means that there’s no hit or miss with getting all the low numbers. You’ll have all of the lowest numbers in one bid package.
Contact Michael Shepard to get an early preliminary budget, the best price and exceptional quality for your next building project. 800-965-4278, mshepard@wolgast.com.
To read more about additional benefits to the Design/Build delivery method, you can download our whitepaper on Fast Track The Wolgast Way.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 08:57 AM
So, you’ve been elected to your District’s School Board and have four years (or so) to help make the best decisions for the students and staff. You likely anticipate facing many issues that’ll require research plus your life experience to decide what’s best for your School District. One of those issues could be the maintenance, remodel, rebuild or relocation of school buildings. Do you know where to start? Below, we explain the steps you should take to have a successful construction project.
Step One – Facility Study
You start with a Facility Study to gain information on what your District needs to repair or improve. More specifically, a Facility Study conducted by a team of a qualified Architect and Construction Manager who’ll help you identify and organize what is necessary to maintain or improve the quality of education you’re currently providing. The Architect and Construction Manager should have experience conducting Facility Studies, so ask for their resume.
A Facility Study will provide you with information regarding maintenance issues, instructional enhancements, future space needs, safety issues, and technology requirements, to name a few. Future decisions will be made easier by acquiring information from the Facility Study that assists you in prioritizing the District's needs.
Step Two – Funding
Once your board determines which buildings need construction services, the Superintendent and School Board have to find a way to pay for the projects. Currently, there are a variety of federal and state programs to supplement your general fund. The state’s treasury website can offer a lot of information, but so can a meeting with Wolgast’s School Facility Consultants, who cut to the chase for you.
Step Three – Bond Campaign
As we stated in our blog, “Tips for Passing a School Bond Election” there’s not one way to pass a bond election because each School District is different. There are, however, things that a school board and bond committee can do to help every bond campaign, such as getting staff and the community involved early in the campaign. Please see the referenced blog for more information.
Step Four – Construction
Typically, when you work with a Construction Manager on the pre-construction services listed in steps 1-3, you have an agreement to use them to oversee the construction of the project. They’re your advocate throughout the project from pre-construction through completion. Through weekly meetings and open communication, you, the Architect and the Construction Manager are a team that ensures the project gets done on-time and within budget.
We would be more than happy to present to your School Board our seminar on “Steps for Planning a School Construction Project”, please contact an Education Facility Consultant, Rich Ramsey, Phil Hartman or Tom Watson at 800-956-4278 for more information.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Mon, Dec 12, 2011 @ 02:50 PM
I have found that there’s not a single formula to passing a school bond vote. Every community is different in regard to their support of their school district, so each campaign needs to be tweaked and managed. However, I have discovered a couple of tactics over the years as a School Facility Consultant on how to give every bond campaign a better chance for success.
First, the most important aspect of a successful millage election is staff and community involvement in the planning process. With that said, the likelihood of the passage of a millage proposal is determined days and even months prior to the election. The development of the bond proposal, the inclusion of groups that will be affected by it, along with the marketing plan and execution are all key ingredients that will help lead to a successful election.
Another key is to focus on the “yes” voters rather than spending your budget or energy on converting the “no” voters. Then help the “yes” voters by reminding them of registration deadlines, and when and where to vote.
Sometimes Districts can qualify for state and federal funding programs to help supplement building projects. By qualifying for the additional funding, School Districts were able to ask voters to approve smaller bond amounts while securing enough budget to complete their construction needs. Bond elections pass as voters recognize the savings to their District’s general fund to help maintain safety and educational programs.
Over the past three years, 24 of the 31 School Districts that Wolgast has worked with have experienced a successful bond campaign. To find out more about the funding programs or to have a free seminar with our School Facility Consultants regarding “Steps for Planning a School Construction Project”, please contact Phil Hartman at phil@wolgast.com.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 @ 10:35 AM
Since the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is more of a management model or philosophy, you may not have considered the building design changes that may be necessary to make the conversion. Below we discuss some of the elements that your PCMH office design should consider.
Storage Space
Electronic Medical Records are a key tenet of the PCMH model, however as practices transition into PCMH offices, one could expect to increase file storage requirements due to the added patient education and follow up. Additionally, you’ll be accumulating the documentation from each visit your patient has with a specialist or key staff member inside or outside your office and therefore your space requirements will need to be addressed in physical space or specially designed spaces, such as climate controlled areas that accommodate computer servers and databases.
Meeting Space
Collaboration is another key of the PCMH model. Practice doctors and staff members will be having meetings among themselves about their cases as well as consultation meetings with specialists, group meetings held for patients with similar conditions, and patient education sessions. All of these types of meetings will require private and comfortable space to allow for most optimal conditions for patients, and for easy patient access.
Privacy Measures
With additional files and open areas for communication comes more responsibility for patient privacy and HIPAA compliance. The design of your building will need to account for the privacy of verbal communication and protection of patient files.
Spare Exam/Treatment Rooms
We have recently completed the construction of a large PCMH office which included in its design additional exam and treatment rooms for visiting specialty doctors, so they can come to the patient rather than having the patient travel to the doctor. This is a clear benefit to serving your patients with the PCMH model.
Dr. Michael Shepard, M.D., Ph.D., Wolgast Corporation’s medical office development specialist, along with Rick Keith, Wolgast Design Group’s architect experienced in designing for PCMH, can provide insight in the designing of an office remodel or a new building. Contact Dr. Shepard at 800-965-4278 to discuss the design and construction of your next building.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Tue, Sep 27, 2011 @ 04:20 PM
In the August 2011 edition of the Michigan Restaurateur, there was a question posed in the “Ask the Expert” section regarding preparing a concept for franchising. While we understand that there is limited space and the question was asked of a qualified lawyer, we feel that there is more to add from a construction stand point.
Being one of the largest restaurant construction providers in Michigan, we have experience helping new and established franchises plan for growth. An additional key element to add to the trademark discussion in the article is to establish a standard building design including approximate size, floor plans, number of seats, drive-thru needs, kitchen equipment and décor.
Additionally, market size and cost of construction in certain markets should be taken into consideration while planning your growth. Some markets may not provide a good return on investment because of the elevated cost to construct there.
Sharing your lease agreement with your architect and contractor before signing can save you time and money with each new restaurant. Many leases hold requirements involving design and construction provisions. Your architect can design more efficiently when they know what the requirements are for a space and your contractor can provide value engineering to save money.
Finally, when you establish how many locations you are going to franchise, you can take advantage of buying power to save money on carpet, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, cabinetry and other equipment or materials.
Wolgast Corporation provides expertise when it comes to working with varying municipality and health department regulations as well as cost effective design of a restaurant. Not only have we worked with McDonald’s and their franchisors for over 30 years, but have also built restaurants for Tim Hortons, Bob Evans, Applebee’s, Biggby Coffee, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Uno’s Pizzeria to name a few.
Call Michael Shepard, Business Developer, to learn more about our franchising and construction expertise. mshepard@wolgast.com, 989-790-9120.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Wed, Sep 14, 2011 @ 11:51 AM
During construction, your community has likely become curious and has heightened support for your business’ success. Community members will want to see what will happen in your building once you’re open for business.
A grand opening ceremony is one way to capture the buzz and introduce your services or product to your neighbors, clients, suppliers and staff’s family. Really, it’s the perfect time to get your prospective clients in the door and show them your brand new, fresh and clean facility.
Some industries, such as the restaurant segment, have found great success by holding grand reopenings every ten to twenty years to promote their business. Many restaurant patrons want to try the most new and exciting thing in town, so almost as if it’s part of their promotion budget, some restaurant owners update their look and/or menu on a regular schedule (every ten to twenty years) to gain clientele quite successfully.
Over the past seven years working for a commercial contractor, I’ve attended many Grand Openings and they have done well at drawing in people and helping the business to put their best foot forward. Grand Openings can be tricky to plan because guests are typically arriving at all different times. Therefore, you need to have an activity planned, like a tour that can happen in cycles or display posters and photos that are self explanatory.
For the party planners, here are some tips for organizing your own Grand Opening Event:
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Decide if you want a private or public event and publicize it to those you’d like to attend well in advance (a minimum of 2 weeks notice).
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Build a social media presence (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and advertise your event there, while also promoting your pages during the Grand Opening to increase your online network.
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Organize a ribbon cutting with formal speech by the owner and/or a building dedication.
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Give tours of the building lead by staff members who explain what will be happening throughout the building and highlight specialized areas that will benefit clients.
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Demonstrate your product or the operations of producing the product.
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Provide informational handouts and logoed trinkets.
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Host a reception with food, drink, and/or music for guests to stay longer and provide more opportunity for you to meet with them.
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Photograph the event to use in a newsletter, on social media, or for historical purposes.
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Consider your parking because you will likely have more guests than what your parking lot is typically meant to hold. Perhaps a shuttle or valet parking could help get everyone safely to your event.
A few unique elements that I’ve seen at Grand Openings include a harpist playing throughout the reception, moonwalk structures to make the event more kid friendly, and a red carpet rented to make guests feel special.
Have you ever hosted your own Grand Opening or attended one that had a unique element to it?
Posted by Cory Anderson on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 @ 09:30 AM
A building project is a major investment and whether it’s a remodel, addition or new structure, it isn’t unusual for business owners to seek cost cutting options, especially with the cost of materials and supplies trending upward. In this blog, we offer a few tips that can be used to cut the overall costs to your building project.
Since we’re a General Contractor (GC), you likely won’t be surprised that we feel it’s beneficial to bring your GC onto the team as early as possible. While the building is being designed, your GC can provide suggestions toward material selection, applications of those materials, safety needs and square footage and layout tweaks to save on the overall cost of your projects. Once the building design is finished, it’s more likely that you will only spend money rather than save money.
Next, by having your contractor on the team early, they have time to solicit bids for all trades from all subcontractors in your area (or any that you choose) in order to collect a wide variety of bids and find the lowest/best price by the most qualified subcontractors. When multiple GCs are bidding a project just before construction begins, chances are very good that no one GC has all of the lowest/best prices from the subcontractors due to relationships. As a result, no GC has the lowest/best price for the project. Additionally, union GCs typically don’t get the merit shop subcontractor bids due to philosophical issues or contractual obligation. Since 80% of the industry is merit shop, you could be missing out on many of the qualified subcontractor bids that could result in the lowest/best price.
Finally, make sure that you’re GC is insured and run professionally; you can protect yourself from having unexpected costs added to your project. We have heard way too many horror stories about the costly mistakes that have added time to a project, caused liens to be placed on a building, or stopped construction completely.
For more tips on how to save costs on your specific project, contact Michael Shepard for a free consultation.
From Words from Woody (www.wordsfromwoody.com):
“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money…that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.”
- John Ruskin (1819 – 1900)
Posted by Cory Anderson on Fri, Aug 19, 2011 @ 10:44 AM
So your new medical/dental office is about ready to be moved into, are you ready? Here are some experienced helpful tips from Wolgast to make the move go easy and not impact you or your employees in a negative way.
First off, remember to get your Medicare and Medicaid paperwork submitted right away so that the government is aware of your change of address and there are no issues that arise with the government. Not getting this information processed on time can lead to a billing gap and we have seen instances where doctors and dentists have lost out on months’ worth of revenue because paperwork was not processed on time.
Next, remember medical record privacy when packing up the patient files. These records need to be packed and moved such that security and only authorized access to them occurs. This may take some special planning but being aware of your HIPAA requirements when transporting and moving records could save you a tangle of paperwork and bureaucratic headaches. If you are moving electronic files too then you need to treat the computer hardware and backup data with the same respect as you would give moving paper files.
Remember to have your information technology support people out early on the day of the move to ensure that computers can talk to each other, files have been transferred or transported safely, and that electronic medical records (EMRs) and digital imaging equipment (like the new digital xray machines) are connected, networked, and ready to go. Expect a few glitches that first day and plan ahead by having a service technician there as each system is tried out.
For the general move, start preparing at least two months prior to the move date and make sure everyone knows what they are responsible for packing and unpacking. Your movers can give you an estimate of how much moving materials you will want to purchase. If you start purchasing a few months early you can pace that expense over several months and potentially save money by not over purchasing supplies at the last minute.
Lastly, taking the time to plan ahead and plan early lets everyone finish on time with a minimum amount of rushing. Then sit back and let the movers do the work, discourage employees from moving boxes or equipment themselves as they may injure themselves doing the work. An injured employee won’t be there to help unpack and may actually cause you to have more bills due to their medical treatment for pulls, strains, or sprains. Before you know it you will be moved in and up and running in your new facility.
Posted by Cory Anderson on Fri, Aug 12, 2011 @ 09:04 AM
We hear it quite often from business owners once they decide to build a building–they needed it yesterday. We understand that once the need for the new building is determined how important it is to get the owner moved in quickly.
While the architectural phase can sometimes take months, it can often be shortened when the owner stays in contact with the architect and makes decisions quickly. We recognize that most of the decisions are big decisions that an owner has to make because they aren’t easily changeable once they’re decided. Trusting your architect and continually discussing what you want from the building will help this process flow smoothly.
An experienced contractor will lead you through your project faster with extensive planning and scheduling prior to construction. During the planning stage, permits and long lead items can be ordered so they will arrive prior to their scheduled need. Nothing slows down a project more than waiting for permits because nothing can happen on site until they are obtained. Occasionally, an owner may want a specific aesthetic item to incorporate into the building, so it’s best if they coordinate with their contractor to determine when those items need to be available to be installed most efficiently. We had an owner who wanted a specific chandelier installed in their meeting room, but it was a long lead item requiring nine months for delivery. In that case, we came back after the fact to install it.
It also saves time on a project when the contractor is on the same team as the architect, like in a Design/Build construction delivery method. The D/B team can create a design that uses components which lend themselves to an expedited schedule. Additionally, this method allows for open communication between the contractor and the architect so that a project can start even before the plans are complete. In many cases, once the plans are complete site work and foundations can be constructed at the same time saving on the schedule. In other instances, site work can start even before the plans are complete because the architect can provide the information on the location of the building on the site even if he’s still adjusting the finishing touches of the design.
Another means for saving time is prepping a staging area to receive materials when they arrive. As you can imagine, there are some large materials and supplies that are needed to construct a building, so having to find man power to handle where to place these large items each time they’re delivered wouldn’t be the most efficient use of staff time. Therefore, Wolgast creates this staging area as one of their first priorities of each project.
Wolgast has built a reputation for being one of the speediest contractors in the state. We continually implement systems that speed up our design and construction process and we will put the same emphasis on completing your project quickly, too.