Providing Expert Solutions For Projects Worldwide

Providing Expert Solutions For Projects Worldwide

Phone: (610) 640-9600

Fax: (484) 301-0969

Category: MDC Advisor® Newsletters

Project Management: Change Orders

Project Management: Change Orders

Once upon a time in Philadelphia, a charity hospital was seeking to modernize and expand its facility. Fundraising and design work had proceeded for a number of years, however, there never seemed to be quite enough money in the building fund to begin the project.

Continue Reading

read more
Risk Management

Risk Management

The design review should be performed by the architects and engineers that are preparing the plans and specifications for the project. While it is commonly accepted that all plans and specifications are reviewed before being issued, we have found that this is not always the case. Competing pressures to both conserve budget and accelerate the bidding phase of the project often lead to shortcuts in the process.

Continue Reading

read more
Project Management Risk – The Real Cost of Value Engineering

Project Management Risk – The Real Cost of Value Engineering

Problems stemming from “value engineering” are a common source point in many of our forensic engineering and claims management engagements involving systems, equipment or materials where the actual performance is found to be ‘problematic’ with respect to project expectations.  Misunderstandings concerning the purpose and intent of value engineering are often at the heart of the problems we have noted. As a caution, the “value engineering” intent to reduce first costs will almost always succeed in the short term, but may fail to deliver “best value’ in the long term.

Continue Reading

read more
Design Build in Name Only

Design Build in Name Only

Where is the critical path? This is one of the questions most often asked concerning schedule analysis. For some types of projects it is easy to anticipate where the critical path should be;  for instance in high-rise building construction, the critical path is most likely to be: excavation, foundation, structure, weather enclosure (building envelope), MEP, finish activities.

Continue Reading

read more