Construction and Cost Management Services

How our project management service can help -

Frequently Asked Questions

"Won't my building contractor deal with all the issues?"

This should be the case and in a perfect world this would be the right solution. However, what your building contractor will also have to do is manage his staff around the other projects he is running, cover his corporate overheads and make use of his direct labour force that may not necessarily be specialised in the work to be carried out.

There may also be a lack of competitive pricing within the overall quotation on the basis that some elements of work may be good value (ie those parts the builder can complete with his own workforce), but others may be uncompetitive as a result of him having to engage specialist subcontractors with the client having to pay for profit on top of profit.

"Can't I ask my architect to deal with all these issues?"

For an additional fee, this is also true - but our experience is that an architect will want to engage a single contractor to carry out all the works to simplify the communication channels and to limit the amount of direct involvement with the day to day running of the project. This is entirely reasonable and is the prudent approach. But what this will not give the client is the benefit of being able to "shop around" for the best prices on individual sections of work, materials and skills. The service from Woodside Developments can also include the management of materials to avoid margins being applied by builders to the materials they are utilising. This can vary between 15 to 25% mark up of the materials cost and when one considers that materials costs represent an average of 35% of total build costs, simple mathematics tells us that 7 or 8% of the total project cost can be saved by having us manage your contract as "labour only".

"What service do you offer?"

We offer independent advice which allows competitive quotations to be obtained for all aspects of the work - thus ensuring the best possible end price, together with the management of all the subcontractors employed to deliver against those quotations - i.e. someone who is working for the clients' best interests rather than the builders.

Our project management service aims to deliver exactly this - Independent advice on key questions such as:

What is best for you?
What are the full implications of that change of mind?
How can we work around this change of circumstances?
How can we control costs from start to finish?
Is this quotation best value?
Should that invoice be paid?
Where can we make savings?

We act as your representative throughout the project - looking out for your best interests.

"What does a successful building project look like?"

Typically the most important aspects of any building project are:

Ensuring it is completed on time
Ensuring it is completed on budget.
Minimising disturbance
Being delighted with the finished article

It is a sad fact of life that current experience is that none of the above is achievable without someone keeping a careful watch over the proceedings at all times. Using an independent project manager will ensure that the necessary control mechanisms are in place to prevent over-run on time and budget.

"So - how does this work?" - The "Work Package" concept

Frequently, building projects go off the rails financially because adequate description of the work to be done with associated responsibilities has been overlooked.

The best projects occur when every subcontractor knows exactly what is required of them - specifically:

what they are expected to deliver in terms of the finished article and
what are the timescales for completion

Our project management service details each "work package" for the various trades and this has benefits in a number of major areas:

Initially these work packages can be used to allow competitive quotations to be obtained from a number of different suppliers. The package will clearly define what is required and to what specification and timescale This means that economies can be driven from utilising specialists to best effect, potentially taking advantage of a tradesman who has a "gap" in his workload etc.
From these priced Work Packages, a comprehensive budget can be drawn up before work commences, giving time for alterations, fresh ideas, reductions to be put in place before a commitment is made. It is true to say that any change made to a building project which is underway will have an impact on progress - usually an adverse impact!
A project plan can be developed up front so that the timing of each of the trades can be made available at the outset and each subcontractor signs up to working to the defined timescales - again a means of controlling activities
Having selected the successful subcontractors, orders are placed with the tradesman based on the Work Packages
Finally those packages are used as a management tool to monitor and measure progress to ensure that everything stays on track.

Any ongoing changes to the work package (which are to be avoided if at all possible) will be documented and agreed BEFORE they occur on site, thus ensuring that the client is fully aware of any repercussions that result from those changes, whether they are financial or time related.

"What kind of contract should I have with the builder?"

A formal relationship between you and your builders and advisors is essential to establish responsibilities on all sides. The Joint Contract Tribunal (JCT) is an independent body that has produced a standard contract for use between you and the builder The JCT contract is a robust legal document that avoids technical and legal jargon that can be used to formalise these relationships.

It confirms the precise arrangements for the work to be done: the price, the payment terms, working hours, insurance and guarantees and how to resolve disputes if they arise. It deals with how to make changes to the work to be carried out and how to deal with a builder who wants to extend the time taken for completing the work. In essence, it sets out clearly what's expected of you and the builder. It's a document that a reputable builder will want to use. Management of the contract relationships forms part of our service offering.