CON100

Assessment 1

1. Construction Projects and Players: List, and describe the responsibilities of, at least
five players on a building construction project:
a. Construction Projects are separated into sectors withing the industries which
include:
i. Residential, it has both new construction and renovation of single and
multi-family residential properties.
ii. Commercial/institutional, the projects are more complicated than small
scale residential projects such as offices, large apartment complex, and
shopping mall.
iii. Industrial, these buildings are highly and technical, specialized, and
defined by aesthetics of the structure than what goes on inside them, for
example, refineries and factories.
iv. Infrastructural, they are also called heavy or horizontal construction and
the projects are typically designed by engineers and require specialized
licensing for the builder, for example tunnels, bridges, and roads.
b. Construction players are:
i. The owner’s team is the client or a representative they can either be
private or public. They are the ones that tells the construction team what
and when they need which the teams must deliver. Also, they are the ones
that pays for the construction project.
ii. The designer’s team they provide the planning and the designing of the
project. These services are provided either by the architect or engineer.
The contract is administered between the owner and the contractor.
iii. The contractor’s team they provide labor forces, including subcontractors,
product suppliers, and general contractors.
iv. Superintendents responsible for coordinating all production and work,
daily activities.
v. Forman is responsible for direct supervision of the contractor’s work for
example making sure that the right tools and equipment are at the job site.

2. Project Stages: Typically, designers (and, for certain project delivery systems, builders)
collaborate with an owner during the design phase to understand what is required in the
project. Is there value in including operators or users of the final project in the earliest
phases of the project? For example, when taking on a restaurant project (i.e., you are
building a new restaurant space), would there be value in including chefs and patrons in
the design process? How about the construction process? Why or why not?
a. Project stages are:
i. Project feasibility this is where the owner makes the decision to whether
move on with the project or not. There is no reason to include anyone at
this stage because the decision must be the owner’s choice.

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 ii. Programing and design the architects start to design the project based on
what the owner needs. The owner since he is in charge at this stage may
bring in a general contractor if he/she want to consult but they not based
on the relationship they may have between them.
iii. Bidding and award of prime contact, at this stage the owner tries to find
the most qualified contractor to build the project. The owner may invite
the designer to ask about their input based on what the contractors have
presented to find the right fit for the project.
iv. Preconstruction and mobilization, the organizing of the construction work
site, which involves the contractors.
v. Construction during this stage the contractor oversees completing the
project safely, withing the budget and on time based on the contract. He
can bring in the architect or the owner if something goes wrong and does
not understand something.
vi. Close out and occupancy the contractor completes all the requirements of
the construction contract and the owner moves in.

3. Project Delivery: ASU is constructing a new building that is 150,000 square feet and six
stories tall. The building will be used for office space and classrooms, with quick service
restaurants (e.g., Chipotle) on the first floor. Compare two delivery methods (name
them!) and provide justification for which is better.
a. Two project delivery methods are:
i. Design-bid-build which results in design and construction processes. The
owner hires a designer to design the documents and then sent out to bid
where a contractor is selected to build the project. The contractor has no
say in the design of the building he sees it on the bid documents. This
method is familiar to everyone and it is very organized which results in
competitive bidding plus it results in the lowest cost to the owner.
ii. Design build is where the architect and contractor are hired as a team
under one contractor by the owner. Conflicts between the architect and the
contractor is low based on what kind of relationship they have. The
project’s cost is not final at the time the contractor and architect are hired.
The project can be fast-tracked, and construction begins before the
completion of the design process. The final budget is unknown because
everything is done before the design is complete.
iii. The best method to use is design-bid-build because this process is
sequential and easy based on the owner’s perspective and every team
involved. Everything is smoothly transitioned from design – bid – awards
– construction – occupancy. The cost if low and final when the
construction begins because the teams have completed all the necessary
changes needed. It would take a long time to complete but it is better than
using design build since construction starts before design is complete and
the budget fluctuates during construction.

4. Estimating Fundamentals: You are working as part of a design-build project team,

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 serving as an estimator for a general contractor. As such, it is your job to collect bids
from various trade contractors that you will eventually select to perform construction.
When you call around for pricing on the mechanical contract, you notice that all trade
contractors are within 5% of one another, except for one contractor, whose price is 15%
lower than the others. You note that this mechanical trade contractor just opened for
business last year. Do you use their price, given that it is lower, in your estimate for the
job, or not? In your response, suggest at least three potential reasons that their price may
be lower and use these to justify your position of including their price, or not, within your
estimate for the job.
a. I will not use their price on the estimation for the job because since they just
opened everything is still clean and green on paper, but I have no idea how the
work will look in person and where they got those numbers. I must find out if
they are good from other sources. The 15% less than everyone is good and all but
when it comes to doing the work itself is a whole different process. This
contractor might be using the wrong material or cheap material that will not hold
in the long run. As an estimator I must use the one of the 5% contractor because
they have been doing the job for a while and they know what they are talking
about. The contractor might have left something out of their calculations which
may result in the less percentage of the trade. As an estimator I would have to go
through everything with precision to make sure that they did not miss anything.

5. Creating Estimates: Why do you need to have some knowledge of the construction
process to generate a reliable estimate? Given that, how early in a project do you think
that an estimate can be developed that is within 5% of the actual costs of construction (if
you do not run into unforeseen site conditions or Acts of God).
a. You need to have some knowledge of the construction process to generate a
reliable estimate because with some knowledge you will be able to estimate
almost correctly to save time. You also know more about what materials we be
needed and how much they will cost, which will help you win the bid. Your
experience will help you narrow down which manufactures will give you a great
and low price on the material that you will require to estimate for the project. As
an estimator you need to know what is going to look great plus reduces the
owner’s budget. With experience you will be able to help the owner get great
price on some materials and reduces their spending money. In addition, the
experience will help you stay within the owner’s budget price or lower, which is
what you need to win the bid.