Clark Construction Company

Program Management

Program Management (PM) allows the Owner to bring together highly skilled staff from Clark in a collaborative effort with the owner’s own internal resources to achieve a successful building program. Clark’s PM services span the entire life cycle of the construction program from pre-design to post-construction, including assistance with selection of design professionals and consultants.

Construction Management

Construction Management (CM) brings the Owner, Architect, and Construction Manager together as a team in the project’s design phase. CM emphasizes the integration of construction expertise with design activities to achieve project goals. Obtaining pre-construction services from the CM is one of the major advantages of this approach (For more information on the benefits of pre-construction services, please refer to the next section "Pre-Construction"). As your CM, Clark provides estimating, scheduling, constructability reviews, value engineering, and team coordination during the design phase, working closely with the Architect. The benefits of CM include an “open book” accounting of project funds, reliable budget and cost control, accelerated project completion, and a better process for selection of major trade contractors.

Design-Build

Design-Build (DB) offers the opportunity to combine design services and construction services under a single source. DB can provide cost savings, time savings, early knowledge of firm project costs, and singular responsibility for quality, cost, and schedule adherence. There are two approaches that can be taken in selection of a Design-Builder. The first, a competitive “best value” approach, requires a higher level of planning on the Owner’s part to prepare a “criteria” package that defines performance requirements of the facility. The second approach, which can be very collaborative, is a negotiated selection based on design-builder qualifications and utilization of a two-part contract. Part one of the contract authorizes preliminary design to determine cost and part two of the contract authorizes construction. Clark has been Design-Builder under both approaches, using our relationships with Architects to form the Design-Build entity.

General Contracting

General Contracting (GC) is sometimes referred to as Design-Bid-Build. With this traditional approach, the Architect is hired directly by the Owner and prepares detailed drawings and specifications for the project, which are then sent “out to bid.” The general contractor submits a firm bid based on the set of completed plans, specifications, and contract documents. The GC approach is used extensively in the public sector where team members are comfortable with the process and familiar with their respective roles. There are some drawbacks with the GC approach as there is little or no collaboration with the constructor prior to the bid date. As a result, the potential for budget “surprises” is higher and the Owner has minimal or no control over the trade contractor selection process.

Estimating and Budget Reconciliation Process

Clark’s cost estimating process includes periodic estimates as design progresses, in conjunction with a reconciliation process to restrain project scope creep and maintain an appropriate level of contingency. The estimating process begins with a conceptual estimate based on historical data, performed by our professional estimating staff using the TIMBERLINE™ software program. This provides a common format for subsequent estimates as plans are more fully developed.

Lessons Learned Application and Value Engineering

The Clark Team uses our “Lessons Learned” database to avoid those “surprises” we may have encountered on past projects. We will bring our experience on similar projects, and those lessons learned, to the pre-construction phase. As we work through the budget reconciliation process, we may suggest alternate materials and systems as value engineering suggestions to save money on the project.

Smoother Construction Process with Constructability Reviews

RFI’s can be reduced substantially with our constructability review process. Our Project Manager and Superintendent, together with our Planning Department, will review project documents against our Constructability Review Checklist looking specifically for clarity and content, or lack thereof.

Project Scheduling using Clark’s Trade Hour Scheduling (THS™) Process

When we analyze our projects for required trades and hours, we develop a model of predicted labor requirements for the project, which we use for CPM scheduling and for measurements of project progress. This process has proven itself many times as an accurate predictor of delays and a proactive measure for recovery plans.

3D/BIM Process for Reduction of Change Orders

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) process is an excellent visualization and communication tool that leads to our project clash detection process – a proven process for virtually eliminating the field problems associated with Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing coordination.

LEED Consultation and Integration

The Clark Team works closely with the Architect to implement LEED certification if the Owner so desires. Clark provides cost information on the credits sought and sets the groundwork for incorporating LEED into the bid packages.

Effective Bid Package Strategy

We package bid documents in a manner that gives trade contractors specific expectations of responsibility, scope, quality, schedule, and close-out requirements. Moreover, the Clark Team strives to obtain maximum participation of local trade contractors and suppliers.

Construction Staff

Every project we undertake is done under the direct supervision of our skilled and knowledgeable staff. Clark’s Project Managers and Superintendents have specific experience in the market segments we serve, along with years of on-the-job experience. Our construction staff includes many with engineering and construction management degrees. Our Project Managers and Superintendents are also certified, registered, and/or accredited by professional organizations. Our clients can be confident that experienced professionals are managing their projects.

Clark Corporate Procedures

Doing the right things consistently and with excellence leads to success. Our Clark Corporate Procedures govern the way we build our projects and the way we protect the environment in the process. Our clients can be assured that the Clark Team will use proven procedures to deliver a high quality project, safely, on time and on budget while being stewards of the environment. They can be assured because our Clark Corporate Procedures are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

Quality Management

Some of the highlights of Clark’s quality management process include:

• Defining the Owner’s quality expectations during the design/pre-construction phase
• Communication of quality expectations in the bid documents
• Thorough review of qualified bids, including bidders’ quality history and expertise
• Pre-installation conferences with field staff of each trade contractor to discuss scope of work, specifications, and quality expectations
• Constructing mock-ups as quality conformance benchmarks
• Inspection of equipment and material for quality conformance as it is delivered to the project
• 3D/BIM clash detection procedure to identify interferences prior to construction
• “In-wall” and “above ceiling” inspections prior to closing up the work
• Systematic correction of deficiencies through Clark’s “Notice to Comply” (NTC) procedure
• Rolling Completion List to expedite closeout

Cost Management

Clark’s cost management process encompasses both our estimating and budget reconciliation process in pre-construction and change management process during the construction phase.

When the construction phase begins, a line item budget is established, and we begin to use the management features of PROLOG™ for cost control and change management in accordance with Clark Corporate Procedures.

The Construction Team uses PROLOG™ to track all project documentation and manage changes caused by Requests for Information (RFIs) and Potential Change Orders (PCOs). All PCOs are evaluated by the Clark Team and validated with an estimate. PCOs require our client’s authorization before they become a change order.

Schedule Management

Clark’s schedule management process provides tracking and management of all major activities during the project life cycle. Development of the project schedule occurs in the pre-construction phase. We use our Trade Hour Scheduling (THS™) process to get an understanding of trade labor hours required for the construction phase and use this data for developing crew sizes and durations. We also include many other critical factors in our project schedule, such as:

• Design schedule
• Decision-making process
• Key construction milestone dates
• Identification of long-lead items
• Equipment procurement
• Equipment installation
• Owner occupancy

The project schedule is updated at regular intervals using “look ahead” schedules to monitor actual progress. During the construction phase, Clark’s Trade Hour Scheduling (THS™) process has proven to be a superior method of evaluating percentage complete, and the most effective tool in our toolbox for keeping the project on schedule.

Safety Management

Clark Construction Company holds health and safety to be its highest priority at all times, under every circumstance. We have completed well over 2,250,000 work hours (and counting) with no lost time injuries over the past 8 years.

Following is a general overview of Clark’s Health, Safety and Emergency Response Procedures:

• Health and safety governs every course and method of action on Clark jobsites
• Clark’s Project Superintendent evaluates potential risk to health and safety prior to commencement of all work activities
• Work practices are employed which create conditions free of potential injury
• Enforcement of safe work habits with all trade contractors
• Frequent inspections by our Safety Coordinator
• Orientation program for all trade contractor employees
• Development of site-specific safety measures
• Reinforcement of the message at our progress meeting
• Training in our office semiannually
• OSHA Certification of all construction supervisors