Contractor Selections

The General Contractor and contractor selection process is one of the most crucial decisions in the success of your project.  Ownership needs to fully understand that the relationship with the contractor and ultimately with the subcontractors and supply chain will be one of the more important factors leading to a successful project.  Projects, codes, supply chain management and government regulations these days are more complicated than ever.  Having a “partner” and team player vs. an adversary in your General Contractor is a must.
The days of selecting a contractor just based on “lowest bid” are gone or at least should be.  Even if you are hard bidding (design-bid-build method), there needs to be parameters to which GC(s) make the short list.
First of all, there are many factors to consider when choosing your contract delivery method (see first section in “contracting construction administration” for types of delivery methods).  Some of the factors that ultimately should point to one delivery method over the other are as follows:  type of project, new project vs renovation/remodel, occupied/un-occupied facility or adjacent facility, easily defined scope/known site conditions or not, current economy, project location, schedule requirements, political environment, risk tolerance, project complexity, phase/non-phased project or opening, for long term or short-term portfolio/use, on-going operational costs/concerns, prevailing wage/union/non union preference and/or requirements, etc.…
Once the delivery method has been chosen/considered, managing the GC selection process is next.  Each project will have its own unique criteria that factors into the selection process.  It’s difficult to go into the best choice for any given project, but the following is a list of considerations when interviewing/reviewing contractor options.  Each of these criteria can be weighted to level of importance in order to assign points and help identify the leading candidates for your potential GCProject type (retail, industrial, hospitality, office, multi-family, mixed use, etc.…), project size, experience in project delivery method, safety program and rating, overall project experience as a company and more specifically that of their proposed team members (job specific Field and Project Management), available capacity for duration of project, past references (clients, architects, subs, suppliers)  financial capacity, bonding capacity, local/regional experience, subcontractor/supplier relationships, payment procedures/requirements, union affiliations, company culture/personality, company management tools, alignment of project goals, proven track record on costs/schedule performance, team player, follow through with commitments, self-performed work or pure “broker” contractor, bench depth if need to call in more resources at any given point,  etc.…
Taking the time to understand the specific needs of the project and then using a defined criterion in selecting your contract delivery method and your General Contractor will pay huge dividends toward the success of your project.  With Kevin’s background working for various GC’s for almost 20 years and then managing and working with well over 50 GC’s as an Owners Representative, we can help your team to be successful in this process.