A Steel Fabricator That Knows Design Build Construction

The greatest savings in cost and schedule can be achieved through the design-build project delivery system. Worries about competitive bidding are unnecessary since fast-track construction projects that are fluid, with design holes and anticipated changes, give little guarantee that the final cost will resemble the original cost-estimate. Working with the right steel fabricator at the front end will lead to savings in time and cost and the initial determination of a realistic budget. It is critical to choose the right steel fabricator-partner -- one with experience in the fast-track project delivery system -- a steel fabricator like Stone Bridge.

Early Involvement is the Stone Bridge Difference

Early involvement in construction projects is a key element to our continued success and a cornerstone in our client relationships. As a structural steel design and metal fabrication company committed to quality and client satisfaction, early involvement in construction projects allows us to influence the overall success of the project for the client. We incorporate Value Engineering opportunities and drive the early construction schedule, thus saving weeks off of the traditional "hard bid construction" method. Our database of construction costs allows us to create realistic construction budgets to work from so that structural steel design and detailing can take place concurrently, and steel fabrication can commence, while conventional projects are still moving through the bid and clarification process. A typical fast-track design-build project with our early involvement as structural steel erection subcontractors and structural steel fabricators might involve the following steps:

1. A pre-kickoff meeting with all stakeholders, including the erector, to discuss items that can impact heavily on the project cost and schedule.
2. Identifying the owner constraints -- certain late decisions, changing tenant requirements, etc.
3. Determining the sequencing of the job from both a decision-making and framework erection standpoint.
4. Isolating design holes and their causes. Providing allowances for them and getting agreement from all stakeholders.
5. Consulting with designers to develop a plan for working around design holes -- this can be the most significant impact on cost and schedule.
6. Establishing a hierarchy of changes and information flow -- what design decisions require immediate action, what can be decided at the last minute, what can be postponed as long as possible.
7. Over-design areas to accommodate changes in weight and location of mechanical -- this usually affects limited bays and members, and only adds limited material.
8. Establishing unit costs for fieldwork, such as mechanical penetrations through structural beams, field-welded roof frames, pre-cast structural beam connectors, and similar areas of work that can allow a fast paced construction schedule while design is finalized.

This approach to the fast-track design and delivery systems results in weeks of schedule savings and lower construction costs by saving the owner weeks of expensive general condition and financing costs. A significant savings in business opportunity costs is also realized by receiving the completed building weeks earlier than would have been possible with the traditional "hard-bid" construction process. If you are interested in potentially eliminating weeks of design, several weeks of bidding, post-bid review and award, and would like to occupy your building a month or two earlier than typical construction delivery systems, then please give us a call. Our phone number is 518-695-3752.

We'd be pleased to talk to you, explain our unique system in detail, and put you in touch with several satisfied clients that experienced very real savings using the Stone Bridge Iron & Steel methods. You can also submit a quote request using our convenient online form. We will be happy to provide you with a quote on a construction project -- whether it involves structural steel design, metal fabrication, or structural steel erection.