Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT
Senior Member
Username: rliebing
Post Number: 1331
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 08:21 am: |    |
120718
THE CLIENT’S FIRST CHOICE
by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT
Cincinnati, OH
You know, I think we need to talk to our clients more! Most of them fall into a class of those who know nothing of construction and admit it; but there’s a class of those who think they know all about it, and only tend to muddle, and impair both the design and the construction-- only to finish up by being surprised or dismayed by what they get!
We must start at the actual base when we start programming. And that is the realistic parameters of the project. We must forestall, cut-of and prohibit misunderstandings, in the beginning, so the client’s expectations are very close to what he/she gets. And they should know what they won’t get-- for whatever reason.
What happens when a project that is supposed to be “On time; on budget; on scope; and properly functioning; but becomes a project that is “On time; on budget; on scope, and NOT properly functioning?
Or, “on time, on budget; OUT of scope; NOT properly functioning? Or worse?
[Heard of a project close-out meeting where the client reviewed all documents and was thoroughly surprised that for the $800M they spent, they didn’t recognize the building. Ever hear of changes?]
Was an expert witness on a $26M project [22,000 sq. ft. residence!] with a million-four in unpaid Change Orders. Project had all Turkish marble floors for which the owner, etc. took 7 trips to Turkey to pick the stone out at the quarry and then wanted no grouted joints [stone sections to be machined and fit one to the other! BUT project was painted with a paint store paint. Certainly no particular knock – have used it-- but story here does tell you a little about how owners mis-prioritize.
What if the root cause of the scope and function problems are seated in the lack of adequate time for design and documentation, and/or documents that are unenforceable or left unenforced?
Management of professional design and documentation efforts needs to be attuned both to the clients expectations, for the project, and the necessary effort that is required to provide the proper level of design attention and specific documentation to produce a project that meets those expectations.
No client can control all three of the aspects of the project— Cost; Scope; and Quality.
Control of two of these by the client establishes parameters within the third. For the most part clients wish to maximize the project [Scope] and minimize price [Cost]— and with those controlled, the variant necessarily becomes Quality.
This is aggravated when the client shortchanges the budget allotted for the project, but is unwilling to reduce the scope of the project. If uncompromising on this, the client further forces reduction in quality [to the point of not getting what is desired, or getting a poor iteration of the project].
This situation is further aggravated by the current practice of downgrading the level of professional involvement, and forcing more design/documentation efforts onto the contractors. This is merely transferring the cost [perhaps at any elevated level] and compromising the project by having a third-hand involved who is not fully attuned to the project demands |
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