Construction Advisory Services

At the beginning of a project, every decision made can have a significant impact on the final results. Mistakes during the pre-construction phase can lead to delays, cost overruns, construction defects, and other claims. The Rimkus team works together with the project team to help meet the strategic goals of the prospective owner, but also to identify potential construction risks and eliminate costly impacts.

Drawing on our extensive development and financial expertise, we can provide detailed estimating to validate a proposed project. By producing a conceptual development budget before a client invests significant time and money pursuing a project, we can help them focus their resources on the most promising opportunities.

The Rimkus team can provide an independent, objective validation of every project element, from reviewing bids and budgets to verifying cost and time assumptions. We can enhance project planning by providing detailed cost estimates and schedules as they advance through design and entitlements.

Our consultants work side-by-side with the designers, owners, developers, and contractors at the conceptual design phase to evaluate the interrelationship of the building systems and components. Through our objective third-party analysis of the project design, we can minimize risks and help achieve the highest level of quality assurance. Our professionals can address issues that affect performance and compatibility with the design by evaluating:

• Building envelopes
• Vapor barriers
• Insulation systems
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems

As the project progresses into detailed design, the Rimkus Construction Advisory team evaluates the actual execution of the established concepts. We review the overall quality of the systems and their compliance with codes and standards as well as design documents for constructability, thoroughness, and completeness. Our team can offer recommendations for alternative materials to meet the design criteria and provide cost savings and assist in weighing the cost impacts of design options relative to performance risks. We can assist the construction team in selecting the most cost-effective structural systems based on resiliency, sustainability, maintainability and life cycle costs.

To ensure that final construction is completed in accordance with project requirements, we assist our clients in the development of quality control procedures. We can also provide bid support to make certain that selected contractors and subcontractors are providing bids in accordance with the project requirements. We evaluate bid estimates for consistency with the scope, and the contractors and subcontractors to confirm they have the necessary experience to complete the project.

To mitigate future vibration damage claims and to determine the effects of the proposed construction on existing surrounding structures, we provide pre-construction vibration condition assessments. We also can deliver alternative means and methods for minimizing the risks of construction-induced ground vibrations and property damage.

Our pre-construction services include:

• Due diligence support
• Land acquisition support
• Design program analysis
• Third party design review
• Scheduling
• Cost estimates
• Life cycle cost analysis
• Value engineering and cost reduction analysis
• Constructability reviews
• Code reviews
• Building Information Modeling (BIM)
• Pre-construction condition assessments of existing structure

For clients with unique time or budgetary constraints, Rimkus can serve in an oversight capacity on the owner’s behalf throughout project design and construction. We work diligently to keep the owner’s interests protected, leveraging our expertise to achieve project objectives on time and without excess costs. Our detailed approach has led us to be a top-choice owner representative for institutional investors, public building authorities, developers, and educational institutions.

We can assist clients in the following owner representative and project monitoring services:

• Establishing and monitoring the project budget
• Pre-qualifying potential bidders
• Managing the project to stay on schedule, on budget, and to the quality standards specified in the construction contract
• Monitoring results of non-compliant material testing reports
• Reviewing change order proposals and providing an overview and recommendation of each change order
• Reporting monthly on project concerns, including cost, schedule, quality, legal issues, and lien releases
• Upon completion, acquiring complete closeout documents as stipulated in the construction contract

Clerk of the Works Services

Rimkus can provide skilled, technical professionals to serve as a clerk of the works and monitor day-to-day activities on the job site. This job function satisfies the requirements of many local building departments for an independent party to track and report on progress, quality control, and material issues that may arise during construction.

When circumstances require that you assume control to complete a project, Rimkus can help bring projects involving troubled assets to completion in ways that meet your schedule and budgetary needs.

Our distressed project and workout services include:

• Assessing Project Status and Completion
• Identifying Liabilities and Exposures
• Auditing Construction Costs
• Estimating the Hard Cost of Project Completion
• Analyzing Schedules and Delay Impacts
• Analyzing Construction Contracts
• Negotiating with Sureties
• Assigning Subcontractor Contracts
• Monitoring Project Completion

Inefficient management of development projects can lead to costly overruns and schedule delays. Rimkus can take responsibility for managing every detail of the project from the groundbreaking to the ribbon cutting. Our senior project managers have decades of experience managing a variety of projects, from short-term, fast-tracked projects to long-term, complex projects, and everything in between. They are backed by our deep bench of experts specializing in building construction and building systems design.

We can manage the general contractor and the many subcontractors to ensure the project stays on schedule and on budget. As the owner’s eyes on the job site, we scrupulously check that every task is completed to the highest standards of quality and safety, down to every brick, bolt, and duct.

Commissioning is the post-construction validation of a project to confirm that the original vision and specifications for the building are in effect. At Rimkus, commissioning begins at design development and goes all the way through to post-occupancy. At every construction phase, we ask critical questions such as the following:

• What specifications were made and have they been delivered?
• Do all systems work as intended and originally envisioned?
• If the building is on track for LEED, are all systems running properly so documentation can proceed quickly and efficiently?

Clients trust Rimkus to represent them in the commissioning process, whether it is a new building, a fitted-out tenant space, a retrofit of an older building for a new use, or retro-commissioning for regulatory compliance. We have commissioned systems in a wide variety of structures, from biomedical, office, and retail spaces to manufacturing and higher education buildings. Our consultants have the knowledge and experience to tackle even the most complex systems.

Fire safety during construction is a critical concern for urban fire departments everywhere. Before issuing a building permit, many cities require an impairment plan to be submitted, defining the procedures to follow when fire protection systems are taken out of service. Leveraging our technical knowledge of life safety systems and construction expertise, Rimkus can develop a comprehensive impairment plan designed to minimize risks to on-site workers, while also helping clients comply local fire protection ordinances.

Together with our deep bench of fire protection experts, Rimkus consultants can deliver timely, effective, and compliant plans, minimizing delays in obtaining building permits. Utilizing our decades of experience, we have the ability to proactively identify and resolve potential problems with fire protection and life safety systems during construction. Our team is skilled at trouble-shooting issues that could pose a risk during impairment and developing effective solutions to keep the project on track, without compromising safety.