RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION
Photo courtesy of GeoSurfaces
without going through a competitive bidding process . For smaller projects , such as renovations or resurfacing of a single field , this may be the most efficient method .
For very large construction projects , owners may want to engage a construction management firm to handle design and construction .
Cooperative purchasing contracts ( CPC ) — an arrangement through which governmental entities , schools , universities and / or religious organizations purchase materials and / or construction services they desire from a pre-qualified list of manufacturers and builders — is also gaining popularity . In a CPC , product and service offerings are pre-bid and vetted by a cooperative purchasing agency to ensure competitive price and quality . Cooperative purchasing agencies publish “ not-to-exceed ” price lists by which customers can then negotiate an agreed-upon price with their chosen product manufacturer or builder .
Various builders have preferences regarding project delivery methods , and for various reasons . Todd Penley of GeoSurfaces , for example , explained the various scenarios that make both design / build and design / bid / build the most popular methods on the market when it comes to athletic fields .
“ Design / build is a project delivery method that has been around for hundreds of years but was often referred to as integrated project delivery ,” Penley said . “ It wasn ’ t until 1993 that it officially became known as design / build . In this method , there is only one contract . The person in need of a building , also known as a project owner , hires one person or company to both design and construct the building . This person , known as the design / builder , can hire design consultants and subcontractors as they see fit , but those employees would answer directly to the design / builder , not the project owner .”
Penley quoted attorney Brian Perlberg of ConsensusDocs , as saying , “ Perhaps the biggest advantage of design / build is that it affords for earlier involvement of the build teams — namely the lead builder and its specialty contractors — to provide their expertise in regard to more efficient materials selection , constructability and schedule .”
The opinion of the attorney is that highly specialized contractors in the sports surfacing market have far more valuable experience and expertise than most firms in the architectural and engineering ( A & E ) community . There is also “ extensive consolidation between the elite manufacturers and the elite contractors , yielding an sportsfieldmanagementonline . com May 2024 | SportsField Management
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