Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Joe Norra Pierre, co-host of the K-Cup. Uh, just a quick note on this week’s episode, this week we’re kind of, uh, exploring the wishlist of probably every architect in the business. And that is, uh, you know, the hope that contractors would become more collaborative in their, uh, you know, working with architects. So we, we devised a, a, a short list of six ways that contractors could be more collaborative with architects and, uh, you know, make the project experience more enjoyable for everyone involved, but especially the architects. So, we’re gonna touch on ways that we can collaborate better in private work, even in the public bid, uh, sector, and in the project delivery methods. Cmar inside of that, as well as, uh, we’re even gonna talk about how, uh, point number six coming full circle back around to, uh, post-project, actually having a sit down with the architect and talking about, you know, what worked, what didn’t work, what we could have done better, uh, on both sides of the aisle there. So anyways, hope you enjoy this episode and find some inspiration in the content. Uh, and again, we hope this promotes better collaboration between, uh, general contractors and architects going forward. Uh, so anyways, you found the K-cup. Glad you’re here. Let’s jump in.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Hey, do, should I have this on this side like this, like you do?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Let’s just conceiving so you see your mug,
Speaker 3 (01:37):
<laugh>. That’s it. Boy, you settled this, bro. Now you’re gonna have to ride it. Take her all.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So, John, I thought it’d be cool since, you know, last week we had, uh, an architect on, we interviewed an architect, and, you know, the subject came up towards the end of that, uh, episode about, you know, how contractors might be able to collaborate better with architects. Of course, it was, I think it was from the architect’s point of view, but it just got me thinking about, you know, the ways that we have collaborated in the past with architects and, and maybe some ways that we could improve on that. So, I just thought it’d be cool this week just to kind riff on some of those ways that we can collaborate a little bit. I know that, uh, you’ve got some thoughts on, you know, based on actual projects that we’ve done and experience from the past. So, uh, anyways, I just thought we’d talk about it and, uh, and see where it goes.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s do it. All
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Right, cool. So, uh, you wanna just dive in here and talk about this, this first point right here? Let’s go. So, the first thing I wanted to talk about was on the private projects. ’cause we know that we’re, we’re, you know, really looking forward to doing more private work. We’ve been cultivating that and working on that, and it, it just gives us a, a lot more flexibility and control and the ability to do the, the level of work that we like to do, where sometimes with, on the public side, we don’t get to, we don’t get to do all that we would be willing to do. Yeah. When it comes to our private clients. So, uh, on that private side, it’s, the thing that really stands out to me is, is how we’re able to, um, cost the design as it’s being drafted. You know, as the scope start, you know, developing, we’re able to get real world costs and start applying ’em to that and build the budget at the same time.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And, uh, I know that we’ve done this multiple times with private clients, so do you want to talk to that a little bit about your thoughts on that and, and the benefit that you see of being able to do it that way? And I know that also there’s some, there’s probably some, you know, I know there are some downsides, not, I wouldn’t call ’em downsides, just differences with the private work versus the public side as far as, I guess time, the, the element of time. And maybe that’s something too that we can speak to about, is there anything that we could do to tighten up the, you know, the schedule or the time from the, you know, first contact to actually, you know, pulling the trigger.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So, yeah, I mean, you know, speaking on the time aspect, I know with, you know, public bid or, you know, working for certain, certain entities and things like that mm-hmm <affirmative>. There’s a lot of advertising, the bids that have to go in, you know, they have to do this two or three times and uh, can, can take some time in the front where that kind of stuff’s not required in private work. Yeah. Uh, uh, that’s the first thing that came to my mind when you mentioned time. Uh, I’m sure there’s some other constraints and stuff that we could discuss, but that’s the first thing that hits my brain. But I mean, what, what I really like about, uh, you know, this private side and being involved early is we’ve seen a lot of times where, you know, projects, you get a set of plans and hit your desk, you spend a lot of time bidding it just to find out that the project’s over budget and, uh, you know, it was more than the client was thinking or whatever.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yeah. Uh, so the process that we like, like to do and get involved in the beginning is, you know, a lot of times they don’t know their budget for sure, but we can usually throw up, throw out a pretty decent budget, uh, just based off of other projects and that kind of thing. Yeah. And then, uh, once they have a number in mind, uh, you know, they, they can really think about, you know, is this something that we wanna do? Do we wanna move forward with this? And if it is, you know, that might be a situation where they say, well, look, you know, I know you’re telling me a million, but can we do it for seven 50? We, we have that amount of money available. Yeah. But once we bring an architect on, now all of a sudden we have some real numbers that we can be working off of and, and, uh, you know, we can price it as as we go and as we design.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And, you know, one thing that I can think of recently on a project is, you know, we had a, a building that we were, uh, trying to decide if we wanted to do like component builds or if we wanted to do like a pre-engineered building. Hmm. And, uh, it was something that once we had a footprint, we were able to go in, you know, do some, some pricing and, and understand what’s the best way forward, uh, would be, you know, to try to meet the budget and also try to meet the need of the client. Yeah. So just those type of things, uh, being able to do that really helps in the long run. Uh, and, and at the end of the day, you have a design and, and a set of plans that can be built according to the budget. Yeah. And, uh, and there’s no backing up and rebidding or, you know, any kind of, uh, value engineering, all that’s kind of been done along the way.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah. Uh, so, so that’s another area that saves time now that we’re talking about it, I wasn’t thinking of it in that aspect as I was telling you about it, but that, that would obviously save some time. Yeah. If you don’t have to rebid and, uh, and, and you can go straight into construction, you know? Yeah. So that’s one of the coolest things is, is just being able to work together with the architect, already have that budget kind of built. And, uh, and, and there is times where, you know, the architect comes back and says, Hey, should we do it like this? Or how, you know, how we wanna do that? And we, we go, go to work on it and, and do pricing and figure out, you know, the best way to do it. And then, and then there’s times where the architect, you know, gives some good advice, like, Hey, you know, I know you’re thinking this, but you know, in our, in our, uh, experience, this is gonna be better. Yeah. So it’s just, just a good way to do it. And, uh, it gives both cha go both sides an opportunity to, to, to really bring value. And at the end of the day, you land up with something, you end up with something that’s got a real high possibility of being built, you know? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
So it sounds like that first step really is to find, is to get ’em in the ballpark, and then if the ballpark seems like a good fit, then from there, now you can get serious and you can start doing some design elements and, and some rough drafts and start really pricing the job Yeah. Start costing it. Because
Speaker 2 (08:00):
A lot of times they just really don’t know like what the cost is. Yeah. And, you know, that helps ’em understand, yeah, we can do this project now, or no, this is like a year down the road or whatever. So yeah. It, uh, it saves some time and effort if you get the, get that, you know, round budget out there in the beginning.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah. So from, from a collaboration point of view, then, uh, between a, a contractor and an, and an architect, how might an architect appreciate this, you know, this method of delivering a project?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah. Um, you know, I think that they, they do often, you know, kind of provide budgets and stuff as well mm-hmm <affirmative>. So I think that, you know, we can help solidify their budget, if you will. Yeah. And one it, that would kind of take their responsibility off of them once they collaborate with us. You know, they’re not so concerned about building a budget and, uh, making sure their plans hit a certain number, uh, that that may be, or maybe it is or maybe it isn’t realistic. Yeah. Uh, I mean, I think that that would help give, give them confidence that the number we’re working towards is a good number. Yeah. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah, it makes total sense. I mean, nobody likes wasting their time and although, you know, designers love the design, they also don’t wanna waste their time, so they don’t wanna, you know, draw a bunch of design that’s not gonna be, you know, able to be used Yeah. Because of, because of the cost. So by our being able to help provide some real cost, as you know, those, those plans are coming into view or into focus, uh, it’s just gonna help them, I guess, yeah. Really zero in on, on the elements that they can go go forward with and not waste time on stuff that’s just, you know, maybe would like to have, but Yeah. You know,
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah. I’ve definitely had, you know, one of the architects that we work with a lot say, well, I just plug this much per square foot, you think this will work? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So us being able to give a little more insight and maybe a little more detailed pricing, uh, gives ’em the confidence to know that Yeah, that’s a good number, you know?
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Okay. All right. Cool. So how about talking on, on public, uh, on public projects? Again, getting back to this whole idea of us just being better collaborators, trying to help out our Yeah. Our architect friends. What, what can we do there as far as, you know, the public side goes if, say, an architect approaches us and we know the bid’s gonna go out to for public bid, but you know, they have some questions. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
I mean, a couple things I can think of there. You know, we’ve had a, a few opportunities where an architect that we work with frequently reaches out and says, Hey, I’m trying to do this project for such and such, uh, you know, can you help put together a budget for me? Uh, or, or they may say, Hey, I got this project for this budget, it’s this many square feet, you think we can do it. Uh, so we’ve had quite a few opportunities through the years, obviously to, to work with architects in that manner and kind of help put together a budget or, or kind of say, Hey, yeah, your budget sounds good. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Uh, you know, the other thing that I think that you can really work together on, you know, in a public manner with architects is once you are awarded the job, you know, if there’s a gray area or something that pops up Yeah. Just, you know, try to work together and, and try to, try to make it happen, you know, in a way that, in the best interest of the project and, and kind of everybody involved. And, uh, you know, those can become kind of divisive moments, if you will. Yeah. If that’s a word. Is that a word? Yeah. Uh, but, uh, just in those, sit in those situations, just understand it for what it is and try to make it go away as best as possible, you know? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I mean, I know what the public bid, um, situation, the way, the way that’s set up and the way bids are collected, um, you know, a lot of times, five minutes before the bids do, you know, you’re still getting some numbers from different scopes and stuff, so, so once the, the job is the bids won and the job’s awarded to somebody at that point, you know, because of your familiarity with the plans, because of bidding the project, particularly as a gc, you’ve had to go over, you know, you’re, even though you’re not breaking down each scope, like the mechanical and all that, you have a pretty good idea of what’s involved so that you can at least gauge when you get a number for, for each of those scopes that if they’re even remotely, you know, realistic or not Yeah. Based, based on your experience.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But there may be things like, uh, that were kind of, I wouldn’t say red flags, but kind of, you know, you know, had you raise an eyebrow when you’re going over everything and putting your bid together. So once you get the project, then that might be a situation where for the sake of the project and, and not trying to have a problem later, you may have to like, literally call in that sub and maybe put a meaning together with the architect and, and the GC and the sub, or at least get them communicating about this, you know, this issue that you’re seeing that could possibly be a problem. Yeah. You know, something like that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah. And I mean, if you, if you, I guess if you identified it early enough, I mean, you could, you know, create some RFIs and stuff in the beginning, uh, just to try to get that cleared up, you know, before bid day. Yeah. Uh, would, would be another thing that you could, you know, potentially do.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yeah. Yeah. If you can actually get it cleared up in that quick amount of time, you know, that short period of time sometimes it’s a, it’s a pretty fast process. All right. So anything else on the public side with collaboration? Again, trying to put ourselves in the shoes of the architect where we think they might appreciate contractors, you know, making the effort to collaborate better.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah. I mean, outside of what I said, I, I don’t know anything right out, right off the bat that I would add to it.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
It, it seems like, I mean, <laugh>, what I wanted to ask you, and you’re telling me about, you know, the, the times that you have had architects reach out and say, Hey, I’m trying to get a bid together for whatever, you know, the school district mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I’m just curious if you think this would work or whatever. I wonder how many of those projects you’ve come in second place on <laugh>. <laugh> after,
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I can think of after
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Helping <laugh>,
Speaker 2 (14:00):
I can think of two right off the bat. <laugh> that one of ’em actually, I built the budget and, uh, and then was second, it was kind of a private situation, invited bid.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Oh, wow. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Ouch. That one definitely had a little sting. And then, uh, yeah, I can think of another project, a pretty substantial project that we kind of helped put together a budget on, and we ended up second. So Yeah. Don’t always mean we get the job.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Ouch. Well, yeah, that’s the certainly honorable thing you, that you’re, uh, willing to do there. John Kelly. Uh, all right. So let’s talk about this, this, uh, this next point. Uh, this is something that we haven’t necessarily done as a company yet, although we, we certainly wouldn’t mind the opportunity to do that. And we certainly have made strides in that direction, but talking about the CMAR project delivery method, and, uh, what do you think are, I mean, I know what my thoughts are about feedback that I’ve heard from architects and you know, about contractors and their expectations and how they might be able to collaborate better. But what’s your general thoughts about cmar and then any opportunities that just jump out at you where as a GC you might be able to offer some, you know, excellent collaboration because of that project delivery system?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Yeah, I mean, I think that, I mean, I think it’s a good delivery system. Uh, you know, we’ve had a couple of opportunities to do probably what we would call like a hybrid mar mm-hmm <affirmative>. Maybe a few architects locally that, that have been involved in C Mars and, you know, tried to set one up almost in a, a private setting, but, you know, maybe a little less formal. Yeah. Uh, and it went well. I mean, you know, it’s, it, it kinda lines up with just the delivery method that we talk about a lot, just the way we like to do business. Yeah. Uh, but, uh, surprisingly I’ve heard quite a few architects that don’t really particularly care about it. Yeah. Uh, I can’t really give a lot of reasons why, uh, I, I know that you recently had some conversation with, with an, an architect about some of it. Yeah. But, uh, for whatever reason, I, I think that, uh, I mean, I’ve, I’ve definitely heard, you know, a handful of architects say that they don’t really care for the process. Yeah. Uh, but to your point too, just not, not really well versed in it, uh, per se in, in the sense of actually seamar, you know? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah. I mean, from my understanding, the, the contractor, of course, it’s, it’s, you know, the construction management at risk or manager at risk, you know, scenario. So you’re, you’re basically agreeing to a set price for the project and you’re, you know, you’re willing to take on that risk that you’re gonna be able to bring that project in at or below that cost. But the, the one aspect of it that I know, uh, and I’m not speaking about any, any one in particular or any scenario in particular, just generally speaking, I know that there’s an expectation on the, on the architect side in a smar situation where, because it’s, it’s not going out bid, it’s actually being awarded upfront. And, you know, it, there’s an expectation there that the contractor’s gonna be very involved in, uh, the final design phase and review, you know, review of the, the plans and giving feedback to the budget, and also connecting, uh, subcontractors with the design team and the stakeholders to make sure that there just aren’t any blind spots that that aren’t being, you know, revealed because they’re not being involved.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
So, uh, I know there’s that expectation, and, and I have heard, and you know, generally speaking, that sometimes that expectation does, they, on the architect side, they don’t feel like maybe us as contractors are meeting that, uh, that, you know, expectation mm-hmm <affirmative>. So, uh, that sounds like to me, an opportunity. When I hear stuff like that, I always, I don’t think bad. I think, oh, opportunity. ’cause, you know, ’cause I always think that, you know, that would be something that we’d knock it outta the park on because we, you know, well, like, like you just talked about with the public stuff, you’ve actually helped put together budgets for projects that you ultimately didn’t even get awarded mm-hmm <affirmative>. So clearly in one that you’re, it’s a grand slam already <laugh> Yeah. With seamar. Yeah. We’d be all over that. So, yeah. But it is an opportunity if done right for, I would think an opportunity for an architect or an architect firm and a, and a general contractor to form a really strong relationship.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Right. Like, if they met those expectations and really maximized the benefit for the stakeholder as a result of really doing their due diligence and mm-hmm <affirmative>. Putting forth the effort required, I would think that’d be a way to really solidify a relationship that could last for years, you know? Yeah. And potentially pay huge dividends down the road. So again, I, to me, I see opportunity there, but, uh, it’s unfortunate that maybe that’s not necessarily a, a delivery system that’s, uh, smiled on so much right at the moment. But I know if we had the opportunity, we’d turn that around. <laugh>, we’d turn that, we’d turn that smile right side up. <laugh>. There you go.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yeah, no, that sounds good. I, I, I think that, uh, yeah, I think that we would do well in those type of projects, for
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Sure. Yeah. I, I think so too. So, uh, let’s talk about this next point then. The constructability reviews during schematic design. Uh, again, this is probably, this would probably be something that would take place in a private setting or, or maybe, um, as a consultant, you know mm-hmm <affirmative>. Someone just said, Hey, look, I just, I wanna do this and, and, uh, I really just want your expertise on it. You know, I want you to look this over and give me, you know, your thumbs up or thumbs down about just how doable is this set of plans. Yeah. You know, so what’s your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah. You know, last or last week in our, uh, on our podcast, we, we talked about, you know, the architect, uh, looking at the feasibility of the project and actually, yeah. Doing a little bit of homework and making
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Sure, like with the Reno thing and stuff Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Before we go do a bunch of work on this, let’s make sure that you can actually do it. Let’s make sure that you don’t have to build this up two or three feet, or let’s make sure that this project fits, you know, within the building area. Yeah. Uh, just, just different things that they could do, uh, in the beginning of the project, which, which you’ve also seen the other side of that, where they just jump in, draw a bunch of plans, and now all of a sudden it has to be elevated two feet and it’s not gonna work because the existing building is already there. Uh, yes. So that, that, that would be an example of what we could do. You know, I, I think on the constructability of a project, like, you know, once, once we know that this is a possibility and they start doing those early drawings, we can really get involved and say, yeah, look, this is, this is a good way to do this, or No, this is a bad way to do this. Yeah. Uh, really give some good, valid input, uh, to the constructability. And, and I think that happens. I mean, I think that, you know, we have a couple of projects right now that we’re working on that, uh, we either are in this phase or are going to be in this phase soon. And, uh, I mean, I think from, from what I’m getting, I mean, the architects like to hear that feedback and, uh, and it, it works. It’s a good combination. It’s a good, it’s, it’s teamwork, you know?
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Yeah. It makes me think of the old saying, an ounce of prevention’s worth a pound of cure, <laugh>. And I, I, uh, I remember that project you kind of alluded to there, uh, very generally about, uh, you know, an existing building. And, and, and part of the design had to be elevated and it wasn’t gonna work. And, uh, now you’re looking at me with that look on your face. Like, you don’t even know what I’m talking about <laugh>, but I guarantee you, you pulled that out of the data bank. ’cause that was a real project that we did. I’ll tell you later, <laugh> names have been changed to protect the innocent <laugh>. But, uh, that’s funny. We actually did have a project that was similar to that, where had someone just really gone and looked at the site first and done a little bit of due diligence, they’d found out that, oh, by the way, this is gonna be required and it’s gonna change the whole elevation of the project.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah. So, um, that’s a great example of where just a, a little prior work. Whew. I mean, and somehow I don’t know how you, you managed to, uh, you know, use your whiles on the <laugh> and got it through the permitting process, and we were able to work with what was there, but it was no easy task, and we were sweating bullets there for a while. So, uh, and it worked out well, but it, like, there again, it could have just as easily gone south. So Yeah. Whereas again, a little bit of prevention would’ve just nipped all that in the bud and, and it could have been handled on, you know, as paperwork instead of, you know, sleepless nights <laugh>. Right. But, uh, anyways. All right, well, uh, let’s go ahead and talk about this next, uh, this next point, because this is a, this is a good one.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
I think probably this is something that I don’t think, uh, any contractor probably does to the extent that we probably should at times. And that’s, uh, you know, bringing in subcontractor expertise as a design resource. I mean, when we have the opportunity, particularly in private work where we’re working with the, the design team, because we brought ’em in and we put the team together and everything, it would really be great if, if, you know, when, when, when they’re designing certain aspects of that, of the project, you know, the mechanical, for example, to be able to have access to the actual subcontractor that’s gonna be, you know, uh, you know, installing the, that particular scope or whatever. So, uh, again, can you think of other ways where we could use this as a lever to collaborate with architects and, you know, bringing more value added value? I mean, how, how do you see like in a real world application, uh, ’cause I know subcontractors are busy as well. Yeah, I know time, everybody’s time is precious. But again, is the time spent worth the end result of having a little bit more communication and, and clarity on what’s going to unfold on the job site?
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah. So I mean, I think that you kinda walk into it backwards, right? You get the subcontractors involved, they’re gonna be the ones actually doing the work. They know a lot of the best, uh, best practices. They know the cost of the, you know, the equipment or the material, whatever it is. Yeah. Uh, so if you get their input on how this is gonna be built or the best and, you know, most cost efficient way to build it, then you can take that information back to your engineer. Or you can take that, you know, information back to your architect and use that during design. And that, that kind of helps us land where we were talking about earlier, where we know a number and we can go land on that number. But if, if it’s just open-ended design without it, without any of that input, then there’s a good chance of not being designed the way that they’re planning to build it or could build it Yeah. And still meet all the potential code and requirements of the project. Yeah. So, so that is something that we do a lot of. And, you know, I started doing this 18 years ago, honestly, I never worked in the general contractor’s office. I had no idea how this world even really worked. Like I didn’t do public bids for like seven years, probably <laugh> five, seven years uhhuh. And then I just started going to pre-bid, just trying to figure out like how it worked.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Uh, but that, that goes along with the design side. I mean, I didn’t even really, really realize, you know, how, you know, an architect is hired and they hire their engineers and they do all that. Like, it took some time for me to kind of piece all that together. Like Yeah. I went from like wiring houses to, you know, kinda working my way into being a general contractor. Yeah. Uh, but with all that being said, the first few jobs that I had, I, I did, like, I did the, at the time it shopping centers and stuff like that, I would go do the little build out package. I would do everything in cad, draw it up, submit it to the fire, you know, fire marshal, submit it for, uh, the building permit. And, and that’s all I knew. And early on I had an, uh, electrical guy that would say, look, if you need any help, I can design it for you and just, just a regular subcontractor.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Yeah. So the first opportunity I got, I was like, look, I need to do these drawings. And he literally drew up on my floor plan everything he needed. Nice. And I put it in there, and I did the same thing with the HVAC guy and the plumber. Uh, and so for a number of years I did that. That’s how we did it. You know, I would draw up a floor plan, I would let them hand write on there what they would mm-hmm <affirmative>. What they wanted. I would put it in AutoCAD and I’d go submit it. Yeah. And, uh, at the time we were, you know, under all the thresholds where you would require an engineer. And at the time too, it was even different, you know, there was not, not as much red tape. Yeah. Uh, so I worked that way for a number of years, you know, not really realizing that there was other ways, I guess, or there, I, I knew there were other ways, but I just knew that this way worked. Yeah. But it turns out that it’s a pretty good way of doing business. I mean, I find out that, yeah. You know, this many years later with the way we like to do business, to get those guys input early really makes a difference and really helps you stay on budget.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah. That’s what I was thinking the whole time you were describing that. I was thinking to myself, this is the kind of collaboration we’d like to have back, you know? Yeah. We kind of miss that, you know, face to face and just getting real world input on stuff. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And, uh, being able to make a, you know, a much smarter decision on things. So that’s pretty cool. All right. So again, I’m, I’m, uh, putting you in the architect’s shoes. So from an architect standpoint again, uh, how, how do you think they would appreciate this kind of input? Like, is there some particular way that we could do better bringing them subcontractor expertise as a, as our design resource? Or do you think it’s more still after the fact than it is, you know, during design that, that we’re gonna be able to tap into that
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Resource? No, I, I think during design you can tap into it. I mean, I know a few projects we’ve recently done, we brought those guys in early. Uh, they can actually explain to the architect and, and, and, you know, tell how they would like to do this. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Uh, I think the architect likes to hear that. They like to get those details, you know, rather than having the sub say, man, what did you intend by this on the plans? I mean, I, I, I’ve never even seen this or whatever. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, you have a job that’s going seamless because the sub helped put this design together. It’s
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Already in its head.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
And, and the sub knows what the expectation is because they’ve been at the table with ’em Yeah. You know, a month or two before getting all this planned out. Yeah. So, I mean, I think the architects appreciate it. I think the project goes smoother for ’em. Yeah. Uh, so yeah. I mean, I think that they really appreciate that, you know, expertise from the subs in the beginning of the project.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah. I do too. Uh, all right, so this last point, it’s kind of a, a preface it by saying in a perfect world, <laugh>, you know, it’s kind of a, it’s kind of a, a, a nice would be a nice to have Yeah. Point of collaboration. But, uh, the idea is is, you know, circling back around to the design team as a, the project wraps up, or, or after it, it wraps up and, and just having a, a, you know, brief meeting and about how things went on the project, what worked in the design, maybe anything that didn’t work, what, what we could have done better to collaborate. You know, like I’m sure at the end of every project, an architect probably has some thoughts about, man, I wish they’d have done this, or, man, I wish they’d have caught that and let me know. You know what I mean? Yeah. Things like that. And they might be little nuggets that could really help with future projects. So I, I know that it’s probably something that a lot of contractors feel like they should do and wish they had the time to do and probably end up not doing. Yeah. But what’s your, what’s your thoughts on this? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (30:12):
No, I, I like a little post, uh, post job meeting. Yeah. Uh, with the architect. I know we’ve done it a time or two. Uh, well, like you say, it’s usually well intended to do it in a lot of situations, and then sometimes it just never happens. But I know that we’ve done a few very handy information goes back and forth. You know, it’s always nice to hear, uh, you know, the expectation of, of architects and, and even end users if they can be involved in those meetings. Sure. Uh, but, but for sure with architects, just to, to understand, you know, what their expectation is, obviously helps us perform a little bit better. Yeah. Uh, but it’s also a good time to share information both ways. Uh, and, and as long as you have, I mean, if you have an architect wanting to have this meeting, they’re probably wanting to get any information they can, whether it’s critical or not. Yeah. They’re
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Probably open to
Speaker 2 (31:01):
It. Yeah. So, uh, no, I think it’s an awesome opportunity to do that. And I think that both parties certainly grow from that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
All right, cool. Well, uh, I think we touched on six, you know, legitimate points on collaboration, things that I think if you’d done a little bit of all those, you know, depending on the situation, if, if you, you make an effort, I think it’d go a long way towards building better bridges, stronger bridges between general contractors and architects. Yeah. There’s definitely more of a, uh, benefit from our collaborating and working together than having any kind of, you know, uh, contentious relationship on projects. Yeah. That never seems to, the project always seems to suffer whenever that that surfaces. It, it never seems to help the project, you know? So Yeah. Any closing thoughts on that <laugh>? No. I mean, give us some words of wisdom, John. Come on.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I mean, obviously, you know, just, just the idea of, uh, just the idea of of, of being a team and working together and, you know, we talked a lot about things that we can do to help, you know, architects today, uh, obviously that’s gonna make the project go better. Working hand in hand with people you enjoy working with or, or people that you, uh, you know, mesh well with. Uh, all this stuff builds chemistry, builds relationships. So, yeah, I mean, I think that all goes hand in hand and I think, you know, at the end of the day, good team makes the dream. Right. Ain’t that what they say? Something like that. That’s
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Right. Teamwork makes the dream work. <laugh>, come on. All right, well that’s gonna wrap it up. So I said we say adios.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Adios.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Alright. Thanks for dropping in today. Yeah, man.