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Build: Food Processing Facilities

Implementing the Design for Growing Your Food Operation

Need a firm that keeps the design front and center?

There are many methods for delivering construction projects. Few firms however offer a true design-focused approach. Being an engineering and architectural firm at the core, we know solid design largely determines the overall success of your project. Our design-focused method of delivering a project keeps your needs at the forefront, from initial concept through completion of construction.

Permitting, Costing, and Construction

Choosing your Construction Delivery Method

There are six basic stages of your project: Planning, Design, Permitting, Costing, Facility Construction, and Process Installation. However, your choice of a method for Facility Construction may affect the timing and sequencing of some of the project stages (see chart below). Please visit the Planning and Design sections to learn about those stages, or select an option below to learn more about Permitting, Costing, Facility Construction and Process Installation.

Construction Service Advantages

Our construction services help save you time and hassle by administering key aspects of the building construction and process equipment installation. Our services for implementing the construction involve reviewing, monitoring, and supervising job site activity; monitoring and reviewing costs being expended, overseeing the quality of the work, and developing the project timeline.

We have you covered

Boots on the ground are essential during the construction process. We offer different levels of services for on-site support depending on the project’s needs. We provide technical oversight for reviewing the conformance of the construction and installation to the design documents. We also provide continuous on-site management and construction oversight. Using our firm to manage the construction streamlines communication between our in-house engineers and architects and the on-site construction personnel.

We also provide services for the supervision and installation of food processing equipment, testing, commissioning, and start-up. In addition, our site managers coordinate the training for your facility personnel with equipment manufacturers in the operation of building systems and process equipment.

Cost

Throughout the construction of a project, we monitor and track the cash flow expenditures by reviewing subcontractor payment requests, change orders, and lien waivers. As construction progresses, we show you actual costs for work-in-progress and estimates for work yet to be completed.

Information shared includes a cash flow projection, a schedule of monthly cash requirements, and a detailed monthly cost accounting schedule that summarizes the actual job costs for all trades.

Quality

It is essential that your facility is constructed to meet the design intent developed by the engineers and architects. The quality control process monitors the purchase of materials—as well as the installation of building components—to check conformance with these design documents.

This is accomplished by shop drawing reviews of purchased items, including on-site construction reviews of the installed components. In addition, we will respond to requests for information (RFIs) from subcontractors, develop punch lists, and collect warranties/guarantees for materials and equipment.

Time

Schedule development for the construction will begin prior to any construction activity. The construction activity is divided into phases consisting of procurement activities and work to be performed.

Milestone dates are established, and any critical activities are flagged. During this scheduling, long-lead items are identified. These items might delay the project completion if not ordered early in the schedule.

As construction begins and progresses, the schedule is tracked and updated as needed. Our site managers and subcontractors typically hold job site meetings for short-term schedule adjustments to maintain project control.

Documents

Using a variety of computer apps and online systems, we manage your project documentation for communication efficiency and ease of access. All construction team members, including owners, suppliers, and subcontractors, can share the following information:
  • Subcontractor Insurance Logs
  • Status of Trade Awards
  • Change Order Log
  • Submittal Log
  • Project Meeting Minutes
  • RFI Logs
  • Drawing Logs

Safety

Our site manager coordinates the safety programs of all the subcontractors working on the project. All subcontractors will have the appropriate certificates of insurance on file prior to starting their work, and they will be required to follow our safety standards in addition to any safety programs required by your organization. We take job site safety very seriously, and our current EMR for policy year 2021 is 0.48.