All too often, when someone has a paving job they need done, they are baffled about where to start.
Inevitably, they will take the path that seems the most logical to them. What does this path look like? Typically, they will simply call a handful of contractors, and ask for a few bids. They will pay attention to some of the language they are receiving, an impressive buzz word here or there, and then ultimately make a selection based on price.
RIGHT AWAY, BIG MISTAKE
By jumping right into the bidding process, most companies are already setting themselves up for failure. If not complete failure, certainly a situation that will yield less than ideal results.
Property managers/owners should always consult an independent, third-party consultant who knows the ins and outs of pavement.
A consultant can help guide the project from inspection – through the bidding process – to final review.
The devil is most certainly in the details and before the bid even goes out to the contractors, there is some key work that needs to be completed.
BEGIN WITH AN ONSITE DATA COLLECTION
There are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration before collecting bids on a project.
During this phase, we’re inspecting the conditions of the pavement. This includes the current lay of the land and all the finer details that must be communicated in order to receive reliable bids from contractors.
At PaveTech Consulting we perform in depth assessment and data collection to find the culprits that relate to failures and provide incite into remedial scopes and site improvements.
Once a full scope of work comes into view, we’ll prepare a complete, three-part set of bidding documents that ultimately includes specifications, drawings and intricate details.
Finally, before the job is ready to go out for bid, we give it one last review to ensure all the aspects that need to be addressed in order to make the job a complete success are included.
This is what we consider to be Phase 1 of our comprehensive approach to overseeing a successful paving job.
Regardless of who you ultimately choose to guide you through the process, the bottom line is that the guidance is necessary, and it needs to be from an independent third-party consultant.
It’s counterproductive to take guidance from a consultant that is tied to a specific contractor or the contractor itself. By keeping this role agnostic, you can be confident that there is not an ulterior business motive behind the advice.
The biggest mistake property managers make is not going through this initial phase and learning everything they can about the job.
More than anything, most owners are looking for two things:
- Money is spent effectively
- The job is done correctly the FIRST TIME!
