Takeaways from the 2021 Advancing Preconstruction Conference

Over the two days in Dallas, we heard a lot of really interesting stories and perspectives from construction managers, designers, and owners.  Here are a few of our takeaways:

1. The market is pushing back on accepting extended payment terms. Construction Managers are counseling their owner clients to pay well, in order to help get scarce trades on-board, and to help keep material/product deliveries on-track
2. Nobody is committing to holding proposed prices for 90 days…  even a week or two is often tough to get.
3. Schedule demands are clashing with material availability, creating a perfect storm. It’s driving an openness to creativity on how to get a project built (for instance, substitutions on materials and products – even when they drive wholesale re-designs).
4. All these dynamics are making owners more open to engaging teams early, with creative preconstruction agreements such as Design-Assist. It’s seen as a way to secure some degree of certainty on project cost and schedule in this volatile environment.