Epsilon’s Paul Kirchhoff speaks at the 2022 Advancing Preconstruction Conference.
Epsilon’s own Starsky and Hutch (Paul Kirchhoff and Jeffrey Johnson) hit the road again last week – this time to Las Vegas, where they spoke at Hanson Wade’s 2022 Advancing Preconstruction conference. This is an Epsilon favorite because it’s an amazing gathering of construction professionals focused on tackling risk in the preconstruction phase. Here are a few things we heard and brought back to share with our team and strategic partners:
1. Always Be Learning
We can, and do, learn a lot from people representing aspects of a project we might otherwise think we have little in common with. For example, Design-Assist is being utilized for many elements of construction projects (steel, curtain walls, etc.) – not just modular utility systems. Project teams are recognizing this integrated approach as a way to incorporate specialized expertise early, with the goal of achieving cost certainty and schedule surety. However, the team needs to be comfortable defining and delegating control to those experts – it’s a mind-shift that doesn’t always come easily.
2. Flexibility Wins
Project teams are staying on-track by maintaining flexibility on which materials and equipment they utilize. This applies to fundamental building decisions such as whether to go with concrete vs. steel. Flexibility also applies to systems-related providers, where it pays to remain open-minded regarding major equipment manufacturers. Vendor neutrality is an asset!
3. Creativity Pays
Construction Managers are being engaged by owners for preconstruction earlier and deeper, as a way to position projects for success. Those CMs know they need to be creative – and that means leaning on relationships with traditional trades. However, those traditional trades are facing their own challenges with labor and materials. So CMs are developing new relationships with preconstruction firms that can help develop innovative solutions to the schedule and cost challenges that their projects are facing. Investing the time in up-front creativity pays dividends in the long run!
These are just a few key takeaways from the conference. If you have similar, or different insights, we’d love to hear them. Feel free to reach out via our contact form and let us know what stuck with you from the 2022 Advancing Preconstruction Conference.
