Construction firms get advice on landing contracts

Construction professionals uncovered tips for working with property managers and builders at a “shop talk” hosted by the Blue Book Building and Construction Network.

The company, which has a regional office in King of Prussia, hosted the event Thursday at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Breinigsville, attracting about 50 people looking to connect with Sunburst Property Management of Allentown and Ondra-Huyett Associates Inc. of Upper Macungie Township. The network offers tools and consultants to connect commercial construction professionals with others in the industry.

A Q&A forum allowed people the chance to hear what it takes to work with two prominent, local companies in the field.

Angie Kopach, business development consultant for Blue Book Network, delved into questions for both firms.

One question dealt with how Sunburst selects its contractors.

“Over the years, we have developed relationships with contractors that have treated us honestly, performed their work in a timely and cost-effective manner,” said David Weinstein, president of Sunburst Property Management. “We feel a loyalty to these contractors for being there when we need them.”

Another question focused on how other contractors can get an opportunity to work with Sunburst.

“We continue to grow by acquiring new management contracts,” Weinstein said. “Each time we obtain a new management contract is an opportunity for us to start a new relationship with a contractor.”

One question dealt with how a company can get an opportunity to bid work with Sunburst.

“First, be patient,” Weinstein said. “Make yourself known to us. We are not constantly bidding work, but opportunities come along when we are looking for new contractors.”

Often, Sunburst will look to do work with contractors that have been introduced to the company, he added.

With high-profile projects for St. Luke’s University Health Network, Martin Guitar and Bear Creek Mountain Resort and Conference Center, among others, Ondra-Huyett Associates, which has been in the construction field since 1995, offered tips on how design professionals, subcontractors and others can work with them.

A Q&A with Robin Hoover, director of project management and a principal of the company, disclosed that Ondra-Huyett has a trade contractor pre-qualification form similar to that used by the Blue Book Network.

The builder does not mass-bid projects, but instead bases bids on factors such as company size, location and type of project, Hoover said.

Ondra-Huyett’s subcontractor policy is split into three sections, for pre-construction, construction and post-construction, and outlines Ondra-Huyett’s obligation to the trade contractor, Hoover said.

To evaluate its performance on projects, Ondra-Huyett has benchmarks for communication, safety, payment and field coordination, she added.

Ondra-Huyett also asks that it be evaluated by architects, owners and other partners on how it performed on a project with regard to billing, communication and other factors.

“We want to look at it as a collaboration,” Hoover said.

For the beginning of projects, Ondra-Huyett conducts pre-construction meetings when the superintendent meets with each trade contractor, Hoover said.

“We are very adamant about following this procedure, we hold pre-con meetings and we set down expectations,” Hoover said.

Together, they ensure project logistic awareness, safety requirements and trade contractor reporting requirements, among other factors.

Also important is to ensure updated drawings and specs are available at the pre-con.

“We want to make sure that on day one, everybody is looking at the same information,” Hoover said.

Source: LVB.com