Planning and development, sometimes called project conception, is the very beginning of the construction process. This is when our client dreams up the building or facility they want. Conception is the stage where ideas are at their most fluid, but (maybe paradoxically) it also creates the foundation of the construction process. Everything must be done with care to ensure a successful build later. Parts of this step include finding a property for the build, initial concept pre-designs, and choosing an architect and possibly a general contractor.

The design process is where the impossible (or at least impossibly expensive) dreams of our client meet what is actually doable. Once we’ve somehow managed to be realistic without shattering our client’s hopes and dreams, plans or a design get drawn up. For the first time, the client gets to see what the project will look like when it is finished, after we meet one more round of challenges. Like the 12 labors of Hercules, we still have hurdles to clear. After a preliminary design is drawn up, we have to overcome additional restrictions and regulations to meet the client’s “extra” ideas.

Once we’ve finally completed bending the rules of reality to bring your client’s dreams to life in the final plans, bid materials are put together. Those bid materials are sets of information called contractor documents (sometimes construction documents or working drawings) that give contractors and construction companies the information they need to bid on the project.

Now we enter preconstruction. This is the “getting ready to start building” phase. we’ve accepted a bid from a construction company or contractor and told them to start the project. Now, we the general contractor starts getting our ducks in a row. The general contractor’s ducks are called a project management team. In this stage of the process, construction platforms that help team members collaborate easily and coordinate schedules are extremely helpful and save time.

Next is procurement which is the most straightforward step in the construction process. Procurement is simply the buying (or renting) of all the stuff needed for the construction project. Like shopping for groceries for cooking a meal, you need all the ingredients and someone to use the ingredients. In construction, that means finding the labor, equipment, and building materials. This is where schedules can really get tied in a knot. You have a lot of varied delivery schedules and a lot of vendors you need to juggle so that the right materials get into the right people’s hands at the right times.

Time to dig in the dirt, pour some concrete, bend some rebar, and fire up the welder. Now the project finally moves from paper (or more accurately, a CAD drawing) to the physical world. But, this step has the most working parts and deadlines to coordinate. Each contractor and subcontractor involved must be on time and following plans for things to work. Organization and communication are vital here, or you might have someone building a roof before the foundation is poured. It’s in the construction stage that we really push our clients to use digital process management tools. Creating project workflows for each team and stage of the process is essential, but (when you have as many dependencies as you do in the construction phase) it’s even more necessary to keep everything working smoothly.

Everything is built but we aren’t done yet. Now we have to inspect everything. The final checklist, called a project punch list, has to be signed off on before the client moves in. That final walkthrough inspection checks that everything was finally finished correctly. Then, the architect issues a certificate of substantial completion.