As estimators and cost management consultants, we take a deep dive into the numerical minutiae of a project, from hourly labor rates to materials and equipment pricing. The oversight of cost and risk runs through everything we do.
For owners and developers, the potential for adverse financial consequences is highest during the construction phase of a project. The bigger the project, the greater the risk. Honest mistakes can (and do) happen all the time.
Benjamin Franklin declared that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We agree, and future pain points for owners can originate with the construction contract itself—the most valuable tool an owner has for managing project cost and risk. A thorough, structured contract will establish a framework for the change order process and include comprehensive hourly labor rates and allowable indirect costs for the GC and all trades.
Because contract integrity and change order management are inextricably linked, savvy owners engage an experienced and objective third party like Axias dedicated to conducting interim and final contract audits and change order reviews. The typical return on this investment is that they either recoup money at the end of the job or gain peace of mind knowing that everything has added up correctly.
The audit and review process is rigorous. Busy owners and their construction managers do not normally have the time to undertake this level of due diligence, which requires combing through contract documents, invoices, wage certifications, and change orders, and conducting a detailed analysis to identify anomalies, disparities, information gaps, and errors amounting to millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Our Construction Support Services group removes the burden from owners and acts on their behalf to verify that billings and payments are in accordance with contract documents; seek out instances of cost duplication; determine and/or negotiate appropriate pricing for change orders; identify opportunities for cost avoidance; and provide information that will result in cost recovery.
And the best part is that on every such engagement we have saved owners significantly more than our consulting fee. Among our repeat clients for contract audits and change order reviews are Brookfield Properties, the Smithsonian Institution, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Navy, Carr Properties, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Have a question for Axias’ Construction Support Services group? Contact Ayo Idowu or Patrick Reiser.