More than 1 year in, with delays in hundreds of construction projects across the country, experts in Office Pro Philippines’ construction management team have found some good practices to mitigate the risk of project failure in time of COVID-19.
The importance of a good manager to oversee and strategize your entire fit-out is even more significant now and we would even say it should be a requirement rather than a preference, especially with threats of sudden lockdowns, COVID outbreak within your construction team, logistics disruption that can all cause your office fit-out to be delayed and possibly, ultimately fail.
As your construction manager, the mandate that we agree on with our clients is that we will work on their behalf to ensure the success of their project. We do this by creating a sophisticated yet realistic plan for the entirety of the construction and ensuring that it is executed with top precision.
Here are some of the new practices we have incorporated to our work:
TRIPLE CHECKING YOUR DESIGN.
Checking the design of our client's project is very important as this serves as the very foundation of everything. Revising design plans have almost been inevitable during pre-pandemic time. However, with our current situation, we propose to clients that we triple check proposed designs before choosing one to avoid revisions in the middle of the project.
Simply accepting a design proposal without meticulous review may lead to a lot of the common project disruptions such as denial of permit applications either with the building or the local government which in turn will lead you to ask for a re-design, therefore costing you more and delaying your projected timeline.
Here's an advice from our pros: A visually good design does not always translate to a technically accepted one.
WELL COORDINATED PROJECT COMMUNICATION WITH BUILDING.
Doing office fit-out will most likely or more often than not, be in an office building, where naturally there are rules to be followed. With COVID-19, buildings have been stricter with their rules and there are even new policies that they have added in response to the pandemic.
To ensure that we are compliant with these, establishing expert communication with the building’s team is crucial. Proper coordination as well of these rules with our side follows and is equally important.
One of the main roles of a construction manager is to ensure that everyone—designer, general contractor, and subcontractors— is aligned. Miscommunication leading to any of our team members not following what is required by the building should be prevented at all costs or we will be deemed accountable. Aside from not being able to move forward with the project tasks, buildings can also impose penalties incurring unnecessary costs.
MAXIMUM LEVEL OF STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES.
As construction managers, it is our job to be strict for the project’s benefit. However, with the pandemic going on, we are at a different level of strictness, and that is the maximum we can possibly be.
We understand fully that lives are at stake and not implementing policies well can have serious repercussions not just to the project but as well as to someone’s life. Given this, we will not let our guards down when it comes to ensuring that rules are followed and that everyone is sticking to the plan.
HEALTH OFFICER IN CHARGE.
To prevent the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, we include health officers to the team to be in charge of the general health protocols of our construction team. He/she will implement rules to be followed on-site and off-site, conduct routine check-ups and testing, and assist should someone inevitably contract the virus. Having a specialized person in charge in response to the threat of COVID-19, minimizes the risk, and should it still infiltrate our team, we can still function as he/she will knowingly deal with the situation.
TECHNOLOGY FOR BETTER EFFICIENCY AND ACCESSIBILITY.
If there is one thing that COVID can’t attack, it's our technology. The use of CCTV cameras drones and robots to manage the site to limit personal contact and minimize the risk of infection will actually drive us to manage the construction more efficiently as we can see a clearer overview of the team’s progress at any time of the day.
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Office Pro Philippines is a Corporate Real Estate Consultancy and Service Solutions firm that is focused on the OFFICE SPACE.
We are the only OFFICE SPACE-FOCUSED real estate in the Philippines with more than 10 years of practice from our consultants.
Our core services include office consultancy, office lease acquisition, office construction management, and office facilities management.
To know more of our services, you can send as an inquiry through the button below.
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