Strong Subcontractor Base Key to Design-Build Success

Whether a construction company is expanding into a new geographical territory or a new market, the key to success is establishing a strong, reliable subcontractor base. Attendees at the Design-Build Institute of America’s (DBIA) 2010 Conference next month will learn how to build this critical base thanks to Centennial’s Gary Sylvester and Scott McGrew.   

Overseeing Centennial's Design-Build department, Gary, design build manager and Scott, senior project general manager, both have a great deal of experience with this construction delivery method.

Gary and Scott will identify helpful tools to find qualified subcontractors, discuss meeting minority requirements and describe how to build lasting long term relationships with reliable subcontractors. They'll also cover introducing a new subcontractor to Design-Build processes and procedures as well as the terms and conditions of the Design-Build contract as they impact the subcontract. Gary and Scott will include discussions regarding subcontractor budget pricing, final fixed pricing and early teaming as well as the impact of LEED Certification as it relates to the subcontractor’s requirements.

Centennial is also excited to be an exhibitor and the Diamond Sponsor of the DBIA Conference in Las Vegas. In addition to our company booth, we're hosting a special booth where attendees can “Relax Their Backlog” with professional neck massages, so stop by and say hi!

All Indicators are Trending Positive

On April 27th, I attended a Design-Build Institute of America Mid Atlantic chapter meeting at Ft. Myer, VA. The 2010 Economic Outlook in the Construction Industry (with a key focus on the Washington, DC region) at The Officers' Club at Fort Myer to by Dr. Stephen Fuller of George Mason University .

The full presentation can be found here: 2010 Economic Outlook Construction.

The takeaways for me were a few simple points:

1. The top economic indicators are trending in the right direction. This is a positive thing.
2. We are not out of the woods yet – there will be ups and down in the rest of 2010 (or someone adding too many zeros to a stock sell order).
3. By 2011 the turn around will be well under way.
4. Do everything you can today to get your business in order and build up resources.

For Centennial I had the clear sense we are doing all the right things (have been since before the economic issues, during them, and still are).

Federal Campaign Underway

Over the past few months we have been planning and developing our 2010 – 2011 marketing campaign to target federal owners. This includes federal facilities managers and owners at the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of Interior, and Department of Health and Human Services.

The goal of the campaign is to reach out to key decision makers within the federal facilities and construction world and remind them of the value of Job Order Contracting and Centennial. We are also touching base with past customers and current ones as well. With all the demands of federal facilities to grow to support new staffing requirements, requirements to reduce energy and carbon use, along with demands to grow local and small business use. These combined demands require responsive, collaborative construction and renovation solutions platforms to deliver on. The goal is to remind the market that there is a tool they all need in their contracting tool box – Job Order Contracting.

We are reaching out every month via either a postcard, brochure mailer, or an e-newsletter. In addition we are attending key industry events like SAME (Society of American Military Engineers) as a Gold Sponsor of this years event in Atlanta and DBIA’s conference this fall in Las Vegas as a Diamond Sponsor (their first ever!), We want to be creative, simple, and just remind federal owners and stewards of federal facilities they have an option ready to help them meet their time deadlines and project backlog that also helps the local small and minority businesses.

Centennial Works to Grow Design-Build with DBIA

On March 15th, Lisa Washington the executive director of the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) met with key Centennial people. After a tour of the new offices in Reston, Virginia we sat down to talk about the industry. First, she thanked Centennial for the years of ongoing support and also for our recent agreement to be the first Diamond Level sponsor of the national meeting.

At the core of the conversation was the fact that design-build and the approaches and processes it uses needs to grow beyond just large and new construction, and can really help in renovation, repair and rehabilitation. We talked about the fact that Job Order Contracting is a form of design-build (we call it design-build light). We also discussed the need to grow the understanding and awareness of design-build within the subcontracting community as well. We agreed that Centennial, DBIA and the underlying values of design-build support the growth of performance-based construction, quality results and sustainable practices.