Our Passion is deep rooted and our focus is on building the highest quality multifamily housing at the lowest cost for repeat clients is the driver in everything we do.

Highest Quality

We achieve quality with a three-pronged approach: first, by insuring we have the highest quality plans and specifications; second is our internal process of further detailing the plans and specifications; and third, by then building in accordance with the plans, specifications and/our further detailing.

Our approach during pre-construction could be classified as design assist. We work to ensure that we have the right materials and equipment to provide a fine quality product that meets our visual and functional requirements, not only initially but through the test of time. Early in the pre-construction process we provide the design team with what we have found from our experience, which becomes the elements of the complete set of plans and specifications.  We then work with the team to achieve this final product. Our plan review Architects work with the pre-construction team to help ensure that the final plans and specification product is complete, correct, coordinated and includes details that work.

We then further detail and translate key elements of the plans and specifications into vehicles that help us ensure full compliance. These include shop drawings (to further detail elements of the projects) and detailed trade scopes to further clarify the specifications and to state our quality standards.

The final step of quality is execution. The focus on this execution is completing the work in accordance with our plans, specifications and the further detailing we have provided. This is the focus of our independent quality control program, which organizationally reports separately to the President. The focus of our quality control program is “building right the first time”. To achieve this goal we employ proactive procedures to ensure there is a clear understanding of our goals and expectations prior to commencing production work. We then follow through on a programmed basis to ensure that the standards that have been established are maintained.

Lowest Cost

The principal component of our cost is subcontractor work. Our focus to achieve the lowest cost creates an environment in which our subcontractors can perform efficiently and can make the same or greater profit working for us at a lower cost then they can for our competitors. This involves a four pronged process: creating an environment which allows our subcontractors to get in and out quickly; providing a production environment in which our subcontractors can achieve a high level of productivity; providing the right type of training at the right time that allows our subcontractors to build it right the first time, minimizing the amount of rework; and creating an environment in which our subcontractors are paid on a timely basis.

In providing an Agreement where subcontractors are able to get in and out quickly, we need plans and specifications problems worked out before construction starts. We accomplish this with our in-house Architect and staff involved in the plan review process. We use state of the art centralized scheduling, utilizing Primavera’s P3 program with the latest web based version which is updated on a weekly basis. All schedules are reviewed by our Executive Committee on a weekly basis with appropriate action taken immediately. Through our disciplined quality control training program, we have a set of procedures and processes to ensure that all of our subcontractors and their crews understand our full expectations on every aspect of the work prior to starting production.

We recognize that we are in the site manufacturing industry. To this end we have adopted a number of manufacturing practices which have allowed us to consistently provide the highest quality product at the lowest cost. These manufacturing processes include centralized estimating, purchasing, scheduling, quality control, and job accounting. We work from the beginning of the pre-construction effort to ensure that our plans and specifications have been developed with our site manufacturing philosophy in mind and that we are utilizing materials and detailing that allow us to provide high quality work at a low cost. We have an extensive subcontractor selection process which is audited on a quarterly basis by our Zurich Subguard insurance program. With our site manufacturing focus, we select only subcontractors who truly understand the site manufacturing process.

To achieve our goals of the highest quality at the lowest cost, it demands that we get work done right the first time. Rework and extensive pick-up all cost money which subsequently gets built into subcontractor pricing. We work through a discipline program of proactive training and timely follow through to ensure that there is very minimum rework and pick-up.

Getting our subcontractors paid on time is a total team effort, which involves our subcontractors, our field, our accounting department, our Owner’s and their lending institutions. This involves getting subcontractors change orders processed quickly so they can bill for work on a timely basis, getting the Owner’s pay application prepared properly and submitted on schedule, and closing out each of our projects quickly so we can achieve full payment within 35 days of Certificate of Occupancy.

Repeat Clients 

There is no magic involved in getting repeat client work, but there is a lot of skill involved in this process. Completing our projects on budget, on time, and ensuring all of our dealings with our client includes the highest level of professionalism are the keys to this third part of our business philosophy of the highest quality at the lowest cost for repeat clients.

Completing projects within budget has five essential components. These components involve: establishing a detailed budget; consistently revising that budget as the situation changes ensuring that all participants and stakeholders are aware of why the budget is changed and what the alternatives are; ensuring that our budgets are complete and our buyouts are complete. We have highly disciplined subcontractor selection process which is monitored by Subguard to help ensure we have no subcontractor failures. Our score is 2 in 18 years. One of the biggest elements of project cost is the time and the focus we have on our schedules.  This is the fifth element of ensuring that our projects are completed within budget. Our focus of completing projects on time involves carefully establishing a completion schedule based not only on our history, but also with major subcontractor input on the uniqueness of each project. Detail is essential, and many of our schedules will have 5,000 or more activities. Most of our subcontractors have large production staffs giving them the capacity to perform to the varying project changes in schedule that are inevitable as the project proceeds. We update each of our schedules weekly and review the progress of each updated schedule at the Executive Management level on a weekly basis. As activities are delayed for any number of reasons, we identify those steps necessary to bring the delay back in line on a weekly basis and add these additions of work activities to our overall schedule giving visibility to these items and ensuring the proper focus is given to the completion of each step so that further delays are not incurred. Most important is maintaining a discipline at all levels throughout the organization that schedule dates must be met.

We have learned through the years that effective client relations involves five key tenants: no surprises, proactively lead all of our clients through each problem; recognizing that perception is reality, and occurrences as well as substance counts; trust is fragile, it is hard to earn and easy to lose; manage expectations, writing, selling and delivering a creditable script; and finally, recognizing that aftertaste is everything. Our goal when a project is completed is to allow all of the participants and stakeholders to be able to sit back and appreciate the success that the Team has accomplished and not to be bogged down with the inevitable problems that occur as projects progress. This requires dealing in proactive and timely ways with all issues as they occur, putting them behind us and moving ahead swiftly.