Managing capital improvement projects is a common task HOA and condominium association boards face. But what exactly is a capital improvement project? To better understand what a capital improvement project is, and how to best handle them we’ve asked Robert Meyer, Executive Director of Engineering Services, FirstService Project Management (FSPM), to provide his professional insights on this often costly and painful process. Here’s what Robert had to say.
What are construction defects?
Construction defects are things that have happened during the process of a project’s engineering or construction. These defects can be related to the specifications of materials to be used and/or the manner of how they should be applied for this project. Material selection is usually based on variables like structural integrity, weather exposure, and in some cases visual appeal. There is also how the specified “process” of installation of this material is to be performed by the contractor. Typically step by step specifications that are called out by the engineers, this is done to prevent defects by utilizing the best means and methods that have proven to be successful.
Projects that are successful all have one thing in common, they were engineered and constructed with specifications that were followed by the contractors during construction. In a very few cases we have seen material defects in manufacturing that were not visible until the project was in the construction phase. This falls to the contractors to remediate the issue and keep the project on time and budget.
If a project is not utilizing engineered specifications and the contractor is self-performing based on their industry experience, there is often the opportunity for “construction defects” to show up long after the projects are completed. This has happened for many reasons but mostly because the process that was chosen was used before, because it was more cost effective, (time or material) only to find that this time the process wasn’t applicable to the conditions of “this” project. Engineered specifications are there to help with the correct material selection and best installation process based on all conditions being considered.
What's the biggest mistake you see boards making during a construction project?
- Soliciting contractors for bids for their project without engineered specifications.
- Not having proper professional project management.
- Solely relying on their property manager to be the project manager when they may have little or no knowledge of the construction process.
Additional thoughts on construction defects
By utilizing a project management/construction management team like FirstService Project Management, construction defects can be managed or in many cases eliminated. Performing as the association advocates, FSPM will go to Illinois’ best engineering firms, who’ll create the project specification. FSPM competitively bids out the project to contractors and provides the daily oversite of the contractors to ensure specifications are followed. Engineers will show up periodically on the project to assess that the specifications are being adhered to, see if there are any issues with the spec’s, and lastly assess what has happened on the project thus far, and what is happening on a given day. If there are any issues, the engineers can adjust the spec’s as needed to keep the project on time and on budget.
In the cases where there aren’t professional project management, contractors have been allowed to self-perform, there isn’t anyone to advocate for the association. Many times there are issues related to “construction defects.” The vast majority of community association managers are not “construction project managers.” They may have over seen other projects before in their careers, but many of them will tell you it’s an arduous and difficult task to manage both the properties day to day business and the capital project.