Better construction management key.

In commercial construction, sending individual projects out to bid is an established way of contracting services. Sometimes, though, the system causes delays and actually leads to increased budgets.

My firm, GTL Construction, specializes in general contracting and construction management. When the business climate began to pick up in White Plains, MetLife, the former owners of White Plains Plaza, anticipated a flurry of new lease signings for two 15-story office buildings, one of which was mostly vacant.

After we completed several individual projects bid out in the traditional manner, we began to develop a close relationship with the owner and property managers Cushman & Wakefield. This allowed us to develop a new system known as Expedited Construction Services, which is designed to ensure that the work is completed on time and that costs are controlled.

This unique cost-cutting and time-saving process promotes predictability and hinges on employing unit-cost analysis and entering into a partnership with landlords and property managers to streamline projects.

Our system has allowed us to effectively and efficiently transform 250,000 square feet at the two buildings at White Plains Plaza into prime office space and undertake a $2 million reconfigure of the ground floor to accommodate a new 200-seat restaurant.

Normally in commercial buildings, after a new lease is signed, an architect drafts plans and puts the project to bid. Delays often develop as drawings are completed, bids are gathered, proposals are considered and permit applications are processed.

GTL's system shaves four to five weeks off the usual timetable for internal redesigns and lets landlords avoid last-minute chaos, including the all too-common scenario where contractors are still completing a project even when the moving trucks pull up.

To ensure that their tenants would be able to avoid moving snags that delay the collection of rent, Cushman & Wakefield bid out a year-long contract whereby the selected contractor would oversee remodeling projects within the building for all tenants that signed leases during the year.

GTL won this process in part because we offered to charge new tenants unit prices for various products and services. In total, we priced out 300 items, from light fixtures to linear feet of wall. As soon as we get an architect's drawings, we're able plug in the quantities and accurately determine the project's overall cost.

Our role as team members who sit in on early meetings and negotiations between the landlord and the potential tenant also assures that the system functions smoothly. Tapping our knowledge of the building's configuration, we foster teamwork and collaboration early in the process, so the landlord can avoid the typical surprises that arise when they promise tenants a certain amenity, then develop sticker shock when the bill is delivered.

And because we have advanced knowledge of negotiations, I can be on-site the day the lease is signed and begin construction 24 hours later. Some tenants at White Plains Plaza were able to move in early, which made the landlord happy because they were able to collect rent for an extra three or four weeks.

Also keeping nerves from fraying, there's no need for the property manager, to deal with five different contractors and subcontractors to determine who severed the cable that cut the lights, or who scratched the wallpaper on the 7th floor. If something goes wrong, there's one firm accountable: us.

Not only is there no need for us to rush to complete projects that might have been delayed as lease signing negotiations drag on, it allows the tenant to move into customized and completed space on or before the specified date without the usual last-minute scrambling and cost-overruns.

When a new lease is signed, landlords know that they can count on the project being completed in a timely manner and that the cost of reconfiguring their space will end up being at the agreed-upon price.

GTL plans to expand this template to help lower costs and save time at other projects across the tri-state area. This arrangement enables us to guarantee iron-clad, on-time and on-budget project delivery no matter how difficult the job. Making it work relies on maintaining open lines of communications and delivering what we promise.

Like in any line of work, attempting to implement a new Way of doing things is never easy. The construction industry, in particular, can be very conservative and resistant to change. Over the years, we have learned that establishing positive and reliable relationships is the cornerstone to building a thriving construction business.

The key to successfully implementing Expedited Construction Services has been based on providing blue-chip Customer service, a concept that retailers employ religiously, but that construction firms sometimes neglect.

ANGELO M. MONACO

PRESIDENT

GTL CONSTRUCTION