Constructibility Review

Oftentimes issues that arise with construction of a project are not discovered until the Contractor is submerged in it. In the trenches, we have been there for our Contractors, helping find answers to the obstacle at hand. And on occasion, we have been called in to help on projects for which we were not even the hired subcontractor.

Our new, unique and detailed Constructability Review process is a concept developed from this past experience with a desire to produce the best set of construction plans possible as to reduce change orders, time extensions, and public inconveniences.

Constructability or a project’s buildability is a project management technique to review construction processes from start to finish, and from top to bottom, during preconstruction phase. The goal is to identify potential complications before a project is actually built to reduce or prevent errors, delays, and
costs.

The most effective constructability reviews are completed by experienced construction personal with extensive and current experience in construction practices, equipment requirements, material deliveries, and construction techniques. Wilson & Associates’ experienced construction professionals accomplish the review by going through the construction documents in the same manner in which the project will be built – Building the Project instead of focusing solely on the problems.  Conceptually walking through the construction process will inevitably discover the details or written information that is either incorrect or missing from the documents. When these problems are noticed, they can be added to the review

comments. This is a basic and simple but effective methodology.

The other important qualification for effective highway constructability review is knowledge and experience in the reengineering of the electronic data presented in the plans to insure accuracy and completeness. Project Construction Information Modeling (PCIM) is an outstanding tool in this regard. Wilson & Associates produces a 3D model of the roadway, bridges, walls, utilities, storm and sanitary sewer, as well as other related aspects of the project. This model is used to graphically visualize potential conflicts with other proposed design elements, as well as review the constructability of the
proposed design. This process is not intended to make major design changes, but provide the ability to analyze all aspects of the design and to make recommendations to the department of transportation for their designers to consider.

The only truly efficient and effective means of conveying coordinated direction to all of contractors and subcontractors is via the design documents. Addressing issues that affect the contractor’s ability understand the plans well enough to provide informed bids reduces the contractor’s risk and therefore project cost. Eliminating the constructability review process does not eliminate problems, it only delays discovery of the problems.  The sooner problems are identified and resolved, the greater success a project will have.