7.30 Check-In & Networking
8:30 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Improving Cross-stakeholder Processes
8:40 am Building Long-Term Relationships With General Contractors & Owners to Proactively Identify the Most Profitable Opportunities for Your Firm
Synopsis
- Defining go-no-go criteria when it comes to project and preferred partner criteria
- Maintaining relationships beyond one-off projects at an organizational level and providing transparency on internal capacity and capabilities
- Balancing internal processes with partner requirements to avoid redundancy or duplication while meeting expectations
9:20 am Panel Discussion: Clarifying Project Scope & Objectives With GCs & Owners Early to Improve Cost Certainty
Synopsis
- Securing a place at the table early to influence MEP systems design and decision-making
- Effectively communicating the ‘story’ in early estimates to ensure GCs and clients understand the potential risks and opportunities open to the project
- Building a proactive communication strategy to ensure timely sharing of critical information with all stakeholders
10.30 Morning Refreshments & Speed Networking
11:10 am Streamlining the Role of MEP Estimators Under Design-Build, Design- Assist & Other Alternative Delivery Models to Increase Control, Improve Rate Conditions & Project Outcomes
Synopsis
- Exploring how the estimating processes and requirements vary under different delivery models and how to align these with critical partners
- Understanding the value partners are looking for beyond price from MEP partners under alternative delivery models and how to demonstrate this
- Exploring how contractual terms and payments vary under alternative delivery models, the benefits and potential risks
11:50 am Audience Discussion: Balancing Process Standardization With Market Specific Requirements to Ensure Quality & Consistency
Synopsis
- Defining baseline requirements for your department regardless of market influences
- Developing flexible frameworks that meet the needs and requirements of different internal business units and market verticals
- Effective change management strategies to understand ongoing requirements, build buy-in and monitor impact across the business
12.30 Networking Lunch
Optimizing Conceptual Estimates
1:40 pm Improving Your Historical Data Collection & Analysis to Better Inform Future Estimates
Synopsis
- Clarifying what level of detail to track and collect to be relevant for future requirements
- Ensuring consistency and access in your existing datasets to ensure estimate and scope validity
- Understanding the benefits and challenges of internal historical project data or thirdparty databases
2:20 pm Overcoming Missing Information & Scope Gaps in Early or Incomplete Design Documentation to Improve Accuracy & Mitigate Risk
Synopsis
- Outlining different conceptual methodologies to support undeveloped scope requirements and ensure critical cost drivers are captured
- Using historical project data and other resources effectively to provide realistic estimates
- Ensuring transparency with owners and partners on limitations and assumptions based on the data available
3.00 Afternoon Refreshments & Networking
3:40 pm Case Study: Preparing a Comprehensive Conceptual-Based Estimate That Avoids Price Discrepancies in a Competitive Market to Consistently Win Work
Synopsis
- Having a deep understanding of your client and market to determine the scope of work and where to focus your estimating efforts
- Establishing consistent data tracking across industries to compare analysis of estimates and ensure reliability
- Identifying the specific stages for conceptual estimating that will result in a well-rounded basis to deliver to your client
- Accounting for change orders while staying competitive to ensure bids aren’t too high or low
4:20 pm Audience Discussion: Thinking Beyond Take-off & Accounting for Soft Costs So All Factors Are Accounted For
Synopsis
- From man hours to services like VDC and BIM, discussing what factors should be considered beyond physical materials when building an estimate
- Defining what drives those costs and requirements and how they vary across different project and market types
- Comparing how different companies account for intangibles within their estimates