The Staples Construction Process

We’ve never met a construction project that didn’t benefit from our early involvement. Owners, owner’s reps, and architects have learned that bringing Staples Construction on board early in the project provides them with critical insight into potential issues and practical information that helps them move forward.

With early involvement, Staples can:

• Offer knowledge of local codes, ordinances, and utilities that may not be addressed in your plans or may affect the project.
• Provide creative value-engineered solutions that have proven cost-saving features and maintain your schedule timeline.
• Flag areas of concern so that issues can be worked out before they have a chance to impact the construction schedule.
• Examine the project from a holistic viewpoint with an understanding that each element of the project impacts another.
• Help refine your scope of work to ensure that your cost estimates are accurate and include all facets of the project.

Being able to accurately estimate costs early in the project development process is both an art and a science, and a skill for which Staples is well known. We pride ourselves on generating detailed cost estimates based on preliminary information or drawings. This is one of the reasons architects love us. Later, we will expand the level of detail as the drawings progress and the estimate or GMP is formed. The primary function of the detailed estimate is to identify and have a line item for every aspect of the work. This provides the basis for our value engineering and facilitates budget monitoring and control.

Staples’ cost estimates benefit from:

• Continuity through a single source of responsibility. Our Project Manager or Project Team is involved from project award through project close-out. This establishes ownership and responsibility for all costs developed early in the project’s development.
• A variety of reliable construction cost databases and publications and historical cost data from similar projects built by Staples.
• Collaboration with subcontractors to confirm current price points on labor and materials.
• Detailed quantity-based floor plans and elevations, plus 3D modeling based on the drawings, that can support quantity take-offs and confirm subcontractor costs and scope of work.
• A complex Excel structure developed over the past 20 years and improved upon with every project.

While adhering to budgets is a top priority, our cost estimates are not static. Occasionally unexpected costs will arise, whether at the owner’s request or due to factors outside of our control. Our meticulous cost monitoring tracks all such budget variances and allows us to provide owners with a snapshot of construction costs, at any given point in time.

One of our most popular value-adds is the 3D modelling we provide with every bid. Staples uses SketchUp to take your 2D drawings and extract a 3D model, providing great insight into the structural, architectural and building systems of your project. For owners, it provides a virtual walk-through of your project, allowing you to make important observations and detect areas where changes are needed.

For Staples, 3D modelling provides:

• Valuable insight into the project’s constructability, helping us detect potential conflicts with the drawings or incorrect/omitted information from the project documents. From this we can communicate with your design team to ensure that a biddable and buildable set of documents are produced.
• Accurate quantity information that we can use to support quantity take-offs with subcontractors.
• Insight into issues that can be resolved prior to bidding, before the issues can impact construction, saving you time and money.
• A model we can use to communicate sequencing and phasing of work during construction. This helps us resolve in the field coordination issues by allowing the team to better visualize the area of concern with the appropriate subcontractors.

Fail to plan, plan to fail. And boy do we plan. Our project schedule parallels our cost estimating in regard to duration and sequencing of activities. We believe that a high level of detail at the front end of the project, is a significant contributor to the overall success of the project.

Staples’ preconstruction services emphasize:

• Senior management oversight and the company’s full commitment to the success of the project.
• Procurement of long lead-time materials and equipment to avoid any potential delays.
• Creative value-engineering solutions with proven cost-saving features.
• Scope of work definition for each and every trade allowing for apples-to-apples subcontractor bid comparisons. On average, Staples’ projects involve about 40 subcontractors.
• Schedule setting and logistics and trade coordination.
• Design-assist, as required.
• Incorporating the Owner Contract Agreement into each Subcontract Agreement.

The quality of construction is directly related to the quality of the trade subcontractors selected to perform on your project. Staples has forged great working relationships over the years with many of the top subcontractors.

Using over 40 subcontractors on each project, Staples nurtures existing relationships while also developing new subcontractor relationships to ensure that we always have superior performing subcontractors available to meet our client's timelines. When owners have specific concerns regarding certain parts of their project and the subcontractors to be used, Staples will set up meetings for the owners with potential subcontractors and make sure the owner is comfortable with the subcontractor selected for that particular trade.

Staples’ puts subcontractors through a stringent prequalification process prior to bidding to ensure that the most highly-qualified and experienced team is contracted for your job. Staples ensures that there is a clear understanding of the scope of work, safety expectations, and project time constraints.

Staples’ subcontractor prequalification process includes:

• Verification that the subcontractor has recent experience on projects of similar size and type of work.
• Review and approval of subcontractor personnel related to their specific building experience.
• Availability of personnel to meet the building schedule.
• Review of safety record as reflected in the company’s Experience Modification Factor.
• Verification of subcontractor’s financial stability to fulfill payroll requirements and bonding capacity that protects the owner.
• Ability to meet or exceed Staples’ rigorous insurance requirements, which are certified and documented as current prior to issuance of a subcontract.
• Understanding Staples’ requirements related to comprehensive submittals and documentation of materials to ensure conformance with project specifications.

Finally, it’s time to build. Staples’ project managers and onsite superintendents are among the best in the business. Experienced and skilled, they embrace the best construction work models and use technology to our competitive advantage.

How Staples guarantees a successful build:

• Our construction management software is Procore. Procore is the #1 construction management software on the market. Procore facilitates our construction team’s efficiency and accountability and mobilizes our project documentation (plans, contracts, change orders, submittals, drawings, RFIs, schedules, cost reporting, meeting minutes, daily project reports, insurance documentation, etc.). All parties to the project have access. Procure is the backbone of our construction work.
• As part of our document review, the project is assigned a “Red Team” whose first task is to create a submittal log of all proposed submittal items for distribution to the architect and owner for review and approval. The next step is review of the submittals and all related documents for every single item to be incorporated into the project. The Red Team ensures that we are all working with the same set of facts and helps mitigate schedule impacts by getting us off on the right foot at the outset of the project.
• Staples’ ability to successfully deliver a project has been our consistent utilization of Critical Path Method (CPM) schedules to plan, manage and control the project. The project schedule is maintained throughout construction, providing two- and three-week look ahead schedules to help identify potential delays and encourage mitigation.
• Project managers and site superintendents develop a Quality Management Plan that affects every aspect of the project. The sole purpose of a Quality Management Plan is to ensure that the owner’s objectives and requirements are met. Senior Management involvement provides a second layer of quality control.
• Our duties and responsibilities for the project do not end with the completion of construction. We know that even with the best quality control systems in place, warranty items can still arise. Our internal staff and proven procedures for warranty tracking and control ensure that all issues are promptly and correctly handled, in order of priority, with nothing falling through the cracks. Service beyond construction is as critical as service during construction.
• Quality of construction and finishes is of utmost importance. We set and follow rigid inspection and quality checklists and work with tried and trusted subcontractors who perform at the highest quality level. Our superintendents expect and demand this. At the end of the day, quality of construction is our legacy to our clients.

Being in the business just over 20 years may seem young for a general contractor, but it makes it a lot easier for us to embrace change and the latest technology!

Staples’ has invested in the best IT available for a truly connected workforce:

• We use Skype for Business, Microsoft’s Unified Communications solution, for internal and external voice, instant messaging, video, and desktop sharing communications.
• Our job trailers are all outfitted with large screen monitors and video conferencing capabilities for immediate and personal contact with the project managers and team personnel in our main offices.
• Job sites are outfitted with video surveillance, providing not only job site monitoring, but time-lapse video of your project!

Staples Construction has an outstanding safety record. Our Experience Modification Factor is 73 percent—well below the industry average. We value our record and hold a commitment to performing all work safely. We contract a safety firm to conduct initial Job Hazard/Safety Analyses (JHA/JSA) prior and after the commencement of the project.

A site-specific safety plan is developed for both workers and tenants and includes:

• Monthly unannounced site safety walk-through inspections and reporting.
• Safety training for our superintendents and workers on an ongoing basis.
• Weekly tailgate meetings for every subcontractor. Staples also holds a weekly joint safety meeting to reinforce safety priorities for the given week.

We understand that your business depends on the timely delivery of your project. At Staples Construction, we meet our construction deadlines time after time.

How do we do it?

• Our focus from preconstruction through construction is on a constantly evolving project schedule. We are masters at preparing, analyzing, and continually updating the overall project schedule to ensure success of the project timeline.
• We coordinate specialized needs early in the project and update as the project progresses.
• We red-flag critical move dates based on your end users’ needs. CPM schedules are regularly updated to reflect each group’s move into the new buildings and offices.
• We work diligently to mitigate any disruptions to your end users’ operations.

Does our process sound like a fit for your next project?  Visit our Contact Us page to get in touch with your nearest Staples Construction office.