Two Navy pilots ejected from a fighter jet after dumping loads of fuel to avoid a major explosion Friday, sending their unmanned plane careening into a Virginia Beach apartment complex and engulfing several buildings in flames, officials said.
Seven people, including both pilots, were injured, officials said. The Navy said both aviators on board the jet ejected before it crashed around noon and were being taken to hospitals for observation.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Good Friday Reflections...
Mark 14:36 "Father... remove this cup from me; yet, ...what you want." Gethsemane is where He died to self; the cross is the evidence. Later, Jesus last words were words of prayer. The habit of life was strong, evidenced in the garden, was also strong in death. This event will come to us also. What will our last words be?
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Maundy Thursday
What Does "Maundy" Mean?
Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice.(John 13:1 NIV) It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
(John 13:2 NIV) The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
(John 13:3 NIV) Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
(John 13:4 NIV) so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
(John 13:5 NIV) After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
(John 13:6 NIV) He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
(John 13:7 NIV) Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
(John 13:8 NIV) "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
(John 13:9 NIV) "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
(John 13:10 NIV) Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
(John 13:11 NIV) For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
(John 13:12 NIV) When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
(John 13:13 NIV) "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
(John 13:14 NIV) Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
(John 13:15 NIV) I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
(John 13:16 NIV) I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
(John 13:17 NIV) Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The Unfelt Presence of the Lord
This week, Jesus will be with me even when I can’t see him anywhere.
Psalm 46: 1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
You’ll want him wearing a flashing neon nametag ... but God will sometimes seem to vanish — for your own good.
Dr. Tim Kimmel, the remarkable Christian leader who authored Little House on the Freeway and several other books, has a son appropriately named Colt. When Colt was 2, Tim was having a terrible time getting Colt to stay with him in public places. Finally, one day when Colt ran away from him in the mall, Tim didn’t go after him. He followed him, hiding from him in a place where he could keep his eye on him, and waited for Colt to realize he was lost — and panic.
Other adults in the mall saw Tim hiding from his son; and without knowing the history of the situation, they thought he was the most horrible father they had ever seen. But at the first possible moment, just as quickly as Tim could ascertain that his son had learned his lesson, he rushed to him and scooped him up into his arms and comforted him — and Colt Kimmel never again ran away from his dad in the mall.
When I am hurting, that’s the time to remember, Jesus hasn’t abandoned me. He is with me. If I ask him to, he is going to meet my need as wisely and as quickly as it can possibly be met while I keep growing ... closer and closer to my total God-given potential.
When you’re hurting, people around you may say God doesn’t love you. “If Jesus were real, he would be bailing you out of this.” But Jesus is hiding in the mall. He is with you. He is watching you. He is growing you.
In Luke 7, when Jesus resurrected the son of the widow from Nain, people responded to the miracle by being “filled with awe” and “praising God.”
“God has come to help his people,” they declared. And they were right.
But had God come just to solve people’s immediate problems? No — the boy was destined to die again someday. From the short-term, temporal perspective, Jesus is often a disappointment.
We need to understand that Jesus has come to help us. “Has come” is a key phrase. He is here. He is present with us. He is in our lives, and he is helping us. Psalm 46 begins with David saying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Maybe I’m getting rained on — beat up — kicked around. Maybe I’m feeling lost and panicky. Especially in ministry, the rain and the beatings and the kicks seem astonishingly frequent. But Jesus is with me! I’m learning! I’m growing! He loves me!
My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... Father, sometimes you seem so far away. Help me to trust you totally, even when I can’t see you or hear you or sense your presence. Somehow, let me know that you’re still working in me, for me, for the sake of fulfilling your dream of me! Amen.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sun Comes Up - Hank Williams III
Artist: Williams Hank III |
The sun comes up, but I won't go down
I been real high up and I've hit the ground
Memories of the past race through my mind
Just like that train on that old track of life
The sun comes up, but I won't go down
I'm too far gone to start turning around
Well there's no more good times - it's all gone bad
ever since the day I lost the best friend I ever had
The pain began the day she left me
I've made a new friend called misery
So I started drinking to help ease my mind
but it don't seem to keep these tears from my eyes
The sun comes up, but I won't go down
I'm too far gone to start turning around
Well theres no more good times - it's all gone bad
ever since the day I lost the best friend that I ever had
Ever since the day I lost the best friend that I ever had
Starbucks & Same Sex Marriage support earns boycott
Starbucks' support for same-sex marriage has earned the endorsement of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has spoken out in defense of the Seattle-based coffee chain after the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched its international "Dump Starbucks" campaign.
"Starbucks has been a vocal supporter of marriage equality for loving same-sex couples –- views that are in-line with the majority of Americans –- and that enrages NOM," HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. "As a result, NOM is throwing a temper-tantrum and encouraging its few supporters to intentionally harm the economic well-being of Starbucks employees all over the world."
Starbucks declared its support for same-sex marriage during Washington state's marriage equality push in January. "This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners," Kalen Holmes, Starbucks' Executive Vice President, said in a statement to the Seattle Times. "We are deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity, and remain committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe work environment for all of our partners."
As Solomonese pointed out, Starbucks was joined by other well-known corporations in supporting marriage equality in Washington state that time, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Niken. "People like [NOM's president] Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher no doubt use products from the dozens of consumer-facing brands that have come out in support of marriage equality and against Proposition 8 on a daily basis," he added. "Do they not have any Microsoft software in their office? Do they ban employees from owning iPhones?"
Brown announced the "Dump Starbucks" campaign earlier this week. Supporters of the campaign will reportedly distribute ads throughout the U.S., the Middle East and southeast Asia calling for customers to boycott the chain.
"We will not tolerate an international company attempting to force its misguided values on citizens," Brown is quoted by The Miami Herald as saying. "The majority of Americans and virtually every consumer in some countries in which Starbucks operates believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. They will not be pleased to learn that their money is being used to advance gay marriage in society."
Added Jonathan Baker, head of NOM’s Corporate Fairness Project and a Starbucks stockholder: “It's ironic that even as Starbucks endorsed gay marriage here, its website on involvement in the Middle East claims the corporation does not, 'support any political or religious cause.' Lying to your customers is never a good business model."
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has spoken out in defense of the Seattle-based coffee chain after the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched its international "Dump Starbucks" campaign.
"Starbucks has been a vocal supporter of marriage equality for loving same-sex couples –- views that are in-line with the majority of Americans –- and that enrages NOM," HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. "As a result, NOM is throwing a temper-tantrum and encouraging its few supporters to intentionally harm the economic well-being of Starbucks employees all over the world."
Starbucks declared its support for same-sex marriage during Washington state's marriage equality push in January. "This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners," Kalen Holmes, Starbucks' Executive Vice President, said in a statement to the Seattle Times. "We are deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity, and remain committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe work environment for all of our partners."
As Solomonese pointed out, Starbucks was joined by other well-known corporations in supporting marriage equality in Washington state that time, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Niken. "People like [NOM's president] Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher no doubt use products from the dozens of consumer-facing brands that have come out in support of marriage equality and against Proposition 8 on a daily basis," he added. "Do they not have any Microsoft software in their office? Do they ban employees from owning iPhones?"
Brown announced the "Dump Starbucks" campaign earlier this week. Supporters of the campaign will reportedly distribute ads throughout the U.S., the Middle East and southeast Asia calling for customers to boycott the chain.
"We will not tolerate an international company attempting to force its misguided values on citizens," Brown is quoted by The Miami Herald as saying. "The majority of Americans and virtually every consumer in some countries in which Starbucks operates believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. They will not be pleased to learn that their money is being used to advance gay marriage in society."
Added Jonathan Baker, head of NOM’s Corporate Fairness Project and a Starbucks stockholder: “It's ironic that even as Starbucks endorsed gay marriage here, its website on involvement in the Middle East claims the corporation does not, 'support any political or religious cause.' Lying to your customers is never a good business model."
Facility Expansion Considerations
Facilities are an extraordinarily expensive solution to any need. If you need to build-or think you might-there are ways to reduce your costs, your risks and your stress, and increase the benefits you will derive from your new or renovated facility. Many of these actions are not things that you’d know to consider if you don’t build regularly; some will likely be overlooked even if you have a full-time facilities department.
The Order of Things
For many institutions, the first reaction to any perceived need in facilities is the instinct to hire an architect (or even a design-build contractor). Unfortunately, the design skills that an architect can offer are only one factor in a wise, cost-effective, and long-term solution to facilities issues. And they are far from the first step.
Design and construction are expensive acts of execution; major expenses (and major mistakes) can be avoided by starting with the most fundamental steps of institutional planning and following them in sequence, to make certain that all of the right questions are being asked. The needs and answers that initially seem obvious often miss the real opportunities.
The first step should be some combination of strategic, program, and business planning. Only with a fully current consensus on vision and strategy, reinforced by a clear evaluation of program needs and a tough and thorough business plan, can an institution hope to conceive, design and build the right facilities-if, indeed, facilities are the right solution at all.
After the strategic, program and business questions have been clarified, a physical master plan can be developed not just to frame a course of action for the present, but to avoid foreclosing options to meet future needs. A physical master plan should be thought of not as a long-term recipe, but as an evolving projection to be reassessed after any significant change in strategic and program planning.
Once you have brought all of your planning up to date, you will be in a position to evaluate the need for a new facility.
When thinking about any new construction project, the first question to ask is whether there is any way to avoid building a new building. Are there non-facility solutions that might address the problem without incurring the extraordinary expense of construction? Can functions be shuffled to re-balance under-used areas with over-used ones? Can an existing building be transformed more cheaply than a new one can be built? Or vice versa?
Define the Project
If construction is unavoidable, what is needed to define the project?
Institutional clients often know far too little about their specific needs and objectives before moving into the design of physical facilities. Often they identify some very general issues and expect an architect to figure out the details. Left to their own devices, architects will necessarily invent forms and functions that represent only a limited insight into the needs and wisdom of their client. If, on the other hand, architects are given clear and precisely articulated goals, they may be able to reflect the aspirations of their clients in striking ways. And not necessarily at any greater cost.
An institution is best served when it prepares an architectural program and a project budget before selecting an architect. A well-developed program document will help you first to budget the project, then to select and guide an architect well-matched to your intentions, and then to measure the design work against your goals. The traditional quantitative program lists all of the spaces required-down to utility rooms and closets-with their purposes, detailed characteristics, areas in square feet, all of the equipment needed, and important adjacencies (spaces that should be next to each other for proper functioning).
Beyond these quantitative parameters, it can be especially effective to develop a qualitative program, as well. This qualitative program can consist of the character of spaces, values of the organization, and messages about the organization to be communicated to the public. By articulating carefully issues of function, expression and meaning, the qualitative program can mold the facilities of an institution to support most effectively its mission, identity, and marketing objectives.
On the basis of a detailed architectural program, an accurate project budget can be developed. This budget will enable you to:
* assess financial and fundraising capacity
* approve the project with confidence
* instruct the architect clearly and hold him/her accountable for designing to budget
* put any later temptation to expand the project into context, and require an explicit, intentional decision for any resulting budget increase As with all subsequent budgeting, this should be a comprehensive project budget, not just a construction budget. It should include construction costs, soft costs (all fees, furniture, and equipment), an allowance for contingencies (a figure that is gradually consumed or reduced during design and construction) and, ideally, a building operation and maintenance endowment. Such an all-inclusive project budget is the only way to avoid misunderstandings and surprises.
Assess Capacity
Once you have defined the project, you can assess whether you have the resources to support it or a modified version of it. Most obviously there is the question of financial capacity. You will likely want to conduct a fundraising feasibility assessment to ascertain an achievable goal for a capital campaign. You may be willing and able to borrow a portion of the funds needed for the project. If so, there may be a variety of possibilities available to you, from bank lines of credit to state-sponsored revenue bonds. Under certain circumstances, you may wish to consider a loan from your own endowment.
Borrowing may seem a much more palatable option if the project offers significant revenue-generating potential (e.g. dormitories or facilities for social enterprise initiatives), so you may well want to analyze this possibility. A real-time, interactive financial model can be extraordinarily useful at this stage, allowing management and board to test and visualize consequences for a variety of scenarios.
In addition to financial capacity, you will also have to ascertain whether you have the available real estate. If you have an existing master plan, this may be a simple question that has already been examined. If you do not have a master plan, you should consider whether you can afford to work without one.
Finally, there is administrative capacity. A large institution will likely have a facilities department with full-time project managers, bookkeepers, and other personnel, as well as procedures for handling design and construction. A small institution may have little idea of the complexities involved in such projects. By the time it finds out, it may have incurred significant unnecessary expenses. A project needs to be planned administratively as well as physically.
Who Will Be Involved in the Project?
Trustees and administrators who have not been involved in an institutional design and construction project often have no idea of the complex nature of the work required.
The first question is whether the organization has the in-house staff necessary to oversee a project of the size envisioned. Unless you are a large enough an institution to have an established facilities department staffed with project managers and support staff, additions to staff are likely for anything but the smallest of projects. (Costs associated with these new positions should be considered among the “soft costs” of a project.) The primary need will be for a project manager with the experience and authority to manage the process, facilitate communication among all parties, make most of the operational decisions, and channel the decisions that require executive or board approval expeditiously and with clear analysis of options and repercussions.
Some of these tasks are beyond the skill set of a typical facility project manager; it generally helps to have a senior staff member act as project director to make or facilitate major decisions. Depending on the size of the project, you will probably need part or full-time bookkeeping and accounting help, and staff support for the project manager. Depending on the skills and experience of the project manager, an out-sourced “owner’s representative” may also be needed. (It is also possible to hire outside professionals for the entire project management function, but that can be more expensive and requires an unusual degree of comfort and confidence in the outsider.) Beyond the direct project staff issues, a major project also will affect the overall rhythms of management and governance in institutions not accustomed to building. It will be important to define clearly a hierarchy of levels for engaging executives and board committees in design decisions and tradeoffs, and especially in financial decisions. Once design and construction begin, delays in decision-making and changes of direction can be very costly. The more clear and streamlined the process the more likely you will stay on budget, on time, and happy with the results.
Project Delivery Decisions
In addition to deciding whether to do a project, and how to oversee it properly, delivery methods you may wish to consider, based on the nature and complexity of the project, and the pool of expertise available.
For very simple and small projects you might want to use a design/build approach, which can simplify the logistics and lower costs. For anything more complex, however, you will give up too much-in terms of cost or quality of results or both-if you don’t separate design and construction.
Generally you will use an architect, with a battery of appropriate engineering and technical consultants, for design. For construction, you will have to choose between using a general contractor and a construction manager. In simplest terms a general contractor bids competitively a fixed amount for your project and then works with subcontractors as he or she chooses.
A construction manager works with you on a fee basis to get the best prices from subcontractors. If the project or parts of it comes in below budget, the construction manager may get part of the savings as an incentive. Many variables go into the decision of which approach to use, and in either case, careful crafting of a client centered contract can have major cost and risk advantages over using the stock contracts offered by building industry professional associations.
Selecting Architects and Contractors
Once you have fully prepared yourself internally to pursue a project, the next challenge is to select an architect who will be able to work with you to realize your objectives. There are easy ways to find an architect, and then there are effective ones. The effective ones require knowledge, research, discussion, and time.
Controlling Time, Money, and Quality
Whatever internal or external systems you use for project management, and whatever project tracking and reporting methods you select, be aware that all levels of an institution have an oversight role to play in a building project. Architects and contractors have their own priorities and value systems; it is inevitable that substantial budget and quality issues will arise that are beyond the mandate of the project manager to settle. It is essential to have an oversight committee that keeps close enough watch to address potential problems before they get more costly than necessary to correct With so much at stake, you should keep in mind the interrelationships among time, money, and quality in any project: trying to get a project done faster than it might normally take will drive up costs and drive down quality. In making any decisions also remember the expertise and tough management required to maintain the balance you select.
The Order of Things
For many institutions, the first reaction to any perceived need in facilities is the instinct to hire an architect (or even a design-build contractor). Unfortunately, the design skills that an architect can offer are only one factor in a wise, cost-effective, and long-term solution to facilities issues. And they are far from the first step.
Design and construction are expensive acts of execution; major expenses (and major mistakes) can be avoided by starting with the most fundamental steps of institutional planning and following them in sequence, to make certain that all of the right questions are being asked. The needs and answers that initially seem obvious often miss the real opportunities.
The first step should be some combination of strategic, program, and business planning. Only with a fully current consensus on vision and strategy, reinforced by a clear evaluation of program needs and a tough and thorough business plan, can an institution hope to conceive, design and build the right facilities-if, indeed, facilities are the right solution at all.
After the strategic, program and business questions have been clarified, a physical master plan can be developed not just to frame a course of action for the present, but to avoid foreclosing options to meet future needs. A physical master plan should be thought of not as a long-term recipe, but as an evolving projection to be reassessed after any significant change in strategic and program planning.
Once you have brought all of your planning up to date, you will be in a position to evaluate the need for a new facility.
When thinking about any new construction project, the first question to ask is whether there is any way to avoid building a new building. Are there non-facility solutions that might address the problem without incurring the extraordinary expense of construction? Can functions be shuffled to re-balance under-used areas with over-used ones? Can an existing building be transformed more cheaply than a new one can be built? Or vice versa?
Define the Project
If construction is unavoidable, what is needed to define the project?
Institutional clients often know far too little about their specific needs and objectives before moving into the design of physical facilities. Often they identify some very general issues and expect an architect to figure out the details. Left to their own devices, architects will necessarily invent forms and functions that represent only a limited insight into the needs and wisdom of their client. If, on the other hand, architects are given clear and precisely articulated goals, they may be able to reflect the aspirations of their clients in striking ways. And not necessarily at any greater cost.
An institution is best served when it prepares an architectural program and a project budget before selecting an architect. A well-developed program document will help you first to budget the project, then to select and guide an architect well-matched to your intentions, and then to measure the design work against your goals. The traditional quantitative program lists all of the spaces required-down to utility rooms and closets-with their purposes, detailed characteristics, areas in square feet, all of the equipment needed, and important adjacencies (spaces that should be next to each other for proper functioning).
Beyond these quantitative parameters, it can be especially effective to develop a qualitative program, as well. This qualitative program can consist of the character of spaces, values of the organization, and messages about the organization to be communicated to the public. By articulating carefully issues of function, expression and meaning, the qualitative program can mold the facilities of an institution to support most effectively its mission, identity, and marketing objectives.
On the basis of a detailed architectural program, an accurate project budget can be developed. This budget will enable you to:
* assess financial and fundraising capacity
* approve the project with confidence
* instruct the architect clearly and hold him/her accountable for designing to budget
* put any later temptation to expand the project into context, and require an explicit, intentional decision for any resulting budget increase As with all subsequent budgeting, this should be a comprehensive project budget, not just a construction budget. It should include construction costs, soft costs (all fees, furniture, and equipment), an allowance for contingencies (a figure that is gradually consumed or reduced during design and construction) and, ideally, a building operation and maintenance endowment. Such an all-inclusive project budget is the only way to avoid misunderstandings and surprises.
Assess Capacity
Once you have defined the project, you can assess whether you have the resources to support it or a modified version of it. Most obviously there is the question of financial capacity. You will likely want to conduct a fundraising feasibility assessment to ascertain an achievable goal for a capital campaign. You may be willing and able to borrow a portion of the funds needed for the project. If so, there may be a variety of possibilities available to you, from bank lines of credit to state-sponsored revenue bonds. Under certain circumstances, you may wish to consider a loan from your own endowment.
Borrowing may seem a much more palatable option if the project offers significant revenue-generating potential (e.g. dormitories or facilities for social enterprise initiatives), so you may well want to analyze this possibility. A real-time, interactive financial model can be extraordinarily useful at this stage, allowing management and board to test and visualize consequences for a variety of scenarios.
In addition to financial capacity, you will also have to ascertain whether you have the available real estate. If you have an existing master plan, this may be a simple question that has already been examined. If you do not have a master plan, you should consider whether you can afford to work without one.
Finally, there is administrative capacity. A large institution will likely have a facilities department with full-time project managers, bookkeepers, and other personnel, as well as procedures for handling design and construction. A small institution may have little idea of the complexities involved in such projects. By the time it finds out, it may have incurred significant unnecessary expenses. A project needs to be planned administratively as well as physically.
Who Will Be Involved in the Project?
Trustees and administrators who have not been involved in an institutional design and construction project often have no idea of the complex nature of the work required.
The first question is whether the organization has the in-house staff necessary to oversee a project of the size envisioned. Unless you are a large enough an institution to have an established facilities department staffed with project managers and support staff, additions to staff are likely for anything but the smallest of projects. (Costs associated with these new positions should be considered among the “soft costs” of a project.) The primary need will be for a project manager with the experience and authority to manage the process, facilitate communication among all parties, make most of the operational decisions, and channel the decisions that require executive or board approval expeditiously and with clear analysis of options and repercussions.
Some of these tasks are beyond the skill set of a typical facility project manager; it generally helps to have a senior staff member act as project director to make or facilitate major decisions. Depending on the size of the project, you will probably need part or full-time bookkeeping and accounting help, and staff support for the project manager. Depending on the skills and experience of the project manager, an out-sourced “owner’s representative” may also be needed. (It is also possible to hire outside professionals for the entire project management function, but that can be more expensive and requires an unusual degree of comfort and confidence in the outsider.) Beyond the direct project staff issues, a major project also will affect the overall rhythms of management and governance in institutions not accustomed to building. It will be important to define clearly a hierarchy of levels for engaging executives and board committees in design decisions and tradeoffs, and especially in financial decisions. Once design and construction begin, delays in decision-making and changes of direction can be very costly. The more clear and streamlined the process the more likely you will stay on budget, on time, and happy with the results.
Project Delivery Decisions
In addition to deciding whether to do a project, and how to oversee it properly, delivery methods you may wish to consider, based on the nature and complexity of the project, and the pool of expertise available.
For very simple and small projects you might want to use a design/build approach, which can simplify the logistics and lower costs. For anything more complex, however, you will give up too much-in terms of cost or quality of results or both-if you don’t separate design and construction.
Generally you will use an architect, with a battery of appropriate engineering and technical consultants, for design. For construction, you will have to choose between using a general contractor and a construction manager. In simplest terms a general contractor bids competitively a fixed amount for your project and then works with subcontractors as he or she chooses.
A construction manager works with you on a fee basis to get the best prices from subcontractors. If the project or parts of it comes in below budget, the construction manager may get part of the savings as an incentive. Many variables go into the decision of which approach to use, and in either case, careful crafting of a client centered contract can have major cost and risk advantages over using the stock contracts offered by building industry professional associations.
Selecting Architects and Contractors
Once you have fully prepared yourself internally to pursue a project, the next challenge is to select an architect who will be able to work with you to realize your objectives. There are easy ways to find an architect, and then there are effective ones. The effective ones require knowledge, research, discussion, and time.
Controlling Time, Money, and Quality
Whatever internal or external systems you use for project management, and whatever project tracking and reporting methods you select, be aware that all levels of an institution have an oversight role to play in a building project. Architects and contractors have their own priorities and value systems; it is inevitable that substantial budget and quality issues will arise that are beyond the mandate of the project manager to settle. It is essential to have an oversight committee that keeps close enough watch to address potential problems before they get more costly than necessary to correct With so much at stake, you should keep in mind the interrelationships among time, money, and quality in any project: trying to get a project done faster than it might normally take will drive up costs and drive down quality. In making any decisions also remember the expertise and tough management required to maintain the balance you select.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)