Developers, general contractors, building owners, do you have a major fire protection project? Why not let someone who really knows what they are doing manage it for you. More often than not, the money you will save will more than cover any fee you will need to pay us. From the prepration of the bid documents through final inspection, we can look after for your interests.
A fire protection project manager can provide the following services for you:
Prepare system specifications for your design build project. Most architects and mechanical engineers don't have a lot of fire sprinkler experience. Check out the graduation requirements for a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering--most of them don't have a single course on fire sprinklers or fire protection. Yet in most cases it is the mechanical engineer who will write the fire protection specifications and review the plans for the building owner or developer. Problems with the design specifications for fire protection are common and often result in costly change orders or future liability for building owners.
Review the fire protection contractor's proposals and administer the contracts for the fire protection. Given the design build nature of fire protection contracts, you will very often get widely varying bid amounts. Often the bids will vary not only in price but in scope of work. It is more often than not difficult to know which bid is really the best. A fire protection professional acting as a project manager will be able to sort all this out for you and make sure that the fire protection contracts cover all the bases and protect your interests.
Coordinate the work between all the trades. Again, due to the design build nature of fire protection, often, very little if any coordination is made between the fire protection contractor and other trades. This often leads to conflict and costly change orders. Having a project manager looking ahead for you will save you money.
Administer change orders. Do you really need those extra heads and why weren't they included in the original bid? Do you know? A fire protection professional would.
Assure the proper installion of the fire protection system and code compliance. Ultimately the building owner is responsible for the life safety systems in his building. Are you exposing yourself to liability due to an improperly designed and installed sprinkler system? Is it worth the risk?
These are just some of the benefits of letting a fire protection professional manage your project for you. Whether you need us on the job full time or just once in a while, having us on your team makes sense.
