By Alex Smith, AAE

Capital improvement projects are the lifeblood of maintaining a parking facility. Some projects repair crumbling infrastructure, others offer customers with value-added products, and some have an effect on parking and mobility within a community through planning studies.

The vehicle by which these projects are procured and carried out has remained vastly the same for a number of years. A company will identify a project that needs to be completed, develop a scope for it, put it out to bid, select the most qualified or lowest-cost bidder, and construct/conduct the project (this method is also known as design-bid-build). However, this method is not always the most efficient or most cost effective, especially with complex projects. Here are two alternate project delivery methods that may help break the mold for your next project:

  • Job Order Contract (JOC). A multiple-year contract between an organization and a contractor selected through a bidding process, that enables the organization to complete various projects throughout the term of the contract based upon predetermined pricing. The advantage of this type of project delivery method is that by having a contractor under a signed agreement, an organization is able to complete repetitive or recurring construction projects with a predictable and quantifiable cost without having to consistently bid out each project.
  • Construction Manager At-Risk (CMAR). CMAR is an evolution of the traditional design-bid-build project delivery method. A CMAR is typically chosen at the beginning of the design of a project through a bid process that selects the most qualified firm. In turn the CMAR works with project engineers, planners, and the owner to design, develop, and complete the project in a fiscally responsible manner. The CMAR provides input at every stage of design from a constructability standpoint that can help decrease project costs. The advantage of this type of delivery method is that the CMAR delivers the project within a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and the CMAR acts in the best interest of the owner.

Why not try something new for your next project? You never know how much it may save you!

Alex Smith, AAE, is operations manager with Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority.