Building consultants offer a wide spectrum of construction-related consultancy services to their clients. However, the role of these consultants when it comes to delivery of construction projects is usually not clearly understood by their clientele, particularly the project owners. As a result, building consultancy companies often find themselves underutilised.
Here is a peek at what building consultants can do for you as a construction project owner, so that you can know what to expect from the services they offer.
Design stage
Involving a building consultant from the onset of your construction project is a very good move. As a matter of fact, you can even engage the services of a consultant prior to the project design stage so as to gain assistance with tasks like site surveys, project budgeting, site selection, and environmental feasibility studies.
During the design phase itself, your consultant will assess the feasibility of your project from a technical, structural, and financial viewpoint. Here, the consultant will develop a project design concept and seek approval for it. It is also at this juncture that the consultant acquires all documentation and legal permits necessary before any actual project work can begin.
Contract administration stage
This is where actual project work is performed. Here, a building consultant has an obligation to see to it that your contractor adheres to the contract stipulating the terms and conditions of the project and follows the plans and specifications of your construction project. Typically, the consultant will carry out site field reviews to ensure compliance with the construction contract.
Even though your consultant must not be at the project location during all construction activities, either the consultant, or their representative, should be present at the work site during all significant activities of the project. The consultant will inspect any vital elements of the project before they can be concealed to ensure they are in line with project drawings and specifications.
Post-completion stage
Your consultant is expected to inspect the project after all work is completed. This post-completion inspection involves more than just a visual inspection of elements, as it also entails a responsibility to make appropriate investigations of the work done. The inspection must be thorough and comprehensive, and include inspection of key structural, mechanical, and electrical elements.
Once the consultant establishes that all the work was completed in a satisfactory manner, they can go ahead to issue the final certificate for building approval.
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