PRECONSTRUCTION SERVICES PROACTIVELY ADDRESS CONSTRUCTION CONSTRAINTS
A conversation with Adam Zahn, P.E., Engineering Manager, about the benefits of being a consulting partner to proactively address construction constraints.
Contracting Dant Clayton to provide preconstruction services is usually a strategic decision by the architect or owner.
“Our value is helping the design team understand how to design bleachers and grandstands to achieve their vision, so they’re not forced to rework their design drawings down the road when a specialty subcontractor like Dant is brought on board after construction documents are complete.”
Zahn said it usually begins at the napkin phase, when an architect calls their territory manager and asks for guidance on a new project. For example, it could be a new football stadium that will seat 1,000 people and it needs to fit into a specific budget and footprint. Our territory managers are well-versed in working through scenarios that will meet the project’s overall needs.
Working hand in hand with the architect, engineers, owner and contractor means becoming part of the design team which allows us to refine solutions for the appropriate type of decking, layout, structural support, seating, colors, and railing.
Zahn also explains that navigating through the building code requirements specific to bleacher and grandstand projects is another key aspect that Dant Clayton provides.
“We’re then able to get to a preliminary budget and develop drawings. This is where budget decisions get made. We work with the customer and navigate them through waters of what things cost. It’s the time to ask good questions and this helps to steer the project in the right direction.”
Dant Clayton models all grandstand components in Revit and shares and synchronizes that with the design team models so everyone can see how the project is coming together. From this model coordination Dant Clayton’s designers can detect clashes with other trades’ work and apply value engineering suggestions.
“What we hear time and again is that our design-assist services help to keep projects on track and avoid changes and setbacks.”
Adam Zahn is a Structural Engineer with over 20 years of experience designing and estimating sports construction projects from conceptualization to construction documents.