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The importance of an effective preconstruction process has never been more evident, said Brett Poulos, national director of preconstruction and estimating for Burns & McDonnell, a construction company based in Kansas City, Missouri.
Prices of construction inputs rose again in July, largely due to higher oil and natural gas prices, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from Associated Builders and Contractors. While these costs have begun to stabilize over the past year, they are still 40% higher than in February 2020.
So, as construction projects face increasing pressures from rising costs and procurement challenges, the role of preconstruction in mitigating these headwinds is increasingly important. The preconstruction phase increasingly provides owners and developers with a better understanding of project cost, scope, and schedule.
Here, Poulos talks to Construction Dive about his experience in the construction industry, his focus on preconstruction at Burns & McDonnell, and the global role of technology today.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
CONSTRUCTION DIVER: What is your background in construction and how did it prepare you for this role?
BRETT POULOS: I began my career in the field with a self-executing general contractor, where I managed a total station and a shot and grade line for self-executing crews. Starting my career in the field of work distribution, learning from both craftsmen and foremen, assistant superintendents and general superintendents really gave me a solid idea of what it takes to plan a work activity and build a project.
Brett Poulos
Permission granted by Burns & McDonnell
My responsibilities have expanded over the years and I took on a project management role leading projects of varying sizes and complexities in both the public and private sectors.
Over the course of my career, I developed a strong understanding of the start-up side of projects and migrated to lead pre-construction for a few lines of business, eventually growing to my current responsibilities.
What are your main areas of focus as a pre-construction manager?
Our industry is evolving.
The craft workforce doesn’t have the depth charts it used to have. The industry has a collective duty to raise awareness of the benefits of working in the trades, and this includes creating career opportunities for experienced tradesmen within pre-construction and estimating teams.
I don’t need a college degree to be an estimator or pre-construction professional for our equipment. Time in the field and time with the tools can be just as valuable as a college degree, especially for self-taught enthusiasts.
That said, our industry is also rapidly evolving in terms of technology, and we need to ensure that our processes, systems and equipment are structured to adopt and leverage this technology and maintain a competitive edge.
How does technology come into play in preconstruction?
Technology is one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox. Technology allows us to connect and leverage data in ways that bring great benefits to our clients and project teams.
For our business, as an integrated EPC and design company, we can merge technology, equipment and workflows, and leverage the entire design and construction process, and the associated data, which brings great value to our customers .
We are embracing technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning in our pre-construction services and are developing quite innovative offerings for our clients.
But as technology evolves and advances, there is a huge responsibility to ensure that there are robust processes in place to maintain data integrity.
Why is preconstruction important, especially in the face of rising costs and supply chain issues?
Pre-construction is undoubtedly the most important phase of a project.
Admittedly, I’m biased, but let me explain: A solid preconstruction process allows the client to make data-driven decisions early in the design process so they can accomplish their mission.
Whether your goal is to fit a project within a target budget or bring your plant or facility online by a certain date, the data we provide during the pre-construction process is critical to your success.
Preconstruction is the bridge of communication, data, and decision-making processes between stakeholders. The foundation of a project’s success is built and nurtured during the preconstruction process.
What challenges are you facing this year?
Over the past few years, everyone has had a hard time predicting the future and making projections about market trends, commodity prices, etc. This has been a challenge for the entire industry due to unprecedented volatility.
Outside of industry-wide hurdles, the biggest challenge we face is developing and deploying our strategy over the horizon.
What I mean by this is that we are consolidating our processes and technology to align with emerging technologies and the future of the industry. One thing is for sure, technological innovation will transform our industry and the entire pre-construction process, especially for integrated EPC companies.
Any other important trends you think readers should know about preconstruction?
Preconstruction can be a broad term. We consider pre-construction to be the entire initial process of safety analysis, build capacity, lead time and schedule analysis, target value design and estimation.
When your projects are EPC, design-build or collaborative delivery, the pre-construction process is very different from design-bid-build. The level of pre-construction integration and involvement may vary depending on the method of project delivery and the capabilities of that pre-construction team.
We have found that projects are more successful for both the main contractor and the client when pre-construction teams are engaged at the earliest possible point of project initiation because it is much easier to share a clear vision of a project with a long haul to make data-driven decisions. .
