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18 | IA INTERIOR ARCHITECTS PROJECT APPROACH & UNDERSTANDING At this time, all cost estimate updates, to be provided by others, are presented to the City for approval. At each critical decision-making point, the project principal and account project manager will present the issue to the City, with alternatives/options and a recommendation, if needed. The ramifications of each option are clearly presented so that the City is making an educated decision. FEE MANAGEMENT In our initial meetings, we focus on understanding the City’s expectations and having a direct dialogue about what it costs to meet those expectations. We know, at a very high level, what it costs to achieve a certain quality level because of our extensive experience with renovation and expansion projects. Second, we assist you in developing a comprehensive project budget that assigns costs for construction, equipment, furnishings, soft costs, etc. and includes appropriate construction contingencies. Third, we monitor design quality against the benchmark quality expectations established at the initial planning stage, to make sure that the time and fee we are investing is producing the right design. Finally, IA strongly recommends that a Construction Manager be added to the team early as at the beginning of the Schematic Design Phase, to provide input to the team on costs while there’s still time to make adjustments. IA uses in-house fee tracking tools from the start of every project including project work plans to develop appropriate fees and data base software to monitor fees every week throughout the life of the project. For every project, the proposed team is engaged in the fee development. The account project manager distributes, monitors, and adjusts project staffing projections throughout the project so that the entire team is engaged early on with the management of our fee and deliverables for each phase of the work. Providing cost-effective services is achieved in two ways: (1) by executing projects within budget constraints; and (2) by maintaining control of the labor and other direct charges to each project. We control these two aspects of cost effectiveness by producing and comparing accurate estimates of costs at strategic points during the project process, and by keeping track of our in-house charges to each project. The first and foremost element in providing effective cost control is to develop reasonable parameters at the outset of a project. The second is to provide for contingencies. Once achieved, milestones must be carefully monitored and reported on, and accountability must be strictly upheld. Tasks that begin to cause a delay must be reworked to compensate for lost time. Items that appear to exceed the allotted cost allocation must be reevaluated and reduced, additional funds allotted or contingencies reduced. Extensive documentation for both is required. IA requires that every project have a budget. This is the first question we ask our clients before we begin the project. Having this information at the beginning, allows the project team to work within that allotted budget and deliver a successful project. If the City does not have pre-established parameters, the assigned account project managers are responsible for developing the budget in conjunction with the City and then monitoring that budget throughout the course of the project to ensure it is met.