Trinity College School Learning Commons

Construction Management Reconciliation

When the Trinity College School decided to expand to create a new learning commons facility adjoining the existing school facility and library area, the private school adopted a Construction Management approach based on positive past experiences with the selected Construction Manager. However a guaranteed ‘not to exceed sum’ was yet to be agreed.

A.W. Hooker was engaged as an independent Cost Consultant to parallel milestone cost estimates during the design stages alongside the Construction Manager’s estimates.

At each stage we conducted detailed reconciliation with the Construction Manager. We used our expertise in school projects and applied realistic pricing from our vast historical cost data base to provide clear evidence and back up of calculations and pricing research to prepare cost reports which were detailed and presented in an orderly format that was workable to both parties.

During the early stages of design, a lot of assumptions are made and design detail is minimal. During this reconciliation process, we identified areas where differences in assumptions occurred and initiated a reconciliation, allowing for greater cost certainty.

Our clear evidence and back up of calculations, pricing research and confidence in our knowledge and product, made for an easily agreeable reconciliation process. A.W. Hooker also investigated Value Engineering solutions to realign the budget on specific trade components.

An independent evaluation and a reconciled budget gave the Owner a higher degree of certainty of the budget and greater level of comfort to move forward with the project.

The due diligence and assurance of equitability in the costs and schedule allowed the Board of Trustees to grant approval to proceed into construction knowing that they were being treated fairly

The Construction Manager and Owner both benefited from the service as it facilitated a resolution to areas of variance that may have otherwise lead to costly delays or budget overruns.