A novelist has an editor who provides the author with another set of eyes and can refine and polish the final piece, before hitting the market. In baseball, a team has a closer. This is usually the team’s best reliever, whose job is to get the final out in a close game to ensure victory. A breakdown at these critical junctures for a novelist or a baseball team can derail overall success.

In our industry, the saying goes – projects are remembered not by how they start but by how they finish. Having a strong close-out team and plan in place is critical to a project’s overall success. Like the editor and the closer, the role of the close-out team in construction is to lend a fresh set of eyes to the project and implement the close-out plan. A close-out plan should include the following elements – inspections, punch list, start-up, and owner’s manual/warranty information. Close-out activities include:

• Documentation that all work has been completed as outlined in the original contract or order; if something is missing, incomplete, or not done correctly, document and take steps to correct.
• Review legal requirements and ensure that all terms have been met.
• Meeting with any code or inspection authorities and obtain COFO (Certificate of Occupancy) and other documentation.
• Review any change orders to ensure that these have been completed prior to client closeout.
• Review client notes to ensure that any requests have been attended to and that the site is truly ready to be handed over. 

The start of any project, game or task always begins with a great deal of energy and excitement. As a design-builder, it is our goal to ensure that the     energy and excitement at the start of a project is harnessed throughout its life-cycle, as it is how you finish that matters most. So, no matter the project, game, or task – Finish Strong.

ABOUT VIP STRUCTURES

As a fully integrated design-build firm, we specialize in architecture, engineering, construction, and development to help organizations with building needs all across Upstate New York. Visit us on the web at www.vipstructures.com or contact us on the sidebar by filling out our short form fill. Subscribe to our blog to get the latest news about what is happening in the A/E/C/D world