With the ever-expanding list of project delivery methods, ACCO dedicates significant effort and resources to remaining at the forefront of the industry in providing a finished product that meets all of the client’s requirements.
Delivery methods include:
Plan-Spec
ACCO brings decades of experience to construction projects that mandate a fixed-price bid on a detailed set of construction documents. We examine the plans and specifications, determine the lowest possible cost, and then build exactly what was designed. By working closely with the architect and engineering teams, our project managers anticipate issues and work to avoid change orders and cost overruns.
Design-Assist
In the Design-Assist method of delivering work, ACCO engineers work closely with your design and construction team to clarify the operational benefits of the project. We will analyze alternates on a price/performance basis. Our engineer’s knowledge of installation, maintenance, and long-term operating costs will help deliver the maximum value for dollars spent. When appropriate, we’ll recommend using alternative designs, different materials, and more efficient installation methods.
Design-Build
Design-Build brings together a partnership of the owner, architects, general contractors, engineers, and trades. As part of the design-build team, ACCO engineers analyze the owner’s requirements, reviewing concepts and systems on a price/performance benefit. Realistic project budgets can be established early in the process. Design-Build speeds up the entire construction process as we proceed seamlessly from design into construction with known project costs. Design-Build is the best way to avoid constant change orders, project escalation, and cost overruns.
Integrated Project Delivery
Integrated Project Delivery is a concept that has been integrated into all areas of ACCO capabilities. As a design-assist and design-build contractor, we regularly participate in the collaborative design and planning processes, allowing us to figure out the best way to accommodate the unique needs of each project. ACCO’s Project Managers are unique in that they manage the project’s mechanical scope of work from start to finish, playing an integral role in the design, cost control, construction, commissioning and handover.
Lean Production & Construction
Internally, ACCO manufactures much of its own materials and has implemented Lean methods in order to reduce costs and inventory in our shops. We rely on pull scheduling which reduces the amount of sheet metal and pipe we keep on hand and requires effective project planning and efficiency. Our shops also provide the opportunity to prefabricate and preassemble much of what is delivered to the field, increasing quality due to the clean, controlled shop environment and reducing labor and installation time in the field. With shops throughout the Western United States, we are able to make more frequent just-in-time deliveries consisting of the exact amount of materials needed for a specific portion of the job. This reduces the impact on other trades in the field by minimizing the amount of material staged on the floor and around the job site.
Target Value Design
Target Value Design (TVD) is a method closely aligned with Lean production, Lean construction and Integrated Project Delivery. It consists of designing a project to the customers predetermined budget requirements, rather than establishing cost after the design is completed. TVD builds cost into the design process and minimizes waste in the production and construction process. It is a fundamental change in thinking from “expected costs,” to “budgeted costs.” The guiding factor for TVD is that the target cost for a project should never be exceeded. Typically, cost follows design, but on projects where TVD is used, cost dictates what gets designed to ensure that the target cost is not exceeded. One mechanism for providing this rapid cost feedback is extracting quantities from the virtual model and model-based estimates. As a result, rapid cost feedback to the design team is paramount in this process.