By Brandon Ellis, Regional Sales Manager | Facility Service Group
For facility managers, mechanical retrofits are a high-stakes balancing act. Upgrading aging infrastructure while staying on budget and schedule, often around tight operational windows, is no easy task. When procuring these projects, agencies typically choose between traditional Plan & Spec or Design-Build.
Single-Source Accountability vs. Liability Gaps
Plan & Spec separates design and construction, leaving owners to mediate disputes when conflicts arise. Design-Build consolidates responsibility, ACCO handles both design and installation, eliminating finger-pointing and minimizing change orders.
Real-Time Cost Control
Traditional designs are often finalized without current pricing, leading to post-design budget surprises. ACCO’s Design-Build approach incorporates value engineering during design, which ensures the budget reflects real-time costs and reduces costly redesigns.
Faster Delivery
Plan & Spec is linear, consisting of design, bid, build, which typically adds months to schedules. Design-Build overlaps phases, allowing procurement of long-lead equipment while engineering is finalized. For schools completing summer retrofits, this concurrent workflow is often the only way to meet deadlines.
Handling Unforeseen Conditions
Retrofits uncover surprises like hidden pipes, structural conflicts and outdated systems. Plan & Spec pauses for redesigns; ACCO’s in-house engineers and field teams adapt on the spot, updating BIM models in real-time to keep projects on track and on budget.
The Advantage of Working with ACCO
ACCO doesn’t just install systems. We engineer, fabricate and commission them. We deliver complex retrofit projects and equipment replacements on time, within budget and aligned with aggressive energy goals.
By combining the Design-Build delivery method with cooperative purchasing vehicles, you are not just fast-tracking your procurement; you are securing a partner invested in your facility’s performance for the long haul.
Streamlined Procurement via Cooperative Purchasing
The procurement process is often the biggest hurdle in public sector construction. Drafting RFPs, advertising and reviewing bids can add months before a partner is even selected.
Cooperative purchasing streamlines this by allowing education and government agencies to piggyback on competitively solicited, already-awarded contracts. It satisfies competitive bidding requirements under Joint Powers Authority laws without requiring the agency to run its own solicitation.
It also removes the lengthy RFP process so ACCO can begin assessing facility needs immediately. Most importantly, it enables agencies to select a contractor based on qualifications and value rather than being limited to the lowest bidder, which is often misaligned with complex retrofit work.
Plan Your Next Retrofit