Construction Management at Risk in Pueblo

Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo sits on a 300 acre campus whose main building opened on November 20, 1883, with buildings added across the late 19th century into the 1960s. Anyone who builds on a campus like that is working among people, around old structures and under rules that cannot bend. Construction management at risk, usually called CM at risk or CMAR, was made for this kind of work.

In a CM at risk arrangement, we join the owner and the design team during design as the construction manager, give pricing and constructability advice as the drawings develop, and then agree to build the project for a guaranteed maximum price. We take the risk of delivering to that number. The major trades are bid openly, and the owner sees the buyout results, so the price is not a black box.

It suits owners who want to keep their architect, want control of the design and want a builder on the team early. If you want one entity for design and construction instead, read about design-build delivery. If you are not sure which fits, a conversation with our preconstruction estimating team can sort it out.

The first step is to define the scope, the budget ceiling and the target date, then decide the rules for the guaranteed maximum price: when it is set, what is in it, how contingency is handled and how savings are shared. These terms should be on paper before design goes far. Owners who skip this conversation tend to have a disagreement when the first pricing comes in.

The second step is to decide who sits on the team. We recommend including the owner's facility staff, the designer, the engineers and us from the first meeting. Building users, such as nurses, teachers or plant supervisors, know things drawings do not show, and they should have a voice before the walls are framed.

CM at risk lets packages be released in sequence. Site work, utilities and foundations can be bid and started while the interior design is still being finished. Long-lead items such as switchgear, elevators and air handlers can be ordered early. The overlap trims the calendar, and the schedule shows where each package ties to the next.

On a working campus, the sequence also protects operations. We plan around semester breaks, shift changes and patient flow, and we lay out utility shutdowns well in advance. A hospital or school cannot reschedule its business around a contractor, so we reschedule our business around theirs.

Phasing is the other half of the plan. We divide a campus job into zones, finish and release one before opening the next, and give the owner a move-in date for each. Temporary walls, protected corridors and a clear haul route keep the work away from patients, students and staff, and the schedule is updated weekly so that the owner is never guessing.

In CM at risk we keep general conditions under our direct management, and we bid the trade scopes, such as concrete and carpentry, openly. Owners see the costs of both. Direct management of general conditions provides flexibility on a tight schedule, and the open bidding of trades provides a market check.

We keep the trade bid process transparent. Scopes are leveled so that bids compare fairly, the owner can look at the bid tabulation, and we explain why one bidder was recommended. We do not decide that a bid is too low or too high by instinct. We check the scope first.

A low bid is not always a good bid, and a high one is not always padded. We call the bidders, confirm what is included and ask about their crews and their schedule. When a scope gap shows up, we close it before award rather than after, since a gap that survives into the contract turns into a change order the owner pays for.

During design we produce cost estimates at set milestones, review drawings for buildability, and check material availability. We bring up problems while changes are cheap, such as a detail that cannot be built as drawn or a finish with a long lead time. The designer keeps authority over the design, and we advise.

When the drawings are about ready, we bid the work, finalize the guaranteed maximum price and sign the construction agreement. Construction then proceeds with the same team that wrote the budget, which cuts the typical gap between estimate and reality. That continuity is the main reason owners choose this method.

Occupied sites carry extra hazards. We separate the work area from the public with barriers, keep construction traffic on its own route, control dust and noise, and coordinate with the owner's security and infection control staff. At a hospital campus like Parkview Medical Center, where the main hospital has 266 staffed beds and a helipad, work near occupied areas is tightly controlled.

We train crews on the owner's site rules, badge and sign them in and brief them on emergency procedures. Our daily plan includes inspection of barriers, ventilation and egress. These details are not exciting, but they keep people safe and the facility running.

Many CM at risk projects are renovations or additions. Our notes on phased construction on occupied sites explain how we sequence work in buildings that stay open. Healthcare owners, school districts and public agencies use the method most often.

When the owner has a set of existing drawings that are very old, or missing, we survey and verify the building before pricing. Older campuses hide surprises in walls, ceilings and under slabs, and a good survey early saves a lot of money later.

Share the program, the campus constraints and the target date. We will explain how CM at risk would work on your project, what the fee and price structure look like and whether it is the right fit. You can also explore our work for education institutions.

What does "at risk" mean?

It means we guarantee the maximum price for the project. If costs exceed that number because of our estimating or management, the overrun is ours, not yours. Owner-requested changes and unforeseen conditions defined in the contract are handled through change orders.

How is CM at risk different from design-bid-build?

In design-bid-build, the builder joins after the design is done and wins on price. In CM at risk, we join during design and advise throughout. That brings earlier pricing and constructability review, but it requires the owner to select the builder on qualifications and fee first.

Can public owners use it?

In many cases yes, but procurement rules vary. Government and public-sector owners should confirm what their statute and policy allow, and we help prepare the qualifications and the fee proposal.

How are savings handled?

This is a contract term. Some owners keep all savings, others share them with the construction manager as an incentive. We discuss the options and agree before design begins.