Our Services

We collaborate with architects, asset owners, operators, and developers to offer a comprehensive suite of project delivery services. Our expertise spans across Project Management, Cost Management and Sustainability. By harnessing our integrated service offering, clients have the flexibility to engage us for either partial or full turnkey service delivery. Whether it’s overseeing the end-to-end project management process, providing precise cost management solutions, or implementing sustainable practices, we are fully equipped to meet our client’s unique requirements and support their project objectives. Our goal is to ensure seamless project execution and successful outcomes, bringing us substantial repeated client business.

Customized Services

Start-up/Design Services

Startup services cover all the activities needed to take your program or project from initial concept to design. Focal can help you determine the feasibility of your concept and the probable risks associated with their development and execution. Based on our extensive experience with design and construction management, we can help you develop a program or project management plan that applies proven methods to minimize the risks typical of a construction effort of your scope and size.

When you are ready to proceed into design, we can assist you in selecting qualified design consultants and in developing a responsibility matrix that will clearly outline the roles and tasks of each team member.

Permitting Coordination

Focal supports you in the coordination, management, monitoring and processing of Permits and relevant approvals by the responsible authorities.

Schedule Management

Schedule management, as practiced by Focal, comprises more than standard schedule monitoring and reporting activities. Early in your program or project, we can develop a critical path method (CPM) master schedule with activities and durations to plan your exact design, bid, and construction objectives.

With that schedule as a guide, we help you plan when and where to apply resources for maximum results. Focal often steps in to help owners whose ongoing projects are experiencing delays. We troubleshoot schedules to pinpoint the sources of delays and develop viable “workaround” schedules to bring your project back on track.

Cost Management

From financial analysis to detailed cost data and projections, our cost management practices give you the information you need to make sound cost related decisions.

By establishing a coding structure for accounts, called a work breakdown structure (WBS), Focal can provide item-by-item cost tracking and tie the CPM schedule to cost items for accurate budget/schedule analysis. During startup and design, we can develop a comprehensive project budget that identifies the costs for all project elements, including consultant fees, internal administrative expenses, construction and various contingency funds, as applicable.

Using multistage cost estimating, we refine that project budget, establishing a Baseline Budget once scope is established. Throughout all phases, Focal can assist you by tracking all costs, including multiple funding sources, to comply with the requirements of the government and your investors. We help you weigh budget options by providing detailed cost flow projections and trending analyses to help manage use of contingencies. Focal can also develop template payment schedules for consultants and contractors, as well as, develop payment recommendations based on confirmed design or construction progress.

Design Phase Services

The greatest benefits of our project management approach derive from sound decisions made during the project’s planning and design stage. Then there is still sufficient flexibility to identify major cost and time saving features and build them into the project. Our involvement will be significant during these initial stages.

Focal’s design review approach aims to reduce the number and extent of questions due to unclear or incomplete design documents. We will develop a schedule of periodic reviews to check design for completeness, adherence to building regulations, constructability, coordination among engineering disciplines and specialist consultants, and buildability of the completed contract documents. We will also hold value engineering workshops to brainstorm ways to improve the long-term cost effectiveness of the design without compromising quality or functionality.

Bidding Services

Focal can organize the tender process in “packages”, depending on the selected tendering strategy, properly using internationally recognized standards. Focal can develop bid packages to make them more attractive to qualified contractors. We can assist you by structuring bid packages so the maximum number of qualified contractors can bid on any one package. By instituting a prequalification program, we can increase the number of qualified contractors interested in bidding.

Focal can help you incorporate effective delivery strategies in your bid documents. We can also make sure that specified construction durations reflect the long “lead” times sometimes needed for items with unusual fabrication, development, or purchasing requirements. Our staff can also assist you by ranking the most responsive and cost-effective bids and making recommendations regarding awards.

Change Management

Focal knows that effective change management starts with change prevention. Focal can develop and implement design management strategies that help reduce the number of scope changes.
We use bid ability reviews to make sure your construction documents are clear and complete—thereby removing the main causes of preventable changes.

Focal can help you develop project contingencies to handle any change orders resulting from concealed site conditions and problems during construction. Our staff can implement a computerized change order processing system that will track all information related to change order requests, eliminating the need for manual processing. Using our cost control system, we can also track the “cost to complete” for your project, including an estimate of potential demands on your contingencies.

Focal can assist you with all aspects of change order reviews, including entitlement, cost, evaluation, and negotiation. We help keep work moving on your project by developing consensus among team members as to the best solution to each problem.

We utilize workaround schedules and similar techniques to analyse ways to recoup time and expenses. Using our cost loaded scheduling system, we can predict how various alternatives would affect your schedule and budget so you can choose the option you prefer. Our staff can monitor work at your site, documenting actual progress in logs and photographs (or videotapes) for an accurate estimate of the money due to the contractor for work to date. We also stay with you through project closeout to resolve any outstanding issues.

Project & Contract Administration

Focal utilizes proven methods to provide cost effective administration and document control. With our cloud supporting systems, tracking design documents, submittals, requests for information (RFIs), correspondence, and other project documents is more accurate and requires less effort, ensuring at the same time absolute transparency to the Client.

Using our system, your team can view the status of submittal due dates, reviews, approvals, and clarifications and can retrieve scanned documents without visiting the job site files.
We can help you by monitoring the actual performance of the designer and contractor in providing, reviewing, and returning submittals. We can include submittal status as a regular agenda item at weekly meetings to identify and resolve any delays.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Focal’s QA/QC plan ensures that all parties are aware of their QA/QC duties and deliverables. We can verify compliance with procedures and track corrective action by implementing a computerized quality control database that can generate comprehensive checklists for all work items. We can follow up the checklists with continuous inspections or weekly control meetings to make sure that contractors and subcontractors are performing their assigned.

Focal can provide you with inspectors or staff to oversee and report on QA/QC activities performed by others. Our team can confirm that inspections and materials tests are performed according to procedures and contracts and that the contractors respond to notifications of deficiencies with the appropriate corrective actions. We can corroborate our QA/QC logs and reports with dated photographs or video.

Health & Safety

Focal can help you create a safe work environment in accordance with the guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other regulatory agencies. Our goal is to help you protect workers and the general public against accident and injury.

Our services can involve conducting a health and safety assessment and creating a site specific safety manual for your project. We can also review your contractor’s safety program to verify that it fully responds to safety regulations and contains provisions for the immediate detection and rectification of safety violations. Our staff can also prepare an emergency response plan that outlines procedures to be followed in the event of an accident.

Focal can provide trained staff to monitor safety compliance on your project. Our staff can also coordinate regular site safety meetings to discuss any actual or potential safety incidents and pass along strategies to improve site safety. We can also recommend ways to incorporate safety incentives into your construction contracts to increase your contractor’s attention to project safety.

Claims & Dispute Management

During construction, claims and dispute management is critical. Through our extensive experience in project management and dispute resolution, our dispute resolution staff can offer you assistance in claims prevention and dispute resolution. Our services can include the review of bid and contract documents to identify and correct potential claims issues. We advise your staff on the best methods of claims prevention and can help you resolve claims situations that have already arisen on your project. Our staff help you respond to actual disputes by negotiation, arbitration, or litigation support. We offer a variety of independent services such as issue analysis, as built schedule analysis, physical assessment, labour productivity analysis, presentation and graphics development, and expert testimony.

Our staff can help you avoid costly litigation with alternative dispute resolution techniques. We can provide you with construction management personnel who are skilled in acting as mediators and arbitrators for complex construction disputes. We can help your staff develop effective negotiation and mediation positions and, if necessary, can assist you in making presentations to dispute resolution boards. If matters have proceeded to trial, Focal can provide your legal counsel with advice concerning construction processes and the best way to make them intelligible to a jury. We can assist in preparing and responding to depositions and cross examinations and can offer expert testimony when needed.

Closeout & Transition

Focal can take the confusion out of project closeout and commissioning activities on even the most complex program or project. With a straightforward closeout plan and procedures reinforced by regular discussion at progress meetings, we can help your team complete closeout items at the earliest possible opportunity. Our staff can streamline closeout by developing detailed checklists for the many records, manuals, certificates, and other materials to be submitted and by managing specific closeout activities performed by the project team. We can also help your team with punch list development and other administrative matters. We can help you oversee all activities related to substantial completion. Working directly with your contractor, our staff can coordinate punch list inspections and, as necessary, see that any noted deficiencies are promptly corrected. We can also assist in completing all necessary testing and commissioning.

Focal can manage the full guarantee and warranty process, including the turnover of operations and maintenance manuals, spare parts, and documentation. Our staff can handle the financial aspects of closeout, including conditional waivers and releases of liens and stop notices from subcontractors. When closeout is finished, we can provide you with a final report that summarizes all key historical and financial information about your project for future reference. Focal can also help your staff to make a smooth transition as you move into your new facility. We can assist with move planning, scheduling, and execution. When needed, we can also provide training for your staff. We make certain you have every possible resource to manage and operate your facility.

Be next
Your project, in focus

Ready to embark on a new project? Our highly skilled team is ready to take it on.