ADVANCED COORDINATION
Our team provides a unique approach to designing and coordinating MEP on complex projects.
In the traditional process, Coordination starts after subcontractors are bought, during which time they must fight the clock to deliver shop drawings.
Prefix’s Value Coordination (TM) process starts in parallel with design teams from early SD documents and produces documentation at greater than 100% CD-level. These fully coordinated design documents give the team and Owner full confidence to award subcontractors earlier, safer, and more competitively. When the subcontractor is brought onboard, instead of starting the coordination process from scratch, they have a nearly complete set of shop drawings and models to work from, which in many cases means all they need to do is validate and reissue shop drawings for sign-off.
Shop Drawing quality during Schematic Design
We think like the trades when it comes to installation… Everything that is drawn is optimized for fabrication and installation.
Subcontractors can take our BIM and create shop drawings directly from the model, and this can be done right after the bid. Hence, fabrication can start weeks after the buyout. This is significantly more efficient than the traditional process.
Value Coordination is the practice of achieving cost savings via redesign and/or rerouting of MEP systems. This typically creates greater cost savings than value engineering.
When working with design teams, we create a better routing layout that saves money while the project is early in design. Resolving such issues is 80% less expensive during design than during traditional coordination.
Value Coordination
Instead of having fabricators, installers, and coordinators of 5 trades, the CM’s coordinators, estimators, and superintendent, and the MEPFP engineers involved during the DD stage trying to optimize the design, Prefix does it once and does it right.
Early Problem Resolution
The time and effort solve a design issue during preconstruction is inherently higher than during design, as there are more parties involved latter in the project. While more parties normally bring more expertise, in practice Prefix has a documented track record of resolving design issues early in design at lower costs.
Fabrication cannot be optimized unless coordination is completed with all mechanical systems in building systems. Prefix takes coordinated drawings to begin a fabrication process. In the usual process, subcontractors are brought on and start a long coordination process – major issues are flushed out, but signoff coordination completion times are pushed further back and the amount of fabrication capabilities are minimized.