For any project, preconstruction activities include the designing, permitting, planning, and financing of the project. Time allotments for preconstruction can vary significantly based on the owner's timeframe, sense of urgency, and the ability to obtain the proper financing for the project.

The preconstruction activity many builders find difficult is securing all the required regulatory approvals. Also, an environmental approval may be required, which can also be the source of long delays.

• Be confident that the project team has a clear understanding of the constraints of and goals for the project related to time, cost, quality, scope, and safety.

• Conduct a project transfer meeting that involves the estimating/bidding team and the construction team. This meeting should be held early in the process to ensure that all information is effectively communicated from the bid team to the actual project team. More than one meeting may be needed.

• Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-oriented (SMART) goals for the project. This can be accomplished by communicating with the owner so that there is a clear understanding of what the owner’s priorities, constraints, and restrictions are for the project.

• Ensure that systems, responsibilities, and accountabilities are established by and for the project team. Employ the 80/20 rule to help identify areas that require more effort in project planning, scheduling, and control. It's important to identify and mitigate project risks as much as possible.

• Set a plan in place for ordering and procuring long-lead items. Create and use specialized checklists, such as site logistics or commissioning checklists, to ensure that important items are not overlooked during the planning process.

• Plan for and schedule the commissioning process during the preconstruction process or earlier, depending on the contract type (e.g., lump sum or design build). It's highly desirable to create and approve a schedule of values that reflects the importance of maximizing cash inflows.

• Identify and proactively schedule the completion of all activities related to building certification such as inspections, verifications, and approvals.

• Thoroughly review the contract to ensure that the baseline schedule meets all contractual requirements and develop a complete work breakdown structure that organizes the project under headings that meet company systems requirements.

• Ensure that the schedule logic is correct and that the critical path makes sense from a constructability perspective.

• Carefully review the drawings, specifications, contract, and schedule for possible scope gaps. Pay close attention to the schedule for unnecessary stacking of resources.

• Schedule meetings with subcontractors, suppliers, authorities having jurisdiction, and people with specialized expertise to ensure that appropriate information has been gathered and activity durations are realistic and achievable.