3. THE FIT OUT

It is best to appoint a “turnkey” design and build company to carry out the work. This means that all the necessary elements of the work are being managed by one contractor.

Sometimes clients will ask the IT and cabling element of the works are carried out by their own preferred suppliers and a reasonable D&B provider should not object to this or insist on charging any onerous or extra costs to allow this to take place. In fairness to them though, they will be the “main contractor” which means that they will be responsible for Health and Safety on site and more often than not, will have to clear up and dispose of the rubbish after these external contractors have finished their work (they are notorious for not doing so). It is therefore reasonable for them to charge a management fee for this.

Elements that a competent turnkey D&B contractor will carry out are:

Compliance

• Health and Safety
• Method Statements
• Risk Analysis appraisals
• Building Control Approval Certification
• Fire Escape and Detection Systems
• DDA compliance (Disable Discrimination Act)
• Planning Permissions
• CDM regulations (to ensure the client has a Safety Supervisor acting for them)
• OMM annual (post site file containing details of all materials used and kit installed along with operational manuals, plans etc)

Building Work

• Partitioning, doors, glass etc
• Electrical installations
• Data cabling installations
• Raised floors/ceilings
• Carpets/flooring
• Plumbing
• Lighting

Appointing a Fit-Out Contractor

• The vast majority of sub 10,000 sq ft fit-outs are via the “Design and Build Route” Very simply, there are two main ways to carry out the works (with many variations of these!) but very basically, these are:
  • The Traditional Method
  • The Design and Build Route

The Traditional Method

• Here, one appoints an Architect or Building Surveyor (for a non- recoverable fee) to carry out the space plans and specification of the works. Once these have been finalised, they will be tendered out to contractors. This takes many weeks to do. On appointment of a contractor, a JCT or similar contract will be used which specifies stage payments (sometime with and sometimes without a deposit) based on valuations of the progress of the job. The job is managed throughout by the appointed professional (again, for a fee).

The Design and Build Method

• Here, the D&B Company carry out the initial inspections, space plans and costings for free (usually unless very detailed plans are needed). They will offer a “fixed price” and often use their own simple contract with tranche payments system with a deposit and fortnightly/monthly payments (or whatever is agreed) throughout the project based on a % of the total contract price.

REMEMBER! Incorporate a “retention” of the contract price (say 2.5%) which you retain for a period of say 3 months after practical completion of the project.

Pros and Cons

• The traditional method is slower as the specification has to be completed in its entirety and then tendered out to various contractors.
• Should negotiations on the premises fall through, the client will have incurred abortive costs for the design and specification which are non-recoverable.
• In fast track schemes where there is limited time to carry out the project, work can actually commence with a D&B company before agreement on some aspects of design as these can be carried out in parallel with the initial works.
• The traditional method is very much based on choosing the cheapest tender price. Contractors are wise to this and therefore go in hard with a view to “ramping” the cost during the work. The JCT is a highly detailed and lengthy document full of legalise and this means that the contract can be highly paper-driven. The relationship between Contract Administrator and contractor can be highly adversarial as contractors try to increase their profits and the Architects or Building Surveyors try to keep the variations and extras down.

The Traditional Method is slow and cumbersome and is not necessarily cheaper than the Turnkey Design and Build Method.

Managing the Fit Out

• Agree a “DMU” (Decision Making Unit) and a strict line of communication between individual from both the contractor and your company.
• Have weekly on site meetings to note the progress of the work
• Ensure that there is a system for ensuring that any additions or variations to the contract are confirmed in writing
• Ensure that you have a pre-snagging meeting a few days before completions
• Ensure a final snagging meeting where all faults are agreed and recorded. Agree a strict timetable for completion of these.
• Always have contractors onsite when the furniture is being fitted so that floor boxes, data
• and electrical points can be moved or adjusted to suite the desking layout. Previous space plans showing these locations are never 100% accurate

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