Rising construction delays in Canada – Part 2: The solutions

Altus Insights Podcast Series

Date: July 21st, 2022

Name of podcast: Altus Insights Podcast Series

Episode title and number: Rising construction delays in Canada – Part 2: The solutions

Episode summary: Ray and Marlon continue their discussion on commercial and residential real estate development delays with Duan van der Merwe, Associate Director in the Contract Solutions Group at Altus Group. In this episode Ray, Marlon and Duan lay out strategies, solutions, and innovations for addressing the increasing number of delays in construction.

Panelists in this episode:

· Duan van der Merwe is an Associate Director in Altus’ Contract Solutions Group. Duan is a Planning and Project Controls professional experienced in both Project Management and Forensic Delay Analysis roles on major projects across the Middle East and North America. His experience includes high rise towers, road/rail infrastructure, major ports and airports. He is a qualified Chartered Construction Manager with the Chartered Institute of Building and is currently working towards his Chartered Engineer qualification under the Institution of Civil Engineers in the United Kingdom and his P.Eng. License under Professional Engineers Ontario.

· Raymond Wong is the Vice President of Data Operations for Altus Group’s Data Solutions team. Overseeing 60+ researchers across Canada, Ray’s primary responsibility is to ensure data collection is all encompassing, reliable and accurate and that it adheres to the Altus Group data governance guidelines. Ray works closely with both internal and external clients to ensure the information meets their needs and that it is both accurate and timely. He also regularly presents on key market trends to clients and at industry events.

· Marlon Bray is the head of Altus Group's Ontario pre-construction and contract administration services as part of the Cost and Project Management team. With over 25 years of experience, specializing in budgeting, value optimization, and providing visibility on risk through the entire lifecycle from early due diligence through to completion. Marlon oversees a team that leads the way with cutting-edge estimating technology and data analytics, bringing a greater level of transparency, and added value to all projects he is involved with.

Key topics:

· 00:31 – Proactive vs. Reactive - Mitigating risk in your construction schedule

· 08:04 – How detailed should a construction schedule be?

· 08:57 – Striking the balance on a construction schedule

· 11:20 – Updates from Ray on special renovations: Raising the roof on industrial and office to residential conversion

· 14:09 – Tackling renovation scheduling

· 22:53 - Innovations in documenting construction progress and claims defense

· 29:35 - What happens when schedules go wrong?

· 32:10 - Why you should treat scheduling with the same level of concern as construction costs

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