Condition Surveys

• Condition Assessments

• Structural Assessments

• Dilapidation Surveys

• Diagnostic Surveys

• Safety Inspections and Make Safe Works

• Design & Installation of Corrosion Monitoring Systems

• Design of Electro-Chemical Systems to Manage Chloride Ion Induced Steel Corrosion

• Design of Project Specific Specifications and Method Statements

• Provision of Project Specific 'Bills of Quantities' for Competitive Tendering

 

Concrete Repair – Cost Certainty

Over the last thirty years we at JDF have become aware that cost control of concrete repair projects has often been a cause for concern for many professional practices, their clients and building owners within the industry.

 

Rising costs occur due to any one or more of the following:

• Lack of understanding of the cause of the concrete degradation.
• No proper establishment of the scope and extent of the works.
• Inappropriate (non fit for purpose) specification and method statements.
• Insufficient clarity of tender documents making cost comparison difficult.
• No accurate, auditable 'Bill of Quantities', if any at all

 

At JDF we believe the main cause for this is because the addressing of the above requires a coordination of several different disciplines:

• Qualified knowledge of Structural and Civil Engineering
• Chemical, Mechanical, Electrochemical Testing & Visual Survey work.
• Knowledge of suitable fit for purpose repair systems.
• Preparation of tender documents and schedules of defects.
• Preparation of auditable, properly calculated Bill of Quantities

 

From our many years of experience we believe not enough organisations have the capability of combining all these skills - thus resulting in a weakness somewhere in the tender documentation which often results in escalating costs.

Lack of confidence over cost certainty can restrict investment in the industry, building owners become nervous about spending their money because they worry about the possibility of rising costs once they have committed to a concrete repair project and the result can reflect badly on those of us involved in delivering the product.

The ruthless opportunist, once on site, will exploit weak documentation in order to make a 'fast buck' but for the reputable amongst us who take a pride in our work, have been in business a long time with a good track record and wish to continue trading long into the future, this is counterproductive.

Cost Certainty and accuracy is possible in concrete repair. Lump sum, fixed cost and time repair contracts can
be provided.

At JDF we know what project information we need to provide cost certainty because after many years experience in the industry we know what good information looks like, and uniquely every one of our management team has a distinctly different set of skills and experience.

The condition surveys we have developed have been specifically designed to assist professional bodies to arrive at cost certainty concerning the cost of remedial works.

The survey systems we use are fully auditable, covered by professional indemnity, and allow us to accurately determine cause, scope and extent of works. This further enables us to produce purpose designed specification and method statements which can be demonstrated as being 'fit for purpose'.

The schedules of defects produced as a result of the visual and hammer tapping exercise provide us with the means to also produce, a project specific 'Bill of Quantities', accurate cost advice and time scales.

This means that lump sum, fixed cost and time repair contracts can be provided.
Cost certainty, quality of work, professionalism and fine tabled repair works to suit budgets are vital and it gives the client comfort that money is not only being spent wisely but that there are 'no embarrassing surprises'. Easy and direct comparison of competitive tenders is then also possible.