Gibraltar Design

Engineering Savings

Gibraltar’s proven value engineering process provides the design team with the real cost implications of their design strategy. The cost information is evaluated at each step in the process to make sure the project stays on budget. Nelson elaborated, “Once we have the education goals and the budget, we begin our design process by balancing the goals against their costs. We have a reputation for delivering our projects on time and on budget. One of our key strengths is understanding the value engineering process on a project. We can adjust and modify our design to maximize our clients’ objectives and accurately determine the impact on budget. We have the ability to coordinate all disciplines and apply common sense value engineering every day.”

Value engineering does not mean cheapening the project. It is a process to achieve the client’s priorities and goals. Gibraltar empowers the client to understand how the budget is used and allows them to control how much is spent. A top priority for every school district is managing the ever-increasing cost of building operations. Operating costs, in particular, are forcing administrators to make tough choices that can affect classroom performance. Gibraltar takes a life cycle cost approach when presenting alternatives to their clients. Clients can evaluate different up-front costs with ongoing energy costs under each scenario. Some systems are highly efficient but very complicated to operate. Gibraltar makes sure the facilities staff will have the resources to maintain the proposed system.

Teamwork is important on any successful project. From design through completed construction, Gibraltar is providing support to client and the construction contractors working on the project. Dan Oliver, head of construction services, oversees projects in the field. “Every project has construction challenges. Our job as field personnel is to identify, solve and overcome those challenges as early and as quickly as possible,” said Oliver. “We are responsible, responsive and accountable throughout the entire process.”