Catalyst Builders consists of a highly skilled team of individuals with a passion for construction and client satisfaction. “Continuous Improvement” is our mantra, and this is reflected in everything we do. We approach every job as a privilege – a privilege to realize the owner’s dream and, in the process, make a significant contribution to the quality of the built environment and surrounding local community. This section addresses the following topics:

  • Continuous Improvement
  • Project Objectives & Execution
  • Project Management, Progress Documentation & Procedures

Continuous Improvement

Our company is proud of this heritage, and attributes our success to the philosophy and approach taken on every project, no matter how large or small. Our team approach to construction promotes open communication and continuous improvement from all team members. We empower team members to suggest ideas and to make day-to-day small improvements in processes that, when added together, represent enormous savings for the project and higher self esteem for team members. The result is a constantly improving construction process that will produce a high quality completed project for you. Our mantra of Continuous Improvement is instilled in every employee, every trade contractor, and every supplier that works on a Catalyst Builders project. It will become a cornerstone for your project.

Project Objectives & Execution

For your project, execution of the Construction Schedule is critical to an efficient allocation of people and resources. Our entire project team understands the importance of meeting the following project objectives:

  • Develop a Construction Schedule that will meet or improve upon the completion date;
  • Stay within the budget for the project.

Other project objectives may surface from the formal Pre-Construction Meetings with you or the Owner’s Representative.

In execution of the work for your project, the Catalyst Builders team will employ its proprietary project management process and methods of tracking and scheduling the work, consisting of:

Pre-Construction Meeting with City Building/Public Works Staff and Other Agencies. We typically support a pre-construction meeting with city, county and other agency staff to review the plan of construction, and the procedures and construction practices that will be followed onsite. This sets the proper expectations with “government types” early on in the process, and fosters clear communication on matters outlined in the Project Manual including, but not limited to: compliance with city noise and land use compatibility standards; traffic control and job site signage; inspections; noise control; fire prevention; public safety measures; water runoff and erosion control (as dictated by the SWPPP plan, if applicable); dust control; and any other matters deemed important to the city or other agency having jurisdiction over the project and the site.

Kickoff Meeting with the Construction Team is typically held onsite with all employees and trade contractors a few days prior to breaking ground. The purpose of this meeting is threefold:

  • To revisit project goals and objectives;
  • To reinforce what Catalyst Builders expects from team members, and to review key project milestones and deadlines for the project; and
  • To introduce you or Owner’s Representative to the team.

The Kickoff Meeting sets the stage for open communication from day #1, and leads to efficient execution by the entire project team. A complete set of plans are present for reference as needed, as well as the detailed Construction Schedule. Team members are alerted in advance to any perceived critical construction tasks and/or scheduling challenges. Team members are encouraged to come forward to get questions answered about issues they found in their own review of the plans and/or schedule. No questions are left unanswered.

Frequent Communication via email or telephone with you or the Owner’s Representative, as required, on matters that require your input. This is critical to dealing with issues as they arise and keeping the project moving on schedule. It also helps to surface items that need to be added to the Progress Team meeting agenda.

Job Site Facilitation is state-of-the-art, employing the latest in technology for keeping remote site superintendents and project managers “connected” to office resources for more efficient job site facilitation. Using VPN (Virtual Private Networking), private IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and advanced encryption to keep sensitive files secure, Catalyst Builders field personnel (using laptops and “aircards”) stay connected to the office from virtually anywhere cellular service is available. Email and important files, typically too valuable to take onsite, are always available by accessing the office secure server through the VPN. Access to email is essential to coordination of trade contractors, and allows for effective written followup on key decisions made in the field and/or matters relating to the timely completion of tasks. Field personnel also have access to other office resources, such as high speed laser printers and plotters.

The combined system of local and wide area networking (LAN and WAN) allows the Project Manager and Project Superintendent to perform necessary project bookkeeping and electronic filing from the job site, without returning to the office or working after hours to keep up. Productivity goes through the roof, and effectiveness is increased. What’s more, everyone on the team has access to all project information in “real time,” thereby increasing the productivity and efficiency of the overall project team.

Security of the Site is state of the art, going far beyond security procedures required for the project. Catalyst Builders offers the capability to implement 24×7 job site monitoring using the latest in technology. This consists of secure IP-addressable cameras placed at the job and connected wirelessly to a server in the job site trailer.

The system gives anyone with the proper access code, including you or the Owner’s Representative, to view the onsite cameras on their own computer from virtually anywhere Internet access is available. The system also can be installed to trigger alarms for certain criteria. The benefit of this solution is greater peace of mind for everyone involved in the project. The Catalyst Builders team can employ a security fence around work areas to provide protection for materials and improvements, and to limit access to the site to only those persons involved in the work. All materials delivered to the site are neatly stacked in designated areas and secured within the security fence.

Safety of Workers and Clean Job Site is a requirement of all Catalyst Builders jobs. Construction site rules are posted on every job. Team members use safety equipment and clothing, and are experienced in the safe way of getting the job done. New workers are trained before going on to the job site. Spotters are employed whenever heavy equipment is being operated near other workers. Each team member knows to clean up construction debris from a productive day’s work prior to leaving the premises. The Project Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent walk the job before leaving for the day to ensure that the job site is tidy and meets Catalyst Builders standards before closing.

Project Management, Progress Documentation & Procedures

Catalyst Builders will utilize a team approach and its proven project management techniques to complete the scope of work, achieve project objectives, and meet the Construction Schedule. It is the Project Superintendent’s responsibility, working closely with the Project Manager, to ensure that all trade contractors and employees work together as a team. Prior to the contract phase, our Project Manager will initiate contact with you or the Owner’s Representative and prepare a Preliminary Construction Schedule.

Our project management techniques include, but are not limited to:

  • Single point of contact – all communications from Catalyst Builders will be channeled from the Project Manager through to you or the Owner’s Representative.
  • A Project Team Roster – consisting of contact names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses is prepared and distributed to you or the Owner’s Representative, employees, trade contractors, and other key project personnel.
  • Chain of command – all members of the project team follow proper chain of command and lines of communication in resolving any questions that arise onsite. The goal is to resolve all questions at the site level. If the Project Superintendent is unable to resolve a question or issue, it is escalated to the Project Manager or the Senior Project Manager.
  • Progress Meetings of the Project Development Team will be held bi-weekly at a regular day/time and location to be mutually agreed upon by you or the Owner’s Representative, and Catalyst Builders. (Note: it is expected that much more frequent communication with you or the Owner’s Representative is likely, sometimes daily, via phone and email.). The purpose of these meetings is to review progress against the Construction Schedule in terms of accomplishments during the two-week period just completed, and a review of tasks planned for completion in the subsequent period. Also reviewed and discussed are any submittals on substitution requests, change orders and/or RFI’s. The Catalyst Builders Project Manager will prepare and distribute a preliminary agenda prior to meetings as a reminder; regular members may request additions to the agenda up to two days prior to the actual meeting. Any changes to the preliminary agenda will be distributed to regular members two days before the actual meeting date.

The Project Development Team shall consist of the following regular members:

  • Senior Project Manager or Project Manager (Catalyst Builders)
  • Project Superintendent (Catalyst Builders)
  • You or the Owner’s Representative

It is the responsibility of all regular members to guide project activities and control expenditures in accordance with the Construction Schedule and budget. Attendance is mandatory for all regular meetings. The Project Manager shall control the meetings, and extend invitations to subcontractor(s) or suppliers who will be invited on an “as needed” basis (as determined by agenda items), and to any other attendees to be invited at the request of you or the Owner’s Representative. The Project Manager will record the minutes of the meeting and publish them electronically via email within 48-hours after the meeting, complete with status update on any progress made on Key Decision Points.

The Construction Schedule, prepared with Microsoft Project, will show your project broken down into major phases and using horizontal bars to represent the duration of each task or activity within each phase. The Construction Schedule will use a one week interval timescale and graphically display start-to-finish and finish-to-start tasks, task dependencies and relationships, task owners, milestones, and critical path. Percentage of completion of each task, updated weekly, is also shown graphically with a solid line inside the horizontal bar. Progress is tracked against a baseline schedule so that the Project Manager can anticipate and look for opportunities to expedite the schedule. The Construction Schedule is distributed to you or the Owner’s Representative, subcontractors and all other entities whose work will be influenced by dates in the schedule.