Construction Support Services

Construction Inspections and Field Services
ECMS has employed innovative approaches with our field inspection services to ensure that the project cost and time span does not exceed the appropriated quantities. In order to prevent a costly overrun due to a bust in the unit item quantities, a partnering meeting is routinely conducted with all stakeholders (owner, architects/engineering, contractors and community) to address the project challenges. The Construction Manager and Field Inspectors also audit the projects reported weekly/monthly quantities to accurately pay the contractor.

ECMS' team licensed certified inspectors (Construction and NICET) has enabled the project team to uniformly interpret contract documents and enforce the quality construction of each project. This standardized approach to observing, examining and reporting the contractor's activities coincides with standard industry practices.

Our inspectors provide quality control for the field procedures and reporting to further ensure that requirements of the contract documents are met. The field QA/QC has facilitated our ability to be immediately responsive to the contractor's request to make minor field adjustments, request for information (RFI), and address other site-specific needs and or concerns.

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Management of Quality Construction Work
ECMS, Inc. has demonstrated our ability to manage construction in order to achieve the quality of work required by the construction contract by utilizing knowledgeable certified inspectors, an experienced and certified senior inspector and by planning - a proactive project  management approach

Our team of six (6) certified inspectors has enabled the project team to uniformly interpret contract documents arfa enforce the quality of construction on each project. This standardized approach to observing, examining and reporting the contractor's activities coincides with Section 3.1 of the City of Houston Construction Branch Process Manual.

Our certified senior inspector provides quality control for the field procedures and reporting to further ensure that requirements of the contract documents are met. The senior inspector's role in providing field QA/QC has facilitated our ability to be immediately responsive to the contractor's request to make minor field adjustments, requests for information, and address other site-specific needs and concerns.

In accordance with our mission statement and guiding principles, the project management team believes in planning continuously, resolving issues proactively and implementing tasks based on standard processes. Our project management team is intimately familiar with the City of Houston Construction Branch Process Manual. . And our services has been thoroughly integrated with the City's CIP Management System for processing, tracking and reporting construction projects.

These tools and our approach have enabled us to confidently and consistently ensure that quality construction work is achieved throughout the project duration. This fact is substantiated by our documented ability to quickly close projects and submit close-out documents to the City.

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Coordination of Construction Activities
ECMS, Inc. has demonstrated our ability to coordinate construction activities and to minimize construction impacts to the general public by systematically tracking/logging and responding to constituent concerns, coordinating with city personnel and utility companies.

Minimizing the negative impact of construction activity on the community is first accomplished by ensuring that residents have the appropriate awareness per the contract documents. It is also very important that we compile every issue and concern communicated to the field team or the City's 311 system, or Customer Response System. By capturing of this information in an organized system and disseminating it to with the field team, we ensure that when the project is complete there are no outstanding issues to be resolved. We have developed an excellent reputation with the City for our enthusiasm and eagerness to quickly resolve and respond to complaints.

Coordinating with multiple City departments and utility companies is very important because it directly affects the contractor's planned activities and the duration of the impact to residents. Our senior inspector and inspectors have been trained to plan ahead by initiating conversations with the City's valve, chlorination and operations department prior to the actual formal request. This typically provides them with enough time to secure the necessary resources to support the request without delaying the contractor. We work very closely with CenterPoint, SBC, Reliant Energy and other utility companies to coordinate unmarked and incorrectly marked utilities and repairs.

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Managmenet of Budget and Schedule
ECMS, Inc. has demonstrated our ability to effectively manage owner's costs and to meet construction schedules by establishing and maintaining effective communications, creating an atmosphere of cooperation, and incorporating innovative negotiation techniques with the contractor.

In addition to conducting monthly progress meetings, our project team has demonstrated the ability to keep their fingers on the pulse of the contractor in order to anticipate potential problems and begin developing the best solution. Maintaining a continuous dialogue with the contractor has enabled us to minimize the number of unexpected claims and change orders

Any successful project team requires commitment and responsiveness from all stakeholders (owner, contractor, engineer, construction manager, and community). ECMS, Inc. has excelled at motivating the project team to collectively ensure that any issue or document requiring submittal or response is handled timely and professionally. We believe that this atmosphere of cooperation inspires contractors to strive for the timely completion of the project and aids in maintaining the project schedule.

ECMS, Inc. has employed innovative approaches to ensure that the project cost does not exceed the appropriated amount. In order to prevent a costly overrun due to a bust in the unit item quantities, a partnering meeting was conducted with all the stakeholders to address the project challenges. The meeting resulted in averting .a cost overrun of 11% and closing the project 4% under the original contract amount. The office and field team also audits the project reported quantities monthly to accurately pay the contractor. Our commitment to being fiscally responsible is demonstrated by consistently adhering to our budgets. And we constantly challenge and encourage the contractor to respect the limits of the appropriated funds.

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Issue and Conflict Resolution
ECMS, Inc. has demonstrated our ability to work with the contractor in resolving construction conflicts and ensuring construction safety by problem solving in the field and providing timely responses to Requests for Information (RFI). We have demonstrated our ability to minimize conflicts between stakeholders by promoting an environment in which all team members can communicate freely. In addition, our team is also capable of providing constructability reviews which can greatly reduce the number of potential construction conflicts.

We have been very successful at coordinating with all team members and stakeholders to obtain the appropriate response. The response is then submitted to the contractor in a timely manner to avoid any schedule impacts.

Our experienced team has demonstrated that we are capable and committed to helping the contractor solve minor issues in the field before they become problems. Our role and scope goes beyond observing and reporting the activities of the contractor. The technical strength of our team is exemplified by the low number of change orders per project that result from unresolved site problems.

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Construction Materials Testing
ECMS performs a wide variety of construction materials testing services, including the following:

• Soils and Base Materials
  
• Aggregate
  
• Concrete
  
• Asphaltic Concrete
  
• Coring Services
  
• Reinforcing Steel
  
• Structural Steel
  
• Steel Coating and Paint Thickness
  
• Roofing
  
• Masonry
  
• Asphaltic Paving
  
• Fireproofing
  
• CBR and Load Tests
  
• Post-Tension, Pre-Stressed and Cast-in-Place Inspections

Quality Assurance
Because of our work with many public agencies, we maintain a comprehensive QA/QC system. Our equipment and procedures are periodically monitored as a part of these procedures. All personnel follow written ASTM guidelines for materials testing. Testing procedures and results are carefully documented and reviewed by the Project Coordinator and Quality Control/Quality Assurance Manager.

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Geotechnical Engineering
A key ingredient in any successful construction project is a properly designed foundation. To achieve this, ECMS offers a full range of soil testing resources, field exploration equipment, and a professional staff of geologists and engineers. This gives ECMS the versatility and variety to tailor its geotechnical services to suit the individual needs of your projects. ECMS has assisted in the investigation, design and construction of numerous foundations and earth structures in Texas, including the following:

• Shallow and Deep Foundations
• Roadway Pavements
• Mechanically Stabilized Earth Stru/ctures
• Retaining Walls
• Rock Fill Dams and Earthen Embankment Structures
• Soil Stabilization
• Dredging Recommendations

ECMS has also assisted in the analysis, design and implementation of numerous soil improvement projects which included the following:

• Surface Lime Stabilization
  
• Lime Injection
  
• Ionic Solution Injection
  
• Cement Modification
  
• Grout Injection
  
• Deep Dynamic Compaction

As a part of our general geotechnical engineering services, ECMS offers extensive experience in forensic geotechnical engineering for the investigation and analysis of movements and failures in virtually any foundation or structure.

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Summary and Performance Measures
ECMS, Inc. has demonstrated its expertise and ability to provide unparalleled construction management and inspection services for the Houston Area. We appreciate your consideration of selecting us to provide continued construction management services and offer the following as advantages for choosing our team:

• Proven history of exemplary performance
• Experienced, efficient and well-organized team
• All proposed inspectors are City of Houston certified
• Mission and Principle-guided approach to providing Construction Management and Inspection services
• Currently utilizing CIP Management System to produce deliverables
• Currently providing services in accordance with ECMS Process Manual
• A committed project team with great work ethic
• ECMS, Inc. is proud of our past and current performance and have provided an overview of how we have demonstrated our abilities on the chart

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