SLI Group, Inc.

Architecture

As soon as you approve the Design Development Documents, SLI’s architects and consulting engineers will prepare the drawings, specifications and requirements for construction of the project and assist in preparing the necessary bidding and contractual information for construction. SLI provides a minimum of three (3) Owner Representative Meetings including:

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20% architectural, engineering drawings review
50% architectural, engineering drawings review
90% architectural, engineering drawings review

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Construction Documents include:

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Drawings documenting the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, civil, landscape, interior design, and signage for the project. The drawings produced will be used to obtain all jurisdictional approvals.
Specifications outlining the levels of quality and standards to be met in the construction of the project.
Bidding requirements, including the information and forms for bidding.

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In-house plan reviews are on-going throughout the documentation phase to reduce inconsistencies and/or conflicts in the drawings and details. SLI’s plan review process is a large portion of our Quality Assurance program. Based on the project requirements and development schedule, it may be necessary to produce documents by phases to allow permitting and construction of portions of your project prior to finalizing details on other phases.

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Staying Within Budget
\r\nWe already know the cost as the project moves from Design Documents (DD’s) into Construction Documents (CD’s). Construction Documentation with a budget based on “hope” is not a strategy for success. We design in accordance to the budget outlined.

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For years, SLI has lived out its business philosophy by making sure that Construction Documents accurately represent the initial budget. Monitoring the cost as CDs continue to develop is a fluid process at SLI, not an event or point in time.

Design

Design Development Phase
\r\nDuring the Design Development Phase of the project, the architects, interior designers and consulting engineers, along with the equipment suppliers, prepare drawings, details and specifications that describe and fix the intent of the project. Design Development includes:

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Building systems alternatives with anticipated recoveries for energy efficiency review and selection
Site development infrastructure review and selection
Building assembly alternatives with associated cost savings
Equipment vendor review and selection
Back-up energy systems review and selection
Energy management systems review and selection
Weatherproofing assembly review and selection
Exterior finish alternatives review and selection
Interior assembly and finish alternatives review and selection
Project phasing requirements are identified, reviewed, and incorporated into the overall Project Development Schedule

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At the conclusion of the Design Development Phase:

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All building assemblies, finishes and equipment have been identified and specified
The project budget has been modified to reflect the selected assembly and/or systems
The schedule has been coordinated to reflect the actual project requirements

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Where SLI differs from our competitors is that we purchase materials directly from the manufacturers, rather than from the subcontractors. It’s faster and more economical for you, and it allows SLI to maintain schedule control.

Construction

Our commercial Design-Build firm provides full-service construction, contracting and management services that assume responsibility, with no excuses, for delivering a cost effective, quality project, on time and within budget.

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Your Single-Source for Commercial Design-Build
\r\nToo many times we have watched the traditional design/bid/build method fail through lack of single-source responsibility. The architect and general contractor are natural adversaries who traditionally say “it’s not my fault” while pointing the finger at someone else — and the typical result is that you pay again and again.

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Commercial Design-Build services from a single source removes the adversarial conflicts, builds the team and guarantees that you will receive the most cost effective end result. We design and build to meet your budget.

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Our construction team is led by one of our project managers, an experienced commercial Design-Build staff member who oversees all facets of your project. The project is supported by one of our construction managers, a full-time, on-site superintendent, a project architect, an intern architect, project designer, construction purchaser, and a FF&E purchaser. The project team first establishes a critical path schedule that ensures timely project completion. SLI’s experience in facility construction provides our team with the knowledge and methods that make it possible to adhere to your schedule from start to finish.

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Most any construction company can build. It’s as much the experience as it is the final product, which is where SLI differs from the rest. We utilize outside resources whenever and wherever possible to make our products better. From third party mandatory safety inspections on our projects to third party reviews of our exterior building envelope, SLI uses the WHOLE team.

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Ensuring Quality Control
\r\nSLI’s commercial Design-Build experience, as well as an in-depth understanding of the total project requirements, enables us to offer a unique quality control program. The program is designed to minimize construction time and cost overruns while maintaining a quality project.

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Acting as commercial architect, specifier, scheduling coordinator, estimator, purchasing agent and job site supervisor, our staff of professionals work with subcontractors, equipment suppliers, manufacturers and installers to develop comprehensive development and construction schedules. In addition, SLI provides supervision at the construction site to enable immediate resolution of job site problems. SLI’s system of quality control assures “on-time” and “in-budget” projects. Typical quality assurance methods include:

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Project development scheduling from project inception to closeout
Drawing scrub meetings
Budget reviews
Coordination between all contractors, vendors and you
Preparation of status reports for you
Job site review of construction status
Jobsite safety meetings
Scheduling and coordination of equipment and signage installations
Coordination of furnishings and accessories installations
Purchasing material direct from the factory to control schedule and budget

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SLI’s project close out, commissioning and punchlist start on the first day of the project. We take pride in providing you with accurate and useful as-built drawings at the end of the project. We test and walk you through every section of the project including controls, fire alarm, lighting, HVAC servicing and operation, break room and kitchen appliances and signage. We equip you with a warranty book listing all subcontractors and vendors with samples and warranties for all parts of the project from roofing to carpet.

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Our Commitment to Safety
\r\nIn addition to designing and building excellent facilities, the SLI Group, Inc. takes pride in our safety performance. All of our construction managers and superintendents receive yearly OSHA and First Aid training. Our superintendents perform daily safety checklists and hold weekly on site safety meetings with subcontractors Our construction managers perform a monthly jobsite safety checklist. Every SLI project receives a visit from our third party safety inspector at various stages of the work to ensure and protect our excellent safety record and good standing with OSHA. Our safety inspector is a recognized OSHA trainer and together with our construction managers and superintendents we can anticipate, recognize, control and prevent accidents.

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A True Commercial Design-Build Firm
\r\nThere are many commercial Design-Build companies in the market today who primarily consist of a commercial architecture firm and a separate general contractor who “partner” together for a particular project. SLI Group, Inc. is a fully integrated commercial Design-Build company and has been designing and building projects since 1976!

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As a fully integrated commercial Design-Build company, our team can communicate better, design more efficiently and build projects faster. We have accredited professionals on staff ensuring efficient designs along with superintendents and project managers in the field with the experience necessary to complete projects on time and in budget.

Preliminary Planning

SLI Group, Inc. Architecture and Design-Build process begins with preliminary planning. In this phase, we work with you to develop preliminary plans and cost estimates.

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Programming

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Meet with you to identify current/future staffing needs, adjacencies and equipment requirements

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Prepare Preliminary Plans

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Site Plans
Floor Plans
Furniture Layouts
Building Elevations
Computer Models

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Develop a Scope of Work

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Describes generic specifications including:

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Utilities, Site Work, and Drainage
Building Construction
Interior Finish-out
Furnishings and Equipment

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Prepare Cost Estimates

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Detailed cost estimates will be prepared based on preliminary plans and the scope of work. We guarantee that our final cost proposal will be within 10% of the preliminary cost estimate.

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The Result

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A total concept that answers the questions

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What will it look like?
How will it be built?
How much will it cost?

Master Planning

As a project is developed, it’s important to consider future growth and expansion. Development of early phases should facilitate and flow into later phases rather than impede future development. To accomplish this, SLI Group, Inc. leads you through the following steps of master planning:

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Capturing the Vision

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Interview representatives to identify short and long term objectives
Study growth projections
Analyze demographics to determine their impact on the master plan
Quantify the vision

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Evaluating Existing Land and Facilities

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Determine capacities of existing facilities and the site
Study traffic patterns and circulation
Research regulatory requirements
Make recommendations for planned uses

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Matching the Vision with Existing Capacities

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Determine the best utilization of the site for new facilities, parking, circulation and green space
Develop phasing plans for development

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Preparing Preliminary Plans

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Develop the master site plan
Develop preliminary space plans with room configurations and furniture layouts
Develop building elevations and colored renderings

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Preparing Cost Estimates

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Develop a detailed scope of work
Estimate the costs for the development

Value Engineering

As a commercial design-build firm, SLI purchases products and materials on a daily basis and is in tune with cost trends and product technologies. Accordingly, we design construction assemblies to achieve your desired objectives. We study the costs of the assemblies and make recommendations based on the construction cost, appearance, useful life, energy efficiency and maintenance costs over the life of the building. Our value engineering services include:

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Structural Components
Energy Management Systems
Electrical and Lighting Systems
Air Conditioning Systems
Plumbing Systems
Interior Finishes
Exterior Finishes
Landscaping

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The result is a state of the art building design that meets your construction and operating budgets.

Cost Estimating

After the preliminary plans and scope of work are completed, a cost estimate is prepared. SLI Group, Inc. maintains a proprietary computerized data base for estimating. The data base is comprised of cost assemblies based on actual cost data and is continually updated to reflect cost trends for specific items. SLI guarantees that the cost estimate will be within 10% of the final lump sum cost subject to client driven scope of work changes.

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Prior to preparing the cost estimate, we will review with you the construction assemblies upon which the estimate is based. For example, the type of building structure, roof, exterior building finishes, doors, interior finishes, built-in cabinetry, electrical and plumbing fixtures, HVAC system, furnishings, sound and lighting systems, paving and site lighting that will be used. Our estimators will takeoff the various dimensions for these components from the preliminary plans and prepare a detailed estimate.

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The resulting estimate will be complete and include all items necessary to complete the project, whether or not the items are being provided by SLI. The project and costs are defined prior to incurring the expense of detailed plans. This eliminates any surprises down the road.

Project Supervision

Each SLI Group, Inc. commercial design-build project has a construction manager, construction superintendent, project architect, interior designer, construction purchase agent and FF&E purchase agent assigned to it, who all play an active role in the supervision of your project.

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Construction managers are responsible for the project during construction. Their role is to establish standards for quality and safety. They monitor the overall progress of the project and compare it to the schedule to ensure the project is completed on time.

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Construction superintendents report directly to the construction manager and are on the project site while work is performed. Each superintendent is assigned to only one project. Their role is to ensure that quality and safety standards are met on a daily basis. They verify that work is performed as described in your plans and specifications. They are also available to answer questions or concerns that you may have.

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Construction and FF&E purchasing agents are responsible for buying all specified materials and labor required for the project in a timely manner to make sure the project stays on schedule.

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The project architect and interior designer will make numerous field visits to ensure that the work is constructed within the parameters of the plans that were prepared. There is no limit to the number of trips the project architect and interior designer will make to your site.

Site Location Studies

Site Location Studies
\r\nSLI obtains and studies information to make recommendations for potential site locations in a given area based in part on the following information:

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