Clients often ask us: "Isn't it cheaper to use a design/build contractor?"

As in everything in life the answer is, it depends. In some cases, it can actually cost more, or result in hidden costs and/or inferior work.

One thing to remember, is that ANY design build contractor will always have THEIR bottom line in mind, and aim to do whatever makes them the most profit quickly, usually selling whatever product lines they are authorized for or have in stock.

By using a consultant, you are guaranteed that they work solely for you, and will design a system that best suits your specific application and needs. You also can know that someone who knows what they are doing is watching out for quality work on your behalf. Due to this, we are the perfect firm to design and manage your project as an independent consultant working for you.

Our firm has close professional relationships with many of the top local, regional, and national contracting, design/build, and/or systems integration houses. Many of them regularly contract us as outside designers on their projects, due to our specialty knowledge and skills with advanced software based products. 

We can, however (when requested to do so), structure our services and fees along with those of the contractor for situations where a single vendor is desired under a negotiated contract. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss and/or pursue that.

Again, we will work with you, and structure our services to whatever method best suits your needs.

That said, we normally do prefer to keep the lines of responsibility clear by separating the tasks in the most appropriate manner. This is not to say that there are not quality design/build firms out there. There are. And they often do great work. But unless a safeguard is build into the process, the lines can easily become blurred, which CAN and often does impact either the quality of work performed, or the cost of the project to the client’s (owners) disadvantage.

Often, this does not even appear until years after the project has been completed, when improper installation, labeling, or documentation can result in huge costs when repairs are needed.