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Posts Tagged ‘VN Services’
Monday, March 26th, 2012
 Welcome back decorations and "varmints" provided by his co-workers. We want to welcome back our colleague, Joe Morris, who has spent the past year doing the CPM scheduling for one of our clients at the Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project (DHOUP) for the Marathon Petroleum Company. He better be careful…. you never know what kind of varmints may have moved into his space while he was off exploring new job sites.
Tags: Chesterland, CPM scheduling, Detroit DHOUP, Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project, DHOUP, Joe Morris, Joseph W. Morris, Marathon DHOUP, Marathon Petroleum, Marathon Petroleum Company, project scheduling, VN Services
Posted in General, Project Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
 Port of Seattle and Mount Rainier Tucker just returned from the 2011 annual conference for the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF) in Seattle, Washington. Attendees came from a variety of countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Turkey.
Dispute resolution boards (sometimes called dispute review boards or just DRBs) provide large projects with a means for resolving disputes during the life of the project rather than waiting until the end of the project, when problems are more pronounced and the parties’ positions are more entrenched.
Research shows that the success rates for resolving disputes and avoiding litigation in this way are phenomenal compared to more traditional methods. In essence, using a DRB provides significant reduction in cost and schedule overruns and in many cases helps a project come in under budget and ahead of schedule. DRBs are similar to having a standing arbitration panel, except that they are much cheaper and more timely, because they are used during the project instead of after the project is completed.
If you would like to know more about DRB’s, please feel free to call or email Tucker. He is trained by the DRBF in this process, and can assist you if you believe that you are in need of a dispute review board member.
Tags: arbitration, Claims Support, Construction Claims, construction dispute, construction dispute resolution, DBRF, Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, dispute review board member, dispute review boards, Tucker Elliott, VN Services
Posted in Construction Claims, Dispute Resolution, General | No Comments »
Friday, August 12th, 2011
 Tucker Elliott just got back from his trip to Amman, Jordan and Doha, Qatar. The Amman trip was a quarterly meeting for VNI’s Rotana Hotel Project in Baghdad, where we are the Owners’ Reps. He then went to Qatar to discuss possible work on upcoming projects, as there is a great deal of new construction occurring all over the region.
Tucker also had the opportunity to learn more about Ramadan, which was being observed at that time. He took part in Iftar (the breaking of the daily fast) and got to try some fantastic local dishes and juice drinks. His favorite of the drinks was “Jallab”, a mixture of date juice with rose water topped with pine nuts. Google it!
Clearly August is a tough time to go to Qatar, as the temperature was over 106 degrees F with extremely high humidity! Although Qatar is a desert environment, it is located on the Persian Gulf and is incredibly humid.
All in all, an exciting trip into an expanding world.
Tags: Doha, Iftar, Persian Gulf, Qatar, Ramadan, Rotana Hotel, Rotana Hotel Baghdad, Tucker Elliott, Vail Network, VN Services, VNI
Posted in Construction Claims, General, Global Services, Project Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
We are pleased to announce that Richard P. Leach has become a principal owner of VN Services, Inc. and VN International LLC.
Mr. Leach has been with VN since 1988, and is Vice President of Project Control & Support. Mr. Leach has played a significant role in helping VN emerge as a growing leader in global project management consulting services, with major projects underway in Canada, the Middle East and the United States.
Tags: Canada, global project management, Middle East, Mr. Leach, Project Management, Richard Leach, Richard P. Leach, VN International, VN International LLC, VN Services
Posted in Project Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
In the construction industry a contractor has to deal with many stresses such as time and budget when trying to close out a construction project. Punch lists are great tools that can make the closing procedures of a project go smoother. A punch list is a record that is comprised of all of the minor activities that need to be completed when closing out a construction project. Usually, these activities are minor, but it is very common for unresolved punch list items to cause huge problems. Here are a few ways a contractor can use a punch list ensure the successful close out of a project:
Read the Contract
Understand everything that is expected in a project. Never assume what needs to be done will be. If there is nothing stated about project close out procedure responsibilities in the contract, make sure this is addressed with the owner. Close out procedures should be addressed prior to signing a contract.
Communicate Deadlines
Understand the project deadline and when the building is going to be occupied. Communicate this vital information to all project members so everyone knows it. This will make sure everyone understands when their punch lists have to be completed and the job closed out.
Don’t Procrastinate
Problems should be addressed immediately. Do not wait until close out to correct things. The sooner problems are handled, the less likely they are to cause additional concerns or impact the project. The punch list should be a compilation of minor problems that are to be remedied prior to the project being completed. It is important to realize that the punch list is not meant to provide a list of everything the contractor did wrong during the project.
Empower People
Encourage subcontractors to perform their own preliminary walk through and generate a punch list to start the process. The owner should then follow up with an inspection of the premises and communicate their concerns. When the contractors complete their punch list and everything is finished, they should indicate in writing that they are done.
As with all aspects of the project, the closeout requires coordination and communication. It is important to review all documentation, specifications and your punch list to make sure that all open or pending issues are included and resolved.
Tags: Project Management, Punch Lists, VN Services
Posted in Project Management | No Comments »
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