8B — January 25 - February 7, 2019 — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
O wners , D evelopers & M anagers
Daniel Schuster, HF Planners, LLC Facility Management: Managing expectations
F
or the facility manager, managing client expec- tations is a determining
proposal. Clients believe the possibili- ties are limitless and they can be given an adequate budget and schedule. Most times though, the facility manager needs to rely on expertise to show clients where budgets and schedules will place limits on the project scope. Questions are vital to defin- ing the project scope and to the success of the project. A great way to make sure the project is starting off on the right foot is by creating a well- defined onboarding process. Once a well-crafted, specific and thoroughly considered
scope of work has been identi- fied, it is important to commu- nicate that information to the project team and to review it often as the project progress- es. Each teammember should know the exact extent of the agreed upon scope. This will alleviate headaches down the road when the client begins to request additional services. The project scope and contract summary can be used as a reference guide throughout the project. COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY Like most relationships in life, communication is key.
Being in a new client relation- ship requires a certain level of trust from the client and faith that they are in good hands. The way to build that trust is through proper com- munication. From the outset, the facil- ity manager should walk the client through each milestone that must be met before the project is complete. This will help to align the client’s ex- pectations with the reality of the project process. Introduce the client to the team that will be working on their proj- ect. This way, they can have a face in mind when reviewing
Stantec bolsters practice with addition of Patel LAUREL, MD — Stantec has welcomed a strategic addi- tion to its Transportation team Clients’ expectations can be managed if the facility man- ager is willing to tell them the truth – that no project is perfect –and explain why this is so in a clear and forthright manner at the outset of the project. Daniel Schuster is a in- terior designer with HF Planners, LLC. the latest design. Explain to the client what happens if plans change. Al- ways, always, always under promise. This gives the facility manager the opportunity to over deliver or simply tackle unexpected circumstances with confidence. Throughout the course of the project, there is no such thing as too much communi- cation. Of course, responding to client inquiries in a timely fashion is important, but it is only a small part of the process. The facility manager should be proactive in their communication by keeping the client informed. The cli- ent will feel happy that they are involved in the process and the facility manager will be able to gauge their ability to communicate. It is normal to face setbacks in the past because of a client’s lack of communication. The more the facility manager reaches out, reiterate the scope, and follow up, the less likely misunder- standings are to happen.
factor in the suc c e s s o f your project. D E F I N E THE SCOPE A common issue leading to unrealis- tic expecta- tions is not
Daniel Schuster
having a clear and concise scope of work. Sometimes the client is unable to convey their vision of space – leaving requirements open to inter- pretation to create an accurate
in the Mid- Atlantic re- gion. Hiten- dra (Hiten) Patel, PE , former dep- uty chief of construction and design engineering
P o s k a n z e r S k o t t A r c h i t e c t s 550 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201.445.2322 www.poskanzerskott.com
with the Washington Metro- politan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), has joined as a prin- cipal and program manager. Based in Laurel, Patel will help manage and grow Stan- tec’s Transportation and Tran- sit practices across the Mid- Atlantic, while also lending expertise in construction and systems engineering on many of Stantec’s large, complex transit projects throughout the US. Hitendra Patel
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